It seems like the entire blogosphere that saw Dooce on the Today Show today agrees on two points:

1. Kathie-Lee is a total retard
and
2. Dooce wasn’t exactly given a fair amount of time or asked the right questions in a way that would give her the opportunity to educate viewers on exactly what Mommy blogging is about.

I went back and watched the clip a few times. I made EHH watch it too. And my husband, who has never read Dooce.com or even visited her site unless I send him a link and say, “YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS DOG WITH A TV REMOTE ON HIS HEAD!”, paused the video at one point, looked at me and said, “You can almost hear her {Dooce} thinking, ‘I’m so much smarter than these two’.”

This was after he decided she was totally hot.

Anyway.

There was a lot that was wrong with the interview in my opinion. I can’t wait to see if Dooce addresses any of it on her site in the coming days. The bottom line is that the two morons running it led it in the direction they wanted it to be led in – a negative one. I honestly believe that if anyone with a brain had done the interview, Heather’s thoughts (ones that represent the whole of the blogosphere) would’ve been acknowledged.

But while we’re talking about The Today Show and brains…

I have to say that I’ve always been a fan of the show. I’ve watched for years. I come from an NBC family. I’ve watched NBC news, NBC soaps, and mostly NBC Prime-Time my whole life. Growing up in New York, Chuck Scarborough felt like an extended family member. He was the reason for my pursuing journalism in college. Well. Him and the weather reporters that got to stand outside in these awesome jackets during blizzards and hurricanes. I wanted to be them too. But maybe it was just because of their cool jackets.

When I went to college I started out as a journalism major. I had one bad teacher and I changed my major to PR, but I never let go of my dream of one day working in television. I idolized anchors. I felt like their presence made such a mark and had such an impact on regular people. One of my sorority sisters got a job as Gabe Pressman’s intern our senior year. I was so jealous. I wanted to work at NBC so bad that I would’ve emptied Tom Brokaw’s trash just to be able to be there; among what was, at the time, real talent. Real intelligence. Greatness. By the time I graduated, I decided I wanted to be Katie Couric when I grew up and I totally had the biggest crush on Matt Lauer.

My love for the show grew and grew. My alarm would go off at 7 and my first thought would be that I had to watch Matt and Katie. I remember so many pieces that each of them have done over the years. I had such great respect for all of them; the NBC family, well they were my family too.

And then Katie announces she’s leaving. And while this did look like an opportunity of a lifetime for her, I knew I wouldn’t be going with her. I don’t watch CBS. It’s not my network. I watched Brokaw. I watch Brian Williams (Well. I have to. You know, considering that we’re dating and all. Even though he doesn’t know it.). I couldn’t leave them to watch her on CBS. And apparently, a lot of other people felt the same way.

I thought the show did great the summer it was just Matt and Ann. Ann used to annoy me with her super sensitivity, but she seemed to improve that summer. She started to take a stand. She started to have an opinion.

And then they brought in Meredith.

From the moment she flubbed the opening line on her first day on the show, it started to go downhill. Her quirks, her inappropriateness. It was so different from Katie’s super professionalism. Her movements, so awkward. Her lame ad-libbed lines. Matt’s consistent shake of his head or how he’s visibly uncomfortable more than a few times during one show. It’s just not the same. She’s not a fit. Not with him and not with the shows format.

A year goes by and while it becomes more and more obvious that Matt can’t stand Meredith, the show claims that ratings have never been higher. They expand into a fourth hour. Adorable, lovable, and SMART Natalie Morales does a great job in the later parts of the show. Then they work in Hoda, who I could really take or leave. She’s okay, but clearly no genius and I can’t really figure out where her value add is, but whatever. If I’m still watching, I’m hardly paying attention by then anyway.

But no one could’ve expected the Kathie-Lee bomb that was dropped in April. My initial thought? They’re trying to kill it. They’re literally trying to kill the most respected news program on TV.

And as a person? As a mother? Even as a TV talk-show personality? I have nothing against Kathie-Lee. She’s gone through a lot in her marriage and in her career. Scandal. Rumors. Bad publicity. I don’t wish that kind of stuff on anyone. But the Today Show? She doesn’t belong! And that’s really it. She does NOT belong. She shouldn’t be lumped in with the talent levels of Matt and Ann and even the jolly weatherman, Al!

While talking to Cass today on IM, she brought up how perhaps bringing in Kathie-Lee was some way to elevate Meredith. And she has a real point. Both of them belong interviewing B-list celebrities and or hanging out on the red carpet. Neither of them fit into news anchor categories. Ten years ago, I can’t imagine one of them being my inspiration. Could you? Would they be your idols if you wanted to be a professional broadcast journalist?

There’s my rant. There’s my opinion. I know these clowns didn’t get to where they are by being disliked so I’m sure there’s a few of you out there that love one or both of them. And that’s fine. This is just where I fall. And after reading a lot of the perspectives of many other bloggers out there today after the Dooce interview, I can see I’m not alone.