A U.S. political news pundit has been suspended indefinitely after calling U.S. President Barack Obama a rude name during a live chat on MSNBC on Thursday (30Jun11).
Contributor Mark Halperin, who is Time magazine’s Editor-At-Large, was being interviewed on U.S. breakfast show Morning Joe when he claimed Obama was "being a d**k" when he called for members of congress to cancel their vacation if they didn't have a debt limit for America fixed before the Independence Day weekend (beg01Jul11).
The show’s host, Joe Scarborough, called for the comment to be bleeped, but it went out uncensored.
Halperin thought he was on a seven-second delay when he made the comment, which he apologised for later.
Obama's press secretary Jay Carney has commended MSNBC bosses for acting swiftly and suspending Halperin.
He says, "The comment that was made was inappropriate. It would be inappropriate to say that about any president of either party.
"And, on behalf of the White House, I expressed that sentiment to executives at the network."
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