Anderson Cooper Asks Paul Begala: If Weiner Were Republican Would You Think This Was Nothing?
Former Clinton adviser turned CNN political analyst Paul Begala Wednesday evening gave Anderson Cooper the predictable Party line about Weinergate being no big deal.
Without skipping a beat, the host of "Anderson Cooper 360" replied, "But, Paul, if this was a conservative Republican, would you be saying the same thing?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Paul, what do you think of all this? Should the congressman continue talking about this or should he just -- can he now move on that he did all these interviews?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: [Yawns] Yes, I -- wake me when we have a real sex scandal, Anderson. You know, this is -- please.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: But, Paul, if this was a conservative Republican, would you be saying the same thing?
BEGALA: Yes, who allegedly had a picture of him taken in his underwear and then someone hacked his account and sent it out?
I do think the apparent hacking of a congressman's account maybe is more of a story. And this is the Democrat.
BORGER: Right.
BEGALA: But it is a right-wing blogger who was pushing this, and a pretty unreliable one at that, which mama always said, consider the source.
So, I think he did a very good job. I think Wolf is right. I think he gave Wolf a very good interview, answered every question the best that he could, could not or would not answer, yes, that's me.
But, you know, OK, so what? Who cares? He clearly -- I mean, I think he's credible when he says, I didn't send it.
And plenty of liberal bloggers have replicated this hacking today. They have been in there saying, look, this is plausible. I'm no techie. I have no idea. I don't tweet. So is beyond my ken. But I just think, you know, when the Dow drops 279 points in a day, the career-ending scandal could be the governor of New Jersey, who is taking a state helicopter apparently yesterday to go to see his kid's baseball game. I mean, that's the kind of thing that voters get furious about, spending $2,500 an hour of state money to take a helicopter to your kid's baseball game.
What Anthony Weiner is even accused of doing, even if true, is just nothing.
You got that?
Even if Weiner is 100 percent guilty of sending that tweet to a 21-year-old college student, it's nothing.
Why isn't that at all surprising coming from someone that used to advise Bill Clinton?
Isn't it also telling that Weiner's offense - assuming he did it - is nothing, but Gov. Christie's helicopter excursion is possibly "career-ending?"
Exactly why does CNN have contributors that are so obviously biased?
(H/T Stephen Gutowski)
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Comments
Piper Palin Blocking Press For Mom!
Submitted by im41 on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:26am.
tip
Little Piper caught giving a hip check to an annoying news reporter.
http://tinyurl.com/piperhipcheck
Real balanced panel there.
Submitted by Texndoc on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:25am.
Who's the liberal in pink with the "yep yep yep yep yep" head nod when Begala is spinning?
I saw on Huff Po a slide show of the highest rated cable news show to the lowest rated for last month. If I'm not mistaken, even Fox News' morning show beats anything on CNN prime time.
Noel
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:26am.
I Doubt that Begala could DeciDe that question with the Data proviDeD him. There is a granD Difference between the Weiner inciDent anD other well publicizeD sexually relateD peccaDilloes. I Daresay he isn't introspective enough to Determine what is Directly in front of him. In other worDs, he Doesn't Dig it.
Doh! ;)
Submitted by HockeyKid on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:37am.
Doh! ;)
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
Phil.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:42am.
Well DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDone!
→ The Read and the Blew
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:27am.
Begala is nothing, if not transparent, in his faith. He worships Weiner for his frank portrayal.
Nice pun, Arrow?
Submitted by Newsbubba on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:46am.
With this particular subject package, it's getting really hard to tell which little zingers are intended and which are unintended. Don't leave us hanging, man.
Advise from Paul Begala?
Submitted by Red Jeep on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:28am.
That's a joke.
You know what's amazing to me?
Submitted by Newsbubba on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:40am.
These liberals like Begala can actually get up every morning and look at their own lying a$$ faces in the mirror and not throw up on themselves! I mean, did their mothers raise them to be this way, or did they have to work to develop absolutely no conscience?
Then we, the American people, actually vote to let these bastards run our country and our lives? We really need to look at ourselves in the mirror and get real.
For the record, taking a highway patrol helicopter to see part of your kid's ball game isn't the moral equivalent of Tweeting your weenie to some college coed.
