The Washington Post‘s Chris Cillizza’s curious take on the Mark Halperin affair:
The truth of the Halperin matter is that all reporters (or others) who go on television frequently are forever in a ‘there but for the grace of God go I’ situation…. We know of what we speak, having found ourselves tongue-tied or worse on any number of occasions while staring into a camera. And in an ill-fated 2009 video venture known as “Mouthpiece Theater,” The Fix had to live down an inappropriate reference to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
For those who might be unaware, he’s referring to the skit where he and Post colleague Dana Milbank likened Hillary Clinton to a “mad bitch.” This was a scripted satirical video; the “bitch” reference came in the form of an image, which would suggest they’d thought about it well in advance. There’s something utterly predictable—and pathetic—about reporters who react to these scandals by suggesting that if you talk into a microphone often enough you’re bound to say something stupid.
As much as I despise her, I wouldn’t call Clinton – or Palin or Bachmann or Rice or (dating myself) Schlafly or Thatcher – a bitch.
“Vicious heartless bastard”, on the other hand …
I don’t like to watch the corporate media because they say stupid things every day.
The only problem with the concept that anyone could misspeak or be ‘tongue-tied’ in this situation is that Mark Halperin KNEW what he was about to say – he asked Joe & Mika about the 7-second delay! So he also should have known that it was, at least, impolite. And now Halperin is being depicted as a ‘victim’ – if he is, he’s a victim of his own stupidity, and deserves no sympathy at all – he’s just a (ahem) dick…
Mr. Halperin’s problem is that he wanted to show his friends that he could show his political preferences. The remark was meant to curry favoe in republican circles. He already knew that he wasn’t on a seven second delay. He did it on a dare and he deserves to lose his job. As far as that is concerned Joe Scarborough is just as guilty. He is the one who datred Mr. halperin to do it. Stupid Halperin!
I let my very feminist, very educated, and very accomplished wife call those women bitches so I don’t have to. I’m very much for equality of the sexes, and believe women should be treated the same as men (those “heartless bastards”) but it’s just asking for too much trouble to go there, I have so many other things to do that matter much more to me than fighting for the right to say a word that my wife (and Snoop Dogg) say as many times a day as they want.
Mr Halperin is not the sharpest tool in the shed.
he meant to say prick, not dick.
As a person thinketh so shall that person speak. Everyone/anyone would not speak(think) as Mark Halperin did.
Peace,