CNBC's Maria Bartiromo Pretends Her Medicare Flub Never Happened (VIDEO)

Back on September 1, CNBC's Maria Bartiromo went on Carlos Watson's show on MSNBC and did a dumb, dumb thing. Debating the merits of government health care with Representative Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), Bartiromo demonstrated that she was a little unclear on Medicare's basic concepts, including the fact that people under the age of 65 are not eligible for it. "How come you're not on it?" she sarcastically asked Weiner. Well, Weiner was only going to turn 45 that week, so, like I said, 'twas a dumb, dumb thing!

But it's maybe even dumber to go on Morning Joe and pretend it didn't happen! From this morning's edition:

SCARBOROUGH: You have been accused of not knowing who is eligible for Medicare. What happened there?

BARTIROMO: I was on Carlos Watkins' [sic] show... on his new show, and Anthony Weiner was on the program. I was trying to make the point that governments has [sic] these fantastic health care benefits, and if the public plan is so great, are you going to give up your great benefits and go into the public plan? And I said to him, if it's so great, how come you're not in it, are you going to be giving up your benefits? He turns to me and says I am not on Medicare because I am not 65. I wasn't even talking about Medicare, so I said, 'oh, please.' Anyway, so that's the clip that they ran.

Uhm... YOU LIE! This is not at all what happened. Weiner was clearly discussing Medicare, and nothing but Medicare when she made her blunder.

[WATCH]

WEINER: Look, Carlos talks about Canada, you talk about Europe, let's talk about the United States of America. Medicare.

[CROSSTALK]

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WEINER: The United States of America, forty percent of all tax dollars go to a public plan. Ask your parent or grandparent, ask your neighbor if they're satisfied with Medicare. Now, there's a funding problem, but the quality of care is terrific. You get complete choice, can go anywhere you want--

BARTIROMO: How come you don't use it? You don't have it! How come you don't have it?

WEINER: Because I'm not sixty-five. I would love it.

Of course, after this morning, I have to wonder if Bartiromo is similarly confused about the way cable television news channels work. "That's the clip that they ran?" What clip? Who's the they? Is she referring to the teevee cameras from the National Broadcasting Company beaming the "clip" called "Carlos Watson's live TV show" into the universe, as it was happening, unedited?

[Thanks to Huff Post Media Monitor Joseph Bayen]

PREVIOUSLY, on the HUFFINGTON POST:
Maria Bartiromo Presses 44-Year-Old Congressman: If Medicare Is So Good, Why Aren't You On It?

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Comments

[Classof89]

"Of course, after this morning, I have to wonder if Bartiromo is similarly confused about the way cable television news channels work".

-Bartiromo is confused, period.

[digital]

Who believes ANYTHING Maria Bartiromo says?

She is part of the rich elite who have ruined our economy.

[Laura McBride]

Was it ever in question that Maria Bartiromo, formerly known as the Money Honey, was hired at least partly for her physical endowments? Considering that news was run virtually entirely by men when she first signed on to report from the floor of the stock exchange, what do you think? Not to mention, having an attractive young woman surrounded by screaming males hot for the kill and waving their weapons--in this case, stock orders--was designed as an audience builder. And then she married Jonathan L. Steinberg, son of corporate raider Saul Steinberg, and became instantly very wealthy, if somewhat tainted with the scent of conflict of interest, considering her mandate as a journalist in the public eye. (It used to be that journalists considered it their ethical duty not to take money from those upon whom they were reporting.­) In addition, although a 20-minute search hasn't found it, I seem to recall that some of Jonathan Steinberg's business endeavors were, well, less than sterling in their adherence to accounting principles and such bagatelles. So you wonder how she could have such a well-developed "forgettery?" I don't. She does whatever serves her purpose at the moment, and it appears that purpose is the same as those she reports on so shoddily: money, excesses of money, wherever and however she can get it.

[Niasia]

Let her go on Rachel Maddow's show with those bold faced lies. She will be called out!

[HalEBurton]

BREAKING: Airhead denies existence of breezeway between ears.

[MissterZip]

The BOTTOM line is, Maria Bartiromo is a corporate WHO-ER. Absolute, bought and paid for WHO-ER. And (from what I understand, 2nd hand or "in-line" as they sat in the "biz") when one of her corporate "sponsors" have finished, she loves to lick the poop-cicle. Not that there's anything wrong with it! But, remember kids, A** to mouth fellatiousness isn't the most "conservative" of "business" choices.

[roblabrousse]

Apparently bold face lying is accepted behavior on "news shows". The Republicans have set the mode for that.

[ObliqueReference]

how many d's did she have to s to get that gig?