It is true that pilots have to log training time to stay current, so going by the ball park ain't a stretch. The fuel Moochie's plane uses taxiing to pick her Clydesdale ass up costs more than the fuel used for Christie's trip. No way am I buying that Weiner doesn't recognize his own "best friend" when he is shown a picture.
I just can't see me getting my panties in a wad over whether Christie's trip is as bad as Weiner's wiener.
Cooper didn't follow up
Submitted by Hoosier Conservative on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:43am.
It was nice of Cooper to ask him initially about his bias, but then so what? Begala immediately called it a vast right-wing conspiracy, accused "unreliable" conservatives of dishonest coverage, and then changed the subject to attack an unrelated Republican completely at random.
Yep, I can see Begala's point - that is the same way he would cover a Republican scandal.
And Cooper said nothing.
Anthony Weiner's
Submitted by ohio granny on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:42am.
Anthony Weiner's weiner has him in a pickle.
Funny stuff. Oh the contortions, the contortions.
Submitted by JLin on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:45am.
This was not a hack or a prank. The little man did a public Tweet instead of a private one. He did it and should be held to the same "standard" as Republicans. He must resign. Too bad. What a superstar he was.
different rules for liberals.
Submitted by jessieH on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:51am.
Throw the bum out and move forward. A member of Congress should be intelligent enough to know better.
Questions concerning Begala's claims.
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:54am.
Two things Begala said that bears questioning. First he claims that it was a "right-wing blogger who was pushing this, and a pretty unreliable one at that" but didn't name the blog nor substantiate any unreliability. Anyone know of which blog he refers? And is his charge of unreliability reliable in this case?
Secondly, he claims that "plenty of liberal bloggers have replicated this hacking today" yet all that I have read indicates that the theories proposed as to this hacking have proven thus far to be questionable at best. Furthermore I've seen nothing substantiating this claim of Begala's as of yet. Anyone seen anything corraborating Begala's claim?
Anyone know of which blog he
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 10:13am.
Anyone know of which blog he refers?
That would be Andrew Breitbart's Big Government blog.>
I'm guessing their "substantiation" for his "unreliability" is the fact that he got taken in, in the Shirley Sherrod thing, by an edited video that was sent to him.
Nice to see Begala is still using the Clintons' "smear the messenger" and right-wing conspiracy tactics.
So in short, Begala was lying
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 10:14am.
So in short, Begala was lying out his wazoo revealing that he is, in fact, the unreliable one. Yep..."consider the source."
Well, he's reliable in that
Submitted by motherbelt on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 10:28am.
Well, he's reliable in that you always know what tactic he will use.
Excellent point.
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 11:00am.
Excellent point.
The Reason Begala Doesn't Think this is a Big Sex Scandal
Submitted by Comrade Jim on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 10:00am.
Is that he was in the Clinton White House where he had to defend a big time sex pervert who was generating sex scandals on a regular basis.
Paul Begala - Straight Faced Liar
Submitted by Sgthulka on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 10:02am.
I gotta hand it to this guy. He lies with an ease that only a practiced veteran of the Clinton era could accomplish.
He's more than that -- he's a PROFESSIONAL liar
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 10:56am.
Begala, Carville, Stephanopoulus, and company were part of Clinton's inner circle because they were skilled in spin doctoring, particularly sex scandals. Their greatest triumph was spinning the idea that the Starr investigation was nothing more than an intrusion into the President's sex life, when in fact, the investigation was about Clinton's perjury -- a felony.
Before long, the MSM was echoing these spin meisters, and a good deal of the American public bought off on it. "It's all about sex." Starr was painted as a cross between J. Edgar Hoover and a Peeping Tom. So effective was the spin that not even the invertebrate Senate Republicans wanted to touch the impeachment case when it was delivered to them by the House. Clinton's Presidency was literally saved by the likes of Begala and Carville.
Since then, Begala has become a prominent Democratic spokesman specializing in sensationally bad news outbreaks. Whenever he opens his mouth, I immediately assume he's lying.
Wrong. It is something.
Submitted by The Vet on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 11:38am.
Someone sent an unrequested lewd photograph to a young woman. Under any other circumstances, this would be considered sexual harassment. And they tried to frame a sitting United States Congressman. That makes it something.
Or so the Congressman claims. We don't believe him. People that have that done to them do not act this way. Ever. No married man on the planet would let that happen to them and call it a prank and laugh it off. That makes it something as well.
No matter how one looks at
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 11:48am.
