Morning Joe: All Episodes Talk

[neona]

I thought today was a lot better than yesterday. It wasn't quite so depressing and we didn't have to sit through any awkward speeches.

Elise Jordan and John Heilemann now my favorites to replace Joe and Mika if they ever retire. Heilemann was especially good today - he does passionate well without being pompous, conveying a genuine sense of urgency without sounding like an ass. He's also got a great quirky sense of humor, the kitchen backdrop trolling puts a smile on my face everyday.  It's almost like he actually appreciates the viewers and wants to brighten our mornings! While at the same time knocking it out of the park in terms of substance! What a novel idea.

[teddysmom]

14 minutes ago, neona said:

It's almost like he actually appreciates the viewers and wants to brighten our mornings!

I noticed something on the far counter behind him the other morning, It was this HUGE metallic thing. I didn't watch long enough to figure out what it was. It looked like part of some industrial HVAC venting device. 

[oakville]

6 hours ago, nittanycougar said:

Today is the first day of the Major League Baseball season.  Joe and Willie are really excited. Mika seems happy that they are excited.

Joe trolled Mika by saying that she must be excited about Mookie Betts' new contract.  Good job trolling your own spouse. Of course Mika has no clue who Mookie Betts is. (He is an outfielder for the LA Dodgers).

 Mika said the family likes to watch baseball.

 

Mika used to hate any baseball talk on the show.  I am shocked that she would watch the games with Joe. I wonder if Bamba watches the games with them ?

[Kemper]

6 hours ago, teddysmom said:

I noticed something on the far counter behind him the other morning, It was this HUGE metallic thing. I didn't watch long enough to figure out what it was. It looked like part of some industrial HVAC venting device. 

I know what you mean and I have always wondered about it.  I thought it was one of those industrial-sized fridges.  

[Me from ME]

I haven't seen it but...commercial pizza oven? Don't laugh, one of my childhood friends had a house in the Cotswolds with that very appliance.

[KayVeeTeeVee]

Mika!  You might want to watch your colleague Lawrence O'Donnell's The Last Word, who interviewed the reporter in the AOC/Yoho story LAST NIGHT.  You know, the reporter you just said could not be confirmed/named.  Oh, and a fashion tip.  If you simply must wear black every darn day, buy a black bra.  You might want to try wearing a colorful necklace every once in a while. Because you are just depressing me. And yes, I'm that shallow.

[xaxat]

Today is the anniversary of the A Rod/Varitek brawl seen in the photo behind Johnathon Lemire. 

[plumbago blues]

Ditto on the bra. Every time I saw her she was sitting there with her arms crossed, shaking her head in disgust. As was I: what a joyless, cold, unwelcoming creature she is.

Re: the idea of jewelry: even in the old days, when she vamped around, she never, ever wore jewelry which always surprised me. Then she started on the scarf trick...just hanging there without flair. I guess it was easier than trying to clasp a necklace but it was lazy personified.

[teddysmom]

Sometimes jewelry rattles against their microphones.

Or, like in my case, I have sensitive skin and sometimes stuff makes me break out. Of course I can't afford the jewelry Joe could to buy her, but that could be the reason.  None of the anchors wear much jewelry. 

I think this is a lost cause, kids.  

Edited July 24, 2020 by teddysmom

[teddysmom]

I turned it on around 8:40 I think , maybe earlier and I swear three more people  on screen and they could be doing Hollywood Squares. 

Who is running this show.  

[plumbago blues]

52 minutes ago, teddysmom said:

Sometimes jewelry rattles against their microphones.

Well, yeah, but it would be on par with or even preferable to her constant sighing, tsking, and other murmurings. I think there are ways to appear well put together and stylish without causing auditory issues. So you nailed it: She is a lost cause.

[WhineandCheez]

Quote

 

Sometimes jewelry rattles against their microphones.

Well, yeah, but it would be on par with or even preferable to her constant sighing, tsking, and other murmurings. I think there are ways to appear well put together and stylish without causing auditory issues. So you nailed it: She is a lost cause.

 

All we can hope for is for her to go back to her scarves, then Oakville can report on them everyday, calling them "Unitarian Scarves." (thus brightening his Florida life, since nothing is going on there--ha!)

[oakville]

1 hour ago, WhineandCheez said:

All we can hope for is for her to go back to her scarves, then Oakville can report on them everyday, calling them "Unitarian Scarves." (thus brightening his Florida life, since nothing is going on there--ha!)

Ha!. I am still in Oakville Ontario. The border with the USA has been closed since March.