[davidhilton1]

she's a good example on why i dont watch TV n/t

[taddles]

"I'm not a dithering airhead, I just play one on TV"

[texasyankee]

Finally, a Democrat tells the truth and you Huff Post Dittoheads miss it. Weiner said “Ask your parent or grandparent, ask your neighbor if they're satisfied with Medicare. Now, there's a funding problem, but the quality of care is terrific.” The key point in that whole exchange is there is a FUNDING problem. I have yet to see any Democrat or Republican provide any real explanation of how this utopian health care plan will be funded. Because the truth is that no one knows how to pay for Medicare today and no one has the slightest clue how to pay for the future. But pass the bill and watch the USA go bankrupt.

The better way is for the consumer to learn to actually pay for health care they use. I have car insurance – that insurance does not cover an oil change. Yet somehow health insurance has got to cover every doctor bill I have and the consumer has become completely disconnected to cost. When a person does not have to worry about or truly monitor costs, costs will inevitably rise. Nothing in the current proposals changes the consumer usage patterns and that is what really driving the rapid escalation of health care expenditures.

[goldbry]

You are either rich or you've never been seriously ill.

[taddles]

Yea and if your car dies you can ride the bus...if your health goes you are screwed. Your analogy is false. Your assumption that usage is driving costs is absurd.

[roblabrousse]

You mix your metaphors. Car insurance covers you in case of an accident. Health Insurance covers your health costs. You pay so much yearly for that chance when you need it. Many of us hardly use it once a year but some need it more than others. This system worked very well until the for profit aspect took hold. The cost has gone up more rapidly because of the insurance companies play for higher profits. You need to look at the whole picture. Your basic premise is wrong: humans are not cars.

[LREKing]

Willful ignorance is unbecoming.

[reverendadam]

Actually, if you haven't heard how this "utopian" health care plan will be funded, you haven't been listening. It has been made quite clear that the so-called "public option" would be paid for through premiums paid by policy holders just like private insurance. The public option as envisioned is not free health care, it's just a cheaper insurance option. Not exactly a difficult concept to comprehend.

[ViperVera]

I saw both sessions, the first when she made the flub (which she did) and then shockingly yesterday morning when she tried to soft-soap the whole thing on Morning Joe.

I know these types, I have three Italian sisters, you can take the girl out of Brooklyn but you can't ever fully take the Brooklyn out of the girl.

She's now trying to say she was being facetious- let's face it - she's being disingenuous.

Maria likes how well she's done in the world and she should be proud of herself. But she needs to think about where she came from once in a while instead of protecting the corporate elite.

I guess, just like political reporters, she wants access (and ..ahem ...plane rides) so she fights for the corporate line.

Maria - think of Zia and Nonna once in a while!

[Mariosright]

Right on! She is a disgrace to her Italian heritage. I'm sure she was not brought up that way and has become a product of her wall street environment. You know what the word for that is.

[texasdetainee]

The first time encountered Bartiromo was a few days ago when she and Micheal Eric Dyson were guests on "Morning Joe". The only reason I watched was because of Dyson. Anyway, The only reason she was there was to support the positions of Meka and Joe, to the extreme. She reminded me of Limbaugh, Beck and the like. Can anyone here recommend a televised morning news outlet other than the BBC?

[Saidas]

There isn't one. The most unbiased news source at night is The News Hour on PBS and overall, is finding non-partisan sites (you have to check carefully) on the internet. The Christian Science Monitor is a good source.

[texasdetainee]

Thanks for the reply!

[plooger]

But, sadly, even the News Hour has drifted towards a he said/she said presentation format, rather than a truly unbiased, objective approach.

[Mariosright]

I flip channels until CSpan comes on at 7 am. Morning Joe stinks! I just check his show to see if anyone is on that I want to hear, which is seldom because I can't stand Joe and Mika the lackey.

[clutchkill]

What a dumb broad. What ever happened to smart women on TV? They must be too much of a threat to the dumbness of the media these days.

[TrueThis]

She's so...hatef­ul with her remarks sometime which makes her sounds very petty and bitter.

[phoenixbc]

Absolutely correct. If she were a journalist, as she pretends to be (along with a few other things she has deluded herself to believe), she would display some objectivity in her so-called "analysis". Bartiromo defends a status quo that she cannot fully understand and cannot explain in the face of intelligent questioning. As educated as she is (NYU), she has fallen victim to her image, and is on the edge of a "Glenn Beck-ian" reflex against everything that constitutes change.

She is a true disciple of Greenspan and Bernanke, from the standpoint of believing that markets are near perfect and require only small adjustments in interest rates by the Fed. She has no apparent knowledge of economic history, and she is content to paddle her canoe down the river without realizing the waterfall that lies ahead.

[Gillian Parrillo]

Maria is the most self-centered person...s­he has no empathy, cares no a whit about her fellow men...she is a PERFECT republican­...