Wake up to two politics-is-MSNBC’s-future stories…

Says the Washington Post: “MSNBC has seen the future, and it is politics. Delivered with plenty of opinion. Preferably with lots of cameo appearances by big-name news stars from the mothership.”

Says Variety: “The channel’s recent run has some inside the network daring to believe that a raucous political season could represent the kind of news event that brings cultural relevance to a channel that has long struggled to find its niche.”

And note the final graf of Variety, where an unnamed MSNBC staffer says: “The test will be when the next tabloid story breaks. Will they be able to stick with it?”