In an interview with the AP, the president of the network first says this:
MSNBC is facing the same issue that Fox News had during the Bush administration: It’s not as exciting being on defense when the party you support is in power as it is being on the outs and on the attack, said Tim Graham of the conservative Media Research Center.
“Now it’s, ‘Let’s not make trouble for these people. They have enough to handle with angry conservatives,’” he said.
Griffin said that analysis is flat-out wrong. He said there was extensive debate among MSNBC hosts about the extension of President George W. Bush’s tax cuts, for example. Network personalities also harshly criticized the Obama administration for not fighting Wisconsin legislation that unions considered harmful, he said.
“We are not a rubber stamp, and it would be wrong for anybody to imply otherwise,” he said.
Yet the interview piece concludes with this Griffin saying this:
He’s bullish on MSNBC, though, and predicted that within a couple of years his network would even be able to seriously challenge ratings leader Fox in certain hours.
“MSNBC has established a sensibility, a position, a platform,” he said. “MSNBC stands for something and MSNBC is really the place to go for progressives and people who are looking for smart, thoughtful analysis. We’re growing, and we’re putting real effort behind it.”
Hmm.