For Iran, Mike? On today's Morning Joe, reliable Obama fan Mike Barnicle managed to keep a straight face while lauding the Iran deal as an "extraordinary feat." He did so despite poll numbers displayed showing that a huge majority of Americans don't think the ayatollahs will keep their promises.
Let's see: sanctions lifted while centrifuges keep spinning and nuclear scientists beaver away in hardened, bomb-resistant facilities. Extraordinary, yeah.
Question: does it take any psychic toll on Mike Barnicle to mouth such fact-defying blather?
JOE SCARBOROUGH: The country's supreme leader is also speaking out for the first time since the deal was announced and he also wants all sanctions lifted right away as well as to prohibit inspectors from touring military sites [laughs]. Really? What? Are we supposed to go watch your soccer game against Iraq? The ayatollah also sent a tweet accusing the United States of lying and breaching promises. It comes as a new NBC News online survey finds nearly 70% of Americans say it's unlikely Iran is going to abide by the agreement. More than half also believe Iran's nuclear program is a major threat to the US . . . Mike, is this falling off the rails?
MIKE BARNICLE: No, I don't think so. I think what happened yesterday in Tehran is the ayatollah trying to move the negotiation a specific way, pushing back against the United States, trying to get a better deal on the timeline for sanctions relief, and we'll see how it goes. I think -- first of all, despite the poll numbers that you just showed that are clearly accurate, it's an extraordinary feat in my mind that we are where we are.
