Morning Joe: All Episodes Talk

[jacourt]

Why are these knuckleheads covering Zelensky's speech? Must be their great insight.  The bench is very weak. 

I hope Mika doesn't start tearing up. She could use her scarf to wipe away the proud tears.

[jacourt]

Has Mika developed asthma. She is very breathless. Two misreads I. The first minutes. Here we go. All the sighs.  

[may flowers]

1 hour ago, jacourt said:

Has Mika developed asthma. She is very breathless. Two misreads I. The first minutes. Here we go. All the sighs.  

She’s a disaster today, but reading is hard especially when that and empty gestures encompass your whole job. 

Edited March 17, 2022 by may flowers

[Kemper]

1 hour ago, may flowers said:

She’s a disaster today, but reading is hard especially when that and empty gestures encompass your whole job. 

Now this is the best, most accurate description of Meeka I have ever read on this board. That is saying a lot because there have been probably hundreds of descriptions of her. At least. Kudos and bravo.

[plumbago blues]

How can she continue with this awful performance? Surely the producers, etc. must cringe as we do with every attempt she makes to be all "Broadcast Journalist-y" and flub the script every damn, time while using her latest upspeak/every-other-word-is-a-question??? tone and adding drama and emphasis to words that certainly don't call for it. It ain't a bedtime story, Meeks...and don't forget, we see the script on the screen...it's not that hard. Honestly, I feel so much rage in (literally) 3 minutes of the show every day I click away.

[Kemper]

Sadly, do Joe and Meeka realize that many viewers do not remember much about her father?  They bring Dr. Z up all the time; quote him a lot. But all I need lately with the tragedy unfolding in front of us is Just The Facts. That is why I have been tuning out so much. 

I am not trying to be disrespectful to Dr. Z - he was a memorable, true statesman. It is just that I can’t think of any other info or news show that brings him up often. 

Edited March 17, 2022 by Kemper

[Lowcountry snark]

I'm curious why Joe didn't push back on Sasse criticizing the White House for having a cautious measured response so as not to provoke Putin.  He's right, now is not the time to be measured and cautious; we need to jump right into a hot shooting war with Russia.  Biden you're weak!!
Fuckers like him making points to win the Thursday morning press cycle disgust me.

[Kemper]

Adam Kinsinger was excellent this morning  on CNN; measured, no bloviating. Sasse always comes off as douchey to me - an automatic channel changer. He was predictable today;  but Joe seems very comfortable with him. 

[jacourt]

No posts since Thursday.  Is boredom worse than outrage.

[Kemper]

13 hours ago, jacourt said:

No posts since Thursday.  Is boredom worse than outrage.

I think probably so. Just for me, I think I started to fade out when The Twins were awarded the fourth hour….it is just too much.  Maybe more important - we are in possibly a historic news cycle right now; and the show has a staleness about it that has driven me to other outlets 

[SG429]

As for me, no patience for what I assume is a daily constant demonstration of Joe's deep knowledge of military strategy

[Lowcountry snark]

12 minutes ago, SG429 said:

As for me, no patience for what I assume is a daily constant demonstration of Joe's deep knowledge of military strategy

I can picture him with army men on the table and he's mashing them together making explosion sounds.  "Pew pew.  Boom!  Charrrge!"  I bet that's what he did at family dinners to win over Zbig.  He'd dump the army men out of his pockets and show flanking maneuvers from the Six-Day War on the dining room table that boombah carved with a chainsaw.  I bet both of her parents insulted him to his face relentlessly while Mika lovingly looked up at him, lost in his eyes.

I just watch the show these days to see what she's wearing.  Fingers crossed tomorrow is full on yellow/blue face paint.

[oakville]

1 hour ago, SG429 said:

As for me, no patience for what I assume is a daily constant demonstration of Joe's deep knowledge of military strategy

Joe said he played the board game Risk as a teenager & always took control of the world.

Joe said Biden could call him for advice on how to beat the Russians at Risk.

[neona2]

for me, I genuinely struggle with what the healthy balance is. 

Do any of you guys struggle with this? <--- non-snarky question, I know, but I'm genuinely curious how other people are balancing this shit. What are you watching, how are you dividing your time etc?

because I want to be compassionate and alive and engaged, but also I cannot, I cannot physically cry every morning before I go to work and also function as a normal competent human. I can't even explain the ways in which the pandemic and lockdown and all that shit nearly broke me and I don't wanna go back to that place. 🥴

For me, I donated as much as I could to the Red Cross etc, and I tried to limit myself to DVR'ing Nicolle and Steph and watching like half an hour of each per day, plus obviously reading twitter etc (probably the main source of stress tbh).

