Hat Tip Gracie and GOMC –  (Politico) MSNBC senior political analyst Mark Halperin was suspended on Thursday by the  cable network after he called President Obama “a dick” on a popular morning show  and then quickly apologized.
“I thought he was a kind of a dick yesterday,” Halperin, who also is an  editor-at large for Time, said on Morning Joe, referring to the President’s  conduct during his press conference.
A couple of hours later, MSNBC issued a statement, saying, “Mark Halperin’s comments this morning were completely inappropriate and unacceptable. We apologize to the President, The White House and all of our viewers. We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air. Therefore, Mark will be suspended indefinitely from his role as an analyst.   (Emphasis mine, ED Schultz unavailable for substantiation.…/SD)
The cable outlet also put out a statement from Halperin at the same time, saying, “I completely agree with everything in MSNBC’s statement about my remark. I believe that the step they are taking in response is totally appropriate. Again, I want to offer a heartfelt and profound apology to the President, to my MSNBC colleagues, and to the viewers. My remark was unacceptable, and I deeply regret it.”
Time issued a statement later Thursday calling Halperin’s comments “inappropriate and in no way reflective of TIME’s views.”
The magazine did not suspend Halperin but said, “We have issued a warning to him that such behavior is unacceptable” and noted that he had “appropriately” apologized.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Thursday afternoon that he called Halperin’s bosses at MSNBC.  “The comment that was made was inappropriate,” Carney told reporters in his daily briefing. “It would be inappropriate to say that about either president of either party.”
Obama’s chief political adviser, David Axelrod, said the crude remark was likely a “mistake” that shouldn’t be seen as representative of Halperin’s career.
“What he said was obviously stupid and tasteless, and he exercised poor judgment,” Axelrod told the Washington Post. “I think he’d be the first to acknowledge that. I strongly disagree with his analysis. But I’ve known him for decades. He’s a decent person and a good journalist. I’m sure that no one regrets this more than he does.”
The incident took place during the Morning Joe show, when host Joe Scarborough asked Halperin what he thought of Obama’s press conference and Halperin questioned whether the seven-second delay were in effect so he could give his real opinion – apparently thinking it would be bleeped out before hitting the air. Scarborough told Halperin to go for it because they would use the delay to prevent whatever he said from being broadcast. “You fall down, I’m going to catch you,” Scarborough told Halperin. (read more with video)