Daily Beast Writer: Perry Gaffe 'Human Equivalent of Shuttle Challenger'
Mark McKinnon, a regular contributor to the liberal Daily Beast website, which owns Newsweek magazine, made a morbid gaffe as he commented on Texas Governor Rick Perry's stumble during the November 9 Republican presidential debate on CNBC. The New York Times on Wednesday quoted McKinnon labeling Perry's brain freeze as the "human equivalent of shuttle Challenger."
Times writers Jeff Zeleny and Ashley Parker cited the Democrat, who once served as an aide to former President George W. Bush, as an example of how "Republican operatives almost uniformly declared it [Perry's gaffe] as a sign of great trouble for his candidacy."
McKinnon, who co-founded the so-called No Labels organization with fellow pseudo-Republican John Avlon, has actually made a name for himself in recent years as a critic of the conservatives that the liberal media love to hate. When he worked on John McCain's presidential campaign in 2008, the "Republican consultant" lectured Rush Limbaugh for daring to speak out against his candidate. In October 2009, McKinnon bashed conservative talk show host Mark Levin on MSNBC for his supposed "jaw-dropping hate language" against President Obama (Levin replied in kind by comparing the former Bush aide to a Sham-Wow salesman).
Just over a year ago, on the November 9, 2010 edition of MSNBC's Last Word program, McKinnon blamed Sarah Palin for the Republicans' failure to take control of the U.S. Senate during the midterm election, adding, "You know, she's comparing herself to Ronald Reagan. And, you know, I didn't know Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan was not a friend of mine, but I can guarantee you this, Sarah Palin is no Ronald Reagan."
The same Reagan, who paid the Challenger astronauts the highest tribute in a well-known Oval Office address, would have cringed at McKinnon's inexcusable comparison.
[Update, 2:20 pm Eastern: McKinnon issued an apology for his remark on Twitter: "Comparing Perry gaffe to Shuttle Challenger insensitive to victims and families. Sincere apologies."]
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Comments
It figures...
Submitted by TC Lynch on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 3:26pm.
McKinnon is partners with Frum in that "No Labels" charade. The guy's a tool.
McKinnon
Submitted by HudsonRiverGirl on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 5:08pm.
Have to wonder if any of these wild eyed libs ever think before they speak?
Perhaps the kool aid has gotten to their brain cells.
Plural?
Submitted by Free Stinker on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 5:20pm.
"Perhaps the kool aid has gotten to their brain cell". There. I fixed it for ya. ;-)
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
So I guess that makes Obama's...
Submitted by Order270 on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 3:39pm.
...open miked gaffe to Sarkozy about Prime Minister Netanyahu the equivalent of a Japanese earthquake, a Gulf oil spill, and a New Orleans hurricane all rolled into one.
McKinnon left the McCain campaign to vote Obama.
Submitted by Texndoc on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 3:44pm.
Let that sink in.
And Mark is
Submitted by dr-go on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 3:49pm.
the media equivalent of George McGovern.
Obama Breathalyzer
Submitted by MediaMike on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 3:55pm.
I remember when Obama said our kids use "breathalyzers" to take care of their asthma (rather than inhalers.)
Damage assessment pending
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 4:05pm.
It's too early to tell just how damaging this is to Perry's campaign, but it isn't going to go away. This is on par with Gerald Ford's gaffe regarding Soviet domination of Poland -- an obvious mistake, but one that feeds the opposition's attack.
I'm certain that his GOP rivals won't let it rest. They're bound to be sticking him with little humorous jabs, like . . .
"There are just three kinds of people. Those who can count, and those who can't."
Perry will naturally respond with a smile to show he can take it, but his campaign had to be grimmacing during those 53 painful seconds.
Again with Twitter?
Submitted by Model850 on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 4:24pm.
Gregory later apologized via Twitter
McKinnon issued an apology for his remark on Twitter
So is Twitter now the new choice of biased media members for burying their "apologies" after intentionally attacking and/or slandering someone on the right?
Far fewer people see these tweeted apologies than see or read the original offense. This "apologizing" via Twitter is even more devious and insidious than the newspapers burying retractions of front page allegations deep inside near the classifieds.
Liberal writers
Submitted by MominMD on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 4:31pm.
A bit hyperbolic, don't ya think?
Comparing gaffes
Submitted by Gary Hall on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 4:58pm.
Comparing gaffes -- Seems to me that it's not as big as a gaffe - the forgetting the Department of Energy being on one's short list - as the President to of the United States [Obama] in a very friendly one-on-one interview (not a heated debate) referring to his own faith as "Muslim," saved only by the fact that ABC host and fellow liberal shrill supporter, George Stephanopoulos, corrected him [Obama].
(;~/ gary
My favorite Obama display of his actual intelligence level
Submitted by no tingly legs on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 5:13pm.
is his thinking that they speak "Austrian" in Austria, with his "Navy Corpseman" pronunciation a close second. Of course, if he ever allowed his college grades to be released, as all other modern Presidents have done, these ignorant remarks would come as no surprise. He does do one heck of a job reading a teleprompter though.
his grades and pronunciations
Submitted by jon_torlin on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 7:16pm.
It was said that he got straight A's in Islamic classes, even in Harvard or wherever he went to school supposedly. Lousy grades in everything else though.
The thing about his HORRIBLY incorrect pronunciations are the marks of someone who's done poor ESL(for those of you in Rio Linda, that's English as a Second Language), you wouldn't expect that from someone who's first real spoken/learned language was English. And I know co-workers whose English is a Second Language, I'm always helping them with correct word usage and grammar.
-Jon
What a disgusting comparison.
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 5:21pm.
No class. All a$$
Well, it is a big f***ing
Submitted by Bhaal on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 6:22pm.
Well, it is a big f***ing deal but not quite as bad as having to deal with Benjamin Netanyahu every day!