Then I do try to watch maybe 20-30 min of MJ in the morning and then put on a podcast with more detailed analysis etc (Ezra Klein has done some good ones ---> they're calm and analytic and skip the boring exposition for dumb people). And then I listen to music on my commute. It's weird but for me that's the best combination news diet, ymmv

Edited March 23, 2022 by neona2

[oakville]

2 hours ago, neona2 said:

for me, I genuinely struggle with what the healthy balance is. 

Do any of you guys struggle with this? <--- non-snarky question, I know, but I'm genuinely curious how other people are balancing this shit. What are you watching, how are you dividing your time etc?

because I want to be compassionate and alive and engaged, but also I cannot, I cannot physically cry every morning before I go to work and also function as a normal competent human. I can't even explain the ways in which the pandemic and lockdown and all that shit nearly broke me and I don't wanna go back to that place. 🥴

For me, I donated as much as I could to the Red Cross etc, and I tried to limit myself to DVR'ing Nicolle and Steph and watching like half an hour of each per day, plus obviously reading twitter etc (probably the main source of stress tbh).

Then I do try to watch maybe 20-30 min of MJ in the morning and then put on a podcast with more detailed analysis etc (Ezra Klein has done some good ones ---> they're calm and analytic and skip the boring exposition for dumb people). And then I listen to music on my commute. It's weird but for me that's the best combination news diet, ymmv

It's a very stressful time. It reminds of the 1980s cold war between the "West" & the USSR.

I have a backlog of Morning Joe episodes to watch & recap.

I know that a friend of Morning Joe, Sec Madeleine Albright passed away today, so the show will probably do a memorial for her tomorrow.

[may flowers]

How does a tribute to Madeleine Albright become all about “my father”  on this show? And then it becomes about Mika?  That piece sums up every reason I stopped watching. 

[Kemper]

6 hours ago, may flowers said:

How does a tribute to Madeleine Albright become all about “my father”  on this show? And then it becomes about Mika?  That piece sums up every reason I stopped watching. 

May Flowers...excellent post, spot on.  Mika is the main sticking point for me, also; I can take Joe in doses.  Four Hours!

[Lowcountry snark]

What a puzzlingly dour, frumpy outfit on our dear Mika this morning.  If she said she just picked it up off the floor then haphazardly combed her hair, I'd absolutely believe that.
The name of her outfit is, "Not tonight, Joe.  I'm going to have a headache."

Katty Kay, on the other hand.  Wow.  Combat boots, leather pants, black turtleneck, bad ass hair.  The audition is over, she deserves Mika's spot in the show.  She is completely prepared.

[may flowers]

4 hours ago, Kemper said:

May Flowers...excellent post, spot on.  Mika is the main sticking point for me, also; I can take Joe in doses.  Four Hours!

Thank you, Kemper!  It’s just - she undermines her own platform every day with her performance on the show, and today was a perfect example of it. 

[Kemper]

Bob Woodward thanking Meeka for her bringing something up; Lemire thanking Woodward for his excellent reporting; Joe complimenting Woodward on his book with Robert Costa. And man, doesn’t Woodward have a droning  voice. A couple of times, right after Woodward or Eugene R would make a point, Meeka immediately (and I mean before the next breath) would say “Joe” and he would immediately (before next breath) jump in with a prepared rant. I have never noticed this maneuver before. 

 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Kemper
Added sentence

[Spartan Girl]

The only good thing about Bob Woodward being on is that he always manages to completely validate why I don’t like him.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Eliot]

Did Woodward really just "both sides" the 1/6 insurrection? I came into the room as Eugene was trying to correct him and missed the beginning.

[Kemper]

1 hour ago, Eliot said:

Did Woodward really just "both sides" the 1/6 insurrection? I came into the room as Eugene was trying to correct him and missed the beginning.

I heard Eugene say something like “I don’t mean to correct you, but” ….. along that vein. Then they droned back and forth. 

[Kemper]

1 hour ago, Eliot said:

Did Woodward really just "both sides" the 1/6 insurrection? I came into the room as Eugene was trying to correct him and missed the beginning.

I heard Eugene say something like “I don’t mean to correct you, but” ….. along that vein. Then they droned back and forth. 

