In what must be an effort to remind the public she has a show on a network most people don't know exists, HLN's Joy Behar (and guests) continue their hackneyed on-air hate fest against Sarah Palin, characterizing the former Alaska governor as a "dumb" woman who parades her disabled child "around more than a joint at a Grateful Dead concert." After all, continually bashing a popular public figure with cliché jokes will make an irrelevant show, a little more relevant, right?
On last night's "Joy Behar Show," Behar and her panel - liberal talk show host Stephanie Miller and Huffington Post editor Roy Sekoff - discussed Palin's debut as a Fox News contributor. It didn't take long before the trio started to participate in the latest liberal pastime: Palin-bashing.
Sekoff is quick to pull out the personal insults, saying Palin doesn't need to "dumb" herself down for the FOX News audience because she's dumb to begin with. Sekoff then claims Palin will do fine as a contributor, so long as her teleprompter behaves (emphasis mine; transcripts via CNN.com):
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: An obvious disconnect between President Obama and the White House, what they are doing to our economy and what they are doing in terms of not allowing Americans to feel as safe as we had felt and people finally saying, you know, this is not the representative form of government that we thought that we had voted in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOY BEHAR: That was Sarah Palin debuting on Fox News last night. Of course, her first order of business was to bash Obama and the White House.
My panel is back with me to talk a little Palin. You know she says there`s a disconnect between the White House and Obama. Doesn`t he live -- isn`t he -- isn`t that one thought? I don`t get that.
STEPHANIE MILLER: I don`t understand the word salad. They have like translation in the Chiron because -- does it make your eye do this whenever she talks on TV? Does it just make you go like that because it doesn`t really...
ROY SEKOFF: Do you remember like a couple weeks ago Jon Stewart did a bit where he talked about how the Fox host had to dumb themselves down for the audience. Sarah doesn`t have that problem.
MILLER: She`s perfect.
SEKOFF: She fits right in.
BEHAR: Oh boy.
SEKOFF: She doesn`t have to go through that, yes.
BEHAR: Do you think she`s going to be a hit?
SEKOFF: I do. If you remember, when she graduated from the six colleges that she attended, she became a sports caster or a news reader as they say. So this is perfect for her. As long as the teleprompter doesn`t break, she`s going to be great.
Sekoff is apparently amused by Palin's collegiate career, as he has made a similar joke on a different "Joy Behar Show" appearance, but what is most ironic is Sekoff doesn't quite like it when Republicans criticize President Barack Obama.
When some GOPers were critical of President Obama's back-to-school speech in September 2009, Sekoff asked conservatives "Have you no shame?" To Sekoff, it's shameful to reasonably question the President's speech to school children, but it's just fine to call Sarah Palin dumb.
The panel went on to discuss the cover of In Touch magazine, which features Palin and her daughter Bristol. In the picture, both Palins are holding on to their children, with the quote "We're Glad We Chose Life" under them.
Of course, whenever Palin's son Trig, who suffers from Down Syndrome, is mentioned, Behar goes into overdrive, barely able to contain her crass jokes. In the past, Behar has entertained questions as to whether or not Trig is actually Sarah Palin's son. Now, she accuses Palin of parading the boy out in front of crowds, comparing him to a "joint" being passed around at a Grateful Dead concert (emphasis mine):
BEHAR: Ok. I want you both to take a look at this "In Touch" cover of Sarah and Bristol Palin with their kids. It says, "We`re glad we chose life." Any thoughts on that cover?
SEKOFF: well, from my understanding that they got paid six figures to do this story.
BEHAR: Well, that`s choosing life.
SEKOFF: So you`re choosing life.
MILLER: That`s choosing a really good life.
(CROSSTALK)
SEKOFF: But here`s the funny thing. Last week, I don`t know if you read this in the paper, Bristol Palin is launching her own PR company.
BEHAR: Is that so?
SEKOFF: As a 19-year-old...
BEHAR: Good for her.
SEKOFF: And I think she`s doing a good job. She`s on the cover of "In Touch", right? So maybe she will see a future for her.
BEHAR: That baby, they passed that baby around more than a joint at a Grateful Dead concert. Is she going to bring that baby on the set of Fox?
SEKOFF: Oh, her baby.
BEHAR: Yes. Any of the babies, their schlepping those babies around like crazy.
MILLER: My favorite moment of the campaign that really didn`t get a lot of publicity, Joy, was she was speaking at a rally in Florida, she is the whole family values candidate and whatever. And she was introduced, the whole family and she goes oh, and Trig, where`s Trig? Oh, well, anyway -- and then she just went on with her speech. Like she didn`t even know where the baby is.
BEHAR: I know. It`s just really going to be interesting to watch her on Fox. I love it for my show.
Full transcript of show can be found here here.
