Hovering Hogs! Lauer Criticizes Dems' Lack of Iraq Plan

Like Roger Clemens choosing to float one at 68 MPH, do MSMers intentionally toss in the occasional change-up just to keep us critics off balance?

The show was Today, the host Matt Lauer, the guest Joe Scarborough, the topic Iraq, and the on-screen graphic at its biased worst: "VP on the Attack; Can Cheney Save the President?"

But suddenly, Matt tossed in two knuckle balls, and from right field at that.

Asked Lauer: "The assertion by some US senators that there was a misrepresentation of the facts going into the war in Iraq - how long is that charge going to work?"

Scarborough didn't exactly hit it out of the park, offering an agnostic response to the effect that the administration's muscular new counter-attack might have come "too late."

Seemingly dissatisfied with Joe's answer, Lauer made clear what, amazingly, appeared to be his own view of the matter:

"What are the voters going to say? Aren't they going to demand of the Democrats some kind of alternative on Iraq, some kind of plan that will fix the problem, as opposed to just beating up on George Bush?"

Shocked, I went back, ran the tape a few times, and can conclusively confirm that Brit Hume had not somehow snuck into Lauer's chair. Oh, to be a fly on the wall to catch Katie mauling Matt during the break!