Morning Joe's Willie Geist Braves West Side in McCain Shirt

Breaking down the front door of a suspected al-Qaeda stronghold in Fallujah took great courage. But even that fearless feat pales in comparison to the dangerous mission that Willie Geist undertook. The intrepid member of the Morning Joe crew ventured out onto the sidewalks of Manhattan's Upper West Side wearing . . . a McCain-Palin T-shirt, trying to drum up support for the Republican ticket. (h/t readers BondPlainBond and Steve.)

As Willie explained, it was all a good-natured goof. But the West Siders for the most part lived up to their stereotype of, as Willie described it, "a monolithic block of elitists," scorning Geist for his gall.

Two people did their best Pauline Kael impressions. Said one man: "I don't know anybody, of any intelligence, who would vote for him." A woman took the sentiment a step further. Asked by Willie whether she had any friends on the West Side supporting McCain, she answered "No. Cause if I did know people, well, they wouldn't be my friends."

Talk about celebrating diversity!

Back in the studio, Mike Barnicle had it right.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Mike Barnicle, very interesting. I thought liberals were supposed to be open-minded.

MIKE BARNICLE: You know, I don't know if they're open-minded or not, but clearly they are humorless. I mean, here's Willie Geist standing on a corner of the neighborhood where he lives, wearing a smile on his face and a T-shirt, McCain-Palin, with a TV over his shoulder. Folks: lighten up!