It Takes One To Know One

As The Nation's Chris Hayes so perfectly put it: "Just when you think the news cycle can't get any stupider, Mark Halperin publishes a book."

This quote comes from Glenn Greenwald, talking about Mark Halperin and John Heilemann's new book, Game Change, back in 2010.


This was post-campaign, where Halperin openly inserted himself into the Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain Campaign, giving McCain advise on how to beat Obama, of which the advice was openly racist.


Such so, that we wrote, in 'Some More Donuts, There, Mr. Halperin?' here on The Garlic, that;

About the only thing missing for Time Magazine's Mark Halperin, during his appearance yesterday on 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos', was having "McCain 08" tattooed on his forehead, and the Dead Campaign Express bus parked on set, behind him.

 


So, opening up the World Wide Web today, we were not, necessarily, surprised to see that Halperin, appearing on "The Morning Joke"program, called President Obama "a dick", which, naturally, has kicked up a dust storm of backlash, and hand-wringing.


Let's turn to Crooks and Liars for the replay;

Scarborough set Halperin up by asking him about yesterday's press conference where President Barack Obama "scolded" Republicans for not raising the debt ceiling.


"Are we on the seven-second delay?" Halperin asked.


"Yeah, sure," Scarborough said. "Come on. Take a chance."


"I thought he was kind of a dick yesterday," Halperin announced with smile.

Ha ... Ha ... Ha ...


Isn't that Mark Halperin a witty felllow ...


No, not really.


Merely staying true-to-form.


Steve Benen, over on 'The Washington Monthly' nails it;

If you can watch the video, note how Halperin, ostensibly one of the nation’s most influential pundits, was smiling, with a smug satisfaction. It wasn’t a word he just blurted out in the heat of a larger discussion — Halperin thought about it, asked about whether the broadcast was on a seven-second delay, and then took his shot.


[snip]


There are a couple of angles to keep in mind here. The first is that Halperin’s credibility as an objective observer of political events has long been dubious, at best, but this morning’s little stunt should remove all doubt. In candor, I don’t much care that Halperin sides with the right over the left, and takes cheap shots at Democrats. I care that Halperin is presented to the public as a neutral, even-handed expert, when that’s plainly not the case.


To this extent, the “dick” comment only helps bring an end to a thin pretense.


The other point that’s worth remembering is the larger dynamic. 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.”

Maybe, Halperin was secretly auditioning for a job with Faux News.


Halperin was long been a dick, as Benen put it Halperin’s credibility as an objective observer of political events has long been dubious, and he as long been a sycophant for the PartyofNoicans.


From our "Assforwards, For Mark Halperin";

It's a wonder that Time Magazine's Mark Halperin doesn't have, permanently, the imprint of ass on his face, for his obsequious kissing (and, often, at times, firmly planted up) the PartyofNoican's behinds.

Check his cheeks, and puckered lips, today, there should be a fresh imprint.


 


Bonus Riffs


Alex Pareene:  Mark Halperin comes up with great excuse to fire Mark Halperin


Steve M:  I THINK MARK HALPERIN IS FINALLY GOING TO GET WINGNUTTIA TO GIVE HIM A TUMBLE


DougJ in Damascus:  The mask slips


Scarecrow:  Breaking! Supreme Court Rules 9-0 It’s Okay to Call Mark Halperin an Adolescent “Dick”

Assforwards, For Mark Halperin

It's a wonder that Time Magazine's Mark Halperin doesn't have, permanently, the imprint of ass on his face, for his obsequious kissing (and, often, at times, firmly planted up) the PartyofNoican's behinds.

He whines, incessantly, about Obama, and the Democrats, apparently, their existence so disrupts his reality-free airspace.



He all but inserted him himself as Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain's campaign manager, offering "Things McCain Can Do to Try to Beat Obama" include attacks on his race and name", and, as we wrote, back in August 2008, he was so over-the-top that "About the only thing missing for Time Magazine's Mark Halperin, during his appearance yesterday on 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos', was having "McCain 08" tattooed on his forehead, and the Dead Campaign Express bus parked on set, behind him."

