Dave Weigel goes easy on Dick Morris

Matt K. Lewis Senior Contributor
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Dick Morris is out at Fox News — and there is great rejoicing!

Over at the Washington PostErik Wemple takes this news (coupled with Sarah Palin’s departure from the network) as “evidence that Fox News has glimpsed the underside of allowing charlatans to brand its coverage.” (The morning after the election I tweeted that this was necessary.)

The problem, of course, isn’t that Dick Morris was wrong about the election — but that he was emphatically wrong. What is more, it is clear he should have known better. He was a brilliant (if Machiavellian) adviser to President Bill Clinton, and has written some very astute books, like “Power Plays.”

Speaking of books, he also wrote “Condi vs. Hillary” — which may serve as proof that he puts profit over predictions.

Dave Weigel might have the best take on Morris:

[L]et’s kick Dick Morris while he’s down. He wasn’t merely an inaccurate pundit. He was a con artist. He used his Fox News hits and Hill columns (he still has the columns!) to pitch candidates that he would concurrently schlep to people who signed up on his mailing list. Hey, did you listen to me on TV and hear about my web site? Great! Donate to the Super PAC for America, which will plow money back into list-building and completely fail to elect any of these candidates.

Sounds about right. But I think Weigel actually went too easy on him. He didn’t even bring up the odd fact that conservatives placed their trust on the word of a man known for (allegedly) sucking the toes of prostitutes.

It’s a weird media world.

Matt K. Lewis