Mark Halperin Blows Obama VP Story, Then Covers It Up

Hey, kids! Late yesterday evening, Mark Halperin, who writes "The Page" for Time Magazine - which is like a comic book, full of listicles for children - had up on "The Page" a post that, in his Halperin-y way, suggested or spitballed that Obama had chosen his Veep, and that Veep was Dick Lugar. It was titled "Hoosier Values" and read:

What is Barack Obama looking for in a running mate?

Obama tells TIME he wants someone who is "not about ego, self-aggrandizement, getting their name in the press" and tells CBS News he wants someone he would "feel comfortable with."

Obama at Saddleback: "There are people like ... Dick Lugar, a Republican, who I'd listen to on foreign policy."

On CNN this past Sunday: BLITZER: "Do you agree with Senator Lieberman that Senator Obama has not put the country first?"

LUGAR: "No. I think that was clearly a partisan statement at a rally. I respect everybody their opinions in a political campaign, but that's all that was."

To see what the future could look like, click here. [The link led to a photo of Lugar and Obama.]

Dick Lugar, of course, has endorsed John McCain for President. A brief amount of time passed, and then Halperin took the confounding post down, and there has been no mention of it since then. No update, no correction.

As long as Halperin is pulling the stupid stuff down off of his website, why not continue and pull this silliness down also? It's really hard to believe that a grown up wrote this, or that a room full of grown ups said, "Hey, let's actually pay for this." I find it hard to believe that a grown up would even read it, but I did, and now LOOK! Grey matter is dribbling out of my nose and now everything is going black and swoony. Damn you, Mark Halperin.

Comments

[profmsf]

This guy makes my gaydar go off. Good to know there are still some Log Cabin Republicans despite all Rove has done to discourage them. Hang in there Mark. The GOP has a big closet for you and your friends.

[ramal]

Halperin cloaks himself as a journalist but has become nothing more than a righwing schill.

[cheshirecat831]

Saw him on George S's show this morning Cokie Roberts wouldn't even look at him while dismissing his point and Donna Brazille chuckled and then both ladies gave each other a look that said 'this guy is a a__

[ToddinHB]

Even Georgie couldn't believe the idiocy of his remarks.

[luckyoldson]

FactCheck.org:

McCain misfires as he attacks Obama's home purchase.

On the defensive over the extent of multiple McCain homes, the GOP candidate strikes back. But his TV spot gives an oversimplified and misleading account of how Obama bought his own $1.6 million house in Chicago.

* The ad says Chicago power broker Tony Rezko got "political favors" including "$14 million from taxpayers." But there's no evidence of any connection to the Obama home purchase. The $14 million was to build apartments for low-income seniors. Obama wrote a letter supporting the "worthy" project, but both men say Rezko didn't ask for the letter.

* It says Rezko "purchased part of the property [Obama] couldn't afford." Rezko's wife did buy an adjoining tract but later sold the land at a profit. Obama paid market price for his home.

[rationalthought1]

Halperin makes my skin crawl every time I see him appear on some cable show. He's extremely transparent.

[NeverRepublican]

Halperin = Misinformation...

Good 'ole American newsman...jerk.

[leftintheoven]

Halperin was at his classic worst on ABC's show with George S today. Somehow he managed to claim that the McCain number of houses fiasco was going to hurt Obama worse than McCain. He tried, to no other guest's agreement, to say that Obama is the one starting the negative campaign tactics. Talk about wearing Cheney/Rove colored glasses!!!

Some people's children who get jobs as writers are putzes.

[politicojunkie]

Mark Halperin is a repug ditto head.

[Darsan54]

The headline sums it up: "Mark Halperin Blows". No more needs be said.

[Doots]

Can anyone tell me why CNN is interviewing James Cravelle?

[Doots]

Does this idiot live in the real world. McCain's campaign has gone negative since its figured out it has no policy offering of anything of any substance. Smear, lies, and war mongering are all the Rethugs know. Hasn't this guy heard of swiftboating?

[lapinbrim]

Halperin was just on ABC making the claim that Obama bringing up McCain's housing gaff was a critical political blunder, because it would give McCain carte blanche to go after Obama on Resko and Ayers. What fool believes that McCain's camp was holding back and would not go full throttle on Obama, unless he (Obama) went negative? According to Halperin, McCain can now go after Obama because Obama opened the Pandora's box of negativity. Does this mean that McCain had not gone negative up to this point? It appears Halperin is as out of touch as McCain.

Almost everyone else on the panel called him on his specious analysis of the effect of Obama's team trying to capitalize on McCain's gaff. Most pointedly, Stephanopoulos said he could not understand how Halperin could accuse Obama of going negative, when McCain directly attacked Obama's patriotism. Cookie Roberts had to explain to Halperin, that the issue with the number of McCain's houses was raised to make the point the McCain is out of touch. Halperin seemed unable to grasp this. What a complete fool.

One thing is becoming very clear in this campaign, many media pundits are revealing their contemptible ineptitude. Halperin seems to be doing a better job of that than most.

