***UPDATE 2: WHY WAS HALPERIN SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY***
From Politico:
Mark Halperin, editor-at-large for Time, called President Obama “a dick” on Thursday on a popular MSNBC morning show and then quickly apologized.
“I thought he was a dick yesterday,” Halperin, who also is a senior political analyst for MSNBC, said on Morning Joe, referring to the President’s conduct during his press conference.
Host Joe Scarborough hoped to prevent the comment from being broadcast, saying, “Delay that. Delay that. What are you doing? I can’t believe… don’t do that. Did we delay that?”
Just minutes later, Halperin quickly apologized to the president and viewers for his choice of words. “Joking aside, this is an absolute apology. I shouldn’t have said it. I apologize to the president and the viewers who heard me say that,” Halperin said.
“We’re going to have a meeting after the show,” Scarborough said.
According to Scarborough, there had been a mishap with the seven-second delay button – a new executive producer apparently didn’t know how it worked. “You are supposed to know how to do the job,” Scarborough said of his producer. “I would tell you what I think of him, but he doesn’t know what button to push.”
When they don’t think they are being heard, that’s when they tell the truth. And in this case it was the truth. And that apology was only because it went out on live TV. He meant what he said.
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Here’s more context of what was happening when he said it:
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UPDATE: According to TVNewser Mark Halperin has been suspended indefinitely by MSNBC:
Statement from MSNBC:
Mark Halperin’s comments this morning were completely inappropriate and unacceptable. We apologize to the President, The White House and all of our viewers. We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air. Therefore, Mark will be suspended indefinitely from his role as an analyst.
Statement from Halperin:
I completely agree with everything in MSNBC’s statement about my remark. I believe that the step they are taking in response is totally appropriate. Again, I want to offer a heartfelt and profound apology to the President, to my MSNBC colleagues, and to the viewers. My remark was unacceptable, and I deeply regret it.
That was quick. So Haplerin basically gets fired for calling Obama a d!ck and Ed Schultz only gets a week suspension for calling Laura Ingraham a slut. Makes me wonder how many phone calls from the White House they got.
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UPDATE 2 – Just another point. Why did Halperin get fired when it was the fault of the 7-second-bleeper for letting it go out on the air? Halperin was under the impression that it would get bleeped and was told it would get bleeped. Despite what you think about his comment, he was openly told to go ahead and say what he really thought.
This just goes to show you that it wasn’t that he said it on the air, but that he insulted that Almighty Messiah Obama on the air. That’s why they fired him. Makes me wonder even more how many phone calls MSNBC got from the White House to get rid of him.
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