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Gregory never mentioned that it was the NRA that exposed the hypocrisy of the Clinton administration demanding more anti-gun laws, even while that same administration reduced prosecution of federal gun crimes by 43 percent—or that it was the NRA that finally forced the administration to resume those prosecutions.

Gregory never asked Bloomberg how more laws could control violent criminals when in California, for example, federal judges are forcing the state to open the floodgates on its prison system and release a terrifying 25 percent of the prison population—some 40,000 convicts—back onto the streets.

Stated simply, David Gregory was an ineffectual lightweight in this very important interview.

And not surprisingly, his audience is evidently realizing that fact.
"Meet the Press" Fails the Grade With more than 60 years on the air, "Meet the Press" is the longest-running show in television history, and it has a respected reputation—but that doesn't mean it's infallible or invincible.

According to msnbc, when Gregory took over the show in December 2008, "Meet the Press" had been "the top-rated Sunday morning public affairs show for nearly 11 consecutive years."

It's easy to see why: Tim Russert, who hosted the show from 1991 until his death in June 2008, was a talented and tough, but generally fair and trustworthy, square dealer.

Considering the fact that journalists typically fall somewhere between politicians and lawyers when it comes to provoking public mistrust, Russert truly was an exception to the rule—and his ratings reflected that.

But the years of high ratings appear to be over for "Meet the Press."
As Chris Wallace of "Fox News Sunday" told The Washington Post in April, Russert's sudden death in the summer of 2008 meant that, in the kingdom of Sunday talk-show television, "the throne is empty."

In August, according to the trade publication Broadcasting & Cable, for the first time in a decade ABC's "This Week" bested "Meet the Press" in the ratings.

That week, 2.77 million viewers watched "Meet the Press."

While that might sound like a large number, it represents a precipitous drop.

In fact, between December 7, 2008—when interim moderator Tom Brokaw handed over the reins of "Meet the Press" to Gregory—and August 8, 2009—when Gregory played the shill to Bloomberg's anti-gun sham—the number of viewers watching the show dropped by almost 55 percent.

"Meet the Press": A Name and Reputation Squandered

It really is a shame to see what's happened to "Meet the Press" since Russert passed away. It represents the loss of a vital service to the country.

I think most Beltway insiders and people who follow politics would agree that "Meet the Press," when Russert moderated it, was the best of the best among the Sunday talk shows.

If you went onto the show, as I did a half-dozen times or more, you knew Russert would try to put you on the hot seat. But you also knew he'd do the same to your opponents, and do so fairly to every side of the debate.

He was tough, but he was fair.
Gregory is neither.
He's not tough on politicians, because he doesn't question what they say. And because he's not tough, he's not fair to their opponents—especially if they're not on the show to offer their own rebuttals.

So in the end, all a guy like Gregory does is give politicians a national pulpit to push their latest schemes.

That's not journalism. In fact, it's the opposite of journalism. To label it as such is a sham and a fraud.

"The primary responsibility of the media," Russert once said, "is accountability of government."

On his March 19, 2000, show, on which I appeared as a guest, Russert told me, "We here at ‘Meet the Press' want to hold you accountable for your comments."

And that's how Russert operated: He cornered politicians with their own contradictory statements. He did his homework. He read the research. He rooted out the inconsistencies. He called double-talk what it was. And he didn't accept bogus answers from press spokespeople or the presidents for whom they worked.

Maybe it's time for "Meet the Press" and its producers to revisit its roots.

In his memoir Big Russ and Me, Russert recounted how, before his first day as moderator of "Meet the Press," he called Lawrence Spivak, the show's co-founder, and solicited his advice.

Spivak told Russert, "Learn everything you can about the guests and their positions, and then take the other side on the air. If you do that in a civil way each week, you'll have a fair and balanced program, you'll get good answers and you'll make news."

Unless and until David Gregory returns to that proven and effective model, all "Meet the Press" will have is an empty throne—and an empty suit to sit in it.