The Mad Men (And Women!) of Morning Joe

Betty Draper – Amy Robach

She is not technically on Morning Joe. But she is on in the morning, in the NBC family, and that’s good enough for us because come on LOOK at her. Amy Robach is a dead ringer for January Jones – put her in a headband and pearls and a farway expression and you’ve got virtual twins. Or, you know, find her sitting weirdly in a car with a nine-year-old boy. Whatever.

Freddy Rumsen – Mike Barnicle

Put it this way: who amongst the Morning Joe crew is most likely to play Mozart on his fly zipper? Like Freddy, Barnicle’s is jovial and affable; but even his deep roots at Sterling Cooper overtaxed its loyalty when he peed himself before a big meeting. We assume Barnicle can restrain himself appropriately; however they do crack up a lot on that show.

Bobbie Barrett – Peggy Noonan

We could say that they’re both fiery, intelligent women who made it as a woman in a male-dominated arena with no apologies for their womanhood. And we could try to find some far-fetched allusion to Bobbie’s volatile storyline, but Peggy always seems so calm. So, we’ll just come clean: it’s the hair.

Bertram Cooper – Mort Zuckerman

Bertram Cooper is the mogul of Sterling Cooper, an imposing figure of authority with his pocket squares and expensive art collection — not to mention the key decision to sell or not to sell. Zuckerman, just as natty with his own pocket square, knows well the perils of mergers and acquisitions, plus whatever else he brings to the table as Morning Joe‘s resident mogul. (Runner up: Jack Welch). Extra points for also having a Rothko.

Father Gill – Jon Meacham

Oh, like ANYONE ELSE would be the Man of God on Morning Joe. Frequent guest Jon Meacham never met a God cover story he didn’t like, except maybe if he thought it didn’t have enough God. Like Father Gill, he seems wise for his years (he won a Pulitzer, and then he turned 40); that said, he’s probably the person on Morning Joe least likely to rock out with his guitar.

Paul Kinsey – Lawrence O’Donnell

Kinsey is the artiste of the bunch — and definitely the one most likely to go Hollywood (exaggerated emphasis, like he would say it). Just like O’Donnell, who represents the star-studded Hollywood contingent on Morning Joe (The West Wing! Big Love! The Jenna Jameson E! True Hollywood Story!). There, point made.

Courtney Hazlett – Jane Siegel

This photo of the nubile Jane is not meant to suggest that Lawrence O’Donnell will soon be appearing in the E! True Hollywood Story version of Courtney’s life any time soon. More than anything, it shows how damn hard it is to find female characters on the show who are comprable with where other women should be — namely, able to get ahead without sleeping with the boss (though for Roger, at least, we know it’s for love). The other alternative for Courtney was Midge, the flower child, because I distinctly remember seeing Courtney in peasant blouses and flared jeans back in the days of Scarborough Country, which will no doubt eventually appear in Joe’s E! True Hollywood Story.

Ken Cosgrove & Harry Crane – Harold Ford & Jonathan Capehart

Just like I found it was a strain to find more young women on Mad Men, I realized it was hard to find younger guests on Morning Joe. Sure I could include Chuck Todd (he’s a sensitive guy, the type to be affected by an emotional slide presentation) but he gets enough attention. Obviously it’s a function of the era that there are few black characters on the show, but not this era — and I feel like I can’t turn on MSNBC these days without seeing the smart and witty Capehart, who we will arbitrarily make Ken Cosgrove because of that whole smart-guy Atlantic thing. Don’t worry, Harold Ford, you can live in the office and be shown up by Joanie on scriptreading.

Jimmy Barrett – Pat Buchanan

Hear this one out. We know they don’t look alike, but come on — by far the most outsize and extreme personalities on both shows are represented by these two men. Both have been described as/otherwise involved with “nuts”; not necessarily the most likeable characters, they are certainly enjoyable. And — we’ll hazard a guess here — Jimmy’s not the only one who has inspired people to consider throwing a punch.

Matthew Weiner – Chris Licht

Morning Joe Exec Producer Chris Licht is the master orchestrateor behind the scenes, pulling in all the elements that make the show work — just like Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, keeper of plot secrets and the voice from on high whispering metaphorically into Don Draper’s ear. Licht’s voice is never far from Joe and Mika’s ears, and, just like Weiner weaves in the storylines of everyone at Sterling Cooper, so, too, does Licht bring in all the above characters into the Morning Joe storyline. They don’t call it the “control room” for nothing.

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