During a panel discussion on his Sunday talk show, Chris Matthews questioned whether — faced with lingering economic problems — President Obama was on a path towards defeat. “No matter who the Republicans choose ultimately, voters will have to decide whether to trust Barack Obama with four more years,” Matthews noted. “His low poll numbers and his people say that he must begin to tear down the opposition. So it stands to be a historically negative year…How can you run on a campaign slogan of ‘This is as good as it gets’?

In the world of the microscopic news cycle, a year is a mighty long time. Think “dog years” on steroids. Over the course of the past year, in thousands (around 7,500 ) of articles and millions (between 3 and 4 million) of words, Mediaite has covered the ups and downs of that whizzing, ricocheting media world. In case you lost track in that sea of information, we’ve compiled a list of 2011 Media Winners and Losers that we hope will be the start  of a conversation, not the end of one. Here, in no particular order, are Mediaite’s 2011 Media Winners and Losers.

The question of electability versus ideology is currently haunting different facets of the Republican party. Some believe they can win with a moderate like Mitt Romney, others want a strong conservative to win the nomination so they can have someone in the White House who shares their values. Chris Matthews discussed this with the panelists on his show today, and how it relates to the rise of Newt Gingrich‘s presidential campaign and whether he will be able to sustain his lead heading into Iowa.

We’ve come to expect people like Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman to inject reality into the Klingon High Council meeting that is any GOP discussion of foreign policy, but at Saturday night’s Republican presidential debate, the reality check came from unexpected sources. At least on the issue of Pakistan, Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Sen. Rick Santorum torpedoed the chest-thumping of their rivals with bewildering clarity.

The “must-reads” segment on Morning Joe today opened with a NY Times op-ed that ridiculed Newt Gingrich‘s claim that the $300,000 he received from embattled government mortgage agency Freddie Mac was for his “advice as a historian.” Given the fierce anti-Frannie and Freddie sentiment among the GOP, and blame assigned to these agencies for the housing crisis and credit default problems that helped tank the US economy in 2008, host Joe Scarborough believes that Gingrich has got some splaining to do.

Hot off his performance moderating last night’s Republican debate, National Journal‘s Major Garrett joined Chris Matthews and his fellow panelists in discussing the effect television has on political candidates. Matthews cited Mitt Romney‘s relaxed demeanor during the Republican debates, and wondered how much his appearance would factor into how much voters trust in him and see him as a confident leader. Garrett believed whoever becomes the Republican nominee will have to show they are confident and trustworthy.

Perhaps the most dominant running theme to emerge from this year’s slate of Republican presidential debates has been the reactions of conservative audiences to things like executions, letting the uninsured die, and a question from a gay US soldier. At tonight’s CBS/National Journal Republican debate, the audience sort of had it both ways, wildly cheering both sides of the issue of whether the US should waterboard terrorism suspects.

On his show today, Chris Matthews and panel discussed how several of the Republican presidential candidates, including Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, have been handling the Occupy Wall Street protests, given their supposed popularity with the American people.

There’s no question that Megyn Kelly is a rising star at Fox News, but her recent absence from the airwaves due to the birth of her second child (coinciding with Glenn Beck‘s departure) seemed, to many, to reaffirm her importance to the cable news leader. Joni Mitchell‘s “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”? is an apt refrain for the executives at FNC, who were all to eager to see her back on air. In an extensive and candid interview, Kelly shares her thoughts on public perception of Fox News, Jon Stewart’s mockery, and even Weinergate.

Within hours of being hired by Fox News, White House correspondent Ed Henry found himself in the crosshairs of Fox-hunting media watchdog Media Matters, who published a thin batch of research suggesting conservative bias. Scant weeks later, Henry seems to have earned his way (at least temporarily) off of the group’s s#%t list, pretty much the same way he got on it: by doing his job.

The opinion news media (and, ahem, those who cover it) have experienced something of a love/hate relationship to the debt crisis. On the one hand, it’s nearly impossible to create engaging, insightful commentary on the fact that something is still not happening. But, then again, the opinion news machine is nothing if not creative in what it elects to report on and the narratives spun out of these headlines. So let’s take a moment and analyze those in the media who came out on top in their coverage of the debt discussions, be that coverage straightforward reporting or subjective analysis, and those who dropped the ball somewhere along the way.

On MSNBC’s Jansing & Co. Tuesday morning, National Journal’s Major Garrett provided a wealth of smart, clear-eyed analysis of the current debt ceiling debate, noting a crucial word that was missing from President Obama‘s speech last night. He also made the observation that this crisis is an inversion of the typical political/economic equation, telling anchor Chris Jansing that “politicians are creating an economic consequence, not the other way around.”