[teddysmom]

17 minutes ago, oakville said:

I am still in Oakville Ontario. The border with the USA has been closed since March.

It's safer up there.  

[oakville]

14 minutes ago, teddysmom said:

It's safer up there.  

Yes. There are about 200 cases for a population of 14.5 million.

[neona]

9 hours ago, plumbago blues said:

Well, yeah, but it would be on par with or even preferable to her constant sighing, tsking, and other murmurings. I think there are ways to appear well put together and stylish without causing auditory issues. So you nailed it: She is a lost cause.

I don't know, I feel bad. I'm kind of sympathetic because I think women working in visual media are exposed to all kinds of creepiness we can't even imagine, especially in the last couple of years with the advent of social media. I'm pretty sure their twitter, instagram and Facebook DMs are beyond our wildest imaginings. And that is pretty much when the black shroud phase began. She was already in a hypersexualized environment, being judged on her looks by her superiors, pressured to dress sexy on air etc etc. And then social media arrives with all its insanity. 

I think for a vulnerable, slightly insecure person it must be hard to navigate, especially if she's already unsure about other aspects of her job and her role. Resorting to the black shroud is a natural reaction, but I'm not sure it's particularly healthy, because it's also a reaction to some external force, and not an expression of her individuality (as some of you already pointed out, it's a literal imitation of her colleague Maddow). She'd benefit from finding some sort of equilibrium, finding out what she actually likes to wear and who she really is. That's what other women on MSNBC do, Joy Reid, Steph Ruhle, etc - they've developed their own styles in accordance with their own sense of self, and it allows both them and the viewers to focus more on what they're actually saying. In fact their individual styles enhances the overall impression they make, in a good way.

Another aspect is context - in most areas of life it really doesn't matter if you basically wear the same thing every day, as long as it's clean and professional. Ironically, a daily morning show is literally one of the ONLY jobs in which it kinda does matter, a little bit, because part of the job is to communicate to the world that today is not the same day as yesterday. So some tiny bit of variation is called for. But there are a hundred ways to achieve that, in a totally non-sexual way - like just buying the exact same shirt in like 8 different colors and rotating them forever would go a long way. I think it all goes back to this weird situation they're in where they seem to have gone from constant, unhelpful intervention from management to virtually zero feedback because it's all now perceived to be Insulting to the Stars/sexist/disruptive to Joe's Ephemeral Genius. I really don't see how that's going to help them in the long term.

[oakville]

16 minutes ago, neona said:

I don't know, I feel bad. I'm kind of sympathetic because I think women working in visual media are exposed to all kinds of creepiness we can't even imagine, especially in the last couple of years with the advent of social media. I'm pretty sure their twitter, instagram and Facebook DMs are beyond our wildest imaginings. And that is pretty much when the black shroud phase began. She was already in a hypersexualized environment, being judged on her looks by her superiors, pressured to dress sexy on air etc etc. And then social media arrives with all its insanity. 

I think for a vulnerable, slightly insecure person it must be hard to navigate, especially if she's already unsure about other aspects of her job and her role. Resorting to the black shroud is a natural reaction, but I'm not sure it's particularly healthy, because it's also a reaction to some external force, and not an expression of her individuality (as some of you already pointed out, it's a literal imitation of her colleague Maddow). She'd benefit from finding some sort of equilibrium, finding out what she actually likes to wear and who she really is. That's what other women on MSNBC do, Joy Reid, Steph Ruhle, etc - they've developed their own styles in accordance with their own sense of self, and it allows both them and the viewers to focus more on what they're actually saying. In fact their individual styles enhances the overall impression they make, in a good way.

Another aspect is context - in most areas of life it really doesn't matter if you basically wear the same thing every day, as long as it's clean and professional. Ironically, a daily morning show is literally one of the ONLY jobs in which it kinda does matter, a little bit, because part of the job is to communicate to the world that today is not the same day as yesterday. So some tiny bit of variation is called for. But there are a hundred ways to achieve that, in a totally non-sexual way - like just buying the exact same shirt in like 8 different colors and rotating them forever would go a long way. I think it all goes back to this weird situation they're in where they seem to have gone from constant, unhelpful intervention from management to virtually zero feedback because it's all now perceived to be Insulting to the Stars/sexist/disruptive to Joe's Ephemeral Genius. I really don't see how that's going to help them in the long term.

