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MSNBC’s David Shuster Maybe Shouldn’t Have Called Chelsea Clinton a Whore

At this moment, David Shuster may very well be booking a flight to a remote island somewhere. During a discussion of Chelsea Clinton’s recently elevated role in Hillary’s campaign on MSNBC last night, Shuster asked whether the 27-year-old was “sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way.” (Click above to view.) His point, some have interpreted, was that the only type of person that would campaign for their mother is some kind of street whore. Shuster made an on-air apology today, but so far Hillary is unwilling to bury the hatchet. Her communications director, Howard Wolfson, told reporters that Hillary might pull out of MSNBC’s planned debate on February 26 in Ohio. “I, at this point, can’t envision a scenario where we would continue to engage in debates on that network,” he said in a conference call. Now, instead of ignoring Fox News, whose invitation to host a Democratic debate Hillary finally (unilaterally) accepted a few days ago, Hillary’s shutting out MSNBC. It’s like the networks just switched their acceptable/pariah roles. Those with sharp memories may recall a similar Chelsea-attack episode in 1993, when Mike Myers claimed on SNL that Chelsea Clinton, 13 years old at the time, was “not a babe.” If Chelsea’s the type of person to look for a silver lining, she might note that at least the inappropriate, disparaging comments about her have improved over the years: She went from being unattractive to being so attractive that people will pay to have sex with her. Remember to thank Shuster for the compliment, Chelsea. —Dan Amira

MSNBC’s Chelsea Comment Angers Clinton [Guardian]
Update: Shuster has been suspended temporarily from appearances on NBC and MSNBC because of his gaffe.

MSNBC’s David Shuster Maybe Shouldn’t Have Called Chelsea Clinton a Whore