Campaign watch: A special day for TV's Willie Geist!

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016

Keeps kissing the aspic of power:
Early this morning, it finally happened.

We can't link you to the videotape; the Morning Joe staff didn't post it. But this morning, in the program's first hour, we're almost certain we heard it:

This was the morning when third banana Willie Geist Jr. referred to "the Democrat Party" [sic] as he snuggled his nose up the ascots of power. It's part of his regular turn as Joe Scarborough's number two sidekick, behind the relentlessly servile Mika.

No, really—"the Democrat Party!" At long last, after all these years, that's what the asp-kisser said!

Geist is often called Willie Haskell-Geist because of his many obsequious aspects. The son of Bill Geist of CBS News, the youngster was raised in New Jersey, then went to Vanderbilt, hoping to adopt the upper-class cultural norms which would enable him to be even more servile to those with the wealth and the power.

Until this morning, Geist's most horrible day on the TV machine had almost certainly been December 12, 2006. In those days, he was playing sidekick to Tucker Carlson, who had a nightly show on MSNBC.

On that horrible Thursday evening, the boys' discussion turned to the Oscar chances of the Al Gore climate change film, An Inconvenient Truth. Working in the sidekick role, Haskell-Geist introduced the topic.

Things spun downhill from there:
GEIST (12/12/06): Tucker, I have got some real news for you. Al Gore seems intent upon not losing another close election, so he is everywhere these days, campaigning for on Oscar for his global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.

The former vice president has been on Oprah, the Tonight Show, the Today Show and every show in between, plugging the film's DVD release. On Saturday, he`ll host a nationwide network of 1,600 house parties to watch and discuss that movie. The Oscar nominations are due out late next month...

CARLSON: Have you seen the Gore movie?

GEIST: No, I have not seen it.

CARLSON: I suspect it’s a shade, what’s the word? “Pedantic.”

GEIST: Yes, I didn’t see it because I had paint to watch dry that weekend, so I couldn’t get to it. But Hollywood would like nothing more than to help propel him to the White House. So don’t be surprised if gets it.

CARLSON: Good point!
That had always been Willie Jr.'s most horrible outing. These days, he serves as Scarborough's number-two echo—and this morning, he even referred to "the Democrat Party!"

Wealth and fame are major prizes across the landscapes of network and cable "news." These prizes tend to attract the wrong people. They also tend to ruin such decent folk as may stumble into cable or network jobs.

Morning Joe continues along as one of cable's all-time hottest messes. As if Joe and Mika weren't bad enough in their role as apparent Trump surrogates, we can also say this on many mornings:

Let's extend our "hooray for Hollywood" theme! On days like today, we can also tell them that Willie boy is there!

Willie is kissing the asp of success. Everyone else on the program agrees to pretend there's nothing to look at as Mika and Willie Jr. keep showing up to perform their obsequious roles!

14 comments:

  1. Sorry, but OT: Turns out Trump's supporters, at least in SC, are racist, xenophobic bigots:
    http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2016/02/trump-clinton-still-have-big-sc-leads.html

    In another poll, 91% said that the person most likely to ve shocked by this poll was Bob Somerby. (The other 9% weren't sure.)

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    1. No, not actually off topic. One of the very worst human beings now breathing air is still steamrolling his way to a major party presidential nomination, and Bob is concerned about -- Willie Geist! And even what he said 10 years ago!

      Ah, but Bobfans will point out. Trump is not a journalists, and Willie is. And Bob "muses" about journalism.

      Well, here's a deeper thought about journalism and its effect on the "American discourse."

      Trump has been absolutely hammered by all sides, from MSNBC to Fox News and everything in between.

      And his command of the GOP field keeps increasing.

      So maybe we have entered into a post-journalism world?

      Delete
    2. "One of the very worst human beings now breathing air is still steamrolling his way to a major party presidential nomination..." 9:18

      Considering Trump shares the same positions with HRC on healthcare, abortion, firearms, foreign policy, and Wall Street, your appraisal of Trump is indeed accurate.

      Delete
  2. Gore's movie wasn't the least bit pedantic. It was as exciting as a good end-of-the-world science fiction movie. Unfortunately, it was filled with scientific errors.

    Gore himself has nothing to add to the science. The only question is who he chooses to believe: Michael Mann, Judith Curry, the IPCC scientists, the IPCC non-scientists, etc.

    Gore's movie was a great work of propaganda. Leni Riefenstahl would be proud. The unintended side effect was to lead to policies that did more harm to the poor and middle class than any conservative could have done. But, Gore's motives were pure, and that's what counts.

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    1. Aren't there other blogs you could be trolling?

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    2. Comparing Gore to a Nazi. Generally I wouldn't consider a mere opposing point of view to be trolling. That is trolling.

      Delete
    3. @ 10:12 PM - you must be new around here.

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    4. Yes if @ 10:12 were not new, the trolls would have driven him/her away from the combox.

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Yes. Willie's worst moment would be saying something nasty about Bob's poor roomie/victim Al. And his second worst moment would give Bob the chance to relive the worst moment for what, the sixth or seventh time?

    Welcome to the New Pavilion of New Topics. Where Bob discusses what he failed in college and reads the minds for reasons for college choices of people he probably never met.

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  5. "Democrat Party" is the name used when right wingers want to show disrespect. No big deal, it's like intentionally mispronouncing someone's name. So there's Willie's two cent contribution to America's discourse. We're lucky to have him.

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  6. A third banana on the opinion show of a right wing hack ex Congressman lets it slip that he, too, is a right wing hack.

    And Bob Somerby thinks he found a nugget in his quest.

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