Copious Notes

Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe. Photo courtesy of MSNBC.

The political addiction built during the 2008 presidential campaign wasn’t that hard to break after all.

Once the votes were counted, it became easier to miss those appointments with Chris Matthews, Campbell Brown and the other cable news and commentary shows that saw their ratings soar during the months leading up to the election.
In the new year, with Jack Bauer back to save the nation, American Idol gearing up with some local rooting interest, 30 Rock as the focus of Tina Fey’s work, and plain old lives to lead, the compulsion to tune in to Rachel Maddow or Hannity-now-minus-Colmes isn’t there.

But I’ve still gotta have my Morning Joe.

We’re talking about MSNBC’s 6-to-9 a.m. chat show featuring Joe Scarborough, a former Republican representative from Florida; Mika Brzezinski, a veteran broadcaster and daughter of former national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, and a rotating band of regular guests led by Boston writer Mike Barnicle, conservative icon Pat Buchanan, and former Democratic Tennessee representative Harold Ford, Jr.

There is an obvious reason I still keep this appointment: Many mornings, I am on a treadmill shortly after 7 a.m., and TV is the easiest way for me to get my mind off of walking in place for nearly an hour. But there have been mornings when the prospect of watching Joe has kept me from skipping the walk, and there have been occasions I’ve extended my time because I was interested in an upcoming guest. Yes, Morning Joe helped me burn calories.

Then again, I don’t have to have that excuse at all.

Mornings I haven’t hit the treadmill, I’ve tuned in — made a point of it.

The show has bucked this political junkie’s trend for several reasons.

First, it’s a bipartisan show. In the evening, the trend has been to race to an ideological extreme: Bill O’Reilly on the right on Fox News while Keith Olbermann is on the left at MSNBC at 8 p.m. every night. After a while, these shows get really predictable, and you sort of have to be part of the choir to stay interested.

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