After the losing campaign, Assboy Halperin blamed the media, for being Pro-Obama, his shrieking on it moved Bob Cesca to immediately nominate him as a "Hackery Hall of Fame Inductee".

Then he writes a book about the campaign, with John Heilemann ('Game Change'), which Glenn Greenwald noted;

"This reaction has nicely illuminated what our press corps is. The book is little more than royal court gossip, churned out by the leading practitioner of painfully sycophantic, Drudge-mimicking cattiness: Time's Mark Halperin ..."

[snip]

The real value of a book like this lies in the opportunity it presents for Washington's elite class to distract themselves and everyone else from the oozing corruption, destruction, decaying and pillaging going on -- that these same Washington denizens have long enabled. With some important exceptions, that is the primary purpose of establishment journalism generally. Even better, the book lets our media and political elite -- and then the public generally -- feel good about themselves by morally condemning the trashy exploits of Rielle Hunter and the egoistic hypocrisies of the irrelevant John and Elizabeth Edwards.

As The Nation's Chris Hayes so perfectly put it: "Just when you think the news cycle can't get any stupider, Mark Halperin publishes a book."

So, naturally, Assboy Halperin gets the A-List treatment as to bookings in the Cable Newsarama

Yesterday, with Tweety, Halperin was matched up with Salon Editor, Joan Walsh (Yeah, I know, with that stirring duo, advantage Walsh, right off the bat);

Mark Halperin: Obama must still chase GOP support

Halperin disagreed. "The biggest story in politics right now is the White House calculation, do they do things substantively and politically, to try to build bipartisan cooperation, or do they do, as Joan was suggesting, learn that they can ram things through on education, on economic development." Then things got strange; from my point of view, Halperin was describing Opposite Day reality: "They could make the choice -- rewriting the choice they made at the beginning of the administration, when they went another way, they went with an all Democratic solution -- to go for Republicans, and I think they will."

[snip]

Then Halperin asked me directly: "Would you like to see [Obama] work with Republicans -- on education, financial reform, on economic development -- or not?"

"You know what, Mark?" I answered. "Actually? 'Not.' Not for the sake of just working with Republicans." I explained how Obama worked hard to craft a bipartisan stimulus bill that was smaller than many Democrats wanted, and that was low on funding for infrastructure building programs as well as support for cities and states that were shedding cops, firefighters and teachers at the same time the stimulus money was coming down. Keeping people employed is an excellent unemployment program, I noted, but thanks to the president's efforts to win Republican votes, the Obama stimulus was too small to do more than a little of that.

Now, Mark, in the case that your computer is down, and your television has been on the fritz, it's been out there, for some time, that the PartyofNoicans, openly, have stated they will be obstructionists, that they will diss anything coming from Obama, and the Democrats.

I mean that, just exhaustively, played out the past few months, with the Healthcare Reform bill.

Even that old ass you sucked for so long, Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain has said not to expect GOP cooperation on legislation for the rest of this year.

So really, step back out into reality, or get some professional help.

We don't want to see the day, where the bosses at Time have to hire someone to walk around with you, shadow you with a crowbar, to pry your face out of the PartyofNoican asses.

Stand

(Ed. Note: Rough Day, and trying to fight my way off the DL)

Stand, they did ...

All the dittoheads ... All the dwarfs, finks, phonies and frauds ...

In other words, the Republican Caucus of the U.S. Congress.



Christ, could you imagine if they were staffing the Titanic?

I certainly wouldn't want passage on that trip, worrying that they would vote, en block, not to lower the life boats.

"Sorry, folks, but we want the Captain to use our plan."

Ahh, but they already have run us into the proverbial financial iceberg, and now, they want to nitpick over what type, or what size, buckets we should use to start bailing out the water.

Or, their whiny bleating about Tax Cuts, just who should be able to climb into those lifeboats.

There's some other noise, as well, but it's hard to make out - it's only Mark Halperin, talking with his head up his ass, again.

I'm with John Kerry, and Kathy, from 'Comments from Left Field' - Fuck'em (my choice of words).

