Ben Quayle ‘Jokes’ That Politico is ‘Worst Media Outlet In History’

Matt K. Lewis Senior Contributor
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… Okay, it was a “roast” and meant to be humorous, but Rep. Ben Quayle‘s (R-Ariz.) comments Wednesday night at Congressional Correspondents’ Dinner (formerly the Radio-Television Correspondents’ Dinner) seemed to betray some deep-seated animosity toward Politico.

“It took everything I had not to refer to Politico as the worst media outlet in history,” Quayle, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, said during his talk.  (During his 2010 race, Quayle referred to Barack Obama as “the worst president in American history.”)

Quayle has good reason to be angry with Politico.  After all, their story alleging he was a contributor to the controversial “Dirty Scottsdale” website threatened to derail his Congressional bid in 2010.

Qualye also took shots at numerous politicians, including former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Vice President Dick Cheney and Vice President Joe Biden.

He also joked that he wanted to prove to the nation “that bad spelling is not genetic.”

My take: It’s always uncomfortably weird when non-comedians try to be funny.

You can watch Quayle’s speech here:

Matt K. Lewis