Sadness, shock, disappointment, anger are all words that could describe the “forward” leaning hosts of MSNBC last night.
“He was very upset last night on MSNBC,” Glenn said of Ed Shultz before playing some of the priceless audio from last night’s coverage.
Schultz: “In many respects it's to be expected considering how much money was thrown at this race. You know, NBC is calling it for Walker? Okay, I think it’, it’s awful close. And there's a lot of absentee ballots yet that are still out, and it's going to be very, very close down to the wire.”
“Hang on just a second,” Glenn started. “When he says it’s awfully close, does he mean that it’s awful to call it close?”
Glenn asks a valid question given the fact that the margin between the two candidates continues to get wider for much of the night, but no. Ed actually thought this race was close. In fact the entire MSNBC lineup appeared to be in utter disbelief throughout the night.
The final results of the recall had Walker winning by seven points. In the home of the labor unions and the progressive party seven points is anything but close.
Shultz: “It's disappointing, I know, if this is going to be the result to a lot of workers in this state. But certainly it is not the end and it's going to be an opportunity for the progressive movement to regroup nationally and understand exactly what they are up against.”
Shultz later added, “This is not going to be an easy night for many broadcasters who are liberal.”
Oddly enough, Glenn, Pat and Stu’s feeling about the evening were a little different. In fact, Glenn had a great night, Pat had a great night, and Stu described his evening as “spectacular.”
“I know it was good for a lot of people. It was good for Drudge, good for Red State, good for Michelle Malkin, good for the people at Fox. It was good for a lot of broadcasters,” Glenn said.
And really, when you consider the actual ratings of the various cable news outlets, the majority of Americans watching the results roll in were having an above par evening.
Shultz: “This is not going to be an easy night for this broadcaster. To say that I'm shocked and stunned is pretty much an understatement.”
Ed Shultz describing how stunned he was may very well be one of the most honest statements to come out of his mouth on MSNBC. In fact just over an hour before the election was called Ed tweeted that he was gearing up for a long night because the election was so close.
He even started to mock Republicans, because Walker hadn't won (yet).
Give that NBC called the election about twenty minutes after Shultz tweeted that, it's safe to say Shultz was eating his words for the rest of the night
Glenn pointed out that he always seems to be shocked and stunned every time he is wrong. “You should start to be more shocked and stunned when you’re right,” Glenn joked.
Ed Shultz wasn’t alone in his shock, disappointment, and utter disbelief. Chris Matthews, Lawrence O’Donnell, Rachel Maddow all looked and sounded a bit puzzled. It was comedy gold.