No matter how one looks at this issue, there is no way it can be legitimately ignored. If Weiner did send it then it becomes both a matter of legality as well as conduct of a sitting congresscritter. If Weiner's account was hacked then it is a matter of cyber-security within the U.S. Congress which should be thoroughly investigated. Doesn't matter if it was a prank or not. If one jokes about a bomb on board a plane while the plane was in flight one runs the serious risk of the flight crew taking it very, very seriously even if it were a "prank." Same with computer and computer-related security in congress. Weiner trying to dismiss this as a "prank" just doesn't wash.
Different strokes for different folks
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 12:41pm.
VET: "Someone sent an unrequested lewd photograph to a young woman. Under any other circumstances, this would be considered sexual harassment."
For dweebs like Weiner, it's called dating.
State helicopter?
Submitted by Funbowhunter on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 11:43am.
What about Nancy Polosi taking military jets all of the place, what about taking white house helicopter to go golfing? What about taking white house helicopter to go to NY for dinner with the wife? Why isn't that the same thing?
It's the difference between "D" and "R"
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 12:44pm.
The MSM will try to get some mileage out of Christie's helicopter ride, but I don't expect they'll get much out of it. The public knows that the President uses government transportation and security all the time to attend fund raisers and campaign events; I don't think they'll hang much on Christie.
State helicopter?
Submitted by Funbowhunter on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 11:45am.
What about Nancy Polosi taking military jets all of the place, what about taking white house helicopter to go golfing? What about taking white house helicopter to go to NY for dinner with the wife? Why isn't that the same thing?
Tihs is the knot they are bending themselves into?
Submitted by The Vet on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 11:49am.
It is now OK to hack into someone's account and send unwanted lewd photographs to strange women. So women across the world have to stop complaining when they get unwanted lewd photographs in their email or facebook pages or what other applications are out there. Hey, it's all cool baby. Weiner said it is now OK.
Lastest is...
Submitted by retrocon on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 11:57am.
I heard on the way to work this morning, Weiner is refusing to allow the FBI to investigate the hack. Instead, he has hired a private dick to investigate.
That way, he can control what is revealed, and any naughty stuff can be tucked away in the dirty laundry. For a PI, exposing anything about the junk in Weiners personal account, without his consent, would be considered a violation of his clients privacy.
If Weiner has nothing to hide, why not expose everything to the feds... i mean we do, every time we fly.
retrocon---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 9:16pm.
if I remember correctly, a photo of a private d*ck, covered by gray chonies, supposedly belonging to a Big D Democrat, who also happens to be, personality-wise, a Biggus Dickus with the appropriate name of Weiner - a Whiner; or Wiener - a for real wiener; was inappropriately sent out over the ether, necessitating, as of now, the hiring, by the purported possesser of the penis, owner of the onus of proving whether or not the photograph was photo-shopped; of a private dick to pursue the actual peregrinations of the possibly poisoned publicity pointed at a pinhead's pecker.
What the dickens is going on with these politicians?
Pitiful, no?
MD
Someone owes Brett Favre an apology.
Submitted by The Vet on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 11:59am.
The NFL investigated that poor guy over a similar nothing. Oh and a refund.
Brett Favre Fined $50,000 for Penisgate.
We all know the answer to that question. Now Cooper...
Submitted by jawebster1 on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 12:09pm.
has to go in and explain to his bosses why he asked the type of question that only occurs on Fox News.
Wiener says that he doesn't know if it's him
Submitted by phryingphish on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 12:14pm.
Wiener says that he doesn't know if it's him in the picture. Then he has taked pictures of himself in jockey's with and erection, just maybe not this picture. Hmmm
Shocker of Shocking Shock Shocks.
Submitted by The Vet on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 12:46pm.
Women don't like getting unrequested photos of strange men's weiners. They report them to the police. But hey Rep. Weiner says it is just a prank and people on CNN says it is just a big nothing.
Walker said on Sept. 21 she received four shocking photos on her cell phone. They were of a man holding an erect penis.
"I have my personal information, gone. I have my Social Security number, my banking information (at the dealership). He knows where I live, where I work," Walker said.
Walker said she spoke to the owner of the dealership, explaining she never gave the salesman her phone number and was told everyone there had access to the same information.
"All my privacy is completely violated. And he said to me, 'Well, he's a dumb kid. What do you expect me to do?' That was his solution," Walker said.
