Predictable Stupidity From MSNBC

Would a white president get heckled? 

"I think it's a vert important question because I think this is the first African-American president. We've never had a white president been told by the opposing party to shut up in the middle of a major address to the Congress. We've never had a president like this heckled so disrespectfully. We've never had this otherness afforded to any other president and I think the right wing has some explaining to do because to me it's patently obvious."

Hey asshole! Ever hear of Sam Donaldson? Dan Rather? Ever hear of Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush or George W. Bush?

Here's some background on Dan Rather's "heckling." 

When Dan Rather, the White House correspondent, arose to question [President Nixon], boos and cheers rang through the hall. The boos came from Nixon acolytes spread through the room, the cheers from fellow correspondents expressing their support for Dan. As the noise erupted, Nixon, on the stage, looked down at Rather and asked with heavy sarcasm, 'Are you running for something?' Dan, always impulsive, snapped right back, 'No, sir, are you?' More boos, more cheers! Not the most dignified scene at a presidential news conference. Dan was in trouble. It is one thing, perfectly legitimate, to challenge a president with tough questions. It is something quite different for a reporter to engage in a sassing contest with the nation's chief executive, no matter how obnoxious and wrong the president may be."

Sam Donaldson's "heckling" was legendary. Here's a review of reporters "heckling" or Ronald Reagan. 

Frustrated, reporters have become increasingly forceful - to some, ill-mannered - in efforts to pry information out of the White House. Whenever the President appears within shouting distance, he is now bombarded with high-decibel inquiries. A Purpose in Answering Often, the President does answer a shouted question, and usually he has a specific purpose in mind. Today, for instance, he used the occasion to accuse Congress of causing the budget deficit that has helped undermine investors' confidence in the stock market. At other times, his remarks can cause him problems. Last week, he angered Democrats on Capitol Hill with an off-the-cuff answer at a photo-taking session that impugned the intelligence of his Senate critics.

Although these shouting matches occasionally produce useful information, few reporters believe they are a good way of finding out what the President thinks. ''Progressively, during Reagan's two terms, it's gotten worse,'' said Sam Donaldson, White House reporter for ABC News. ''The reason we yell at Reagan in the Rose Garden is that's the only place we see him.''