On today's Morning Joe, Obama flack Robert Gibbs, prompted by a question from Mark Halperin, lashed into John McCain, terming his behavior "erratic." And, indeed, the flipping and flopping has come at a pretty steady pace ever since the markets began their Farandole of Imminent Failure: for and against the AIG bailout, the suspension/non-suspension of his campaign, right up to yesterday's claim from Douglas Holtz-Eakin (after the deal failed) that McCain had been keeping a "low profile"...because that's what you do when you want to keep a low profile: tell the media about your intentions, threaten to scuttle and debate, and anger up the blood of David Letterman. Yeah...that's real stealth! Anyway, Gibbs suggested that "if John McCain's driving, get off the sidewalk," because he's an ageist or something.
Oh, and if you pay really close attention to the cross talk in the following clip, you'll hear Joe Scarborough ask one of those questions that, frankly, should never be asked. The images he's put in my mind today will not soon be erased.
[WATCH]
HALPERIN: Robert, it's Mark Halperin. How are you sir?
GIBBS: Yes, how are you?
HALPERIN: I want to ask you a political question because I know you sometimes move away from your policy hat and deal with politics.
GIBBS: I'm shocked you're going ask me a political question.
HALPERIN: There are people even on this set that believe this election has moved in large part because of the economic situation decisively to your candidate. You've got five or six pollsters at your disposal: do you all believe in terms of the presidential election, not the current crisis, this has caused things to move decisively to Senator Obama?
GIBBS: Well, look, what I do think is in the last 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, including that last debate, that people got a real sense of who is steady in a crisis and quite frankly, who is erratic in a crisis. I think that's probably caused people to have a lot more confidence in Senator Obama's ability to lead this country from the direction it's in now, forward.
SCARBOROUGH: How has John McCain been erotic....erratic
BRZEZINSKI: Erratic.
SCARBOROUGH: That's what I said.
GIBBS: I'm leaving that first one alone.
BRZEZINSKI: Erratic.
GIBBS: How has he been erratic?
SCARBOROUGH: That's what I asked, Robert? You don't want me to ask it.
GIBBS: Look, just yesterday, John McCain said we shouldn't fix blame, took a breath and then fixed blame. He said the fundamentals of our economy are strong and he flip-flopped. He opposed the bailout of AIG and then he supported it. This guy zig-zags. If he's driving a car, get off the sidewalk.