MSNBC's Imus-ectomy is complete: Gwen Ifill makes an appearance

I knew Don Imus would never be coming back to MSNBC once its chief executive, Phil Griffin, told a reporter a few weeks ago (and confirmed later to me) that Joe Scarborough's "Morning Joe" had exceeded the ratings for the simulcast of "Imus in the Morning."

Still, I must admit to being slightly taken aback when, while surfing the various cable channels' pre-convention coverage from Denver, Gwen Ifill's face popped up on MSNBC. Ifill, moderator of "Washington Week" and this fall's lone vice presidential debate, who will someday occupy the "NewsHour" lead anchor chair, for years served as the butt of Imus' most notorious racist joke. Seeing her on Imus' former cable home was a reminder that wounds can heal ... and that Don Imus really is a jackass.

Ifill was at the New York Times when the I-man referred to Ifill as a "cleaning lady" — allegedly! As straight-up racist boomerang humor (i.e., the kind that missed its target but clobbered the one who threw it out there), the cleaning-lady comment would have few equals in three decades of Imusology. Until, of course, "nappy-headed hos."

Just as significant as Ifill agreeing to appear with Williams (who called her and Norris "old friends," since they've all been on the White House beat), is Williams throwing himself into MSNBC's coverage. There's little of the old reluctance to be associated with little cable sister as in the Brokaw years. Perhaps just as significantly, NBC's seasoned journalists have come around, as have I, to the realization that MSNBC's free-wheeling prime-time coverage is nothing to be ashamed of. It's the sizzle that keeps people coming back, and that can't be bad when you're trying to sell steak.