The Fight for Tim Russert's Job

The last notes of the memorial service hadn't even died away before various MSNBC cable hosts were scrambling to get Russert's old job on "Meet the Press":

TIM Russert's body wasn't even cold in the ground before MSNBC anchors Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann started jockeying for his job, sources claim.

Matthews was heard loudly discussing what seemed to be his strategy for landing Russert's "Meet the Press" show at Wednesday's memorial reception for the NBC Washington bureau chief at the Kennedy Center in DC. After Brian Williams, Carl Bernstein, David Gergen, Barbara Walters and NBC brass eulogized their friend, Matthews huddled with an unidentified "agent type" and seemed to be plotting.

According to our spy, "Chris, with his loud voice, was going over a pitch for Tim's job. He was saying, 'You know, Tim's thing was this, and my thing is that.' It was unbelievably tacky."

But Matthews told Page Six that the man he was with was real-estate developer Bob Monahan and that they were talking about a speech Matthews will give soon to a group of mayors in Gettysburg, Pa.

"We started fighting about it. He wanted me to talk about block grants. I want to give my general political speech," Matthews said. "I swear to God that's what happened."

Matthews denies he wants to host "Meet the Press": "I love what I do. My Sunday show is a perfect fit for me. I hope they find a perfect fit for 'Meet the Press.' "

Meanwhile, Matthews' MSNBC cable cohort Olbermann, who was also at the memorial, is "threatening to quit if he isn't installed as Russert's replacement," another insider said. "I know, it sounds ludicrous, but, then, Keith Olbermann is ludicrous."

A rep for MSNBC said, "All of this is utterly untrue."

Russert himself wanted Chuck Todd, the NBC News political director he hired, to succeed him, said one source, who added that MSNBC hosts don't stand a chance of landing "Meet the Press." The insider said, "They're cable. They're far too partisan. They have no gravitas. If gravitas is eight letters, they're about seven letters short."

As I've said before, if Matthews or Olbermann are given that job, the MTP franchise is dead. It will no longer be considered a serious political show.