this is because of
mike huckabee and hillary clinton.
two public figures,
running for the highest office
in the united states.

She's already apologized, you know.

Gee, whillikers! It's all right, then!

Subtext: go fuck yourself, Quisling apologist.

She's already apologized, you know.

You know, if she possesses a corrupted mindset that causes her to say such things in the first place, then there is a root problem she suffers from, making her ability to apologize afterwards relatively unimportant.

It's not a matter of apologizing: the question is whether she repented and repudiated the community she moves in that makes such sentiments acceptable. Certainly she felt comfortable saying such idiocies among her colleagues at Fox News. One has to wonder what led her to say something like that in the first place. This wasn't a matter of misspeaking or something inartfully said: it was like joking about hijacking while waiting in an airport security line.

And, if one were a high-profile blogger one might use that voice to express sincere, deep outrage, rather than wait for the candidates.

Ezra,

It would be kinda weird for Barak to complain about the assassination meme when the "Obama might be assassinated" originated from Michelle Obama in 2003 and again in 2007 and most recently in Feb 2008.

Honestly, it's a "drama" thing with the couple, it makes them seem historically significant, when they're just another political couple like Bill and Hill

Do little research, don't play a sap.

Theres a difference between saying "Barack might be assassinated." and "Barack Might be assassinated, and that would make me the nominee."

I know I'm setting a possibly impossibly high bar here, as I'm not really sure how one apologizes properly for (jokingly) wishing a major public figure be killed while equating them with a mass-murdering terrorist.

But, that being said, the linked YouTube is a pretty crappy apology and the smarmy host who asks her to make it clearly doesn't give a rat's patootie.

The "obama will be assasinated meme" started with *the assasinations of MLK and Malcolm X and JFK and Bobby Kennedy*. How these stunningly obvious historical facts can be blamed on Michelle Obama when she observes on the record what we know to be true--presidential candidates and black political figures have lots of enemies with guns--is beyond me.

aimai

Ezra, stop trying to clean up the cowpies left along the campaign trail by Mrs. Clinton. What some news person said is of no significance compared to what a person who aspires to be president says, a person who always suggests that she is the "best" -- as in, think about who would be the BEST president, the BEST commander in chief, the BEST negotiator.What she said was stupid, reckless -- and I return to stupid once again.

Clinton's statement was worse than Huckabee's but this Trotta person is beyond the pale.

Why are all the comments about Clinton? She's old news. Fox has to be brought to town over this.

Liz Trotta needs to be fired. So does the interviewer. So does the program manager for allowing it to go on and not doing anything immediately to redress this.

If Fox essentially gets away with this they'll continue to feel like they can say whatever they want. This is borderline incitement to violence. If Obama and the dems don't come down hard and fast they risk swift boating.

Is this line of commentary weird or what? What's all the rambling about the fever dream of the Obama followers about what Clinton said? Let's face it, the constant musing on the part of the right wing commentators on the PUBLIC AIRWAVES about how Democratic candidates should be murdered or could be murdered is not just beyond the pale, but is totally morally corrupt and should be addressed as vigourously as so-called obscenity is. Isn't this incitement to violence? Just because they "muse" about it doesn't make it a backhanded way to incite their more unstable elements to commit murder.

Clinton's poorly worded but nonetheless meaningless statement has nothing to do with this.

You folks need a good lesson in logical thinking.

But, but, but, General Petraeus is the reincarnation of every great general from all history, and he single-handedly saved Iraq from bad stuff! You cannot suggest naughty things about him!

But Barack Hussein Obama is a Democrat who didn't support a war, so, of course it's okay to make all sorts of public jokes about having him be killed and then just, you know, saying, I'm really sorry, I was just joking.

When I saw this thread I wondered how long it would take someone to turn it into another anti-Clinton rant. LO and behold, jacqueline, at comment #1 does it.

Deep breaths people. Not everything is about Hillary Clinton.

Seems to me that Fox News and Hillary Clinton are on the same page.

Don't see it, then you are brainwashed.

Two women, hoping for tragedy and then blaming others for their crimes.

Fox News/Hillary Clinton playing to the ignorant.

People say things irreverently all the time; it doesn't mean they wish anybody dead. Let's cut the hysteria out of the campaign as much as we can and cut everybody on all sides some slack - even this silly cow.

Jeeze, why in the wide world of sports are half or more of these commenst about Clinton, who had nothing to do with this obscenity by Trotta? To be clear--I never liked either Clinton much (for policy reasons--they are just too darn conservative), I voted for Clinton in the NJ primary because I dislike Obama more (for the same reason) but have gone from disappointed to appalled at her campaign. While I still think she would have been the better candidate and president than Obama (and both are poorer than Edwards on both counts and Obama is almost a certain loser to McCain), once it became clear that she could not win without poisoning the well, she should have bowed out gracefully, put on a brave smile, and strongly supported Obama. Nonetheless, Hillary Clinton is not responsible for all the evil in the world. It both bemuses and saddens me that many liberals, as well as wingnuts, seem to think she is.

People say things irreverently all the time; it doesn't mean they wish anybody dead.

"Both, if we could . . ." Come on. Do you really not know that kind of "humor" always expresses an unacceptable wish? The more so, the more spontaneous the "joke" is? That's what this kind of humor is for.

As long as we are going after talking heads, David Gergen joked on camera about Obama be assassinated way back on May 8. Castellanos did the same on May 13. It apparently didn't registered since both of those guys were trashing Clinton with their jokes.

Your attempt to keep the media in check would be more effective if it was consistent. The chances of the ABC/Philly debate being a debacle would have been lessened if you would have sent out that letter after the October debates.(You deserve credit for blogging about the terrible questions/moderators from the beginning.)

This phrase...

"..to the fever dreams flitting through the most dangerous crevices of our polity."

They already say whatever they want to say. Almost anytime one turns on a Fox show there is eventually some sort of obnoxious catty jokey comment where the host looks with a conspiratoral smirk at the camera afterwards and says "only kidding" or something not truly apologetic.

This is just of a piece and the only surprise for them is the hubbub over this remark when all the others pass by usually uncriticized much.