*****I am so so sorry but I cannot seem to delete that awful bald person. I have no idea what key or command I hit; I am using Mr. Kemper’s ancient iPad. Sweet Jesus that thing is horrible. Again - please forgive me.*****
 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Kemper

[neona2]

22 hours ago, Kemper said:

*****I am so so sorry but I cannot seem to delete that awful bald person. I have no idea what key or command I hit; I am using Mr. Kemper’s ancient iPad. Sweet Jesus that thing is horrible. Again - please forgive me.*****
 

Kemper, taking a break from my break *cough* Bridgerton marathon *cough* to say I saw this and I was so proud of you for this unintentionally tech-y hilarious post!!!! Don't you dare delete it. 

bald dude is totally appropriate and emblematic of how we all feel rn

Edited March 26, 2022 by neona2

[Kemper]

Thank you all for not making me feel old. I see a money-making opportunity here. There were three or four of these bald things on the available emojis. Someone should come up with clothes, hair, jewelry, sports gear and such for these creepers. Kind of like Barbie and Ken. You could choose the sex and then outfit The Thing from many choices.  Purses, shoes, etc. Patent and sell to Apple and other companies. Send a personalized Creeper via email, text, FTD florists to go on the cards of bouquets! My coffee group thinks this would be brilliant; we would utilize the FTD option.

I just realized this should have gone into Small Talk; I would move it if I could. Mods … please forgive. I will be more careful from now on.  This past week could have been better.

 

[neona2]

I'm watching Friday's show now bc I feel stronger and braver on weekends tbh

Willieeeeeeee! OMG.

So basically Willie was in the hellscape, then he ran into the middle of the frozen lake, flipped upside down, slid down Lucifer's thigh and climbed out in Purgatory DC. Then after months of scrubbing P's off his forehead, Mrs Geist has now officially swooped in with a chariot and saved his ass and taken him to what I can only describe as ~green gorgeous-ass paradiso-DC!!!! ~ With actual green treeeeeeees!!

He looks totally normal and beautiful and like a tiny adorable cherub!!!!! why did our eyes have to suffer all winter for this simple fix to become a reality, truly idk 🥴

----> nerdiest paragraph ever typed, but imma leave it in there, in solidarity with the occasionally smart humans who watch this show who will geddit..... ymmv

[neona2]

Joe just said like three times that 0.003% of the population is transgender 🥴

dude, no ---> it's actually like 0.8% so closer to 1%. That's a huge difference. Nearly 3 million actual real-life humans, to whom I'm guessing it does kinda matter? 

I like Joe & Mika but what I don't get sometimes is how they just riff and randomly make stuff up? they know what the guest list is, they've got a staff who can research for them and everything, so why can't they every day just prep facts, prepare questions, prepare follow-ups etc. man oh man it shouldn't be so hard

I'm in the minority obviously, but I liked Mika's Madeleine Albright tribute. the calling every week thing when you can tell people are struggling is so poignant ----> please everyone do this, just do this.

For me I keep calling my cranky-ass relatives despite pushback just to check in and say i love them. You get yelled at but you know deep down it does actually matter

 

 

[jacourt]

The MJ Snoozathon starts next Monday.  This makes me crazy Mika says Joe and I watched the speech together (this is news from Friday).  Joe what did you think about ........?  Good Lord .  What else can he repeat that someone else said?  i heard him say no regime change full stop.  That was said by some govt person .  Again not original.  Now they wil have an extra hour to repeat things others said in case you missed it.

[oakville]

56 minutes ago, jacourt said:

The MJ Snoozathon starts next Monday.  This makes me crazy Mika says Joe and I watched the speech together (this is news from Friday).  Joe what did you think about ........?  Good Lord .  What else can he repeat that someone else said?  i heard him say no regime change full stop.  That was said by some govt person .  Again not original.  Now they wil have an extra hour to repeat things others said in case you missed it.

I am so busy these days that I don't have time to watch the show. MY DVR i overflowig with unwatched episodes of Morning Joe. I prefer watching CNN for coverage of the War in Ukraine.

[Lowcountry snark]

Mika must have asked for a block to talk about Will Smith hitting Chris Rock.  She got it to herself with 5 panelists, and she made an absolute hash of it.  She was so embarrassingly unprofessional and inarticulate.  She should be fired for this segment, even if she had had a stellar career as a talk show host.
Here is how she summed up the drama at the Oscars, "It was... um... it was bad."
Katty nailed it.  She was prepared.  Mika was an embarrassment.  She was unprepared.

[oakville]

12 minutes ago, Lowcountry snark said:

Mika must have asked for a block to talk about Will Smith hitting Chris Rock.  She got it to herself with 5 panelists, and she made an absolute hash of it.  She was so embarrassingly unprofessional and inarticulate.  She should be fired for this segment, even if she had had a stellar career as a talk show host.
Here is how she summed up the drama at the Oscars, "It was... um... it was bad."
Katty nailed it.  She was prepared.  Mika was an embarrassment.  She was unprepared.

