Crazy? I'll give you crazy . . .
Last Friday Mika Brzezinski and Morning Joe engaged in some strange and possibly unprecedented TV "journalism." They invited Terry Jones—the potentially Koran-burning pastor—on the show via live feed, gave former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham the chance to lecture him about Christianity and implore him not to proceed with his plan . . . then summarily cut the feed without giving Jones the chance to say word one in response.
"We don't really need to hear anything else" declared Mika, as she shut down the pastor's microphone.
A number of bloggers, including NB's own Matt Hadro and me, noted and criticized Mika's bizarre move. But there was Joe Scarborough on the show today, mockingly writing off Mika's critics as "crazy people."
Joe's contemptuous comment came in response to guest Joe Conason's observation that, judging by the response in the blogosphere, NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg's muscular support of the Ground Zero Mosque has probably put paid to any possible presidential ambitions on his part.
JOE CONASON: [Bloomberg] made what I think was a highly-praiseworthy decision to sacrifice the idea of running nationally when he took such a strong stand. If you read what people are saying about him in the blogosphere --
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Who cares? Who reads that crap?
CONASON: I do. It's my job.
SCARBOROUGH: You know what? There's going to be anger. Of course we all read blogs, too. There are people outraged, I mean, there are people outraged on the right that Mika didn't give time to that preacher that wants to burn Korans and get American troops killed overseas. So there're crazy people on both sides.
Instead of school-yard name-calling, it would have been interesting to hear Scarborough's serious defense—if one he has—of inviting a guest on with knowledge aforethought that he was going to be lectured and cut off without any opportunity to respond.