Blast out the Tax Cuts, squeeze back in the Contraceptives, and tell the GOP nitwits to follow the advice of their Leader-in-Exile, The Cheeseburger That Sweats (h/t Barry Crimmins), that being, to bend over and grab their ankles!

It ain't their playground anymore.

They are the MINORITY Party, and, they don't get to call the shots, or grease the skids, as they did, so proudly and willingly, for The Bush Grindhouse.

All President Obama, and the Democrats have to do is keep up the Eddie Haskell routine, keep saying nice things about the MINORITY Party, invite them to join in at every turn, but keep the eyes straight ahead and get the business that needs to be done, done.

At some point, their own supporters, their own constituents, will see their obstructionism, and ask why they don't have their gloves on, why aren't they in the game.

Something tells me, that despite decades, and generations, apart, Sly and the Family Stone are singing this song to President Obama, and the Dems;

Sly & The Family Stone - Stand




Bonus Riffs

No More Mister Nice Blog: TIME FOR A FIRESIDE CHAT

Nate Silver: The Republican Death Spiral

Skippy the bush kangaroo: "oh yeah? well, just for that, we're going to sh*t in our bed again!"

Tristero: Ominous

Greg Sargent: Obama Allies Launch Ad Campaign Targeting Republican Senators

Some More Donuts, There, Mr. Halperin?

About the only thing missing for Time Magazine's Mark Halperin, during his appearance yesterday on 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos', was having "McCain 08" tattooed on his forehead, and the Dead Campaign Express bus parked on set, behind him.

How much did the Rove Rats pay him to test out a new line, or, was he just putting a marker down, to get in the running to be Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain's Press Secretary, should the sky fall in this Fall?

Halperin must be covering the campaign that’s running in Bizzaro World, for, incredulously, he offered this honed, priceless observation, speaking of the McCain Dementia on not knowing how many houses he owns, and the Obama Campaign seizing the opportunity for teeing up a few long balls with it.

From Think Progress;

HALPERIN: My hunch is this is going to end up being one of the worst moments in the entire campaign for one of the candidates but it’s Barack Obama. […] I believe that this opened the door to not just Tony Rezko in that ad, but to bring up Reverend Wright, to bring up his relationship with Bill Ayers.

WTF!

What's next, that, Halperin goes out a limb, puts his (or what's left of it) professional reputation on, that, maybe, that Phelps kid has a chance to pick up a medal or two in the Olympics?

Jesus, this comes from a Time Magazine writer?

I wouldn't mind seeing the magazine take a poll with their interns, and see if any of their assessments match Halperin's.

If anyone has been awake, even for a few minutes, over the past few months, they wouldn't be able to avoid the garbage that McCain and his Rove Rats have been hurling at Obama.

Kevin Drum;

t really does make you wonder what planet Halperin is living on. Last month McCain hired Karl Rove protege Steve Schmidt, and since then he's run ads mocking Obama's celebrity, charged (repeatedly) that Obama puts his career ahead of his country, pretended that Obama had refused to visit wounded soldiers unless the press was along, run an ad saying that Obama was responsible for high gas prices, and conspicuously declined to comment on Jerome Corsi's bestselling claim that Obama is really a secret Muslim. At this point, who cares how McCain "says he's going to run his campaign"? Halperin can look at McCain's actual campaign and see what kind of campaign he's running. It's been sunk in the gutter for weeks now.

If the Stumblin' Bumblin' McCain Campaign becomes any more negative, any more nastier, they'll do a disservice to the Right Wing Freak Show - they'll make them look liberal.

Can someone offer a prize, something good, to the first photographer who grabs the shot of Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain delivering a coffee and a box of donuts to Halperin.

Help Me Mr. Wizard!


Bonus Halperin Hijinx Links

TPM Video - Mark Halperin: McCain Gaffe Excellent News for McCain!!!

Matthew Yglesias: On the Tire Swing

Josh Marshall: Ride that Tire Swing!

Ron Chusid: Mark Halperin Continues To Spread Republican Talking Points

Steve Benen: ALL NEWS IS GOOD NEWS FOR MCCAIN...

The Bob Dole For The New Millennium