Obama Insult Gets MSNBC Journo Suspended

Kevin Wolf/NBC Universal, Inc. via AP Images

MSNBC political analyst Mark Halperin said President Obama
was acting like, well, an unseemly part that is unsuitable for exposure. Now,
he may be out of a job.

“I thought he was kind of a d— yesterday,”
Halperin said about Obama. Apparently, he thought it would be bleeped out. But
it wasn’t, and the entire MSNBC viewing world heard the foul language.

“Mark Halperin’s comments this morning were completely
inappropriate and unacceptable. We apologize to the president, The White House
and all of our viewers,” MSNBC said in a statement. “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.”

Obama has not responded to the controversy, though the
president once called hip hop artist Kanye West a “jackass” in an off
the record comment during an interview with CNBC. Although most people laughed
at Obama’s off-the-cuff reaction to the way West treated Taylor Swift at the
MTV Video Music Awards, Halpern isn’t getting the same reaction. Halperin, who is also an editor-at-large and a senior political analyst for Time magazine, issued a quick apology.

“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,” Halpern said in a statement. “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.”