On the July 30 "Morning Joe" esteemed New York Times list best-selling author Pete Hamill filled in as a co-host and with one extremely blockheaded statement proved once and for all that very smart people can say very stupid things. The former editor-in-chief of the New York Post tried to pin defeat in Vietnam on John McCain.
Hamill delivered the obtuse statement at the end of a discussion about Barack Obama's hubris. That talk was centered on a Washington Post article that claimed Barack Obama opined "I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions."
After the ideologically diverse "Morning Joe" panel reached consensus that Barack Obama appeared to have a problem with appearing over-confident, Hamill decided to try and prove that John McCain also has a hubris dilemma.
The acclaimed writer of nine best selling novels maintained "He [John McCain] comes on and says "I know how to win a war...Which war did he win exactly? We lost Vietnam. There are no other wars."
Yes, Hamill attempted to assign blame on prisoner-of-war John McCain for failure in Vietnam. The absurdity of the statement echoed through the studio. Host Joe Scarborough in awkward laugher asked, "You're pinning that on him?" as they went to commercial break.
While off-air, one could only hope that a producer whispered in Hamill's ear that such smart people are not supposed to say such crass things.
The transcript is below:
Joe Scarborough: Hey Willie, you get a vote at the table too. Do you think Obama may have a little hubris problem here.
Willie Geist: Yes.
Scarborough: Ok.
Mika Brzezinski: Maybe hubris is good.
Pete Hamill: But So does McCain He [John McCain] comes on and says "I know how to win a war"
Brzezinski: Exactly.
Hamill: Which war did he win exactly? We lost Vietnam. There are no other wars.
Geist: I don't know that he lost Vietnam.
Scarborough (laughing): You're pinning that on him? We'll be back. Coming up, Freddy Ball game with Sports.
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Comments Policy
Peter, Peter, Peter
July 30, 2008 - 14:56 ET by Redrowan2000Pete must be off the wagon again with that comment. I think John Kerry was in Nam too, wasn't he Petey boy.
Don't let the bastards grind you down."
Red
Unless Hamill is talking
July 30, 2008 - 15:03 ET by NewsbusterbrownUnless Hamill is talking about sports (especially boxing), I tune him out.
“There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)
Hamill
July 30, 2008 - 15:17 ET by iveseenitallNasty, ignorant, probably senile, s.o.b. Please, don't ever use the words "intelligent" and "Pete Hamill" in the same article again. Something like this makes my blood boil.
NEVER, NEVER trust a "liberal"
isia... I just got done
July 30, 2008 - 15:39 ET by bigtimerisia...
I just got done reading this and then went to the posts...yours about covers it...
Who would ever said this guy is smart in the first place...
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Who's ''We''?
July 30, 2008 - 15:13 ET by DoktorFrankenHamill: Which war did he win exactly? We lost Vietnam. There are no other wars.
Just which military service let us down in Nam? Or was it Johnson's and Nixon's Administration? Or the Congress? How about the jerks in the media? How about clueless farts in Hollywood?
Asshat is too nice a name for Hamill.
at least the US mil won in
July 30, 2008 - 15:23 ET by TruthMongerat least the US mil won in Viet Nam - no arguments there
Hamill: Which war did he
July 30, 2008 - 15:34 ET by bassndudeHamill: Which war did he win exactly? We lost Vietnam. There are no other wars.
Ok, this reeks of stupidity and ignorance. "We" did not lose in Vietnam! "We" had no troops in Vietnam in 1975, other than those marines at the embassy. South Vietnam fell when CONGRESS decided not to live upto their promise to support South Vietnam with the supplies, spare parts and bullits that CONGRESS promised they would send. Thats one part. The second part is that North Vietnam broke their promise and did not abide by the Paris Peace Accords. In other words, ALL of the politicians lied. The military did not lose the war, the politicians did. The military kicked some major back side!
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
Hear! Hear! Congress and
July 30, 2008 - 15:42 ET by bigtimerHear! Hear!
Congress and politicians...still trying to lose this one too if the leftists could.
Plus good ol' Cronkite and the press ect.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Which war is he refering to?
July 30, 2008 - 15:39 ET by CobraManI wonder which Vietnam War he is referring to? The one that ended in 1973 when the Paris Peace Accords were signed and our troops came home? Or the one in 1975 when the North violated that agreement and invaded a second time?
I guess he's referring to the second war. That’s the one where the democrats in Congress refused to offer the South any military and financial support and that’s the one that led to the fall of Saigon, which everyone (wrongly) seems to equate as America's loss of The Vietnam War. But how can McCain be blamed for that war? He was home for almost TWO YEARS before that second war even started.
(on edit: Opps, "singed" should be "signed" I guess I should be serving in Iraq as my spelling isn't that good and this shows that I must be uneducated. Isn't that right, Stephen King and John Kerry?)
Is this a smart person
July 30, 2008 - 15:29 ET by mattmIs this a smart person saying dumb things, or a dumb person saying dumb things, or a shrewd person saying things for dumb people to swallow whole?
Did this putz have anything negative to say when John Hanoi Kerry tried to use his dubious Nam experiences as Prez credos? I doubt it....
Special attention
July 30, 2008 - 15:53 ET by Delsashould be given to the word "Former"
Thank God he's "Former".