This is an excellent post. I am going to re read Mika's first book "All Thing at Once". IIRC, Mika was criticized when she was working at CBS for poor fashion choices & showing up on the set looking frumpy. They told her to dress better & lose weight. On Morning Joe, she didn't get a clothing allowance the first year & complained about having to buy the sleeveless sheer dresses & stilettos on her salary of $150K per year .

Joe was making $1m per year for the first season. Joe had leftover suits from when he was in Congress. In later years, Joe got complimentary Morning Joe branded sweatshirts from MSNBC & wore jeans & sneakers on the show.

[oakville]

Catching up with the Friday show. Joe is excited about all the polls showing Biden with a 10 point lead in battleground states. Joe mentioned that women will be standing in the rain to vote against Trump.

Joe said this fall could be a sweep against Trump & not a vote for Biden.

Joe is still wearing his blue blazer.

[oakville]

Mika does not like Trump using the words Suburban Housewives of America.

 

[nittany cougar]

Mika said 150,000 people have died from Covid-19.

An NBC poll of 826 voters shows Trump leading by 5 points in Arizona.  A CBS poll of 1200 voters shows Biden and Trump tied in Ohio.

Joe said Texas and Georgia are deadlocked.  Joe thinks it is significant that Biden is at 50 percent in some key states.  He said retired politicians know that it is significant to get to 50 percent.  I love when Joe uses himself as a source.

Heilman thinks Trump is behind in all of the swing states.

Joe said that the races will tighten up.  Make up your mind you fucking idiot.  Is Biden way ahead or is it tight?

Mika is wearing a Lululemon t-shirt or something. It looks comfy for her trip to Publix after the show.   Come on Mika.  Dress for a news show.

Edited July 27, 2020 by nittanycougar

[nittany cougar]

Heileman says the polls in the sunbelt- including TX, AZ and NC - favor Biden. 

Lemire is at the White House.  He says that Biden is leading in Michigan. 

It occurs to me that Joe is dressing up for the show on his blue suit while Mika is wearing her weekend hanging out shirts.  

My sense is that Joe realizes he needs to step it up to impress management, and Mika doesn't care.

Al Sharpton wants Biden to energize the race with his running mate.  A running mate can either hurt or help according to Al.

 

[WhineandCheez]

Yeah, nittanycougar I did one of those cartoon double blinks when I saw Joe and his suit. Looks especially jarring for the 96° and humid day we're having on Monday. Anyway I just wanted to say that Heilmann either had a stylist come into his kitchen before his appearance on MJ, or he has some kind of green screen from Architectural Digest.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

5 hours ago, nittanycougar said:

Al Sharpton wants Biden to energize the race with his running mate.  A running mate can either hurt or help according to Al.

 

Some exceptionally insightful info from Al.  Next he'll tell us water is wet. 

[oakville]

5 hours ago, nittanycougar said:

Mika said 150,000 people have died from Covid-19.

An NBC poll of 826 voters shows Trump leading by 5 points in Arizona.  A CBS poll of 1200 voters shows Biden and Trump tied in Ohio.

Joe said Texas and Georgia are deadlocked.  Joe thinks it is significant that Biden is at 50 percent in some key states.  He said retired politicians know that it is significant to get to 50 percent.  I love when Joe uses himself as a source.

Heilman thinks Trump is behind in all of the swing states.

Joe said that the races will tighten up.  Make up your mind you fucking idiot.  Is Biden way ahead or is it tight?

Mika is wearing a Lululemon t-shirt or something. It looks comfy for her trip to Publix after the show.   Come on Mika.  Dress for a news show.

I think the poll showed Biden leading Trump by 5 points in Arizona. I doubt Mika would start the show with a poll that was showing Trump leading.

Joe's blue blazer is getting wrinkled. He should have packed more than one blazer for his Maine vacation.

I liked Mika's Lululemon top. Their clothes are so comfortable to wear.

It's hilarious that Joe now dresses more professionally dressed than Mika on a regular basis.

I remember how depressing it was to watch Joe on set with his cereal stained fleece tops in 2012 while Mika was dressed in sleeveless sheath dresses.

There was an incident one day when Joe spilled a bowl of cereal all over the desk in NY & Mika got upset at him.

Mika told Joe that it was rude to eat breakfast while on live TV. Joe's cereal was crunchy & the noise from him eating was being picked up on the microphones while Mika was reading the TelePrompter.

Joe is probably right that the spread between Biden & Trump will narrow by election day.

I wonder if the show will discuss Biden's platform ?

Al Sharpton warned the Biden campaign shouldn't get intoxicated with the polls.

