I am not an amnesiac which is why I remember the time, a few years back, when Mark Halperin went on Morning Joe and got himself suspended from making appearances on MSNBC for saying that President Obama is a “kind of a dick.” Here’s the video of that performance in case you need a refresher.
Now, Mark Halperin made the obligatory apology.
But it’s pretty obvious to me at least that Halperin isn’t some kind of in-the-bag-for-Obama liberal. This was hardly my first clue on this nor has it been been my last, but it’s certainly the clearest example I could find of him expressing some kind of political opinion. And his opinion was that it would be hunky dory to call the president a dick on national television.
That’s not what you expect from a paid, supposedly non-partisan, political analyst. That’s one reason why he was suspended. Cable news isn’t known for its objectivity and they have political spin doctors and hacks on the air almost 24-7, but Halperin was on the payroll to give it to us straight, and he didn’t do that.
Or, rather, he did give it to us straight, but he offered his unvarnished personal opinion which wasn’t in his job description. The point is, that he doesn’t like the president and he isn’t some kind of liberal.
People are complaining that he asked Senator Ted Cruz to do the rhumba and welcome Sen. Bernie Sanders to the presidential competition in Spanish (which are the most racist things ever) but this isn’t an example of Halperin being a liberal, either.
It doesn’t matter anyway. Pretty soon, the only place he’ll be able to find work is at Fox News, although it would probably help him if he got indicted first.
Halperin a liberal? The right seriously has us discussing whether that’s true?
Mark Halperin to Hugh Hewitt, 2006 (from the best thing Glenn Greenwald ever wrote):
MH: If, though, you want to in a casual introduction, lump me in with people in my business who are liberally biased and don’t seem to care about it, I think that’s doing your listeners a disservice. They should read the book and what we say in The Way To Win about how the media’s been liberally biased in presidential campaign coverage, what needs to be done to try to fix it, and why the current system may not be any better with new media. But to lump me in with everybody else, I think, is doing people a disservice, because most of my colleagues, as you know, are in denial about it, or blind to it.
Also, too:
MH: Can I introduce you to my interns from Bob Jones University?
Case closed.
Well Obama is bein a huge dick over TPP.
TBH I think it was 100% okay to demand Cruz speak Spanish. Not the other stuff, just that part.
He really comes over as a dick, not a kind of one, that is, Halperin. Whatever your take on Cruz, he’s not some kind of wind-up doll doing a south-of-the-border folkloric night club act. Asking him to say it in Spanish may not be racist, but it was definitely not meant as friendly or constructive. Purely a bitchy attack to show who is the boss.
Since when is being a dick to advance an agenda not at times part of the political process? Halpern’s mistake was using a naughty word and not pointing out that GOPs in Congress are even more dickish. And as they say, the optics weren’t good.
Joe dismissed the conflict as just playing to the base by looking tough but Obama was trying to actually govern and get things done. Being polite wasn’t cutting for BHO.
I loathe Rafael Cruz…
but, that speak Spanish crap was utterly ridiculous.