Morning Joe

Appearing on Monday's "Morning Joe" on MSNBC, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw praised Sheriff Dupnik of Pima County, Ariz. for condemning political vitriol, and wished more officials would follow suit. Dupnik, a Democrat, blamed violent political rhetoric in part for the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), and singled out conservatives Sarah Palin and Sharron Angle for…

ABC, NBC and MSNBC on Monday all eagerly hyped the complaints by an Arizona sheriff that the "anger and bigotry" of everyday Americans contributed to Saturday's shooting. None of the journalists interviewing Clarence Dupnik identified as an elected Democratic official. (ABC's Jake Tapper did in a separate piece.) Former Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe and lauded…

As some blogs have already reported, ESPN columnist Rick Reilly implored President Obama in his Monday column to take direct action against college football's BCS system. Arguing that the BCS is run by a conglomerate of elites representing the power conferences and the bowl games, Reilly pleaded with Obama to work to install a playoff system in college football. "What a lie this BCS era is…

Appearing on Wednesday's "Morning Joe," Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward dismissed the significance of the accession of Rep. John Boehner to the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives, saying that Presodent Obama's inauguration dwarfed Boehner's. Politico's Mike Allen had reported that Capitol Hill had "the air of a Presidential Inauguration" Wednesday with a new…

Tuesday's "Morning Joe" panel on MSNBC played the class warfare card, highlighting tension between the American middle class and the richest Americans who profit from the global economy. Impassioned co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski gave credence to middle class frustration at the widening gap between them and the ultra-rich. The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief James…

Monday's "Morning Joe" panel on MSNBC mocked the House Republicans' plan to vote to repeal President Obama's health care legislation in full. "Waste of time" and "meaningless legislative exercise" were some of the phrases used to describe the first announced GOP priority. "It's going to take them fifteen minutes, they're going to vote to repeal it, and the Senate's not going to do it,"…

During Monday's "Morning Joe" on MSNBC, host Joe Scarborough blamed lack of leadership during natural disasters on partisan voters. Quoting a veteran of his congressional staff, the former Republican congressman remarked that failures of leadership happen "when we elect leaders by checking boxes." "Are they pro-choice? Are they pro-life? Where are they on gay rights?" Scarborough summarized…

John Lindsay might have been the worst mayor in NYC history. Epitome of the limousine liberal, Lindsay nearly bankrupted the Big Apple. But that hasn't stopped Jon Meacham from lauding Lindsay as  "one of the greatest mayors in New York history."  The former Newsweek editor bestowed the honorific title while appearing on today's Morning Joe. Meacham's comment came in the context of grouping…

Next time Barack Obama is looking for a character reference, there's at least one person he can count on: Savannah Guthrie . . . On Morning Joe today, the NBC White House correspondent personally vouched for PBO, saying "I know the president looks at [middle-class tax cuts] as a moral issue." View video after the jump.

Jeffrey Sachs has attacked distinguished military historian Victor Davis Hanson as an "extremist" who "has done more harm to the American people" than any other commentator. Sachs, a Columbia prof and income redistributionist supreme, launched his surprising verbal assault in commenting on Hanson's National Review Online column, "The Obamites' About-Face."  Hanson there makes the case…

The panel on Wednesday's "Morning Joe" on MSNBC gushed over President Obama's recent legislative success, and former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw likened Obama's resurgence to Lazarus rising from the dead. "It looked like the day after the election that [Obama] was on his way back to Chicago. Now suddenly he has arisen, Lazarus-like, again," Brokaw attested. The disastrous mid-term…

If you were Haley Barbour's political consultant, and he had indicated his intention to make his reported remarks about the White Citizens Council, would you have counseled him to reconsider?  I sure would have. That said, there was a hypocritical double-standard on display by the Morning Joe folks who turned Haley slowly over a spit today.  Hat tip NB reader Ray R. Eugene Robinson…

Amidst all the talk of Robert Gibbs' imminent departure as White House press secretary, could Andrea Mitchell be gunning for the gig?  NBC's chief foreign affairs correspondent certainly gave a strong audition on today's Morning Joe, doing her best to paper over the latest stumbles by two gaffe-prone Obamaoids. Mitchell first tried to paint an innocent gloss on Napolitano's curious boast…

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough left no doubts on where he stands on the conflict in Afghanistan Monday – but he also pressed liberal Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to stand up to President Obama on the issue of troop withdrawal. "It's distressing to me to see how this war continues," Scarborough complained, noting that the deadline for troop withdrawal has been pushed back to 2014 and possibly even further…