"Morning Joe" Mojo
That's what passes for "Good Morning" at 5:08 in the morning from Joe Scarborough. Which is far superior to the spastic and overly-caffeinated "HeyAlrightHowAreThingsTodayDidYouSeeTheTimesEditoralToday?" that I've been able to volley back. (The gag, of course, being that the show is three hours in total.)
Many thanks, dear readers, for bearing with Public Eye this week as the number and pace of posts has slowed a tad. For the past week or so – as noted in this space last week – I've been joining the cast of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program each morning from 6am-9am (EDT) and will be doing so again tomorrow.
At the close of each show, Joe, co-host Mika Brzezinski and I have a little "Doogie Howser"-esque or "Jerry Springer"-esque (take your pic) moment where we answer the question "What Did We Learn Today?" In that spirit, I thought I'd share the top ten things I've learned in the past 6 mornings:
10. Krusty the Clown gets more love than you'd think.
9. Driving through the Lincoln Tunnel at 4:32 in the morning is a cakewalk. You could do it on a Big Wheel in 2 minutes flat.
8. Impersonations of upcoming guests = Bad idea.
7. Art Monk is a living, breathing legend of international import – and deserves to be in the National Football League Hall of Fame.
6. When you're having fun on live TV, it shows.
5. Financial screamer Jim Cramer covered the Ted Bundy story as a cub reporter in Tallahassee.
4. People behind the scenes – from producers to cameramen to the make-up people (who've fought a daily battle with my mug) to technicians to interns – work their tails off.
3. Co-host and YouTube fave Mika Brzezinski's first kiss was under the bleachers at Langley High School, where they must've cheated at a Belichick-ian level to beat my alma mater last weekend 28-0. But I'm not bitter.
2. The chocolate chip cookies at the DoubleTree in Times Square must be laced with crack cocaine. There's simply no other explanation. They're that addictive.
And the number one thing I've learned this week?
1. Joe – he of the Redneck Riviera region of the south – allegedly owns (or used to own) one of those a Volkswagen Camper Vans. And, yeah, both he and Mika are the same when the cameras are off as when they're on. That's a compliment, I swear!