It has proven to be a toxic combination for the network. It got so bad that NBC had to dump Olbermann and Matthews as its politics go to people because of all the flak that was generated by the duo’s shoot from the hip commentary. But MSNBC wasn’t done going this route. Not by a long shot. It just waited for the hoopla to die down and then tried again. During the Obama inauguration Matthews, Olbermann, and Maddow were front and center.