Most of the time when we monitor shows, we do so with an eye to the hypocritical or outrageous. And usually, when it comes to me, I find myself rolling my eyes or making some snarky aside and moving on. But every once in a while, you come
November 7, 2010

Most of the time when we monitor shows, we do so with an eye to the hypocritical or outrageous. And usually, when it comes to me, I find myself rolling my eyes or making some snarky aside and moving on. But every once in a while, you come across something that is just a little hard to set aside and make you really sick with the implications.

Case in point: strategist Mark Penn--the same guy whose political savvy got presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign to crash and burn--came on Hardball to tell Chris Matthews what he thought could help raise President Obama's profile. His answer? Mark Penn thinks Obama needs something like an Oklahoma City bombing:

PENN: Cabinets don’t really sell things. The President himself has to reconnect with the people. Remember, President Clinton reconnected through Oklahoma, right?...

MATTHEWS: Yeah, because of the bombing down there…

PENN: …And President right now, he seems removed. It wasn’t until that speech that he really clicked with the American public. Obama needs a similar kind of happening.

MATTHEWS: You think words are enough for Obama at this point?

PENN: No. He’s gotta get some results. But words will work, I think, if he finds that right moment.

Listen to these two men--who eat, breathe and live politics all day long, divorced of its real world ramifications--speak casually of the political opportunity available should hundred or thousands of innocent Americans die because of a domestic terrorist act. This is what Mark Penn thinks could help Obama:

oklahoma-city-bombing-1.jpg

And Tweety doesn't blink an eye.

Now Ed Morrissey of Hot Air and Tommy Christopher of Mediaite think this is just a brain fart of some sort. But I can't be so charitable. This is a perfect example of the banality of evil.

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