During a softball interview with former Democratic Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday, MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell managed to avoid a single mention of the scandals plaguing top liberal politicians in the commonwealth. That despite the fact that McAuliffe touted his efforts to help Virginia Democrats win state legislative elections numerous times throughout the exchange.

Planning to focus on the presidential race and former Vice President Joe Biden set to launch his campaign on Thursday, Mitchell began by wondering why McAuliffe chose not to enter the 2020 contest: “Well, why didn’t you run?” He explained: “Well, I got close.... But then, we have a lot of issues in Virginia. You know, we have the House and Senate up.”

Mitchell never asked him to elaborate on what those “issues” were, namely that Democratic Governor Ralph Northam and state Attorney General Mark Herring have both been embroiled in racist blackface scandals, while Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax has been accused by two women of sexual assault. Normally a journalist would be interested in the entire political leadership of a state being in crisis, but not Mitchell.

McAuliffe continued:

But you gotta go where ultimately your heart is and you gotta go where you think you can make the biggest difference, and Virginia needed my help. I had the leadership of Virginia had reached out to me, “We need you, our House and Senate, we could win the House and Senate with the governorship for the first time in 26 years.” So I decided to go where I could make the big difference.

After Mitchell asked several questions about Biden’s chances in the Democratic primary, McAuliffe turned the conversation back to Virginia politics:

I want every Democratic candidate – listen to me closely – I want every single one of you to commit that you’re gonna come to Virginia this year. You’re gonna do a fundraiser with me, you’re gonna do a political event with me to win the House and Senate in Virginia for the first time in 26 years....I need these candidates help and I need it this year.

Instead of seizing the opportunity to talk about the scandals, Mitchell simply gushed over McAuliffe’s message discipline: “Terry, Terry, Terry....There is nobody better at staying on a message than Terry McAuliffe....State, local. It’s all about Virginia. Get them to commit to campaign with you.”

She laughed and added: “Oh, former Governor Terry McAuliffe, former Democratic Party chairman, there is no one else like you. Thank you so much for being with us. As always.”

Given how persistent McAuliffe was in promoting Virginia Democrats and talking about upcoming elections, Mitchell should have pressed him on the uphill battle his party is facing in the commonwealth. After all, it’s such a challenge that McAuliffe abandoned his presidential plans to campaign across the state while current Governor Northam has been sidelined by the ongoing controversy.

Here are excerpts of the April 24 interview: