Bringing the Talking Points Story Full Circle

The logical next stop in the Scott McClellan-talking points story that has developed further today is the place it all started — MSNBC’s Hardball.

Today Mike Barnicle, filling in for Chris Matthews, and his guests, Pat Buchanan and Joan Walsh, all agreed Bill O’Reilly was not getting talking points from the Bush White House, as McClellan had at first indicated on Friday.

“I agree with Bill O’Reilly here, I don’t think he’d take talking points from anyone,” said Barnicle. “He’s not taking talking points from…he’s not taking them from Roger Ailes, he’s not taking them from anyone.”

“I think the guy wouldn’t have the ratings he does, have the audience he does, if he’s spouting the party line,” said Buchanan.

Even the guest representing the left, Walsh, agreed. While joking, “This story for liberals was too good not to be true,” she said, “Its rare that I would ever come to Bill O’Reilly’s defense. But I don’t see any evidence at this point that they were officially disseminating points one through nine and they were then being parroted on Fox News.”

Will this be the end? We’ll see if O’Reilly, or Keith Olbermann, or Howard Kurtz, or anyone else involved since Friday have anything else to say….

> More: Click continued to see the Hardball segment…

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