Joe doesn't believe that Trump will get 15% of the African American vote. Sharpton said that Trump will get a very low percentage of the African American vote.

Jacqueline Alemany is a new guest! She said unemployment benefits should be extended.

 

Edited July 27, 2020 by oakville

[nittany cougar]

27 minutes ago, oakville said:

I think the poll showed Biden leading Trump by 5 points in Arizona. I doubt Mika would start the show with a poll that was showing Trump leading.

Joe's blue blazer is getting wrinkled. He should have packed more than one blazer for his Maine vacation.

I liked Mika's Lululemon top. Their clothes are so comfortable to wear.

It's hilarious that Joe now dresses more professionally dressed than Mika on a regular basis.

I remember how depressing it was to watch Joe on set with his cereal stained fleece tops in 2012 while Mika was dressed in sleeveless sheath dresses.

There was an incident one day when Joe spilled a bowl of cereal all over the desk in NY & Mika got upset at him.

Mika told Joe that it was rude to eat breakfast while on live TV. Joe's cereal was crunchy & the noise from him eating was being picked up on the microphones while Mika was reading the TelePrompter.

Joe is probably right that the spread between Biden & Trump will narrow by election day.

I wonder if the show will discuss Biden's platform ?

Al Sharpton warned the Biden campaign shouldn't get intoxicated with the polls.

Thanks Oakville, that's what I meant to say.  

I cannot believe that Joe eats when the show is on the air.  No one wants to hear that.  What an oaf.

[neona]

17 minutes ago, oakville said:

There was an incident one day when Joe spilled a bowl of cereal all over the desk in NY & Mika got upset at him.

Mika told Joe that it was rude to eat breakfast while on live TV. Joe's cereal was crunchy & the noise from him eating was being picked up on the microphones while Mika was reading the TelePrompter.

 

I kinda wish this would happen now. Anything to break the monotony. Joe and Mika and the panel were all so much more intelligent and more entertaining when they were just sitting around talking to each other, not really caring that the audience was there. They've gone from not caring/noticing the audience was there to staring at us and shouting at us. It's exhausting.

[oakville]

5 hours ago, nittanycougar said:

Thanks Oakville, that's what I meant to say.  

I cannot believe that Joe eats when the show is on the air.  No one wants to hear that.  What an oaf.

Mika put an end to Joe's cereal eating on set in 2014. Mika also started to make sure that Joe had clean clothes & forced him to start wearing suits again on the show.

Mika & Joe did have cake on the set whenever they or a guest was celebrating a birthday or other important milestone. Mika make sure that cake was only served at the end of the show, so Joe wouldn't spill anything on the set.

I recall when Mayor Bloomberg tried to ban large soda drinks in NYC & Mika strongly agreed with this policy, Joe would retaliate by bringing a huge "Big Gulp" on the set. Mika started screeching at Joe.

Joe sometimes brought doughnuts on the set to antagonize Mika. Barnicle would eat the doughnuts.

I visited the NBC studios in NYC & they don't allow visitors to bring food into the studios.

 

Edited July 27, 2020 by oakville

[oakville]

5 hours ago, neona said:

I kinda wish this would happen now. Anything to break the monotony. Joe and Mika and the panel were all so much more intelligent and more entertaining when they were just sitting around talking to each other, not really caring that the audience was there. They've gone from not caring/noticing the audience was there to staring at us and shouting at us. It's exhausting.

I agree with you. The show also covered so many different topics during it's golden period.

Willie would do a segment called "News you can't use" which was usually a funny story about entertainment.

They used to do some business news segments with CNBC's Erin Burnett.

Mika & Joe used to have some disagreements about political issues.

 

[oakville]

On 10/18/2016 at 2:03 PM, oakville said:

It's impossible to argue with someone who broadcasts from a bubble proof bunker.

The Morning Joe panel should force  Steve Schmidt to accept responsibility for being the father of "debased politics" in America. He ran the campaign of Schwarzenegger in 2003. It is absurd that he was the most qualified person to replace the recalled Governor. Secondly, Schnidt  convinced McCain to dump Joe Lieberman as his VP pick for Sarah Palin. That's unforgiveable. Palin was not qualified to be VP. Thirdly, NBC News should apologize to viewers for allowing Billy Bush to be on the Today show. Paying him severance? Didn't anyone review Billy's tapes before he was hired for the Today show. They built up Trump through the Apprentice. Why didn't they disclose Trump's behavior towards women earlier ?. Thomas Roberts should also apologize to viewers for agreeing to host Trump's pagents.

