LIL' LUKE

Luke Russert is an insufferable, arrogant, ignorant boor. I have a gnawing belief that he has his job only because of deference to his late father Tim Russert. Does NBC have any other 27-year old "pundits"? As an admirer of Tim Russert, I was willing to give his son a fair appraisal, but I find Lil' Luke intolerable.

Recently, Russert asked this dumb, bigoted question of Nancy Pelosi: "Your colleagues privately say that your decision to stay on prohibits the Party from having younger leadership. What's your response?"

I yelled at the television: "How dare that little twerp! Did he ask Mitch McConnell that?" I seriously doubt that Russert would have dared to ask the 70-year-old McConnell or the 70-year-old Harry Reid the same obtuse question! If the 72-year old Ms. Pelosi were not the House Minority Leader, then Mr. Hoyer, the 73-year-old House Minority Whip, would be next in line and the 72-year-old Assistant Leader James Clyburn would follow! How ignorant of Russert not to know such information; I'm not even a reporter, but I know these things, and I'm OLD!

Ms. Pelosi answered, calmly, but adroitly, "Oh, you always ask that question, except to Mitch McConnell. So you're suggesting everybody step aside? Let's for the moment honor it as a legitimate question although it's offensive, but you don't realize it, I guess." She then went on to describe how, as a mother of five, she didn't start her career until her children were at an age when she wasn't needed as a full-time mother. She said that she started her political career 14 years behind her male colleagues. (CLICK HERE to hear Ms. Pelosi's perfect rejoinder.)

Lil' Luke DID have enough sense not to continue after being upbraided with Pelosi's substantive answer.

Les asked, "I wonder if he thinks his dad should have given up his seat on Meet The Press to make room for someone like him?" I answered, "And his mother Maureen Orth; Hell, she must be in her sixties; I wonder if he thinks she should move aside for younger journalists?"

This week, on MSNBC, Russert asked a question and then proceeded to answer his own question. Of course, I knew it was a rhetorical question, but why doesn't someone advise him--or call him down--that it is lame to do that?

Yesterday, he was once again pontificating in his self-satisfied manner, and he said, "i.e." instead of saying "that is". I screamed at the television, "Oh, please MSNBC, please make him stop!

Russert reminds me of the following baseball analogy describing the son of another famous father:

"He was born on 3rd base, scored on a balk, and thinks he hit a home run!"