During Tuesday’s Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough called for the firing of General Stanley McChrystal. He boldly exclaimed that this discharge should not come from the Commander-in-Chief because “Democrats have to treat generals differently from Republicans.”
He goes even further and states, “Were this a Republican, were it George W. Bush, McChrystal would have been fired yesterday,” and “the press would have understood it.” Of course, because during the last administration, the media was noted for giving former President George W. Bush the benefit of the doubt, especially with military decisions.
Interestingly enough, a flashback to January 31, 2006, tells a different tale.
During MSNBC's three-hour post State of the Union coverage, Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough, denounced President Bush’s message about Iraq.
Matthews thought that President Bush “cashiered” General Shinseki’s remarks about wanting more troops and believed the “idea that these guys are free to think out loud, I thought, has been yet to be proven.” Scarborough echoed Matthews and cited that, “For the most part, the Generals and the Admirals, 99 percent of them parrot what the Pentagon and what the President wants." [Full article available here]
However, it is now 2010, and it is no longer cool to have the courage to stand up or to think out loud against this administration. There is a new president, so Scarborough insisted, because he is a Democrat, “Gates and Petraeus both have to come out, they need to fire McChrystal, and keep the president's hands clean.” Since, Scarborough served on the Armed Services Committee he should be aware that the President is the top link in the chain of command and therefore is the ultimate authority, but he wants to make it easier for this Democrat to not do his duty as Commander-in-Chief.
Apparently, Scarborough’s conservative viewpoint is synonymous with other MSNBC hosts who parrot White House talking points.
The transcript of MSNBC's Morning Joe segment airing on June 22, 2010:
JOE SCARBOROUGH: So Eric Bates, the executive editor of "Rolling Stone," we called him. He's going to be over here at the top of 8 to talk about this explosive article. Listen, there is no alternative. This general has to be fired. He has to be gone by the end of the day. Petraeus has to lower the boom. It can't be the president. I know some people at home won't understand this, and you'll. Democrats have to treat generals differently from Republicans. Were this a Republican, were it George W. Bush, McChrystal would have been fired yesterday.
TINA BROWN: Absolutely.
SCARBOROUGH: And the press would have understood it. Democrats have to treat them differently. Petraeus is the one that has to come out today and he's got to --
WILLIE GEIST: and Gates.
SCARBOROUGH: And Gates. Gates and Petraeus both have to come out, they need to fire McChrystal, keep the president's hands clean, because he's a Democrat. It's that simple. And they need to do it, hell they should have already done it. If they knew about this yesterday, Petraeus and Gates should have already fired McChrystal. This is outrageous.
