Yahoo Bureau Chief David Chalian: Romneys ‘Happy to Have a Party With Black People Drowning’

During live coverage of the Republican National Convention here in Tampa, Yahoo News Washington bureau chief David Chalian provided the perfect example of the pervasive anti-Republican bias Mitt Romney faces in his bid to unseat President Barack Obama.

In video broadcast Monday night by ABC and Yahoo over the Internet, Chalian can be heard claiming that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann are unconcerned about the fate of residents of the New Orleans area who are currently being hit by Hurricane Isaac.

“They aren’t concerned at all,” Chalian can be heard on the live broadcast. “They are happy to have a party with black people drowning.”

That line elicits laughter from several employees listening in on the joke.

From the audio, it appears Chalian was talking to an unknown individual named “John” who appears to have made some sort of quip which cannot be heard on the video.

The anti-Romney joke was made while Chalian was on an active microphone, apparently unaware that his quips against the former Massachusetts governor were being recorded and broadcast live.

Unmentioned by Chalian was the fact that the Republican National Committee canceled the entirety of Monday's program or that President Obama did not cancel any of his regularly scheduled campaign fund-raising parties that night.

Update 12:13. This item has been updated and corrected. It originally stated that the person on the audio was likely an ABC News employee. That is incorrect.

It was originally streamed by ABC and Yahoo and no correction or retraction was made during the broadcast as far as we are aware.

Update 1:48.  Yahoo! fires Chalian.

(HT NB reader Northstar)