Was MSNBC Right to Suspend Mark Halperin For What He Called Obama?

Halperin called the president an inappropriate name on live TV

July 1, 2011 RSS Feed Print

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MSNBC’s political analyst Mark Halperin got himself in hot water Thursday morning on the network’s Morning Joe. He called President Obama a—ahem—not very nice word referring to a certain part of the male anatomy. Halperin was apparently relying on producers to use a seven-second delay to bleep the profanity before his blunt assessment of the president’s press conference broadcast. Appropriate? Obviously not. Halperin apologized on the air a few minutes later.

But was the mistake worthy of a suspension from MSNBC? Should the punishment have been harsher? Or lighter?

While MSBNC reportedly got a rush of E-mails calling for Halperin to be fired, others have said the "indefinite" suspension was overreacting on the network’s part. [Check out a roundup of political cartoons on Obama.]

But Halperin himself validated MSNBC’s suspension in a statement. “I believe that the step they are taking in response is totally appropriate,” he wrote. Time magazine, Halperin’s other employer, gave him a warning and issued a public statement denouncing his remarks, but stopped short of additional punishment.

And, according to the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent, the White House has been privately communicating with MSNBC, saying “that they view Halperin’s move as stupid and distasteful, but ultimately a mistake that should not be a defining one,” Sargent writes. [See photos of the Obamas behind the scenes.]

What do you think? Was MSNBC right to suspend Mark Halperin for what he called Obama? Take the poll and post your thoughts below.

Previously: Was Obama right to criticize Congress for breaks?

Tags:: MSNBC,; Barack Obama,; White House

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What the H--- is wrong with you people at MSNBC? Why do you have a political debate with a table filled only with left wing-nuts? Scarborough is a pathetic little faker who will abviously assume any position (and every position) from day to day for money. He's a politician, so I didn't expect much, but I didn't expect Pravda West from NBC either.

Dorothy of AZ 8:43PM January 14, 2013

Bill Hedges:
I guess it would not do me any good to mention how annoying you are, but, I guess, it is your intention to BE annoying. Why do you keep pointing out how many people watch Fox News more than any other news program? Watching a news show by the millions does not make the program credible. It is far truer if you announce: "Fox News Lies and Three Million People Just Do Not Get This." Then you have the nerve to keep telling me about my "Leftist" views? As I have told you before, I am an Independent; have always been an Independent, and did not even vote for President Obama. I criticize because too many citizens believe what they are told, without EVER researching whether what they are told are the facts. How did so many of us decide searching for truth is just too much work?
You want primary documents, Billy? It is still illegal for the Courts to lie, so I will send you the information on a Florida Supreme Court document--a PRIMARY Document, and let us see if you finally read that Fox won this lawsuit because they were sued under a whistleblower law, and Jane Akre was not legally a whistleblower, (she is a truth-teller), so she lost the case.
More importantly for our country, however, is that we learn by this court document that Fox News is NOT in any way responsible for telling the truth in the news--there is NO law that requires Fox News to tell the truth in the news. NO ONE has to tell the truth in the news, but there are hundreds of ethical journalist who still DO tell the truth. Hint: completely honest journalists do NOT work for the Heritage Foundation. Now...now...Bill. Try to remain calm....
Hence, because Jane Akre refused to tell the American public a lie, she was fired--justifiably so--according to FOX News. In addition to that, because Jane Akre's report was revealing the dangers of the Monsanto Corporation, and she lost this law suit, Monsanto is still "reeling in" big profits, offering ever-increasing cow milk production, by putting hormones in your favorite gallon of milk, and poisoning the still-naive but-need-to-eat-citizens with Monsanto's favorite herbicide: "Round-Up." What will become of us all?
FOX INFO:
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA SECOND DISTRICT
NEW WORLD COMMUNICATIONS OF ) TAMPA, INC., d/b/a WTVT-TV, ) ) Appellant, ) ) v. ) ) JANE AKRE, ) ) Appellee.
Case No. 2D01-529
Opinion filed February 14, 2003.
MONSANTO INFO:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto
As I mentioned before, Bill, we cannot guarantee that Wiki is always accurate, but Wiki's sources (labeled in the Wiki documents as "References and notes" (at the bottom of the Wiki document), offer much research information, and it is here where you can usually find primary documentation. If you do NOT find primary documentation, then your research becomes even harder because you must search "high and low" for the truthful info. Hope you will find what you are looking for, though.

ann keenan of MI 2:15AM August 29, 2011

Bill Hedges:
I guess it would not do me any good to mention how annoying you are, but, I guess, it is your intention to BE annoying. Why do you keep pointing out how many people watch Fox News more than any other news program? Watching a news show by the millions does not make the program credible. It is far truer if you announce: "Fox News Lies and Three Million People Just Do Not Get This." Then you have the nerve to keep telling me about my "Leftist" views? As I have told you before, I am an Independent; have always been an Independent, and did not even vote for President Obama. I criticize because too many citizens believe what they are told, without EVER researching whether what they are told are the facts. How did so many of us decide searching for truth is just too much work?
You want primary documents, Billy? It is still illegal for the Courts to lie, so I will send you the information on a Florida Supreme Court document--a PRIMARY Document, and let us see if you finally read that Fox won this lawsuit because they were sued under a whistleblower law, and Jane Akre was not legally a whistleblower, (she is a truth-teller), so she lost the case.
More importantly for our country, however, is that we learn by this court document that Fox News is NOT in any way responsible for telling the truth in the news--there is NO law that requires Fox News to tell the truth in the news. NO ONE has to tell the truth in the news, but there are hundreds of ethical journalist who still DO tell the truth. Hint: completely honest journalists do NOT work for the Heritage Foundation. Now...now...Bill. Try to remain calm....
Hence, because Jane Akre refused to tell the American public a lie, she was fired--justifiably so--according to FOX News. In addition to that, because Jane Akre's report was revealing the dangers of the Monsanto Corporation, and she lost this law suit, Monsanto is still "reeling in" big profits, offering ever-increasing cow milk production, by putting hormones in your favorite gallon of milk, and poisoning the still-naive but-need-to-eat-citizens with Monsanto's favorite herbicide: "Round-Up." What will become of us all?
FOX INFO:
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA SECOND DISTRICT
NEW WORLD COMMUNICATIONS OF ) TAMPA, INC., d/b/a WTVT-TV, ) ) Appellant, ) ) v. ) ) JANE AKRE, ) ) Appellee.
Case No. 2D01-529
Opinion filed February 14, 2003.
MONSANTO INFO:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto
As I mentioned before, Bill, we cannot guarantee that Wiki is always accurate, but Wiki's sources (labeled in the Wiki documents as "References and notes" (at the bottom of the Wiki document), offer much research information, and it is here where you can usually find primary documentation. If you do NOT find primary documentation, then your research becomes even harder because you must search "high and low" for the truthful info. Hope you will find what you are looking for, though.

ann keenan of MI 2:15AM August 29, 2011

Was MSNBC Right to Suspend Mark Halperin For What He Called Obama?

Halperin called the president an inappropriate name on live TV