Joe got mad at Mika when she said there are many Republicans who are supporting Hillary. He mocked them in a phony NY accent & said in Ohio, union halls would be filled with Democrat voters supporting Trump.

GQ disclosed that the bunker studio is in Joe's house. It would be funny if Mika can hear him in the other parts of the house, when he is shouting at people from the bunker.

Nittany Cougar , These were my comments the day on the forum before or on the day of Steve Schmidt's appearance on Morning Joe on October 19th  2016. The YouTube clip is dated October 19th, 2016 so I am confused as to why I would have posted about him on October 18th...

[oakville]

On 10/18/2016 at 9:38 PM, oakville said:

Mika told the GQ reporter who did Joe's profile story that she was very happy that MSNBC removed Sharpton, Melissa Harris Perry , Toure  & others & replaced them with Thomas Roberts,Chuck Todd & Andrea Mitchell. She said that they were her "people". I am surprised that she hasn't apologized for her remarks. Morning Joe also got rid of Jonathan Capeheart & Major West. Cornell West & Moyadeen others have not appeared in a long time. Joe & his Nantucket cronies are the only regulars.

The GQ article about Joe was popular at the time. Trump TV was the plan but he got ended up as President. It's interesting to see that Joe is much friendlier with Al Sharpton now than he was in 2016.

[oakville]

On 10/19/2016 at 2:22 PM, Padma said:

I loved it when Joe asked Schmidt (love him now!) to predict how many Electoral College votes would go for Hillary.

"400".

(crickets chirping).

Oh, how I wish MSNBC would fire these two and replace them with any of the great ideas above. It would also mean I could actually hear commentary from people I like (even, now, Donny) who Joe usually interrupts and talks over. But...never happen. Especially if (when?!) Trump loses, it would look too much like "playing politics". Plus, based on that article posted way back, Joe seems to have the goods on Griffin. I can't think of any other reason that these two are still there.

"400"

LOL!

Steve Schmidt was overly optimistic about Hillary Clinton winning 400 electoral votes in 2016.

[oakville]

On 10/20/2016 at 7:26 AM, oakville said:

Thursday Recap.

Joe is wearing a navy blue suit jacket with a burgundy tie. Mika is wearing a navy blue shirt & a Unitarian yellow& lavender scarf.

The first topic was whether Trump would accept the results of the election. Barnicle & harold Ford were outraged that Trump may not concede the election to Hillary.

Joe started shouting at everyone about how Al Gore did not concede the election for 36 days & it went to the Supreme Court.

The show had prepared a 5 minute video montage of Democrats not accepting the results in 2000 & 2004. I wonder when they had time to do that?

Joe started mocking Keith Olbermann for not accepting Bush's win in Ohio in 2004.

Mika smiled throughout Joe's rant.

Joe said people should google the elections in 2000& 2004.

Joe was happy with Trump's performance. He wanted them to shake hands before & after the debate.

Heileman from Sunny Las Vegas said that Hillary won the debate because Trump didn't do enough to turn the tide.

One panelist was upset that they were quoting from Hillary's wikileaks. It's not fair to use stolen emails.

In light of the recent discussion clips on Morning Joe, it's interesting that the show had prepared clips of Democrats not accepting the results of the 2000 & 2004 elections.

 

On 10/19/2016 at 3:19 PM, Landsnark said:

I like Steve Schmidt.  He says what he says and isn't a slimeball flack who plays disgusting rhetorical games.  Also, his having brought Sarah Palin to the ticket locked in 12 years of liberal Presidents, which has been crucial in balancing a partisan right wing Congress.
OTOH, why can't Bernie have a vacation home?  Schmidt should've said it was an off-the-grid yurt.  big laughs.

And on this topic, Cackles has REAAAAALLY softened her nasty edges.  Remember what a rancid piece of work she used to be?  A loathsome true believer who couldn't be told an objective fact without refuting it with ridiculously partisan nonsense.  I think she was really humbled by her stint on "The View," and she learned moderation.  If she wants a career speaking on the TeeVee, she can't be a shrill harpy constantly, she has to find humor and appear reasonable.  And it's working.
Know who are an interesting duo?  Rachel and Cackles.  They crack each other up, and it's fun.  Perhaps it's because Trump is such a fun and easy punching bag. 

Perspective.  Let's compare Trump's staff with Schmidt and Cackles.  One the one hand you've got the really scary people from "Penny Dreadful." Truly evil.  Dead eyes.  No wit.  On the other, Schmidt and Cackles are pleasant wonks being wonky.

