It has been announced today that Bob Beckel will be returning to The Five on Fox News. Of course, there is an issue that must be addressed almost from the moment that Beckel reappears on his old show. It is the laughably wrong predictions Beckel was making on CNN in the months leading into the November election. It wasn't just that his predictions were wrong but the over the top manner of cocky certitude in which they were delivered. Before we review Beckel's inadvertent comedy act while at CNN, let us read the news of his return to his old slot via Mediaite:
Fox News has re-signed Bob Beckel to be a co-host of The Five. Juan Williams will remain a Fox News contributor across all programs and continue appear on the show. Beckel will begin immediately, appearing on the network this evening.
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It is absolutely mandatory that Bob Beckel eat a large dose of election predictions humble pie immediately upon his return. If you think this assessment is perhaps a bit too harsh, then I urge you to watch the following video of Beckel making his predictions during his term in CNN purgatory. I think you will agree that he needs to be taken down several notches in response to his cocksure attitude that Donald Trump was sure to lose the election and no doubt about it according to hilariously flawed soothsayer Beckel:
In the first clip, Beckel asks for us to give him a certain reminder:
Remind me I said this. She will crush him. I mean, she could crush him from jail.
Okay, Bob. I am reminding you that you said this. The big question is if your fellow panelists on The Five will remind you when you return.
The second clip from a couple of days before the second presidential debate in October is notable for the emphasis that Beckel put on the word "over" as in "this race is OVER!"
This race is OVER! Tomorrow morning the money will dry up. Republicans will start to hide. Trump has no place to go. This race effectively as of tonight is no longer a presidential race.
Beckel's absolute certitude remained undiminished on Election Day when he gave Trump only a one or two percent chance of winning. Oh, and did you know that North Carolina is one of the big secrets for Hillary Clinton? Another victory for her personally guaranteed by Beckel.
These election predictions should be kept in mind in the future if Beckel dares to bless us with yet more of his prognostications. In fact his own words to a female Tea Party activist could be applied to him regarding his off the rails election predictions: "You don't know what the f—k you’re talking about."
The hosts of The Five have only a few hours left before they appear again on the air with Bob Beckel. I highly recommend they carefully study the way he said "OVER!" in order to get the correct tonal inflection if they greet him with: "This race is OVER!"