As the Weinergate saga continues to rear its ugly head, so to speak, two things have become glaringly apparent: 1) Things are pretty slow over in DC right now, affording members of Congress a lot of free time with their gadgets and allowing those covering DC to devote lots of time and digital ink to gossip items, 2) people love them some penis puns.

Since we here at Mediaite are in the business of covering the media, it’s interesting to us to see how some major players in the industry are reacting to Rep. Anthony Weiner‘s scandal. On MSNBC’s The Daily Rundowm, host Chuck Todd chatted with Major Garrett and Liz Sidoti about Weinergate.

Chris Matthews wanted to analyze the political implications of Osama bin Laden’s death with his guests Major Garrett and John Harris. Harris declared this to be an “authentic mission accomplished moment,” but Garrett warned that national security does not seem to be as prominent of an issue these days as it once was.

Now that Glenn Beck‘s days at Fox News now appear to be officially numbered, lots of individuals now seem willing to more freely share their opinions about the man. Take for example former Fox News White House correspondent Major Garrett, who took time to discuss his own relationship with Beck (or lack of therein) while appearing with Don Imus today, and did not demur in his take. Garret said “Glenn Beck was not in my world, I was not in his….couldn’t have been happier with that truth.”

National Journal Hill correspondent Major Garrett has made something of a historic leap, from cable television to print, but also from the relatively narrow White House beat to the expansive Congressional one. In this section of our exclusive interview, I took full advantage of the switch, as I asked him to get wonktastic on the subjects of the Tea Party, and the President’s best chances to secure legislative victories in the coming two years.

On Monday, I interviewed former Fox News Senior White House correspondent and current National Journal Hill correspondent Major Garrett on a variety of topics, and have been rolling the clips out all week. In the final segment of our conversation, I asked Major to tell Mediaite readers something personal about himself, quizzed him about his relationship with departed press secretary Robert Gibbs, and got the straight dope on where Garrett’s martial-sounding name came from.

Since his seemingly sudden exit from Fox News in August, National Journal Hill correspondent Major Garrett has been keeping himself very busy, and to hear him tell it, having the time of his life. He took time out of that busy schedule to catch Mediaite readers up on all things Garrett. In this segment of our exclusive interview, Major talks about shifting gears, from cable TV to print, and describes the main differences between the two jobs.

All of the real action at the Conservative Political Action Conference goes on behind the scenes, and one notable trend emerged in my private conversations with prominent conservatives at the confab: most offered effusive praise for President Obama over his handling of terrorism. I related this to National Journal Hill correspondent Major Garrett during our interview, and asked if he thought the issue would come up in the 2012 campaign.

On Monday, I interviewed former Fox News Senior White House correspondent and current National Journal Hill correspondent Major Garrett on a variety of topics. In this segment of our exclusive interview, Major talks about how the 2012 Presidential election will turn, and whether or not he thinks Sarah Palin will run. On that score, Garrett raises an interesting question that I haven’t heard elsewhere.

Since his seemingly sudden exit from Fox News in August, National Journal Hill correspondent Major Garrett has been keeping himself very busy, and to hear him tell it, having the time of his life. He took time out of that busy schedule to catch Mediaite readers up on all things Garrett. In this segment of our exclusive interview, Major talks about what the future holds for Keith Olbermann, and wishes him well.

The New Year is here, and with it, the annual exercise in futility that is the New Year’s Resolution. As you stare into the abyss of another 365 days in which to improve yourself, it might help you to know that the figures who make Mediaite go ’round have some things to work on, too. Here’s what we think some of them are saying into the mirror this morning.

So, before you try to shake off that Cold Duck and Four Loko hangover and blearily search for a gym membership you can get out of when you get tired of it after 3 sessions, why not check out our list  of New Year’s Resolutions for Everyone Else?

At Tuesday’s White House briefing, I asked Robert Gibbs to square Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s remarks to National Journal’s Major Garrett that “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president” with the President’s hope that Republicans will work with him after the midterms. Gibbs’ answer, while [...]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell‘s remarkably honest confession to National Journal‘s Major Garrett that “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president” got kicked around at length during Tuesday’s White House briefing. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs‘ responses seemed designed to shame the opposition into post-midterm cooperation, but several reporters, myself included, wondered from whence this  hope sprang. The voters seem poised to reward McConnell’s party for two years of obstruction, so what is their incentive to do anything differently?

MSNBC’s Morning Joe welcomed National Journal Executive Editor Ron Brownstein and NJ correspondent Major Garrett this morning, the day the magazine and web site relaunched.

Of course, Garrett on Morning Joe is the headline – and he spent the first eight minutes talking about Fox News’ Juan Williams, offering a unique perspective.