From Taylor Marsh regarding the photo from Talking Points Memo at right:

It you wanted to paint Hillary Clinton in an unflattering light, this is the perfect photo to use.

While the guy who talked about Clinton “pimping” out her daughter gets a big, broad smile. What a good guy! Love that David Shuster.

On the other hand, Hillary Clinton is the woman whose daughter was maligned, and she was called a pimp, but she’s the one who’s wrong.

This photo was on the front page of TPM late last night. Classic hit job.

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For those of you who don’t remember, prior to MSNBC, David Shuster was a correspondent for FOX News Channel based in D.C. A FOX News insider tells Big Head DC that “one of the reasons we fired David was because he was irresponsible…we knew it was just a matter of time before he would implode…”

Earlier: NBC VP Wanted to Fire Shuster ‘On the Spot’

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Tim Russert shared that bit of information with reporter Gwen Ifill when she mentioned the David Shuster situation on Meet the Press this morning. As we reported yesterday, Russert has played a key role in saving Shuster’s job to date.

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Big Head DC featured an interview with MSNBC’s David Shuster in July of 2006 — after Jessica Cutler shared with us that she once had an affair with the political reporter. Cutler, you’ll recall, is a former congressional staff assistant for former Sen. Mike DeWine. She was fired in 2004 after describing her sexual exploits in a blog called Washingtonienne. 

BHDC: What do you love/hate about reporting from Washington day in and day out?

David Shuster: I love the stories, I hate the humidity. Seriously, the weather here stinks. We should all move the nation’s capital to the California coast. Back to the stories… All of us who work as reporters in D.C. are quite fortunate compared to our colleagues elsewhere. Unlike war correspondents or people who cover natural disasters, the worst thing that ever happens in D.C. is somebody loses their reputation.

BHDC: How do you get along with Chris Matthews/Dan Abrams?

DS: I get along well with both Chris Matthews and Dan Abrams. Chris is the best boss and mentor I’ve ever had. And Dan is the most brilliant management choice I’ve ever seen. Dan is a great guy with a terrific view of cable news and how to improve MSNBC. Read more…

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Big Head DC has learned from sources inside the MSNBC camp that Phil Griffin, senior vice president at the network, “screamed” at reporter David Shuster for not agreeing to immediately apologize to Chelsea Clinton for saying on-air she had been “pimped out” by her mom’s campaign. Griffin threatened to fire Shuster “on the spot,” and it was only with intervention from Tim Russert that Shuster didn’t lose his position.

Meanwhile, Chris Matthews, Hardball anchor and a longtime ally of Shuster, has told acquaintances that he “wishes he could do more” to aid Shuster, but Matthews is already in deep trouble with network bigwigs for making several sexist remarks about Sen. Hillary Clinton. Matthews would like to be vocally supporting Shuster in this situation, but he’s worried that he could lose his current role of anchoring political events on the network, if he does not appear to stay neutral.

Still, that concern hasn’t stopped Matthews from making unattributed quotes to some news outlets, according to our sources.

On another note in this unfolding drama, Big Head DC has learned that Julianna Goldman, wife of Shuster, is “distraught and angry” at MSNBC for the way the network has treated her husband. Goldman, a rising star at Bloomberg News, may be trying to secure a position for Shuster with her bosses at her network.

Earlier: Apology May Keep David Shuster From Being Fired

Shuster Off-Air At MSNBC; Still Could Face Firing

MSNBC Reporter Compares Chelsea Clinton to Prostitute; Clinton Camp Might Not Do Future MSNBC Debates and Appearances

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“On Thursday’s Tucker on MSNBC, David Shuster, who was serving as guest-host of the program, made a comment about Chelsea Clinton and the Clinton campaign that was irresponsible and inappropriate,” NBC News President Steve Capus writes in a statement. “Shuster, who apologized this morning on MSNBC and will again this evening, has been suspended from appearing on all NBC News broadcasts, other than to make his apology. He has also extended an apology to the Clinton family. NBC News takes these matters seriously, and offers our sincere regrets to the Clintons for the remarks.”

An MSNBC insider tells Big Head DC that Shuster did not want to offer the apology in the first place — and only agreed to do so once it was clear that MSNBC would consider firing him if he did not.

Earlier: MSNBC Reporter Compares Chelsea Clinton to Prostitute; Clinton Camp Might Not Do Future MSNBC Debates and Appearances

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First MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews suggested Sen. Hillary Clinton only won her Senate seat because people felt sorry for her after Bill’s Clinton’s affair, and now MSNBC political reporter David Shuster has tastelessly compared Chelsea Clinton to a lady of the night.

Filling in for Tucker Carlson yesterday, Shuster gave his opinion on Chelsea’s role in the presidential campaign, asking a guest, “Doesn’t it seem as if Chelsea is sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?”

Immediately after the comment, Big Head DC has learned, people in the Clinton camp were angered — and the network began receiving angry e-mails and calls from viewers suggesting it was an inappropriate way for a reporter to refer to a former First Daughter.

Amazingly, Shuster chose not to apologize, even when the Clinton camp expressed their outrage directly to him — until MSNBC bigwigs forced him to do so, in a segment planned to air tonight at 6 p.m. ET. 

“The comment was completely inappropriate, and we have called the Clinton campaign to apologize,” a network spokesperson told Howie Kurtz today. Meanwhile, Phil Griffin, the executive in charge of MSNBC, phoned the Clinton camp to say the comment was “clearly wrong.” 

“At some point you have to question whether there is a pattern at this particular network,” a top Clinton staffer is quoted on a Post blog as saying. Murmurs are reaching Big Head DC that future MSNBC appearances by Hillary Clinton and her husband will likely be few and far between. 

Earlier: Advice for Removing David Shuster’s Alleged Back Hair

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David Shuster visibly upset. It’s pandemonium!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Lots of facial problems at MSNBC this morning. Joe Scarborough, back from a possible skiing holiday vacay, turned up on TV bright orange and burnt this morning, sitting next to an increasingly plump-faced Mika Brzezinski and a jolly David Shuster with weird make-up smudges on his rapidly expanding cheeks and double-chin. New year’s make-overs, MSNBC? Please?

Tim Russert, adding his oversized ego to the fat-faced lineup, said on Morning Joe that he’s faced plenty of “80-year-old cougars” trying to chase him down while on the trail in Iowa. A cougar, you’ll recall, is an older lady who’s hot to trot. Go, Timmy.

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