Nick Denton seems to think so, calling them the “cosiest co-anchors” and saying their “on-air antics have convinced MSNBC grunts the two are pursuing an off-camera affair.” Of course, Denton also calls Scarborough a “liberal darling,” so who knows if it’s true?

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Keith Olbermann is working overtime to have people believe that WaPo’s Dana Milbank, a longtime contributor to his MSNBC program, was forced off the network as a result of pressure from Olbermann over a piece Milbank wrote last week satirizing Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential presumptions.

Not so, says Milbank. “I started contract talks with CNN on July 7,” Milbank told Big Head DC this afternoon. “It has nothing to do with last week’s column. I like Keith, and I’m sorry he’s angry about my departure.”

Milbank began appearing on CNN last night on Campbell Brown’s program — the network’s competitor to Olbermann.

“Keith, working ever harder to court his liberal fan base, obviously wants people to believe he was directly involved in Dana’s exit,” a cable TV honcho not affiliated with CNN or MSNBC told BHDC. “The truth is simply that Dana got a much better offer. And Olbermann decided to spin it his way.”

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An MSNBC tipster tells Big Head DC that David Gregory and executive producer Noah Oppenheim got “spanked hard” last week due to falling ratings for the duo’s Race for the White House. We’ve even heard buzz of a screaming match between top honcho Phil Griffin and Gregory. Such displays of temper were far less common under Tucker Carlson — the guy Gregory replaced, but has had difficulty in out-pacing, ratings-wise, at least.

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Everyone already knows about that tingling feeling Chris Matthews gets up his leg when he hears Sen. Barack Obama give a speech, and now campaign cash contribution records reveal another MSNBC anchor who might have some pro-Obama leanings.

Financial records indicate that Beth Wilkinson, wife of MSNBC White House reporter David Gregory, has contributed $4,600 to Obama’s presidential campaign. To Big Head DC’s knowledge, the newsman has not disclosed this contribution to viewers.

Gregory’s new MSNBC show, Race for the White House, debuts today at 6 p.m.

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Big Head DC interviewed Tucker Carlson on the eve of his last MSNBC show, a retrospective which airs tonight at 6 p.m. ET. Declining to talk much smack about his soon-to-be former employer (he’ll show up for a while as a commenter on various network shows), the conservative talker seemed, in the spirit of Eliot Spitzer, perhaps, to be quite ebullient about his future: 

Big Head DC: How do you feel about the end of the show?

Tucker Carlson: Weirdly, I feel great and have all week. Not sure why.

BHDC: Any hard feelings toward MSNBC?

TC: Can’t complain about MSNBC.  I wish they weren’t killing the show - I like it and think it’s good - but other than that, they’ve been nice to me.  

BHDC: Do you see yourself headlining another political show soon? 

TC: I’m confident I’ll wind up doing something interesting.

BHDC: But nothing set in stone yet?

TC: I’m in good shape.

BHDC: Thanks, Tucker, and best of luck.

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