As for his cerebral prowess, Zip, Zero, Nada
Hamill
July 30, 2008 - 18:09 ET by iveseenitallJust like Obama, et.al., it appears Hamill loves to twist the truth about America. We didn't "lose" the war in Vietnam, you #@%^!&^. And communism eventually fell in most places around the world. Barry is trying to give communism a comeback, but we'll see. God bless my friends and relatives and all those who fought, were killed or wounded in Vietnam. Your sacrifices are not forgotten.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
As a Viet Nam vet
July 30, 2008 - 18:26 ET by I.am.DILLIGAFI am appaled by the comment that scumbag Himmler made. Not only did we not lose the war but the congress let everyone of our men and women that were over there down with the way they stuck there nose in it. We won every major battle that we ever had there. Yes we may have lost some skermishes but never a battle let alone the war. McCain flew 26 sorties before he was shot down and held prisnor for 5 and 1/2 years. Obammy wasnt even a drip down his dads leg yet why does he think he knows anything about how to win let alone fight a war. At least McCain was there fighting and has seen it up close and personal. If Obammmy gets in there the only thing we will see is maybe a blinding white light just before your life ends. Sorry for the rant but when they talk about the Nam it really Pi****** me off especiall when they were sitting in there AC offices. I did 2 tours there and have two Purple Hearts just cause I didnt duck fast enough. LOL
Guns and Violence are not the answer but they are one solution to the problem== SARG
IamD... Thank you...you
July 30, 2008 - 18:34 ET by bigtimerIamD...
Thank you...you have my gratitude.
Great post too...
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Former NY Post Editor
July 30, 2008 - 19:02 ET by general companyFormer NY Post Editor Suggests McCain Lost Vietnam
More proof the left hates the USA and those that love it. But I am not question.i..n,,,g, nothing!!!!!!!!
Thanks IaD
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Thank you for that post. I
July 30, 2008 - 18:59 ET by celatorThank you for that post. I appreciate it. One of the biggest lies the MSM CONTINUES to promote is that US Forces lost the Tet Offensive. They've been vomiting that lie for 40 years. We, in fact, won the Tet Offensive and the VC were so badly beaten that they considered pulling back completely from the war.
In the aftermath of the false reporting about Tet, the KBG--the Russians and Chinese strongly supported Ho Chi Minh-- began funding the American protest movement on college campuses via the SDS and other college radical groups. The FBI has many documents to that effect. And the rest is history.
The major media report only half the news. Why are they surprised they have only half the potential audience?
Celator
July 30, 2008 - 21:28 ET by iveseenitallYour comment about protest groups on collge campuses during Vietnam hits the mark. And those same radicals are the ones who later tutored the likes of Michelle and Barry Obama on college campuses across the nation in the 70's and 80's up to present day. Now we see the lineage and can connect the dots. The Obamas follow in a direct line from the 60's radicals. That New Yorker cover a few weeks ago was right on target.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
Yes it is easy to connect
July 31, 2008 - 10:57 ET by celatorYes it is easy to connect the dots (now). The 60's radicals went to grad schools, Law schools, some became academics, some entered "journalism", many joined radical groups, many entered the political arena at the local and then the national level, etc.
The infiltration of the Communist radicals into the basic institutions of US culture was strongly advocated by Saul Alinsky (and others) when he advised the radicals to stop burning buildings and stop killing people (police officers and innocent people who got in the way etc) because "that doesn't help the revolution".
He advised the radicals to migrate into US cultural institutions to far more effectively bring about the revolution.
The Obama candidacy is the culmination of 40 years of the repeated attempts of these political psychopaths to take over the White House (can we say McGovern, Carter, Clinton and many others?). He is one of them (radicals nutjobs) through and through has fooled many people his entire life with his gift of hypocrisy. He's a very very dangerous Marxist/Leninist (I lean more toward the Leninist description).
The MSM's complete support of him tells us all we need to know about the MSM, given the last 40 years of their disgraceful behavior. It's just that they don't bother to hide their corruption now because they smell victory.
The major media report only half the news. Why are they surprised they have only half the potential audience?
celator...
July 31, 2008 - 10:59 ET by Clear thinkerThey are working their "Goals" to almost perfection. See link below.
45 Communist Goals for America http://www.nationmakers.com/com_goals.htm
CT: Yes they are. I've been
July 31, 2008 - 11:14 ET by celatorCT: Yes they are. I've been watching this phenomenon for a very long time.
Some time ago I printed out your list and have emailed it to friends of mine. It's created quite a discussion among us. It's an eye popping list for those who aren't aware of what's been happening, and for those who were never taught authentic history. I appreciate having the list. Thanks!
The major media report only half the news. Why are they surprised they have only half the potential audience?
celator...
July 31, 2008 - 11:55 ET by Clear thinkerHere's one for fun... First read the following commie goal :
"22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms." "
Now go to the following link and see Chinas latest "awkward and meaningless forms":
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Beijing-Architecture/ss/events/lf/071808olyarchitectur/
At least they practice what they preach!
45 Communist Goals for America http://www.nationmakers.com/com_goals.htm
lost?
July 31, 2008 - 00:41 ET by Ran56For a lib. as is the case with Iraq, we DID lose Nam, cuz they were then, and are now, vested in losing! As for Tet, we kicked some MAJOR A$$!.. from the central highlands on down thru Siagon and the Delta. 13 days short of 2 tours, and more purple hearts than I had enough meat to cover. As is the case with MOST ALL Nam Vets, I read this $hit, and I burn deep in my stomach, not for myself, for those I left behind.
We did not lose in Viet Nam.
July 31, 2008 - 00:50 ET by R D HelmWe quit. Period.
What is worse, we did so with victory well within our grasp.
We quit just like Barry-O wants us to do in Iraq today.
Problem is, quitting Iraq now will have negative consequences far beyond what our quitting in Nam brought us.
The truth is insensitive. - Neal Boortz
Hubris is Good?
July 31, 2008 - 07:53 ET by ChuckM from PAMika: "Maybe Hubris is Good". Since when is "1) excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance; 2) overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance; 3) wanton violence, insolence, outrage" good.
Will somebody shut her up?