Willie Geist Campaigns For McCain On The Upper West Side, Rejected By New Yorkers (VIDEO)

"Morning Joe" co-host Willie Geist set out to find McCain supporters on New York's famously liberal Upper West Side, putting on a McCain-Palin t-shirt and parking himself in front of the legendary Jewish deli Zabar's. He ended up finding one Republican couple, but not before being greeted with scorn and bewilderment by passersby, many of whom said that they didn't know a single person in the neighborhood who is planning to vote for John McCain.

Back in the studio, Mika Brzezniski and Mike Barnicle were deeply disturbed by the way Willie was received in the neighborhood. Barnicle said, "That is an important cultural piece, and it proves why so many people are so right — no pun intended — to really loathe so many on the left. Those people are so close-minded."

In Washington D.C., Joe Scarborough — who often complains that Democrats fail to see beyond the Upper West Side and Georgetown — said, "There's some really, really hostile people on the left who just think that they are intellectually superior."

Watch:

Comments

[Dutschke]

"hostile" ? "Close minded" ??
Those terms are indeed a stretch. So if someone (in this case Geist) goes knowingly into a neighborhood which votes 70+% democratic, to actively "campaign" for McCain-Palin and is trying to sell T-shirts for said campaign, how are the 70+% of people supposed to respond with other than what we can see in this video clip ?
All I can see is tolerant, yet disagreeable people.
"Hostile" would have been if he would have been attacked verbally and aggressively. That wasn't the case at all. No one told him to move or go away... there was absolutely no sense of danger or "hostile" mood there at all. In a society, what you can see in this clip is what you would hope that a tolerant society would behave like.
What a fabricated piece of manipulative journalism. If you heard the commentaries without seeing the video first, you could get the impression that he was almost assaulted... but the closest thing to that was a hi-five denier. what a waste of air time and what a strange attempt to redefine the word "hostile"

[Ramirez]

Next time he needs to man up and walk that stuff through Harlem.

[PDXTransplant]

What is that supposed to mean? Give me a break.

[kinnycut]

The Pot is once again calling the kettle black. No Joe we are not all intellectually superior to ya'all, but "oh great one," unlike poor Willie, we can recognize "lipstick on a hog" when we see it, and McCain-Palin is the fattest sow in the pen.

[bdaved]

When the pot calls the kettle black it's at least telling the truth. This is the pot calling the kettle a pot.

[salzy1]

Morning Schmo and Meek Mika are so biased toward McCain/Palin, it is sickening. And Schmo's snarky, nasty comments about Obama are everconstant. They can't stand the fact that this time, the Republican campaign chiefs' cynical ploy to rope in the hapless, low information voters (aka the religious right) has not worked this time. There aren't enough of them to pull off a victory for McCain/Palin. The jig is up.
Willie Geist clearly was looling for laughs when he stood outside of Zabar's. He knew he was in a Democratic neighborhood, so why the ourage by Schmo and company?

[tobreakcustom]

And the point of this piece is....?

Way to keep with that hard hitting journalism, Joe..

[disgusted48]

What a juvenile piece. Scarborough and company are really reaching. It seems as though the "team" came to a conclusion, prepared their comments and then taped a piece to back up their conclusions. Almost makes you wish for the Imus days, not really, just for a more impartial morning show.

[Damaven]

Joe, no Obama supporter has ever acted like a McCain supporter. And Obama doesn't incite and his supporters don't incite. McCain is a trash talking liar and just had the esteemed??? Arnold I'mBack as opposed to JoeThePlumber name calling. You check this video and PUT IT ON YOUR SHOW. Everyone, check this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL20TdHjX2s

[LibertyNotNegotiable]

I have lived in Georgetown and currently live on the Upper West Side, and yes, both places have a concentration of progressives, but why should we fault people for thinking through their options and deciding based on a given world view? There's not much nuance in an election - you vote for one candidate or the other. What exactly did Barnacle or Scarborough expect when they refer to these progressive as "closed-minded"? Well-educated people in conservative neighborhoods in the South would have the exact same reaction, and neither reaction is unwarranted or inappropriate. Having opinions is what democracy and free speech are all about ... I think these hosts are just a little grumpy that their grumpy old candidate is three days away from a crushing defeat. Now you know how we've felt for the past eight years.

[gorgonzola2]

u sound smug, Yalie.

[LAcarlito]

For Mika and Barnicle to be in shock about the response from West Side people is silly. Why don't they send Willie down to Dallas/Highland Park and have him do the same thing? I have friends who are voting for McCain and if Willie Geist asked me the question, I would have jerked him around too, just because it would have been fun.

For Scab-boro to call liberals "hostile" is BS. I think the same thing would happen in a conservative and educated/high-income area. Their definition of "hostile" is in the eye of the beholder.

[gorgonzola2]

geist exper ience is no sur prise. guy is said to tell an tis em itic jokes off camera. further, when he turned it over to Mi ka, she was caught on the mi crop hone describing recent va gin al re cons truct ion surgery. with goofs like this, no wonder the peo ple seem gr im to someone from that show.

joe s is a prince. but he do want to hav sa rah sit on his face

then take de mon ey and run Ven ez uel a

[KitChandler]

LOVE'S IN NEED OF LOVE TODAY

Stevie Wonder (Songs In The Key of Life)

[photochick]

Oh, please. The Liberals are so mean-spirited... Give me a break. Do you have any idea what would have happened to him in a hardcore right wing area of the U.S.????? He would have been beaten to pieces and called all kinds of names. In fact, violence has already happened to Obama supporters in the last few weeks. So, Repubs, don't cry foul here. You have practically invented mean spiritedness and attacks.

[morbie5]

That is not the point; your talking about apples and oranges and you know it.

The upper west side is an affluent, educated area. Go to a rich republican area of Nashville like Joe said and see if you get treated the same way. Geist said you won't.

Obviously if you go to some rural racist poor area you'll get treated like crap if you wear an Obama shirt but that is not on the same level as the upper west side. Similarly, if you go to Detroit and wear a McCain shirt you might not come back alive.

The point is that cosmopolitan, educated, "enlightened," and "tolerant" liberals can be some very nasty, bitter people, while educated, wealthy, conservatives will at least be nice to you.

[jnw0811]

At what point were people nasty and bitter? Have I missed part of the clip? And just because "Geist said" I wouldn't be treated like that doesn't mean a hill of beans to me. I live in the south--Geist is full of sh*t.

[strawberryjulius]

People on the upper west side were short with him because they are New Yorkers not because they are liberals. New Yorkers have a low tolerance for B.S. If he done it in liberal Portland people would have either ignored him or said "No, thank you".

[Mom101]

Last I checked Grosse Point Farms, MI is a pretty decent neighborhood. And look how lovely one of their citizens is to Obama supporters - and their three year-old children

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NGAYR7RHfQ

[cariintexas]

A little earlier, Nora O'Donnell on MSNBC was asking "if it's fair for obama to run ads in AZ. funny, I didn't know Cindy Lou owned the entire state. Please if you have any time to spare, contact Obama campaign. They need people to make calls {from home}. Help us all you can.

[frankcaprafan]

Scarborough: "There's some really, really hostile people on the left who just think that they are intellectually superior."

Hey Joe, there are even more (psychopathically) hostile people on the right who just think that they are morally superior.

[malvones]

BREAKING NEWS: New Yorkers are hostile to Republicans. Give me a break.

New Yorkers are vocal. Nothing would have happened to the guy, if the camera had not been around I guarantee the only difference would have been more cursing. People are passionate. Get over it.