Jake Tapper Lashes Out: Santorum 'Committed Political Malpractice' With His 'Horrible' Debate
An unusually harsh Jake Tapper on Thursday lashed out at Rick Santorum, mocking the Republican's "horrible" debate performance. The ABC journalist appeared on Good Morning America and suggested that Santorum was so bad he should take himself to court.
Tapper piled on, deriding the former Pennsylvania senator: "You know when you meet somebody and you make a bad impression, you wish you could take it back? That's what Rick Santorum must be feeling like today...A horrible night for him." Although much of the reaction to Santorum's performance was mixed to negative, Tapper was over-the-top. [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
On CBS This Morning, Jan Crawford offered a more nuanced analysis: "For most of the night, Santorum was under siege...Rick Santorum fought back." Crawford added that "Santorum struggl[ed] to get his footing."
Crawford opined that Santorum "didn't have the standout night he needed" and that the race may change "a little" as a result.
In comparison, Tapper hyperventilated, "Rick Santorum last night committed political malpractice on himself and he should possibly take himself to court." The journalist asserted that viewers who weren't paying close attention might think the Republican "defend[ed] the worst things about Washington."
The Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz was also more measured:
Rick Santorum dodged a political bullet on the birth-control controversy at the CNN debate Wednesday night, deflecting criticism from Mitt Romney and batting down the notion that he would discourage contraception.
A transcript of the February 23 segment, which aired at 7:10am EST, follows:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's get a little more analysis on this now from ABC's Jake Tapper down in Washington. Jake, John Berman used the term "Washington speak" describing Santorum. And that was Romney's big goal last night, to paint Rick Santorum as a creature of Washington, the least popular city in America right now.
JAKE TAPPER: Yeah. And he succeeded. Very much so. If you just floated in and out of the debate late night, you would think that Rick Santorum spent two hours defending the worst things about Washington. The thing that conservatives hate. Earmark, deal-making, compromise, putting party before principle. Rick Santorum last night committed political malpractice on himself and he should possibly take himself to court.
STEPHANOPOULOS: [Laughs] Okay. We'll see- I'm not sure he's going to do that. But it really was remarkable also to see this tag team last night between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, making the same kinds of points against Santorum. And both the candidate and the team came out last night and seemed to suggest there was some kind of deal here between Paul and Romney.
TAPPER: You know, there's no evidence of any deal. But it sure is an interesting relationship. A bromance of some sort. Now, Mitt Romney has been assiduously courting Ron Paul. One thing that is very clear is that Ron Paul is very focused on his son's future political career. His son, Rand Paul, a senator from Kentucky. And while you have Ron Paul saying if he doesn't get the nomination, he's not sure he'll vote Republican, you have Rand Paul saying he would be honored to be considered Mitt Romney's vice president. So, it's a very interesting dynamic. I would like to know what is going on behind the scenes there.
STEPHANOPOULOS: We all would. Bottom line coming out of the debate, Rick Santorum still the national front-runner. But it appears that Mitt Romney has gotten his momentum back in Michigan and doing very well with those early votes in Arizona, Tuesday.
TAPPER: He does. And Rick Santorum- You know when you meet somebody and you make a bad impression, you wish you could take it back? That's what Rick Santorum must be feeling like today. This might be the last Republican debate and he spent the entire debate acting as if he was the personification of Washington, D.C. A horrible night for him.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But, if he wins in Michigan, it's a brand new race.
TAPPER: Absolutely.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay, Jake Tapper.
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Comments
Lashing out...
Submitted by HeavyChevy on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 1:35pm.
or panicking? It sounds as if Santorum did better than expected (I did not watch) so Tapper, and Stephy are doing damage control.
Sort of like my first and
Submitted by John21 on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 1:43pm.
Sort of like my first and every impression of the snide and moronic Jake Tapper.
Jake you could get a job as a scarecrow you both have the same need, a brain.
Tapper
Submitted by rusino on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 2:00pm.
I almost liked Tapper (until now). He and I must have been watching different debates.
Tapper saw what I saw so I guess we both were watching
Submitted by CT on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 2:07pm.
a different debate.
"...I had to take one for the team..." REALLY?
He's right. Santorum came off
Submitted by crazywater on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 2:51pm.
He's right. Santorum came off as a whiny baby.
And another sleeper account goes into use
Submitted by Free Stinker on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 3:47pm.
4 years here and your first comment slams a Conservative?
Back to your Bridge!
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
What I think is going on here.
Submitted by OldJarhead77 on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 2:51pm.
I think that Tapper wants to have Santorum as the candidate because he thinks that he will be easierto beat than Rommney. Thus he is venting because if Mitt wins and faces Oblamo the boy blunder and his wookie Mooooooooocccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee will be out on their ears.Thats why Tapper was soooo upset!
Tapper
Submitted by amyshulk on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 3:14pm.
Yeah, I kept hearing about how Tapper was ^so^ much better than what's her face on Sunday, and that he should have that gig, but whenever I hear him, I figure it's just that compared to Amanpour {sp?} he IS nice!!!
Compared to normal people? Not so much.
Ronald Reagan
In the same sense that that a
Submitted by celator on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 3:55pm.
In the same sense that that a Black Mamba is nicer than an Inland Taipan ;+}
You're more exotic than I am.
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 4:14pm.
When asked to make a decision about two equally bad things I often reply, "Which would you rather have bite you, a copperhead or a rattlesnake?"
Sorta like which democrat
Submitted by celator on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 4:17pm.
Sorta like which democrat would make the best president ;+}
Economy
Submitted by CJohnson on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 5:25pm.
Most of our financial woes are the result of exploding social program expenses, so yes, it makes sense to quit whining about social issues and just hope things get better.