DNC: The train has left the station

I've been flipping feverishly among the networks, tracking coverage of the Democratic National Convention, and I can't help but feel a twinge of pity for the folks at MSNBC. Yes, NBC big-guns Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw are inside the convention hall. But many of the panelists and anchors -- including Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann -- have been broadcasting from outside Denver's Union Station, surrounded by crowds who cheer and heckle various points. "Politics to the people," one MSNBC executive told the Rocky Mountain News, explaining the concept.

It's a nice idea, except for one glitch: They're also surrounded by trains, and more than once last night, some attempt at chatter was drowned out by the sound of a blaring train whistle. Olbermann frequently seemed ready to burst out laughing. And when Matthews praised Hillary Clinton's speech for "its locomotion,” you had to wonder what gave him that idea.