On MSNBC's "Jansing & Co." today, anchor Chris Jansing and liberal columnist Karen Hunter took turns ripping apart Sarah Palin's call for civility in an Internet video posted yesterday morning in the wake of the Tucson shooting.
The morning after President Barack Obama delivered a well-received speech at a memorial service for the victims of a rampage that left six dead and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) critically injured, Jansing recited a quote from Joan Walsh, editor of the left-wing Salon.com, to criticize Palin.
"You know, Mark, times of tragedy are times when we judge our leaders," remarked Jansing. "And Joan Walsh writes on Salon.com, about Sarah Palin, 'Having watched her atrocious, tone-deaf, all-about-me video: Sarah Palin will never be president of the United States.'"
Calling out Jansing's liberal spin, conservative columnist Mark Tapscott deftly quipped, "I would never expect Joan Walsh to have anything positive to say about anything Sarah Palin does or says."
On the other hand, while marveling over Obama's attempt to "bring people together," Hunter lambasted Palin as a "hypocrite."
"Well, one was being a hypocrite and the other one was being what he's always been, which is this national figure, this international figure, this global figure who's really always trying to bring people together," intoned Hunter. "Sarah Palin wouldn't have had to make that speech if she hadn't had the history of saying some very inflammatory, incendiary comments."
In other words, Palin deserves the baseless accusations leveled against her but does not deserve the chance to defend herself.
Tapscott, appearing to take the Democratic president's message to heart, responded with appropriate measure and politeness: "Well, Karen, you're certainly welcome to have any opinion you want, but let me just say I think you just made my point."
A transcript of the relevant portions of the segment can be found below:
MSNBC
Jansing & Co.
January 13, 2011
11:14 a.m. EST
CHRIS JANSING: You know, Mark, times of tragedy are times when we judge our leaders and Joan Walsh writes on Salon.com, about Sarah Palin, "Having watched her atrocious, tone-deaf, all-about-me video: Sarah Palin will never be president of the United States." You advised Ronald Reagan. Would you have told her to put out this video?
MARK TAPSCOTT: Well, let me say first of all Chris, that I would never expect Joan Walsh to have anything positive to say about anything Sarah Palin does or says. I think Sarah Palin is the victim, if you will, right now of an incredible piling on of people who are going to criticize whatever she does, and however she says it. And I think that's unfortunate. And I think Karen you're wrong. The president, who did a great job last night–I was very impressed with his address–and Sarah Palin, from two different directions we're coming to the same conclusion. We've got to stop manufacturing blame for political purposes. And that applies to both sides.
KAREN HUNTER: Well, one was being a hypocrite and the other one was being what he's always been, which is this national figure, this international figure, this global figure who's really always trying to bring people together. And I think, you know, Sarah Palin wouldn't have had to make that speech if she hadn't had the history of saying some very inflammatory, incendiary comments that I believe has really divided this country along racial lines, along economic lines, and along a whole lot of lines that could lead us to a level of uncivility that we've seen recently.
TAPSCOTT: Well, Karen, you're certainly welcome to have any opinion you want, but let me just say I think you just made my point.
HUNTER: Okay.
--Alex Fitzsimmons is a News Analysis intern at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
