Is David Gregory a "Birther"?

I had hopes that NBC's David Gregory would prove a worthy replacement for Tim Russert as host of Meet The Press, but that seems a step too far for Mr. Gregory.

On a Sunday awash in real news, Mr. Gregory seemed stuck on stupid as he spent an easy million dollars of NBC's precious broadcast time attempting to blow Mr. Obama's birth certificate into a first-tier news item. He asked, re-asked, and asked some more House Majority Leader Cantor's opinion of people who regard Mr. Obama as less legitimate as President because of a birth certificate that may or may not exist, that may or may not contain expected or unexpected information.

Mr. Gregory pushed his point seven times, seven questions which with Mr. Cantor's repeated confirmations of disinterest, spanned 360 words in the transcript.

To his credit, Mr. Cantor wasn't biting. Rep. Cantor is focused on his job, his tasks and his goals as the third or fourth most powerful political figure in Washington.

Leaving aside the facts or fiction of the birth certificater, Mr. Cantor's opinion just doesn't matter. He has no role in the controversy and he knows it.

We can only wish that Mr. Gregory, who presumably makes millions more than Mr. Cantor, were as well-informed.

If the media were serious, they'd stop raising the issue. But, given their natural conflict between being professional and chasing ratings, they'll not surprise nearly every time.