Moments after being introduced by Face the Nation host Bob Schiiffer as a "conservative" columnist, the Washington Post's Kathleen Parker on Sunday referred to Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich as a "misanthrope" - aka a mankind hater (video follows with transcript and commentary):
BOB SCHIEFFER, HOST: And we're back now with our panel. Kathleen Parker, of course, a columnist for the Washington Post who writes kind of from the conservative side, I would say. Dee Dee Myers, President Clinton's press secretary, National Journal's Major Garrett who moderated the debate last night along with our own Scott Pelley. And our CBS News political director just named to that post yesterday John Dickerson. John, congratulations.
Despite the absurdity of calling Parker a conservative - she last year admitted that she won the Pulitzer Prize for being a conservative basher - wasn't it fascinating how the political leaning of none of the other panelists - accurate or not! - was identified?
Such is typically the case on these Sunday shows.
Funnier still, when the subject of Gingrich arose, Parker took a swipe that was anything but conservative:
BOB SCHIEFFER: Kathleen, do you see Gingrich now being the alternative to Romney, various ones that have been put in that position and have risen and then fallen. Where-- where do you see Gingrich now?
For those unfamiliar with the term, a misanthrope is someone that hates mankind.
And that's the so-called conservative columnist CBS News brought on to discuss the Republican presidential race.
Might as well have an Obama adviser there instead.
At least then the viewer would know where her sympathies truly lied.
