Joe Klein

Joe Klein Blames CIA for Benghazi Deaths: 'Those Guys Should Be Able to Protect Themselves'
By Mark Finkelstein | October 20, 2015 | 8:53 AM EDT

This could be the worst whitewashing since Tom Sawyer suckered people into helping him with that fence... On today's Morning Joe, Joe Klein cleared Hillary of responsibility for American deaths in Benghazi, and blamed the CIA.  

According to Klein, "this really was a CIA station there, not so much a consulate, and those guys should be able to protect themselves in most circumstances." Klein doesn't think Hillary should even be called to testify: "this is something that does not rise to the level of the Secretary of State." He suggested instead that David Petraeus be hauled before the committee.

Time's Joe Klein: 'Bigoted' Netanyahu Won a 'Tragic Election' for 'Tyrant' Israel
By Scott Whitlock | March 20, 2015 | 4:31 PM EDT

Time magazine columnist Joe Klein delivered an unrestrained rant for the March 30 issue, excoriating the "tyrant" Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu's "bigoted" election victory. The journalist offered an unrelenting attack on the prime minister, sneering, "He won because he ran as a bigot. This is a sad reality: a great many Jews have come to regard Arabs as the rest of the world traditionally regarded Jews." 

Scarborough Mocks Joe Klein's Dovishness on Iran: 'I Trust The Revolutionary Guard'
By Bryan Ballas | March 18, 2015 | 9:33 AM EDT

While conducting a discussion about Iran on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Tuesday, host Joe Scarborough proclaimed that he has "just written all of [the conservative blogs’] headlines today...‘Joe Klein: I trust [Iran’s] Revolutionary Guard.’" 

Klein claimed the International Atomic Energy Agency says they're "getting access to everything" -- but in fact, the IAEA has recently complained about Iran's lack of cooperation.

Notable Quotables: Delaying Obama’s Amnesty = Putting History on Hold
By Rich Noyes | February 23, 2015 | 8:52 AM EST

This week, after a federal judge delays implementation of President Obama's executive amnesty, the networks frame it as “a historic day... on hold,” and a ruling that “dashes American dreams for millions of families.” Also, a rogues’ gallery of journalists led by Dan Rather leap to the defense of suspended NBC News anchor Brian Williams, while others in the media wish we'd stop talking about ISIS terrorists in favor of something more important: global warming.

Time's Joe Klein Excuses Brian Williams, Compares Him to FDR
By Kyle Drennen | February 16, 2015 | 4:01 PM EST

On Sunday's MediaBuzz on Fox News, Time columnist Joe Klein rushed to the defense of embattled NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams: "I think that we're living in an era where the ferocity of the prosecution is much greater than the severity of most of these crimes. And that's true not only for people like Brian Williams, but also for most of the journal – the politicians we cover."

The Media’s Super Mario: Decades of Journalistic Ardor for Cuomo’s Liberal Advocacy
By Rich Noyes | January 2, 2015 | 1:25 PM EST

There is no right-of-center politician who has become a hero to journalists for their passionate rhetoric on behalf of conservatism, but former New York Governor Mario Cuomo was a hero to reporters precisely because of his ideology and the capability with which he espoused it.

Time's Joe Klein Goofed In Predicting End of 'Extreme Supply-Side Economics' in Kansas
By Tim Graham | November 7, 2014 | 8:13 PM EST

On the eve of the midterms, Time’s Joe Klein listed “5 Things to Watch for in the Midterm Elections.” But the funniest one was number three. He titled it “Kansas Rejoins The Mainstream.”

Klein gleefully foresaw that in the defeat of Gov. Sam Brownback, “the myth of extreme supply-side economics might finally be put to rest.” But Brownback won, 50 to 46 percent. The grip of voodoo Reaganism continues:

MRC's Notable Quotables: Media Bash Obama for Delaying Amnesty
By Rich Noyes | September 22, 2014 | 8:40 AM EDT

Instead of worrying whether President Obama’s planned Executive Order on amnesty might violate the Constitution, journalists upbraid the President for delaying the step until after the election. “A promise is a promise,” Univision anchor Jorge Ramos scolded on Twitter.

Joe Klein: Obama Is Cynical for Giving in to 'Ugly' Immigration Nativists
By Scott Whitlock | September 16, 2014 | 5:07 PM EDT

Time magazine's Joe Klein used the September 22 issue to knock Barack Obama from the left, decrying the "cynical" Barack Obama for giving in to the "ugly," nativist opposition to immigration. Denying any legitimate, philosophical opposition, Klein sneered, "For the first 190 years of U.S. history, opposition to immigration was mostly about religion–Catholicism and Judaism. For the past 50 or so, it’s been mostly about race–Mexicans and other Latinos." 

Unhinged Chris Matthews Fumes Over Ted Cruz's 'McCarthyism'
By Connor Williams | July 25, 2014 | 11:20 AM EDT

In his never-ending obsession with Ted Cruz, Hardball’s Chris Matthews devoted the start and close of his program to rants against the supposed "McCarthyism" of the Texas Senator. Matthews objected to Cruz’s belief that the FAA’s short lived ban on air travel to Israel was political in nature.

On the July 24 edition of Matthews’ program, the host wondered if Cruz was “trying to mimic the headline grabbing of the bad old days, or is he just so ignorant of what those tactics have done to this country that he's not aware of what he’s committing: the horror of McCarthyism all over again.” The former Tip O’Neill staffer was far from finished with the junior Senator from Texas, however. Matthews continued: [MP3 audio here; video below]

Joe Klein Now Watches Bret Baier at Fox News Since CNN Has 'Gone in the Toilet'
By Randy Hall | April 28, 2014 | 11:05 PM EDT

While a guest on the 92Y American Conversation program on Sunday, TIME magazine political analyst Joe Klein vented to host Jeff Greenfield of the Public Broadcasting System: “I miss being able to turn on a straight newscast” after returning home at 6 o'clock on weekdays.

He added that the only place he can find such a program in that format and at that time is the Fox News series Special Report With Bret Baier before declaring: “It is such an embarrassment to our profession" that the Cable News Network “has gone in the toilet the way it has.”

Time's Joe Klein Slams Obama As 'Buckpasser'
By Ken Shepherd | October 30, 2013 | 6:20 PM EDT

"[T]here is a danger that the Obama Administration will be remembered as not even good enough for government work," if President Obama doesn't step up his game, argued liberal Time magazine columnist Joe Klein in his October 30 piece, "Buckpasser."

"Firing for cause doesn’t seem to exist in the Obama Administration," groused the columnist, lamenting that "few have paid the price for the Administration’s errors." But before we congratulate Klein too much for getting tough on Obama, let's be perfectly clear, Klein thinks administrative incompetence is the fundamental problem, not that ObamaCare is itself fatally-flawed in its design to begin with: