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NY Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin Confuses Tim Pawlenty With John Huntsman On Morning Joe

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by Tommy Christopher | 11:51 am, May 23rd, 2011

» 20 comments

On Monday’s Morning Joe, an ad for newly-minted 2012 GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) was the jumping-off point for a discussion of the slowly-gelling Republican field. When the discussion turned to the rest of the field, though, New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin accidentally summed up the blessing, and the curse, of the GOP’s 2012 prospects. With “Generic Republican” leading the polls, Sorkin underscored just how generic the party’s most credible candidates are by referencing Pawlenty’s ad during a discussion of former Ambassador John Huntsman.

It wasn’t simply a case of misspeaking, either. After a few minutes of discussion about Huntsman, Sorkin references the Pawlenty ad, and when the panel corrects him, he says, “That was Pawlenty’s ad?”

Here’s the clip, from MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

The blessing, of course, is that if the economy doesn’t improve, all the Republicans have to do is run someone who looks and sounds the part, and they’ve got a decent shot at beating President Obama. The bad news is that the current slate of Republican candidates with general election appeal blend together like, and have all the flavor of, a bowl of Cream of Wheat. Guys like Pawlenty, Huntsman, and Mitt Romney have the crossover appeal to make a game of it in the general election, but lack the necessary ingredients to make it out of the GOP primaries.

Of the three, Pawlenty has the lightest baggage to carry through the primaries. Romney faces the nearly-insurmountable obstacle of Romneycare, while Huntsman’s stint as a Barack Obama-appointed ambassador, a likely advantage in a general election, could hurt him with revved-up primary voters.

Pawlenty’s ad cannily references the dusty-but-persistent teleprompter meme in the opening seconds of the ad, but the spot’s critique of political artifice is quickly undercut by the slick, jittery editing, and the closeup of Pawlenty reciting his lines with Sincerity™. Pawlenty’s bleak messaging won’t play well in a general election, but will likely resonate with the Chicken Little base of the party.

Of course, Pawlenty will have to get past crowd-pleasing underdog Herman Cain, evangelical-skewing Rick Santorum, and the as-yet-undeclared double threat of Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, either of whom could mop the floor with Pawlenty in the early states. With movements to draft party favorites like Chris Christie and Paul Ryan making noises, too, Pawlenty’s got a steep climb ahead of him.

Andrew Ross Sorkin, Herman Cain, John Huntsman, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, morning joe, New York Times, President Obama, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Tim Pawlenty ad

THE REAL ROYAL KING

That was amusing. Andrew was so embarrassed. In his defense, two middle-aged white men ….
Color Me Badd

It is partly because the Republican candidates are so totally pathetic, but honestly Andrew Ross Sorkin is an idiot (I have read him before), so I would chalk it up to that. I mean he writes for the New York Times, Tee Hee. I hope Andrew and Bill Keller are sending out resumes.
Moderate

“NY Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin Confuses Tim Pawlenty With John Huntsman”

All those Republicans look alike to the NYTimes.
WCinWI

Tommy – Stop being mean to Sorkin when this isn’t good press for his movie debut tonight. :) I actually like Sorkin, but I won’t be watching the film. Netflix is the only way to watch HBO shows.
Sean68

Why isn’ this the top story? It fits the meme perfectly.
writer

‘They all look alike.’ Check the rules of political correctness before saying this.
Emma

I saw that this morning. Very funny. But more importantly, why does anyone pay attention to Mark Halperin? He was wrong about Trump and Daniels. Is going for Dick Morris type predictions? As in “wrong all the time”?
http://www.perceptionasreality.blogspot.com/ skoorbekim

THE REAL ROYAL KING said:
In his defense, two middle-aged white men

racist comment?
writer

racist comment?

No. He said it about white people, and whites don’t count as a race.
WCinWI

Emma said:
I saw that this morning. Very funny. But more importantly, why does anyone pay attention to Mark Halperin? He was wrong about Trump and Daniels. Is going for Dick Morris type predictions? As in “wrong all the time”?

No one should take panelists on MJ seriously. Just saying. Halperin is horrible. As is Heilemann. And as I said, frankly everyone on their show.
WCinWI

WCinWI said:
No one should take panelists on MJ seriously. Just saying. Halperin is horrible. As is Heilemann. And as I said, frankly everyone on their show.

Except Sorkin and Ed Koch when he comes on. The rest tend to be shills for the Left.
http://www.perceptionasreality.blogspot.com/ skoorbekim

T-Paw is an Electoral College nightmare for Team Obama…

[w/out the a GOP Southern Strategy & w/ the Team Obama SS...]
gajack

He was probably transfixed on Mika’s puppies!
THE REAL ROYAL KING

Emma said:
I saw that this morning. Very funny. But more importantly, why does anyone pay attention to Mark Halperin? He was wrong about Trump and Daniels. Is going for Dick Morris type predictions? As in “wrong all the time”?

You are decidedly correct about Halperin. He is no more accurate than Toes, only a bit less revolting.
Barack Must Go

In the kid’s defense, he was just in the middle of downloading Valerie Jarrett’s ” White House Talking Points For Dummies ” when the conversation suddenly turned to him for a response.
BatBoy

Sorkin is just another of the long list of regular lefties who are in a constant state of confusion.

No big deal…we just ignor them and they go away!
BatBoy

I see mediaite dumped the first Morning Joe story today….it must not have gotten the anticipate favorable response from enough of the lefty kool-aid drinkers.

Probably catching up on the news on Saturday Night Live from the old DVR!
printbrat

I confused Pawlenty with someone I can’t stand (Weiner) awhile back — the similar facial features threw me off.
notsofast

That’s OK, I confuse fat Eddie Schultz with Joe all the time.
tegeagent0007

Why is this even a story. Andrew wrote a fabulous book on which a special is based to air on HBO, “To Biig to Fail”. It was 6 AM and Andrew was out partying last night. They invite him on Morning Joe than treat him like a teenager.