I think Mika is upset that she wasn't able to go to Abu Dhabi for her women' seminar earlier this month. why didn't Mika's brother who is the US Ambasador to Poland demand a ceasefire between Russia & Ukraine during her seminar ?

Hopefully, MSNBC will give some time off to Mika , so Katty Kay can take her job.

[jacourt]

They are both so full of shit.  Pompous lazy unprepared.  This is not your kitchen table conversations, its a tv show.  Have you noticed that sometimes Joe gets this kind of New England  fa fa accent?  Its when he is attempting to be ulta serious.  So freakin phony.  They make e so angry.  

[plumbago blues]

Still not in the least a regular viewer (for more than 20 seconds or so) but I caught her uninspired, lazy comment about the Oscar's drama. Just shameful. I could summarize it better than she did and I'd only skimmed a headline about it. Also, what's with her wardrobe? Did she give up professional attire and grooming for Lent? As usual, she has over-played the yellow and blue theme and just looks desperate for attention. The cheap yellow chiffon scarf over the 2 blue tops seems to be all I ever see her in. Enough of the virtue signaling.

[oakville]

1 hour ago, jacourt said:

They are both so full of shit.  Pompous lazy unprepared.  This is not your kitchen table conversations, its a tv show.  Have you noticed that sometimes Joe gets this kind of New England  fa fa accent?  Its when he is attempting to be ulta serious.  So freakin phony.  They make e so angry.  

Hopefully, Joe will be off next week since he will be attending the Red Sox Home opener.

[jacourt]

But the show expands to 4 hours of boring on Monday! Maybe they'll have him do a remote.  Decisions, decisions

[Lowcountry snark]

If you thought Mika's comments yesterday on Will Smith were incoherent, do yourself a favor and watch Mika today.  She includes herself in the story (a sitting president made fun of my face, but i'm over 50 and strong and it's nothing) then says "Who else is he hitting?  Just a question.  Just a question. Just asking a question."

But, that hollywood beat reporter never did answer Willie or Mika when they each asked why Hollywood is not condemning Smith, that "normal America" is, but not Hollywood.  And his answer was incredibly bizarre, he ignored Willie's question about Hollywood being silent, and instead pivoted to "the black community" supporting Will Smith because the attack was a physical manifestation of something "everyone knows," "you never talk about an African American woman's hair."  He didn't mention that Chris Rock made "Good Hair."

Crazy segment.   

[jacourt]

That is Mika trying to have insight or cause a ruckus.   It seems very unprofessional to say something like that.  Is she hoping for backlash from Will Smith?  Sorry girl, you are not that important.  She is incapable of reading a teleprompter.  Stumbling all over early in the show.  

[plumbago blues]

 

1 hour ago, Lowcountry snark said:

She includes herself in the story (a sitting president made fun of my face, but i'm over 50 and strong and it's nothing) then says "Who else is he hitting?  Just a question.  Just a question. Just asking a question."

OMG. Inserting herself AGAIN? She is so desperate to be relevant when in fact she's got nothing. Actually, the whole idea of her leading the Oscar's discussion yesterday was absurd. I'd be surprised if she even knew who the two guys were...and then, to add an aura of apparent suspicion to the whole thing today, suggesting that Smith may have a history of this behavior is unconscionable for anyone in her position...a "journalist" who has long scoffed at popular culture. Disgusting. She is just awful.

[Kemper]

Is it time for some sort of Women in the Workplace discussion led by Meeka? If so,  perhaps Howard Stern’s remarks today would make an excellent jumping-off point for her to actually prove that she is not all window dressing. She could become Mika instead of Meeka.

Maybe his actual remarks should go to The Hosts or Small Talk thread. 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Kemper
Added last paragraph

[jenkait]

I will never understand how Mika can host MJ pretty much flawlessly on her own, but when she’s with Joe, or most of the time, she seems to not be able to read the teleprompter and messes up so many words…like if she is supposed to say “election” you can guess what she’ll say instead 😵‍💫. It seems uncontrollable. And then like today she’s fine. I don’t get it.

Oakville, do you notice a pattern with Mika?  How can Joe affect her speech patterns so much? It’s too early for me to watch every day!

[jenkait]

17 hours ago, Kemper said:

Is it time for some sort of Women in the Workplace discussion led by Meeka? If so,  perhaps Howard Stern’s remarks today would make an excellent jumping-off point for her to actually prove that she is not all window dressing. She could become Mika instead of Meeka.

Maybe his actual remarks should go to The Hosts or Small Talk thread. 