This comment was from the date of Schmidt's appearance on MJ. Somehow, I didn't review the show on October 19th but I reviewed his appearance on October 18, 2016.  It's clear that Schmidt was opposed to Trump in October 2016, but was he more favorable to Trump in March 2016 after Corey Lewandowski was fired ? I would have to check the Morning Joe thread from  March 2016.

Edited July 28, 2020 by oakville

[plumbago blues]

7 hours ago, oakville said:

  On 10/18/2016 at 8:38 PM, oakville said:

Mika told the GQ reporter who did Joe's profile story that she was very happy that MSNBC removed Sharpton, Melissa Harris Perry , Toure  & others & replaced them with Thomas Roberts,Chuck Todd & Andrea Mitchell. She said that they were her "people". I am surprised that she hasn't apologized for her remarks. Morning Joe also got rid of Jonathan Capeheart & Major West. Cornell West & Moyadeen others have not appeared in a long time. Joe & his Nantucket cronies are the only regulars.

Wow. Great one out of the vault, Oakville. Imagine if the "cancel culture" gangs got a hold of these quotes. Looks like their true feelings were on display back when they thought they were invincible. Lesser knowns have been axed for such statements, and for ones going farther back in time than these. Maybe you've started a movement! Maybe they'll disappear! We can only hope. Thanks for digging this up! All their over the top love for some of these people today is pandering. 

[plumbago blues]

Joe needs to raise his camera. That downward squint is annoying and unflattering. Like the horrid blue jacket. Enough. 

Mika can't resist that black shroud. Today it's over a long sleeved top, both with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Do they not have a monitor to view themselves? See above: unflattering. Maybe a little color on her face would help, too. Bland.

It was rich to hear Joe bring up Trump tweets discrediting Fauci and the mask thing. I guess he forgot that the world saw his picture with Barnicle on the bench without them in a mask mandated area. Such hypocrites. Who takes these two seriously?

[teddysmom]

9 hours ago, oakville said:

One the one hand you've got the really scary people from "Penny Dreadful."

Which version? Original or LA?   You have to admit the little Egyptologist got off some good lines, and the first episode when Ethan asked "Who the f*** are you people?" was pretty funny.  And at least we rooted for the characters, even Frankenstein's monster ended up being a good guy. 

But yeah I get where you're coming from. 

And I'm still pissed about how they ended it so abruptly. 

I didn't even know Mika was on this morning, I only saw Joe the couple times I switched over. Joe had tweeted last night that the protesters in Portland were hurting their cause, and he got blasted for not realizing it's a small group of people who are against the protest & trying to hurt the cause, or just the normal dumb asses who think it's a good excuse to vandalize. 

 

Edited July 28, 2020 by teddysmom

[nittany cougar]

This show is really tired to me recently.  I think it is a bad idea to have a married couple as news hosts.   One of the things that makes ensemble programming interesting is that the people all bring a different perspective to the broadcast.  Joe and Mika are basically parrots of each other now, and that makes for some really boring television. Also being married and working together has made them lazy and complacent.

I think that Willie has a wonderful affable quality but lacks the charisma to carry the show.  I really like him and admire his dad Bill, but I get bored with him sometimes. Willie is better off as the feature interview guy.

I think this whole broadcast should reset with a new male and female host who are not sleeping together.  Joe and Mika can go do a radio show or something more suited to their informal style, the muttering(Mika) and the rants (Joe).

[teddysmom]

3 hours ago, plumbago blues said:

Mika can't resist that black shroud. Today it's over a long sleeved top, both with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Do they not have a monitor to view themselves? See above: unflattering. Maybe a little color on her face would help, too. Bland.

Maybe Publix was out of cake.   It's so hard, all these life decisions.  No wonder she's rolling around on the floor. 

Mika, cake or death?  

 

[neona]

2 hours ago, teddysmom said:

I didn't even know Mika was on this morning, I only saw Joe the couple times I switched over.  

Same! I've often thought she's in the process of being phased out. Probably explains the mysterious disappearance of the slightly strange looking but somewhat less depressing "breakfast nook". I'm guessing the network execs are making more room to give Joe a Primetime-type of profile, as it's no longer really a joint effort anymore. Weird she doesn't seem to have noticed, or care.

2 hours ago, teddysmom said:

Joe had tweeted last night that the protesters in Portland were hurting their cause, and he got blasted for not realizing it's a small group of people who are against the protest & trying to hurt the cause, or just the normal dumb asses who think it's a good excuse to vandalize. 

