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O'Donnell's appearance on the Chris Matthews Show was a very different matter. There she was wearing her "pundit" hat, not acting as a reporter. I think many journalists have a real problem when they try to switch roles like that. This was not an example of how to do it right.
In the case of the panel discussion with Matthews, my own critical view was more nuanced than yours. (And your own view may be just as valid as mine.) I thought these participants were guilty of what many Washington political reporters often do: They interpret everything through a political lens, and analyze everything solely in terms of which faction is "winning" the political struggle, without regard to the underlying substance.
I did not think Matthews and O'Donnell were adopting the White House position on U.S. attorneys as correct. But they were mocking the Democrats' chances of success in forcing Rove to testify and making political hay, and thus "winning" the political struggle. The pundits did this while ignoring the question of whether there are facts in need of investigating.