[hilts]

Lapinbrim - Great points about Mark Halperin. It's frightening that a man so shallow and inept as Mark Halperin was once ABC's political director, is regarded as a respected pundit, and has a blog in Time magazine.

Charlie Rose worships the ground beneath Halperin's feet. His blog in Time magazine is pure cotton candy. It reads as if it were written by an eight year old.

[rock2casbah]

The point of your comment is was "once ABC's political director. We see now why he lost that job. He handled the newscasts just as shallowly biased as his appearance on Sunday. He won't be happy until he loses the litlle one page bunch of garbage he writes in TIMES. He is not a seasoned journalist, he is a spin doctor for the right wing.

[Altessa]

I also watched This Week with Stephanopolus and was also stunned by Halperin's claim that the democrats going after McCain for being out of touch with his 7 - 10 homes therefore gives McCain the opening he needs to go negative. What planet is Halperin on? He must be working for the McCain campaign or GOP.
McCain's and his attack dogs went negative over a month ago. Next time any network has Halperin on as a commentator, Halperin should be listed identified as a McCain surrogate. I too found Halperin's absurd claim to be absolutely revealing.
Point two: the media and McCain team are creating and perpetuating all this hype about Hillary supporters being disgruntled. Sure there are a some vocal ones but the large majority will support the democratic ticket. Hillary will have a key role to play in the senate or as key advisor to democratic administration. Her life story is known to the world and she certainly didn't need to be formally vetted. Anyone who thinks the GOP and McCain machine wouldn't have attacked Hillary and husband Bill had Obama picked her as VP candidate is also on another planet.

[reelcobra]

As we get closer to the election, Obama is finding it increasingly more difficult to run a campaign based simply on "change" and "hope". He's only appealing to voters who want to vote for his race, and those who hate Bush.

As he rapidly abandons the positions that got him by Hillary, his promise of "change" takes on a different meaning. And his "hope" is obviously that no one holds him accountable for anything.

He has "fans" rather than supporters, both in the media and on the far left.

However, if he survives the fiasco of nominating the guy who said he seemed "clean", he may be able to avoid debating McCain (and exposing more of his shocking thinness on experience and grasp of actual issues) and run out the clock like he did with Hillary.

BHO '08!!

[Doots]

How can you run a campaign based on change and hope when your opponent has MSM in his back pocket. Not only are you fighting McCain's smears and lies, you have to frame your responses in such a way that MSM doesn't depict him as some elitist angry black man. In many ways this restricts Obama's repotoire of responses. Just look at the talking heads and who there guest are. Why is CNN interviewing James Cravelle and Lisa Sanchez. Cravelle sat through the entire interview with a scowl on his face and a dour disposition while maintaining Clinton had been disrespected during the VP vetting process. Why is this divsion being stoked by MSM.

[rock2casbah]

You clearly don't get it do you?

Obama is a brilliant guy, gifted in the style of Kennedy and Clinton combined. You are slurping up the drivel that the MSM is feeding you. What you have to ask yourself is why is it so hard to swallow that this man could posess the rare combination of intellect, leadership, adaptability, charisma, and integrity at a level that we have not seen in any politician in decades.

Those foreign dignitaries were not taken with him because of his "rock star" quality you are taken with. They see captains and kings everyday. It was all of the above mentioned qualities.

When McCain went to Mexico and South America not even 2 week before during the 4th of July holiday, no one took notice. Why? He was the typical politician, no substance just posing for photo ops with the Mexican president to garner the hispanic vote in America. Then to Columbia to horn in on the release of the hostagesm which he had nothing to do with, talking about the narcotic trade. He's transparent and shallow.

Ask yourself that. We need someone like him to tackle this colosol mess.

[w8aminute]

The first three words say it all.

[ThePhilosopher]

Change and experience are not mutually exclusive concepts. It's really tiring, and a bit depressing, that everyone is being so ridiculously reductionist in defining these terms. We've reduced 'change' and 'experience' too mind-numbingly simplistic concepts that bear no resemblance to the real world. Joe Biden can, and is, both experienced and a force for change. It's clear that he is a liberal who agrees with Obama's policy positions. Obama's policy position represent a massive change from the current situation, Joe Biden supports this change. The fact that he has been a senator for 36 years does not negate this; he can use his experience to help guide change. The idea that Obama had to pick someone with no substantive political experience in order to stay true to his message of 'change' is infantile.

[oldindependent]

Biden is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, in addition to foreign relations, right? This man knows more than the average bear about much of what's been happening to this country in the last, almost, 8 years.

The politicization of the DOJ, for example, and a whole lot more. He might not be able to prove it in a court of law (Others are working on that.), but he is not in a court of law. He is speaking to the court of public opinion, now.

Biden has been strident about the betrayal of the nation, leading to a war based on deception, not only of the people, but of him, as a U.S. Senator.

He has been very out-spoken on torture, more so than McCain. I think that Joe Biden is righteously and authentically pissed off. Sounds like a good attack dog to me.

Go get 'em, Joe!

Seems everyone in the American corporate media is focused on his foreign relations expertise. Biden can bring much more than that.