 

I didn't watch the whole show, did they clarify this at some point? I'll never understand why influential people with public profiles tweet stuff like this before they have all the facts. 

I thought they had good guests today. Always love Yamiche and Joyce Vance. Maybe I'm in the minority but I think Joe's blazer is fine. It's clean and at least he changes his ties and shirts frequently enough to avoid the Groundhog Day effect. 

[plumbago blues]

Agree with the above posts. They are so low energy and it fatigues us all. It's like they are place holders...who is the channel waiting for? It's hard to believe this is an election year...that America votes in just a few months. There is no spark, no verve, no reason to watch.

[neona]

On 7/27/2020 at 5:57 PM, PrincessPurrsALot said:

Some exceptionally insightful info from Al.  Next he'll tell us water is wet. 

This is basically the tenor of everything that's being said these days. It's all exposition and stating the obvious. I miss when they would all just say whatever crazy shit came into their heads. Sometimes was annoying but it was usually fun and often even intellectually challenging, especially when they had genuinely smart guests on who were allowed to just ruminate freely.

[teddysmom]

1 hour ago, neona said:

I didn't watch the whole show, did they clarify this at some point? I'll never understand why influential people with public profiles tweet stuff like this before they have all the facts. 

There was someone on clarifying it, I don't know who it was, I turned it back off.

 

1 hour ago, plumbago blues said:

Agree with the above posts. They are so low energy and it fatigues us all. It's like they are place holders...who is the channel waiting for? It's hard to believe this is an election year...that America votes in just a few months. There is no spark, no verve, no reason to watch.

It's because Joe & Mika are so blah.  I don't think guests really want to be there, maybe to get paid they have to book so many hours a month on the network? 

 Nicole's show is good, she has good guests and it's always pretty lively. Not arguing and yelling but the conversation is smart.  Every show at the end she does a "Life Well Lived" segment featuring someone who died from the virus. I was in tears over one last week,  young woman, married with a family, medical worker.  And like I mentioned, after every show, she thanks guests on Twitter and posts a bit of their segment/description of what they talked about. 

Have we EVER heard Joe & Mika show any regard for people?   Other than their "people we talk to all the time".   Who are never named. 

Talking to the cats doesn't count.

And if they could talk they'd tell you both to fuck off. 

 

[neona]

2 hours ago, plumbago blues said:

Agree with the above posts. They are so low energy and it fatigues us all. It's like they are place holders...who is the channel waiting for? It's hard to believe this is an election year...that America votes in just a few months. There is no spark, no verve, no reason to watch.

I think the Chris Mathews/Joy Reid example should be instructive to Cesar Conde and Phil Griffin etc. He was a Major Talent, a Golden Boy, floating blissfully on the MSNBC Trump-Era ratings wave. And then he goes away, and they bring in a living, breathing, dynamic, vibrant human, and she exceeds his "top" ratings by 25%, because actually, they weren't the "top" ratings for that timeslot after all. 

Because Joy cares, she invites guests who have different perspectives, she dresses like she has an actual personality, she prepares, she doesn't shout, she reads fluently, she's polite, but she's goddamn smart and goddamn interesting, and funny, and kind. ALL EFFORTLESSLY. None of this should have to be HARD, it should be innate, all these boxes should be ticked without constant struggle or intransigence or weird personal dramas.

I actually like Joe and Mika and it's incomprehensible to me why they can't get their act together, because they've done it before, in the early years. Why choose *this* time to just give up and just serve microwave meals in what used to be a high-end restaurant. If they want to keep up with the next generation, if they want to stay on TV for a couple of years, stop being so lazy and awkward and boring in every possible way. Just go back to the basics and actually make an effort.

 

[neona]

2 hours ago, teddysmom said:

 Nicole's show is good, she has good guests and it's always pretty lively. Not arguing and yelling but the conversation is smart.  Every show at the end she does a "Life Well Lived" segment featuring someone who died from the virus. I was in tears over one last week,  young woman, married with a family, medical worker.  And like I mentioned, after every show, she thanks guests on Twitter and posts a bit of their segment/description of what they talked about. 

Have we EVER heard Joe & Mika show any regard for people? 

 

They still weirdly sometimes address Willie, whom they've shared a show and a screen with for 14 years with as "what do you think, Willie GEIST?. Dude. We KNOW who Willie is, he's your cute adopted love-child of Infinite Grace and Patience, you don't need to suddenly act like he's a "visitor" and use his last name. It's just so insulting, poor guy. 

