Mark Halperin Really, Really Thinks His Anonymously Sourced Scoop Is Super Important!

So, I haven't been in the habit of reading Mark Halperin's THE PAGE, because why would I? There's no presidential election this year for Halperin to be hysterically wrong about at all times, so what's the point?

But it's been brought to my attention that yesterday, Halperin published a SUPER-DOOPER IMPORTANT HEALTH CARE SCOOPLET. Billed by Halperin as "ESSENTIAL READING," what's on offer is some anonymously-penned dollop of conventional wisdom that's plainly dribbled off the fingertips of some GOP flack about how health care reform is doomed. Naturally, a dog cannot piss in this town without splashing five or six people who are willing and eager to dispense the exact same STREET KNOWLEDGE to a reporter or teevee news talking head and sign their names to it. But only Mark Halperin can bring you the same thing by a guy who's way too important to identify himself!

Anyway, that was yesterday. Today, Halperin is really, really, insistent that his ESSENTIAL READING is a must-read, for everybody! He tells THE PAGE's readers that Robert Gibbs "considers gaggle or pen reply," which basically means that the matter wasn't significant enough to Gibbs to warrant a reply when he was asked about it. Halperin goes on to insist: "Health care power missive by mystery scribe sets D.C. on fire." Why don't you hit up the ol' Google, dear readers, and see the INFERNO for yourself!

Wow! Three whole people are talking about this! One, of course, is Ben Smith, at Politico, where reporters are contractually obliged to blog about every goddamned piece of political detritus that births itself into the world, on pain of having Jim VandeHei bury a hatchet in their throats. Another one of the people chatting up this game-changing exclusive says, "Halperin's 'Essential Reading' Is Total Crap". And now, I'm the fourth person to talk about this. En fuego!

Naturally, no post on Mark Halperin would be complete without documenting the Photoshop illustrations that document his childlike imagination:

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Comments

[miamia]

How do you feel fire in hell without having skin or the sense of touch???

[tallky]

Jason ~ this sounds soooooo bitter. I know Halperin took a turn right at some stage, but there was a time when he was a "gatherer" and so smart, many many listened. Trying to stay alive pre election he sided with a bad bad bunch and now is using his pen. I'm guessing his content is falling off. I sure have loved listening to him with Meachum on Charlie Rose many time. That's over??

[TobyPLD]

Jason Linkins Really Thinks he Is Super Important!

[goodpyr]

Halperin- Brain Drain in person.Even a broken Clock is right twice a day.
Not so with this ijit.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Most of the people appointed by Obama have a "Third World" mind set.

[keepemhonest]

wow... your comment was absurd

[highflag]

America must be the only country in the world where someone like Halperin can make a comfortable living being consistently, monumentally wrong virtually all the time.

If you do a search of his articles throughout the '08 election, his knack for misinterpreting the unfolding events is staggering.

[johnnynyc]

I'll bet you never even heard of Halperin before the last election and aren't in any position to judge his decades long career.

[adlerstein]

an advice Mark Halperin gave to the McCain campaign for how it could defeat Obama:

"Emphasize Barack Hussein Obama's unusual name and exotic background through a Manchurian Candidate prism."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/the-most-ridiculous-polit_b_154528.html

[johnnynyc]

Theorizing about what a candidate, Republican or Democrat, can do to win an election isn't advising them. It's not even close.

There is constant speculation about what a politician is thinking or what their next move should be.

[adlerstein]

theorizing and constant speculation -- yeah, you are right,

that's what Glenn Back and Roosh Limpbah are doing

[IvyShoots]

Ah, so THAT'S what Google is for! Thanks, Anonymous!

[Daniel Macht]

New rule for journalists: only get to call your own piece "essential reading" if you're being ironic.

[Name Not In Use]

I didn't know about "The Page". It posts the President's daily schedule.

* President Obama meets with Speaker Nancy Pelosi for lunch in the Private Dining Room
* Robert Gibbs delivers the daily press briefing from the White House
* 2:15 pm
* President Obama signs the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act in the East Room
* 3:15 pm
* President Obama meets with Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner in the Oval Office
* 3:45 pm
* President Obama meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office

Pelosi and Clinton in one day. That's gotta hurt.

I wonder if Hillary is miffed because Pelosi got the lunch spot.

What's he going to say to Geithner?

"I thought you had the key to Fort Knox! So ... who has it really? No, joking around, Tim."

[den1953]

Truly makes one wonder when the ignorance will ever end Mr Halperin is right up there with Mr Kristol they could make Saddam Hussien's information officer via Bagdad Bob look like a piker!

[Shashi0224]

Halperin is simply trying the old, republican tricks.....lie until it becomes repeated enough that people accept it as truth, even though it has no substance. It's how the republicans got bush installed as president back in 2000, it's how they started the Iraq war and it's how they got Americans to think the republicans were better at protecting us from terrorism when the worst terror attack in our history occurred under their watch......all 3 branches of government under their leadership at the time.
Propaganda.......no respect for truth or facts.....simple manipulation. That is the republican way.

[beaupritchard]

"when McDonnell wins in Virginia ... blah blah blah ... Blue Dogs and moderates will get even more nervous about midterms ... blah blah blah ... nothing final happens before Christmas at the very earliest. Most likely spills into next year. Which means economic numbers and POTUS approval ratings will be determinative ... blah blah blah ... if this thing goes into 2010, there are several more months of the "jobless recovery," unemployment goes above 10 and POTUS slips below 50, all bets are off"

Here's another possibility.

Health care reform goes through with a strong public plan. The public wakes up to just how much smoke and mirrors republicans and their operatives­(Halperin) have been throwing at them over the summer and vote 30 more house members and 7 more senators (including McConnell) out. The republican party becomes synonomous with the buchanan brigades and enters third party status.

Halperin's piece smacks of desperation ... either his or whoever got him to write it. Health care goes through with a strong public option and its over for republicans(and democrats) who dragged their feet in getting it passed.

My gut feeling is this is more about not crushing the two party system than about how the public option would be received. Really the only thing keeping republicans in the game is Obama's reluctance to run over them.

We saw the same thing with Hillary in the campaign. That instinct is just missing.

[WindySailor]

I would accuse Halperin of just making his scoop up, but he's not that clever (nor that smart). More likely it was a conversation between a couple of Grassley staffers he overheard on the Metro.

[keepemhonest]

The "Anonymous" author of the piece Halperin published clearly does NOT know the definitions of the big words they wrote ... likes to start sentences with the word "AND" & "Plus" .... wrote using run-on sentences ..... started the piece with "Note to readers - google what you don't understand" ... piece is riddled with UNTRUTHS ....

Seriously! Anonymous started the piece with "Note to readers - google what you don't understand"

Adding all that together - looks like ANONYMOUS is the former gov of Alaska.

[keepemhonest]

I should have said the only former gov of Alaska that quit.

[maggienash65]

Look at the show he goes on in the morning.

[Decipherer]

I'm sorry - I thought it was "The Google" (noun).

[sisterdebmac]

LOL! Yeah, The Google, The Internets and now, thanks to Poppy, The Cables... These people are just incredibly out of touch.