How unbalanced was MSNBC's "Race for the White House" panel this evening? The two Obama-friendly panelists—Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post and Richard Wolffe of Newsweek—were ostensibly offset by Philly radio talker Michael Smerconish and Independent Women's Forum head Michelle Bernard. But channeling Dem congressman James Clyburn on this morning's Today, Smerc called the House Republicans "sophomoric." That was nothing. One-upping Smerconish in the pejorative department, Bernard said that every recent McCain move has been "like an epileptic fit."
Joe Scarborough, putting in a long day's work and subbing for regular host David Gregory, teed up Bernard's snipe with a negative take of his own on McCain's behavior.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Michelle, if Barack Obama has been measured over the last several weeks, John McCain has looked erratic, hasn't he?
Note that "erratic" is a favorite Obama-campaign buzzword in describing McCain, no doubt trying to invoke the image of a doddering old man. Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton used the very word in an MSNBC interview I saw earlier in the day, just as one example.
In any case, Bernard ran with the ball.
MICHELLE BERNARD: He has. This is a very difficult time-period for the McCain campaign. He has looked erratic, he's looked irascible. It's almost as if every movement he's making is like an epileptic fit.
Nice. Would it be too tough for the show producers to find an actual McCain supporter somewhere in the political universe?
Note: I'm sure Bernard was referring to McCain's political moves, not his physical ones. But, oddly, she did use the word "movement," not "move." Check the video.