Added to that, in the new format Willie basically has like 50% more screentime and importance than Mika, who used to be the co-anchor back in the day but is now mostly off-screen. I'm sometimes critical of Willie but at least he deserves some respect for consistently showing up and performing well. Other long-time respected regulars now suddenly get the same awkward/formal treatment. I've seen them bulldoze Heilemann with instant questions while he's all sweet and pleasant, going like "hi guys, good morning!" It's as though they've totally forgotten to be kind and inclusive. Just say good morning, ask a damn question about someone's damn weekend or about how they're tolerating the weather once in a while. They've become so self-absorbed and ignorant of other people and common courtesy, it's bizarre.

[oakville]

1 hour ago, neona said:

I actually like Joe and Mika and it's incomprehensible to me why they can't get their act together, because they've done it before, in the early years. Why choose *this* time to just give up and just serve microwave meals in what used to be a high-end restaurant. If they want to keep up with the next generation, if they want to stay on TV for a couple of years, stop being so lazy and awkward and boring in every possible way. Just go back to the basics and actually make an effort.

 

Since the pandemic began, Joe has only be able to record one song about George Floyd. The network has refused to allow Joe to perform his inspirational music on prime time tv. Mika's inspiring KYV seminars have been postponed until further notice. Why won't MSNBC let her have a few hours on the weekend to discuss her issues with the viewers ? It might cheer them up if the network did more to accomodate their passions.

 

[nittany cougar]

Mika is hosting the show by herself.  They are running clips from a show called "Axios on HBO."  Jonathan Swan of Axios had a sit down interview with Trump.  Mika is running clips of the Jonathan Swan interview and interviewing Swan. 

I understand journalists appearing on the show to promote something, but it's bizarre for Mika to attempt to piggyback on  Swan's work by showing clips and adding her commentary.  This is pathetic.

Mika stated that Trump was cornered and confused in the interview, and Jonathan Swan disagreed with her characterization.  WtF lady.  She can't talk about the actual content; there is always a personal swipe.  Her  issues are more and more apparent.

 I don't have HBO, and this promotional exercise does not make me want to subscribe.  To be clear, I like Swan, but I get plenty of his work for free on Twitter and the MSNBC Early Show.

 

Edited July 29, 2020 by nittanycougar

[teddysmom]

I did think it was odd they were running such long clips of Swan's interview, but I have to agree with Mika a little as far as the comments about Russia.  What did Swan say as far as his take? I missed that part.   Tom Nichols was either half awake or not feeling well, he was pretty blah. But for once I agreed with him. 

Where's Joe? Should I check Twitter to see what Mika's psycho defense of him being off is this week?  It does seem like something is going on with this show.  Willie is doing more and more of actually running the show.  Today could have been called "Morning Joe: Axios", although the show itself wasn't half bad.  Meeks got a little hysterical but then the cake must have kicked in.   It does seem like they've both just completely checked out. 

I don't care how cold they have the a/c set in their house, how is she wearing those sweaters??? In FL? In the summer?   Their basement must be like a meat locker. 

I have HBO. I've never watched the Axios show, but it is the best premium channel IMO as far as quality series, fictional and documentary.  

[teddysmom]

Point of fact re the Swan interview, it wasn't Afghanistan that caused the Soviet Union to collapse, when the Russia giving money & arms to the Taliban was brought up.  It was Gorbachev allowing multi party elections.

I'm kind of surprised no one on the panel, even Tom Nichols, the Russia expert, didn't point that out. 

[plumbago blues]

I tuned in to see Manic Mika asking a long, run on question full of rambling thoughts...while the stoic panel sat stone-faced. (What self control!) I turned away when Eddie was the intended answerer. It was truly a copy cat version of Joe's usual performance. Ugh. Why does anyone think she is able to carry this show? Willie steps in as the coherent and modulated voice but he really has checked out. Remember when he was the smiling, fun one?

I checked back later to see that Jake (Sherman?) found the huge plastic framed glasses I put in the Lion's club donation box in 1986. Anything goes these days.

[nittany cougar]

The thing about being absent from work is the more days you take off, the more days you want to take. I doubt that we'll Joe back five days a week. Mika is emotionally frazzled and can't bother to hide it.  Joe probably enjoys his off time away from her.

I think Yasmin and Swan would make a good morning pair.  They are professional and work well together based on Swan's appearances on MSNBC's early show.

[teddysmom]

I didn't watch this morning. Please tell me Joe or Mika didn't read any of John Lewis' beautiful op-ed.   I couldn't take it.