Appearing on Thursday's 'Andrea Mitchell Reports' on MSNBC, 'The Last Word' host Lawrence O'Donnell touted his Tuesday interview with Levi Johnston: "I love that kid. He's honest, he's straightforward, he's not embarrassed." The questions O'Donnell put to Johnston were identical to the ones CBS Evening anchor Katie Couric asked Sarah Palin in a 2008 interview.
Introducing O'Donnell, host Andrea Mitchell played a video mash-up that placed his interview with Johnston alongside Couric's interview with Palin. O'Donnell remarked to Mitchell: "I re-scored his answers last night when I stacked them up against Sarah Palin's and I think he really actually did do a better job than Sarah Palin, question by question, answer by answer."
The video showed O'Donnell ask Johnston about the teaching of evolution in schools, Johnston provided this brilliant response: "You're kind of getting over my head on these things here. Yeah, I don't really know how to answer that question."
Filling-in for Keith Olbermann on the November 13, 2009 Countdown [1], O'Donnell gave this nasty review of Palin's first book, 'Going Rogue': "Sarah's index and footnote-free, score-settling campaign memoir. No mind-numbing charts or graphs, no big words, no scholarly Latin phrases, like caveat emptor. And I bet the pictures are, like, amazing."
Here is a full transcript of O'Donnell's September 30 exchange with Mitchell:
1:38PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: Lawrence O'Donnell hosts the newest program right here on MSNBC, 'The Last Word,' and he has already had some pretty provocative interviews, including one earlier this week with a candidate for mayor of Wasilla named Levi Johnston. The questions, well let's just say Lawrence has learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: "The Last Word" Mashup W/ Levi Johnston & Sarah Palin]
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL: What's your position on global warming? Do you believe it's manmade or not?
KATIE COURIC: Do you believe it's manmade or not?
SARAH PALIN: You know, there are man's activities that can be contributed to the issues that we're dealing with now with the impacts.
LEVI JOHNSTON: No, I don't.
O'DONNELL: You don't believe it's manmade? Or you do believe it's manmade?
JOHNSTON: I don't believe it's manmade.
COURIC: Do you believe evolution should be taught as an accepted scientific principle or one of several theories?
PALIN: Oh, I think it should be taught as an accepted principle.
O'DONNELL: Do you believe evolution should be taught as an accepted scientific principle or one of several theories?
JOHNSTON: You're kind of getting over my head on these things here. Yeah, I don't really know how to answer that question.
MITCHELL: Lawrence O'Donnell joins me now. Lawrence, great to see you, congratulations on the new show. I have a question for you, do you believe evolution should be taught as an accepted principle or one of several theories?
O'DONNELL: This is what I was afraid of. You're going over my head on this stuff, Andrea.
MITCHELL: You don't watch television, do you?
O'DONNELL: I love that kid. He's honest, he's straightforward, he's not embarrassed. And look, I re-scored his answers last night when I stacked them up against Sarah Palin's and I think he really actually did do a better job than Sarah Palin, question by question, answer by answer.
-Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here. [2]