Look, you can disagree with the President. You can bitch and moan about how he doesn't lead because he doesn't use the bully pulpit, and then when he actually asserts himself and his opinion on that pulpit, complain that he's too harsh. I makes absolutely no sense, but you can do it if you're mentally deficient. But to call the President of the United States "kind of a dick" when you claim to be a journalist (even though we know you're a hack) is just over the top. And yet supposed journalist Mark Halperin did exactly that. He premeditated calling President Obama a dick on national television. Why else would he ask if there were a seven second delay? What made him think calling Obama a dick was a good idea?
What the hell happened to everyone after January 20th, 2009? Was there some kind of unwritten rule that I didn't hear about that all bets are off when it comes to respecting the office of the Presidency? Or for that matter, that you can disrespect anyone that you invite for an interview? (Yes, I'm referring to the Chris Wallace "flake" question.) Does the mainstream media feel they no longer need to show respect to whomever they are covering or interviewing?
I understand asking a tough question. I understand challenging your guest to speak the truth and call them out on it when they don't. I understand getting into a heated argument with your guest on policy and issues. But to question if they are a flake? To call the Commander-in-Chief a dick? Where do these motherfuckers get off?! Can you imagine Walter Cronkite or Edward R. Murrow or even Dan Rather calling the President of the United States a dick on the air?! Can you imagine anyone on the air four years ago calling President Bush a dick? Neither can I, yet for some reason, it seems perfectly acceptable now for talking heads and pundits and opinion hosts to do just that.
Halperin has apologized for his asinine comment, but that hasn't stopped MSNBC from suspending him indefinitely and for Time Magazine to issue Halperin a warning, and I completely agree with both. Enough is enough.
ADDING... I have been guilty of being far from respecful to plenty of politicians on this blog, but I'm also not on a national television program a few times a week pretending to know what I'm talking about.
ALSO... Steve Benen nails it.
Forget Halperin’s choice of words, and instead consider the argument he and his “Morning Joe” colleagues were pressing. They were annoyed, apparently, because President Obama wasn’t docile and conciliatory during his press conference. He showed some backbone, and this seems to have troubled the political establishment to no end.If the president stays cool, he’s an emotionless Mr. Spock. If the president shows some fire in the belly, he’s “a dick.”What passes for mainstream political punditry in 2011 is too often a national embarrassment.
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The problem with today's 24hr cable media is that its 24hrs so they put up opinion shows that take up a large amount of the 24hrs.As we know Fox pushes the envelope so CNN and MSNBC follow their lead.Remember CNN was Glen Beck's original cable employer.
In the days of Murrow and Cronkite news was treated seriously while today thanks in large part to the networks merging the news division with the entertainment division,the news isn't treated with the attention and importance it deserves .As a result,cable puts together shows that contrive phony discussions not to enlighten the viewers but to entertain-they take serious issues and bend them like pretzels.So these so called pundits always try to stand out because after all,to them,they are performing its entertainment!
Aside from putting his foot in his mouth,Mark Halperin is truly one of if not the biggest DICK of all the pundits.When was the last time this asshole got anything right?This douchebag predicted that both Palin and Trump would jump back into the race as if they were ever in the race to begin with!
Today there is a daily sometimes hourly analysis of whats going on in DC and the politicians seem to play the entertainment game.When I was a kid,I knew who the Democrats and republicans were and what they. stood for.When they would be interviewed by the networks they took it seriously because America was glued to that 30 minute nightly news show after dinner and if Cronkite whom America trusted thought you were talking B S you were dead.Today they all they give you the same rhetorical talking points-They are afraid of individual ideas or thoughts.They are afraid of using the freedom and liberty so many have died for .Let me also say the people in Congress today are the dumbest S O Bs I've ever seen.I'm sorry for digressing but when the POTUS is giving a speech to Congress and some mofo who has no business holding elected office and shouts"YOU LIE"and gets away with it with no condemnation from his own party and a now former Fox employee saying on air that that the POTUS was a racist and had a deep seeded hatred for white people what did you expect it would lead to?Believe me it will get worse.
........and you forgot to mention that Republicans do not LIKE "uppity n%&&^%s", or in their parlance "Obama's arrogance."
I raised my 4 kids to have better manners and more sense that what passes for "new journalists" these days.
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