It's getting a wee bit exhausting talking about how hard Katie Couric's CBS Evening News has fallen, and then rehashing the issue every time bossman Les Moonves publicly shows his support, even though backroom speculation has the two working on a way to split after the November election. But then Couric had to go and perform what on-lookers called some of the best political convention coverage that aired, and so here we go again.

“I’m a patient man,” he told B&C this week. “And no one has a gun to their head."

CBS News was a consistent third behind NBC and ABC during coverage of the political conventions, although some nights it was very close to overtaking ABC.

“We all wish the ratings were better,” Moonves acknowledged. “I think the conventions accentuated what a phenomenal talent she is. She is great on her feet. She is a great interviewer. She’s great at passing the ball around. I think she did an extraordinary job, and I was extremely proud of her and our entire CBS News team during the conventions. I think we showed how good we were. I really do. Ratings notwithstanding, we’re doing a terrific job." [B&C]

Actually, it seems like months, or at least many weeks, have passed since the latest high-profile media item bashing Couric and dissecting her future got emailed around. A stellar example of CBS News chief flack Gil Schwartz? No. More like the convenient arrival of the implosion at MSNBC. Nothing like a new scandal to take our minds off an old one.