Joe Klein 'Stingray' Comment Shocks, Embarrasses CNN Colleagues

Joe Klein is a Time Magazine contributor and political pundit who anonymously penned the novel Primary Colors and who, if you are unlucky enough to come within shouting distance of, will no doubt remind you of how he's covered more presidential campaigns than you. Also, lots of people think he's kind of an idiot for various reasons - for example: he has never demonstrated a functional understanding about FISA and yet he keeps on running his mouth about it.

But hey, don't take my word for it! Flash forward to today, when, in search for just the perfect metaphor to describe Obama's recent troubles, Klein's fecund imagination alights upon today's news. Specifically, the Michigan woman who died when an eagle ray leapt into her boat.

The classy remark was met with some very pained reactions. Nice work, Anonymous!

[WATCH.]

KLEIN: ...back in 1988, Dukakis staffers distributed a Biden tape, the tape where Biden was plagiarizing a British politician and they got fired. This is pretty much campaign business as usual. It's really stupid because as long as Rush Limbaugh lives and breathes on this planet, McCain doesn't have to do any dirty work. People like Limbaugh will do it for him. But I think maybe the operative metaphor here isn't drowning but the giant sting ray landing in Obama's boat.

CROSSTALK: Ooh. Oh, Joe.

KLEIN: Okay. Well...

CROSSTALK: Don't blame that one on me. Don't blame that one on me. I'm not going to go there, because someone did die from that.

Comments

[wilhelmR]

You should all Google "Lou Dobbs" and you'll find a great article, quite objective, that tell you how Lou has gained a lot of power inside CNN. Not only he has the best ratings at CNN but also he has pushed for his "populist ideas" all over CNN. There was a time when even Kyra Phillips had different wigs that were very weird. The same for every other woman anchor. Any non-WASP looking anchor or reporter was demoted or fired: Soledad, Rick Sanchez, Carol Linn, etc. World News at 12:00pm was cancelled because it used to run objective stories. Lou's spot was put on primetime, fired Paula and brought Campbell because of Republican/WH connections, etc., Glenn Beck does not deserve to be on a Local TV Station and he almost proudly says so. Told be truth that CNN has been the only one that has shown a lengthier written paragraph of Pastor Wright’s Sermons showing that was not by far as bad as the sound bites. It is impossible to be well-informed just with CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NY Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, etc. One needs other sources such as the Huffingtonpost, BBC News, The Guardian, Le Monde, etc. It is almost a full time job and requires knowledge of Foreign Languages. Hopefully our children will be better prepared to acquire better knowledge and critical thinking skills. Otherwise, they will be thinking like zombies.

[Shannon2008]

Lou Dobbs is the worst . . . I would watch more if he and the mole, Anderson Cooper, were not on the telecast. Those are the two primary sources of spin. Add in Roland Martin and James Carville and you have a cocktail. I'm finding it hard to watch CNN these days. Does anyone remember Bernard Shaw and Peter Arnett?

[samuraijack]

And yet, CNN has such high standards that Kirin Chetry (SP?) and the dumb Canadian co-anchor (what is his name? John something?) remain two of the dimmest bulbs on the tellie. These two make Fox look like Edward R. Murrow. They both THINK they are sooooo smart. What do you expect from a network which contines to spew Lou Dobbs and the idiot Glen Beck's vindictive?

[Shannon2008]

Soledad O'Brien was definitely better.

