Who can do Meet the Press?

So who should NBC appoint to host Meet the Press? It'll be a tough job for anyone replacing Tim Russert, who may just have been the best, most respected journalist on TV. Let's look at the candidates, assuming they're looking in-house.

1. TOM BROKAW - This would be a temporary gravitas sub. Do it for six months or a year until the real successor is found. He had respect and credibility. But this is a short-term solution.

2. BRIAN WILLIAMS - He's the nightly news anchor, but if Bob Schieffer could do double-duty, so could he. Williams has come into his own in prime-time, he's done well with the debates he's moderated, and he can ask the follow-up questions.

3. DAVID GREGORY - He's the most logical choice. He has his own afternoon MSNBC show, he's demonstrated to be a tough White House reporter in recent years, and he knows how to wear different coats, having guest-hosted everything from Meet the Press to The Today Show. It would take him a few months to get his groove on a full-time basis.

4. CHUCK TODD - After Russert, he's probably the smartest political mind of NBC's staff. But would he want to take center-stage? He seems to be happy as the guy they bring on as an expert.

5. ANDREA MITCHELL - She's been in the trenches like Gregory, but she doesn't seem to have the same grilling instincts he does.

6. CHRIS MATTHEWS - Matthews wears his heart on his sleeve and seems more comfortable talking about how the issues make him feel, as he often does on Hardball or The Chris Matthews Show, than to swtich to being objective/impartial.

7. A NEWSWEEK PERSON - NBC & Newsweek are married, so maybe a Newsweek guy makes sense. Jon Meacham is the editor and Howard Fineman is the Chief Washignton correspondent. The diamond in this rough, methinks, would be Fareed Zakaria.

8. JOE SCARBOROUGH & KEITH OLBERMANN - These are other names I've seen floated, but they'd kill the Meet the Press brand. Joe Scarborough could probably tone down his partisanship but why would he want to? He's also a former GOP congressman, so it's take him awhile to establish credibility as an objective interrogator. Olbermann enjoys his soapbox and daily John McCain attacks too much on Countdown, and he would never get credibility. Russert loved politics and the political game. After reading good chunks from two of his books, I believe Olbermann loves being mad as hell and not taking it anymore. From anyone on the right.

Before Russert, the show had a moderator, and then questioning reporters. Russert demonstrated quickly he didn't need any help and went from moderator to prosecutor. But he did it in a way that was fair, he did with a smile, and it was a badge of honor to survive his show.