When I watch this stuff I wonder if it’s actually 1952 in Mika’s head.  Hmm that would explain a lot actually!  Ha.  Heads up Mika, women have been working and also turning 50 for a long time now!  Sometimes I feel bad snarking on her but I’m just laughing…poor Mika is a day late and a dollar short and throwing a party about it.  And everyone does the “emperor’s new clothes” thing and goes along with it. And I keep watching the show.

[oakville]

2 hours ago, jenkait said:

I will never understand how Mika can host MJ pretty much flawlessly on her own, but when she’s with Joe, or most of the time, she seems to not be able to read the teleprompter and messes up so many words…like if she is supposed to say “election” you can guess what she’ll say instead 😵‍💫. It seems uncontrollable. And then like today she’s fine. I don’t get it.

Oakville, do you notice a pattern with Mika?  How can Joe affect her speech patterns so much? It’s too early for me to watch every day!

It's possible that she gets "butterflies" or nervous around Joe. Joe "rescued" Mika at age 40, when she was on the verge of ending her career on tv. Joe helped her build her brand as the daughter of one of the most respected foreign policy analysts & sister of the current Ambassador to Poland. Mika was lucky to marry one of the most powerful Congressman from rural Florida  in the 20th Century.

[plumbago blues]

3 hours ago, jenkait said:

I will never understand how Mika can host MJ pretty much flawlessly on her own, but when she’s with Joe, or most of the time, she seems to not be able to read the teleprompter and messes up so many words…like if she is supposed to say “election” you can guess what she’ll say instead 😵‍💫. It seems uncontrollable. And then like today she’s fine. I don’t get it.

Oakville beat me to it but I think it's "Daddy issues." She was brought up in a competitive situation with 2 intelligent brothers and demanding parents. She probably was always trying to fit in/compete with them and was maybe afraid she'd mess up when she joined in their conversations/activities. Daddy Joe gives her anxiety. (I say from a totally non-professional observance of her behavior over the years.)

[neona2]

oh man, this Will Smith situation 🥴 and the discussions on the show 🥴

when watching it I did think about the fact that he did do this interview 

https://pagesix.com/2021/11/14/will-smith-reveals-guilt-from-not-protecting-mom-from-his-abusive-father/

so basically he says that he regretted all his life that he had to watch his father beat the shit out of his mom and being too scared to step in and protect her. OK....that's not a justification, because there's *never ever*  a justification for violence. 

But there *is* a possibility that PTSD from failing to protect family members in childhood played a role here and so the implication of maybe beating his wife was maybe not so nice. It was totally fair for Mika to raise the question but maybe a bit hasty in context. Idk. god, it's so hard.

for me what I'm most stressed about is that everyone is suddenly starting to act like it's ok to act in real life like it's teh internetz -- like they transplant that online nihilism and anger and knee-jerk-ism into awful complicated real-life human interactions and situations and it's soul-shattering.

we are losing some crucial element of empathy, on all sides, and it's f-ing scary

everyone just needs to breathe and be as compassionate as possible

Edited March 30, 2022 by neona2

[oakville]

6 hours ago, plumbago blues said:

Oakville beat me to it but I think it's "Daddy issues." She was brought up in a competitive situation with 2 intelligent brothers and demanding parents. She probably was always trying to fit in/compete with them and was maybe afraid she'd mess up when she joined in their conversations/activities. Daddy Joe gives her anxiety. (I say from a totally non-professional observance of her behavior over the years.)

Agreed. Long time Morning Joe viewers remember when Mika told the audience of the story of her dad sending her to St Tropez France once summer in the early 1980s to date the son of Lebanese President Gemayel. Gemayel's son encouraged Mika to go topless on the beaches, which were known for topless sunbathing. The relationship didn't work out.

Mika also mentioned that her mom used to joke with her at the family dinner table that she was accepted at William College with the lowest SAT scores in the history of the University. Luckily, Mika said her dad wrote a recommendation letter to the University & she was accepted as a student despite her poor academic record.

I would be mortfied if my parents did this to me.

 

[jacourt]

Now he has people on the show to listen to him speak.

[oakville]

Morning Joe recap Wednesday March 30.

Mika is wearing a low cut v neck yellow shirt with a black blazer.

Did Trump use a burner phone on January 6th.

Joe has the morning off. Willie is there with more brill cream in his hair.

People are skeptical over peace talks between Russia & Ukraine.

 

 

[oakville]

Admiral Stavridis & Bill Taylor were the special guests. Stravidis said the USA could use satellites to determine if Russians are withdrawing.

[jacourt]

For two days I made the choice between watching MJ or staying in bed for half hour. Bed won.