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

[go4thegold]

What BS. It's Joe Biden who's running with Obama. Luger? What a joke.. D.

[Moka11]

I don't think Halperin should be blowing McCains VP
story either. Just to be fair.)

[mediaobserver]

Enough already!!! This is a game!!! Halperin is doing his job and he succeeded. In the information age, the idea is for the reporters, pundits and chattering class to throw something against the wall and hope it sticks. Unfortunately for us, the news business is more about speculation, rumor and innuendo because the more outrageous they get, the more eyeballs appear. Where Halperin went wrong was by not following the time-tested journalistic credo of verifying with at least three sources. But, this is the bed they sleep in when the O'Reillys, Hannitys, Limbaughs and others of their ilk garner large ratings and hook onto a demographic with their dastardly rhetoric. I love the way Senator Obama is playing this. It shows that he is running the show and his administration will be run from the Oval Office not the OEOB.

[HeironymousJosch]

Debasing another journalist is a bit childish, no? Perhaps you should spend more time honing your skill and less time dogging the other guy.

[peacebypiece]

Debasing a blogger is a bit childish, no? Condecension toward him is no better than what you accuse him of doing.

[Eoin45]

Well said. Heironymous needs to practice what he preaches.

[eatbees]

Debasing a blog comment is a bit childish, no? Maybe you and I both have better things to do than read this thread.

[divergal]

Hey, where do I apply for this joker's job? I mean, when you get it sooo wrong sooo many times, they HAVE to fire you, right?
What? Bush is still the president?
Nevermind, back to the salt mines for me...sigh.

[Daly]

I feel your pain, yester I found out that limbaugh and hannity both got out of high school by the skin of their teeth; never much after that and look where they are.

[MadOzbo]

See, Jason? When you speak (or write), people pay attention. That is why you are FAR more valuable when you give us "true" reporting, and shun that parody, trying-to-be-funny, crap. Regardless your journalistic history, your strength lies with your ability to shine the light of truth onto what we call "news."
Skip that 23/6 garbage, and shine as the informative journalist we all respect you for...

[Ramirez]

What MadOzbo said.

[jade7243]

i do not know why anyone puts any stock in any thing Halperin says.

[CindyM2008]

I don't either.

[lbrillante]

It is crazy the way everyone is chomping at the bit and some are jumping out of the starting gate before the bell. I seriously doubt he would have picked Dick Lugar. I am not at all comfortable with Chet Edwards. Ugh! I will be relieved when all of this bs is over.

[shela88]

I have seen Mark Halperin go on Cable News and mess up some really interesting news stories with his slick, know-it-all attitude and his lack of actual facts. He is also mean spirited and disrespectful of the people he covers when they deserve much better.I think Halperin is competing with Michael Isikoff for "snarkiest investigating journalist" but Isikoff at least gets his facts straight and would never have picked Dick Lugar for Obama's VP.

[freakbrother]

Perhaps Halprin is looking to move to FOX sometime soon. He fits their profile.

[eddiejoe]

He's been on FOX.

[LucieLee]

Could that have been a joke! or maybe a mere slip......and the wrong "Hoosier"?

[SouthernYankeeBelle]

Why would anybody in their right mind give him that kind of a story? He is a republican hack. Lugar is a fine man but he is a republican and I don't think it would fly in the dem's party.

[Manchurian]

But wouldn't it be great if we could move beyond Democrat and Republican and field a ticket with 2 great, complimentary candidates from both sides of the political spectrum? Dick Lugar fills in the blanks for Barack Obama, especially in the foreign policy experience arena. Perhaps the best approach to a governing team is a "post-partisan" approach.

[RppPolyp]

Okay, I see this the way my browser is configured...
"Mark Halperin Blows Obama VP" Naughty Naughty HuffPo!

This is the same guy who loves EggMan Drudge, calling him the "Cronkite of the 21st century..." Well the egg is on his fail pate...

[typicalwhitegrandma4BO]

Dull Tool in the shed=Halperin

[anghiari]

Marc Halperin has always had a hairball in this throat about Obama. For the longest he played Frick to George Stephanopoulos' Frack on George's Sunday Show. As pundit of the week, Marc would help Georgie smack Obama around without a word about Hillary's crazed campaign. That is until George dived bombed on the last primary debate. Marc is good at putting up then pulling down his online projects within the hour. Anybody remember the piece that Marc put up online where he took an old photo of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack and superimposed the heads of the past and current Republican renown campaign hit men on members of the Rat Pack, except when it came to Sammy Davis, Jr, (for those under 30, he was the black guy) Marc used Senator Obama's headshot. It was up and then it was down and absolutely no one spoke about it. I have this idea that guys like Marc and George got really full of themselves and somehow came to believe they MADE Obama into the superstar and that they could bring him down. As we know they have failed, but it doesn't mean they won't keep trying...right marc?

[Bitsko]

Excellent column.

While we're at it, how about taking down Thomas Friedman's claim to have ended the cold war? His use of the imperial "we" is incredibly egotistical even for him.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/opinion/20friedman.html

[SeekerOne]

He's what you call a skin crawler.