You're a self-respecting journalist. A guest on your show who is a leading member of one of the world's few absolute monarchies criticizes the lack of democracy in another country. Wouldn't you challenge him on his hypocrisy?
Sorry, trick question: we're talking about Morning Joe. On today's show, Saudi Arabia's Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal mockingly referred to the Muslim Brotherhood's approach to democracy in Egypt under Morsi as "one man, one vote, one time," meaning that after the Brotherhood gained power, it didn't intend to permit future fair elections. Of course one free election would still be one more than the Saudi monarchy has ever permitted for the country's leader. But Morning Joe never made a peep. View the video after the jump.
Not only did Morning Joe fail to challenge Al-Waleed, but Joe Scarborough repeated his "one man, one vote, one time" line with an approving chuckle, and Mike Barnicle then deferentially addressed him as "Prince." Wouldn't it have been refreshing if Scarborough and Co. had the courage and the journalist instinct to ask al-Waleed when the monarchy to which he belongs and has benefitted to the tune of multi-billions will stage its first free election for ruler?
Note: it's not even as if al-Aweed's line, which elicited such an approving repetition and chuckle from Scarborough, was by any means original. A Google search for the phrase produced . . . . 
JOE SCARBOROUGH: The second things got uncomfortable, the United States threw Mubarak overboard. Does that give Saudi leaders pause?
AL-WALEED: Frankly speaking, neither United States more any other power in the world could have done anything to salvage the Hosni Mubarak regime. We have all these millions people down Tahrir Square asking for his removal. The United States could have done nothing frankly speaking. So the era of Mubarak clearly came to an end when this major rebellion took place. However, we've seen the alternative. When Morsi took over, we've seen now this, the guy was heading in the direction of one man, one vote, one time. Which is really disastrous.
SCARBOROUGH [chuckling]: One man, one vote, one time. It's over.
AL-WALEED: It's over. They want to be have an Islamic caliphate situation which is very risky and dangerous.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Mike?
MIKE BARNICLE: Prince, obviously you live in a very volatile world neighborhood.
