Ari Fleischer Zings MSNBC: Should Dems Denounce Keith Olbermann

March 5th, 2009 6:10 PM
Former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer appeared on the Thursday edition of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and stopped the program cold when he challenged the hosts as to whether they were "going after Democrat members of Congress for why they aren't distancing themselves from Keith Olbermann?" Co-anchors Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who had been discussing the battle between the…

CNBC's Ratigan on Geithner's TARP II Presentation: 'He Soiled the Bed

February 11th, 2009 3:15 PM
Despite his tax problems, President Barack Obama's newly minted Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, was sold to Congress as the one who was going to save the fragile financial system. However, in what was billed to be a big announcement, and Geithner's first major appearance, he failed to deliver. The Treasury Secretary was slated to outline his plan to rescue troubled financial institutions from…

Cramer on Obama's Anti-Wall Street Comments: 'We Heard Lenin

February 2nd, 2009 4:09 PM
With all the populist sentiment generated from the economic slowdown by politicians, CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer is seeing eerie similarities with the comments of President Barack Obama and the words of a communist revolutionary. Cramer, appearing on MSNBC's Feb. 2 "Morning Joe," drew comparisons between remarks between the first head of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, and Obama. Obama…

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough on WaPo Writer's Torture Claims: 'Bull

January 22nd, 2009 5:20 PM
"Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough on Thursday aggressively clashed with his liberal co-anchor Mika Brzezinski and Washington Post editorial writer Jonathan Capehart about Guantanamo Bay and the definitions of torture. After Capehart asserted, "I do think there's a way to protect America without violating everything that we stand for and everything that we are," a clearly agitated Scarborough…

Barnicle: Blogging's Not Journalism—It's Therapy

January 14th, 2009 8:05 AM
My therapist told me to take two shots at Chris Matthews and call him in the morning . . . Mike Barnicle is back to looking down his nose at bloggers.  After Mika Brzezinski claimed on today's Morning Joe that "blogging isn't journalism," the former Boston Globe columnist declared that "95%, 99% of blogging isn't journalism. It's therapy for the blogger."The predicate was a provocative one. …

Zbig Brzezinski to Scarborough: 'So Stunningly Superficial, It's Almos

December 30th, 2008 9:17 AM
Could this be the most unvarnished insult to someone's intelligence in the recent annals of major network television?  Here was Zbigniew Brzezinski, speaking to Joe Scarborough on today's "Morning Joe." [H/t reader Melody.]You know, you have such a stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on that it's almost embarrassing to listen to you.It was Scarborough's exposition of the widely accepted…

'He's Taxing Everything That's Bad For You. That's Cool

December 30th, 2008 7:22 AM
The ostensible subject was Caroline Kennedy. But in the course of, you know, discussing Kennedy's foundering effort to, you know, be anointed senator, Mika Brzezinski said something of more enduring interest.  The Morning Joe co-host provided a telling glimpse into the liberal mindset, as Brzezinski cast her vote for Big Mommy government.Host Joe Scarborough observed that New York Gov. David…

Kurtz Profiles Mika: Resisting Liberal Label

December 22nd, 2008 9:16 AM
Howard Kurtz features Mika Brzezinski in his WaPo Media Notes column this morning.  Between a book deal and the syndication of her new radio show with Morning Joe partner Joe Scarborough, Brzezinski has become a hot media property of late.The column reveals some interesting bits about Brzezinski, including the fact that she was unceremoniously let go at CBS upon the advent of Katie Couric.  But…

So Now It's Cool For Presidents To Dodge Questions

December 17th, 2008 9:56 AM
What a difference an administration makes. During the Bush years, if a spokesman or the president himself attempted to dodge a tough question, the media would go into their Sam Donaldson impressions and pundits would see a conspiracy of silence.But now that it's Obama, the dodging that was once denounced is suddenly celebrated.  Thus, appearing on today's Morning Joe, Larry O'Donnell declared "…

Letterman's Airball: Shoe Hurler Offered Fox News Show

December 17th, 2008 6:53 AM
It's said that to work, humor must contain a kernel of truth. No wonder David Letterman's effort to wring humor out of the shoe-throwing incident fell so flat. The Late Show host joked that Muntadhar al-Zeidi had been offered a show on . . . Fox News.  Letterman was playing off the report that al-Zeidi is reported to be hot-tempered and possess poor journalistic skills.How lame was Letterman?…

Bored By Blago, Barnicle Wants To 'Move On

December 12th, 2008 12:21 PM
This whole Blago-Obama business. Really, it's just too ineffably tedious for someone of Mike Barnicle's stature. Can't we just move on? So seemed the Morning Joe panelist's attitude today.Mika Brzezinski received Barnicle's blasé response to her question about possible interactions between Blago and Rahm Emanuel. [H/t tip reader Ray R.]MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Mike Barnicle, does it matter if there were…

If It Works For Chris . . . Carlson 'Announces' Senate Run

December 5th, 2008 9:06 AM
Always irreverent, Tucker Carlson seems freer than ever to aim a few jabs at his network and the people that work there.  On today's Morning Joe, Tucker landed a one-two punch. With all the talk focusing on Detroit, Carlson let the cat out of the bag that NBC is implementing layoffs of its own.  Tucker played off that news, tweaking Chris Matthews along the way, by announcing that he too was…

Time Editor's 'Case for Saving Detroit:' Autos 'Too Big to Fail

December 4th, 2008 4:38 PM
"Talk about too big to fail," said managing editor of Time Richard Stengel on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Dec. 4, who was on the program promoting the latest cover story for the magazine entitled, "The Case for Saving Detroit." Stengel: "I find the fact that so many Americans are unsympathetic to Detroit to be kind of amazing," Stengel said: We make the case that in fact the, you know, the Big…

Geist Takes The Mickey Out of Green Week

November 19th, 2008 7:53 AM
Amidst all the sanctimonious do-gooderism and global-warming alarmism that is NBC/Universal's "Green Week," it's good to see that at least one network minion has managed to maintain his sense of humor.Morning Joe's Willie Geist became something of a sensation with his spoof electioneering for John McCain on the sidewalks of Manhattan's ultra-blue Upper West Side.  In that same spirit, Willie…