MSNBC political commentator Martin Bashir apologized for his offensive comments about Sarah Palin, but he apparently didn't write the mea culpa by himself, Bashir's colleague Joe Scarborough has revealed.
"I agree with Martin Bashir's apology. It was a deplorable thing to say, and he has every reason to be ashamed for saying it," Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
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"I'm glad that he went out and said it, and I will guarantee you he didn't write all that by himself," added Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida and author of
"The Right Path: From Ike to Reagan, How Republicans Once Mastered Politics — and Can Again."
Last Friday, Bashir called the former Alaska governor and 2008 running mate of John McCain the nation's "resident dunce" and a "world-class idiot" for comparing America's national debt to slavery.
He read from the diary of British overseer Thomas Thistlewood, who told of punishing a slave with human excrement. When Palin invokes slavery, Bashir said, "she doesn't just prove her rank ignorance, she confirms if anyone truly qualified for a dose of discipline from Thomas Thistlewood, she would be the outstanding candidate."
Scarborough said when MSNBC hosts make such embarrassing comments, he goes straight to the top.
"Every time something horrific is said like that, I go in and I talk to [MSNBC President] Phil Griffin, who I'm good friends with," Scarborough said.
"And I say, Phil, this is unacceptable; either they apologize for it or I'm going to take it up myself. And I can tell you that didn't happen in this case, because I was in the middle of a book tour and I didn't even really hear about it until after Bashir's apology."
In his apology, a grim-faced Bashir said: "My words were wholly unacceptable. They were neither accurate nor fair. They were unworthy of anyone who would claim to have an interest in politics, and they have brought shame upon my friends and colleagues at this network."
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