~
Police said they believe 18-year-old Claudio Castaneda-Guillermo was the one who sent the photos of a penis to Walker and have issued an arrest warrant on a charge of harassment through telephone threats or obscenities, a city misdemeanor.
With a conviction, that charge could bring fines ranging from $50 to $5,000 and up to 18 months in jail, said Aurora police Detective Bob Friel.
Hmmmmm. Harassment. Hmmmmm.
Let's take the Congressman at his word.
Submitted by The Vet on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 12:57pm.
If we are to believe his story, then an injustice has been done to this young lady. And injustice that lands people in jail. And the Congressman and CNN want us to just forget about it?
A man who claims he accidentally sent pictures of his erect penis to female business contacts including his recruitment consultant and employer has been sentenced to six months imprisonment.
CNN is
Submitted by Bob K on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 1:18pm.
really getting some libs royally pissed off lately. Anytime they question a lib/dem and are fair, the comments turn against CNN right away. Just a few days ago they were all ticked off because they thought CNN was giving Sarah Palin too much air time. And now they are the same because Wienergate is getting, in their view, too much attention. They do not understand they old saying, if it bleeds it leads. And right now Rep Wiener might just as well be a chum bucket drawing sharks.
Bye-bye Weiner!
Submitted by rammingspeed on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 2:10pm.
Begala doesn't acknowledge the problem: Weiner won't answer THE question, is the photo of him, or not? Everything else is moot, because his non-answer gives the appearance of guilt. This is kindergarten level common sense. His statement about being hacked on Twitter and all will be found not to be true - he spoke too quickly in trying to come up with a viable stone wall. EVERYONE sees this. Bye-bye Weiner. (And it's scary just to type that, if you get my double meaning, which you do. Of course you do!)
That not the important
Submitted by GN on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 11:27pm.
That not the important question, because there is nothing unethical or illegal with having private photos like that of yourself. There is only a problem with sending them to out to inappropriate people. The issue is whether he sent the photo or not. If he did send it there is some wrongdoing. If he didn't then there is no wrongdoing on his part. If someone hacked him and stole the pic then tweeted it then it isn't a scandal, just something embarrassing to admit since the whole world knows you take pics of yourself in your underwear and what the pics look like.
Yea, Right, Begala
Submitted by Junk Science Skeptic on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 2:12pm.
Christie takes one helicopter ride, which he will likely fully reimburse the state for, and it's the end of the world, but we had no problem jetting multiple generations of Pelosi's spawn repeatedly back and forth across the country on the U.S. taxpayers' dime, none of which has been paid back.
Weiner is BUSTED.
Submitted by Tailgunner on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 7:14pm.
GTFO.
CANDIDATE Obama: 'Yes, we CAN'.
PRESIDENT Obama: 'BECAUSE we CAN'.
The real important question that everyone is avoiding....
Submitted by Redrowan2000 on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 8:59pm.
In the picture of Mr Weiner : Was it the franks or the beans?
I hope he as to squirm through this for at least another 10 days.
In the mean time another bag of popcorn please.
"Don't let the bastards grind you down."
Begala is billed by CNN as a
Submitted by GN on Thu, 06/02/2011 - 11:18pm.
Begala is billed by CNN as a democratic strategist, not an unbiased observer. They have other contributors like Ari Fleischer, Ed Rollins and Alex Castellanos who are right wing contributors.
FOX News has right wing contributors like Karl Rove, although I can't think of left wing ones they have who balance out all the heavy weight right wing ones.
Lefties on Fox?
Submitted by Rukus on Fri, 06/03/2011 - 2:02am.
Shemp, Colmes, Frost, Powers, Williams, Beckel, Rivera...
tired attacks
Submitted by Hoosier Conservative on Fri, 06/03/2011 - 9:43am.
First of all, Fox has a lot of progressive contributers, starting with Alan Colmes, Bob Beckel, Kirsten Powers, Jehmu Greene, and Juan Williams. You either know this and you're lying, or you never watch Fox and believe whatever Think Progress tells you.
Secondly, calling someone a Democrat strategist does not excuse them from tedious and predictable behavior. Yes they are expected to be somewhat biased, but if they are a parrot mindlessly spouting a list of talking points that Cooper saw coming a mile away, then that isn't very interesting to watch, for either side.