Mark Halperin 2008 Flashback: "Emphasize Barack Hussein Obama’s unusual name and exotic background"

[Cali_Democrat]

This guy should have been fired for this article he posted in 2008. It's no longer on the Time website, but you can see it using the internet archive way back machine.

Also, if you guys look at the bottom of the page, he put a disclaimer there that says "Note: This is analysis of what is likely to happen, not advice or endorsement." If you guys remember like I do, he only added this AFTER there was considerable outrage. I remember it pretty well.

There were also numerous other ridiculous things that Halperin suggested McCain do to win the 2008 Presidential election. Here's a sample:

1. Play the national security card without hesitation.

<snip>

4. Encourage interest groups, bloggers, and right-leaning media to explore Obama’s past.

5. Make an issue of Obama’s acknowledged drug use.

<snip>

7. Exploit Michelle Obama’s mistakes and address her controversial remarks with unrestricted censure.

<snip>

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

Read the whole thing (the site could take some time to load)...http://web.archive.org/web/20080501113118/http://thepage.time.com/halperin%E2%80%99s-take-ways-mccain-can-beat-obama-that-clinton-cannot/

Mark Halperin is a dick and a Republican hack. He should have been fired in 2008.

[polichick]

1. True, Halperin has long been a political hack, like most of the regulars on Morning Joe...

I do enjoy seeing Eugene Robinson and a few others.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[Enrique]

3. anyone who did all that would be a total dick

but no one would say so.

[karynnj]

4. He was worse in his 2004 coverage

Those were recommendations to McCain. If each of those things was done honestly, all but 11 would be fair. It is fair to say that the Clinton campaign did every one of these things (adjusting the blogging thing to be within the Democratic side.) 11 is in poor taste, but Senator Bob KerrEy went their with his Madrassas statement as a Clinton supporter.

As to 2004, he was impressed with Republicans simply making things up about Kerry and his wife - and not just the SBVT. This goes beyond - say using Obama's admitted drug usage - into slandering the candidate as people like Halperin, a powerful media person condoning it by printing every allegation without any regard to simple facts - like a completely intact Navy record.

In his book on the 2004 race with John Harris. In the book, they praised Matt Drudge calling him this generation's Edward R. Murrow. That is appalling by itself, but it was in the context of the story that was much of the first chapter that they used to show the "problem" with Kerry's campaign. What it really showed was the problem in the authors' morality and journalism standards.

The story was how a GOP operative and Matt Drudge used a little, innocuous piece of information they had - that in DC, John Kerry went to a name hairdresser and got his hair cut - charge $75. Likely something he does every few months. True, there are cheaper places, but even someone far poorer that JK could afford this and his hair looks good.

What they did was to concoct a story of a $1000 hair styling/coloring, highlighting event, complete with fake quotes by fake stylists on how he is extremely particular about how his hair looks. The Kerry campaign and the salon within hours of when the story was first posted in the right blogosphere and then put in the spotlight by Drudge. It never became a real issue. (Rove etc later - in the same vein - pushed a story that he used Botox - using a pre photo from a month after he had cancer surgery and was quickly back to work and campaigning and the after, a picture of an exuberant Kerry speaking on the night of his Iowa win - about 10 months later. )

The telling thing about this with regards to Halperin is that he and Harris chose to lead the book with this. What it actually shows is that RW blogospere at that point had turned their echo chamber into a very efficient smear machine - and that they admired that - rather than being alarmed by it. It actually says nothing about Kerry - other than he does have very nice hair - nice enough that Drudge etc thought it believable that that the shiny silver wavy hair was actually the result of hours of work by a top stylist, rather than genetics. In fact, it shows that he DID response quickly and completely. It is not clear what Halperin and Harris thought he should have done.

[Cali_Democrat]

5. WOW

Thanks for that information. Halperin is clearly a Republican hack.

[karynnj]

6. Important words missing

The Kerry campaign and the salon within hours of when the story was first posted in the right blogosphere and then put in the spotlight by Drudge put out the truth.

Other observation - I have seen Kerry in person at a book signing and at other events - his hair is entirely silver - lighting and shadows cause any differences in photos and from a distance.

[Supersedeas]

7. and this passes as mainstream--Swift Boats and concocted stories

[Honeycombe8]

8. Well, I'm surprised by this. If true. I've been defending Halperin, in a way.

Well, shut my mouth. ;(