For Chris's Sake . . .

The two Chrises at MSNBC - Matthews and Hayes - are at the center of the cable network's latest round of program changes.  Chris Matthews will be on at 7 PM Eastern only starting this coming Monday (August 26) to make room at 5 PM Eastern for the return of workingman's liberal commentator Ed Schultz to weeknightly television. Schultz's return was made possible by (what is this, PBS?) the utter failure of Chris Hayes in Ed's old 8 PM time slot and the obvious desire of MSNBC viewers to see Ed come back to weeknights.  At least that's how I interpret it.  (See,  I told you I'd get more personal on this blog.) 

Matters of interpretation notwithstanding, Hayes's show "All In" has viewers bugging out. Ratings for his show have been so bad that it's had an adverse effect on Rachel Maddow's show at 9 PM Eastern; this past May, Maddow had her lowest-rated month since her show debuted in September 2008.  She came in third in her time slot  - behind Fox News's Sean Hannity and even behind Piers Morgan's show on CNN.  As for Hannity, the noted Irish missing link has boasted about this turn of events.  The trouble is, Sean's ratings look good by default; he's been losing ground recently as well.  But at least he has a soulmate, fellow Long Island Irish fascist Bill O'Reilly, as a solid lead-in; since Schultz's banishment to Saturdays and Sundays, Maddow has had to follow Hayes, who's about as exciting and charismatic as straw.

I don't know why Hayes is still on the air.  I don't wish to make any conjectures to attempt to answer that question.  I don't care to answer it, either. All that matters is that Ed Schultz is back on from Monday to Friday, and at a much better time for me to tune in.  Who needs Chris Matthews?

Ed's back.  Let's get to work.