On last night's Hardball David Gregory questioned a Republican candidate’s viability but enthusiastically asked a losing Democratic candidate if he’ll run again. Gregory invited Rep. Katherine Harris and Democratic loser Paul Hackett on the August 10th show. The following is just a sample of the dispiriting questions to Harris:

Gregory: "Isn`t it true, isn`t it true that the White House and even the President`s brother, the Governor of Florida, have discouraged you from entering this race?"

Gregory: "One, one of the issues that I have detected from my own reporting at the White House is that the view within the White House is that you are simply too polarizing a figure in Florida to win."

Gregory brought up one of the left's favorite but tired talking points, about a possible fixing of the 2000 election when he asked: "Does the President owe you? Do you expect him to, to campaign with you down the stretch?"

An incredulous Harris responded: "Why in the world would you ask if the President owed me? I simply followed the letter of the law. That`s it. And I`m very proud of that record."

In contrast Paul Hackett, got the "star" treatment from Gregory:

Gregory: "Paul Hackett, the Iraq War veteran whose unsuccessful bid for Congress in Ohio catapulted him on top of the headlines, and it certainly provided a wakeup call for Republicans after a tight fought race. Are you a new Democratic star, Paul?"

After Hackett feigned modesty Gregory pushed Hackett to think big: "But, seriously, what are the calculations about, this is a good run for you. Do you think you`ve got what it takes to run for the Senate in particular, against Senator DeWine, perhaps?"

[Hackett]

Gregory: "You have to consider it now. You`ve got, you know, a national spotlight from Democrats. Not everybody gets that."

—Geoffrey Dickens is the senior news analyst at the Media Research Center.