[rschop]

Klein makes this comment and the CNN moderator says, after laughing, that "I am not going to go there because some one died! " The death of some unfortunate person due to freak accident is now a joke on CNN. But is this just not in line with all of the other news reporting on main stream media and their caviler attitude towards death in America today?
Why did the main stream news media never warn America about the al Qaeda terrorists prior to 9/11 when they themselves were given plenty of warning ahead of time. The New York Times and their reporter Judith Miller even had been given warnings around the July 4, 2001 time frame by NSA officials that a huge attack was about to take place against the US. The New York Times instead of publishing this information decided that there was just not enough of a story here to put this information on the front page, so they dropped it. No thought at all that by not publishing this story thousands of Americans would perish in this huge al Qaeda attack. And what about the fact that there is now iron clad proof that the CIA hid the names of Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hamzi from the FBI even when they were knew these terrorists were inside of the US and were sure these terrorists were going to take part in this huge attack the CIA had been warned about, information that is now in the public domain, and still the main stream news media will not print this. Just like they had laughed at the unfortunate person killed in Florida, they have written off the 3000 people killed on 9/11 as no longer important and no longer news worthy. To main stream news media all of these people were not real people who were living at one time, but nothing more than fodder for macabre jokes on TV.

[bellecloche]

Whatever the family of the deceased did to hear their tragedy thrown around for the sake of Klein appearing cool with his metaphors is beyond me, but it more importantly brings up the issue that "being cool" appears to have become the essence of journalism over the past 15 years. In Newsweek, in Time, let alone on TV, journalists no longer strive to be the faceless messengers allowing the readers/viewers to decide for themselves. Instead, "serious" news articles finish off with sardonic remarks like "Yeah, right," and far more TV air time is given to punditry than to actual reporting across the networks (with such helpful analyses as Amy Holmes announcing: "Voters like to vote for who they like"). Everywhere from CNN to Newsweek's "Conventional Wisdom" box, everyone is striving to sound the hippest or the snarkiest and we can't tell a reporter from an editorialist. Reading or watching the news in America has evolved into observing a group of high schoolers take cheap shots at anyone within their field of vision and assuming everyone cares.

[Grannysue]

I use to watch CNN a lot, now, with Blitzer's comments after Obama's speech about race issues, and last night John King just had to keep on showing the Rev. Wright's video, even though the part about God 'Dam America was stated by someone else who he was "quoting", it's obvious where their slant lies. So, no more CNN, I go over to MSNBC and any other news program, other then FAUX NEWS. Seems to me a good many of these so called News programs, are nothing more then talking heads shouting out their opinions about who's going to win, etc., Seems CNN wants to keep the race issue going.

[txgal44]

I've changed over from CNN to MSNBC also. CNN does want to keep the race issue going. Good Gawd! All of this because a black man wants to be President. Wonder what ignorance will happen when a Mexican or Native American run? CNN and FOX News will loose their minds!

[TUPHATT]

You liberals...I mean progressiv­es...reall­y crack me up. You're all so easily offended. Then you get really angry to the point of being malignant. "He should be fired..." But then you guys can be really mean. I've been called very nasty words like NEOC_N and TR_LL. That really hurts guys. Please try and be nicer than the rally stupid and insensitve Joe Klein.

[DerSonikGuppy]

Hmmmm......"Tragedy plus time equals comedy" Not the day after, jackass.

[Eduardodelazul411]

Joe Klein has long been proof that centrists aren't immune to the crazies.

[CGrace]

Joe Klein is an idiot and a Clinton lover.

[EvoMan]

Why does this guy get paid?

[Boboday555]

More KKKlass oozes from the neo-con sewer.

[YouThinkAndTalk]

So many pundits and so few stories!

[Ironfox]

"so many pundits" and so few intellects.

[julia06]

Dumb remark.
This is why many no longer watch cnn.
Bet he thot he was being clever, too.

[apikores]

Rumor has it Joe Klein's daughter is a fan of group sex, but you don't see people making bad jokes about it when HE's having a bad week (like when it was revealed that he had been talking out of his ass about FISA and pretty much the entire blogosphere came crashing down on his head).

[sammy333]

It is "Kristol-clear" that a pack of wolfs from CNN, Times, Newsweek, New York Times is trying to re-assert their unconditional power and sink Obama. A confluence of interests plays a big role: for the DINOs Hillary is easier controlled and her war-voting record proves it, for the republicans Hillary is an easier candidate to defeat against McCain.