Ana Marie Cox on Couric Middle-East Trip: 'Maybe She Needs Rugs'

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I had great expectations when Ana Marie Cox turned up on the "Morning Joe" panel, confident the tart-tongued former Wonkette would produce plenty of grist for our NB mill. But over the course of the week, Cox has been disappointingly subdued, leaving it to the congenial Tamron Hall to produce our headlines. Perhaps Ana Marie's new gig at staid "Time" magazine has caused her to hide her acerbic light under a barrel.

But the strain of being restrained was maybe too much for Ana Marie, for she began this morning's show with a catty swipe at Katie Couric.

Host Joe Scarborough began the opening chit-chat by noting that Katie Couric has announced her plans to visit Iraq and Syria. That's when Ana Marie pounced.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: So Katie's going off to the war zone. Did you read that? Katie Couric.

ANA MARIE COX: Needs some rugs, maybe. I don't know.

R-e-o-o-w-w-w!

View video here.

Cox packed a double-jab in that one short burst. Can you imagine the outraged cries of "sexism" and "ethnic stereotyping" if a conservative had been caught out suggesting Middle Easterners were a bunch of rug merchants and interior decorating a women news anchor's main conern?

Bonus Coverage: Cox later gave a clue into the roots of her unusual persona. During the course of the news summary, Tamron Hall mentioned that a vandal had set fire four days early to the huge wooden effigy at the Burning Man festival [described by its creators as "an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance"] held out in the Nevada desert. That's when Cox made this odd and coincidental disclosure.

COX: My father is at Burning Man.

SCARBOROUGH: So what's up with your dad?

COX: Don't know. He maybe kind of missed the 60s.

SCARBOROUGH: Could you let him know that the Age of Aquarius is over?

Paging the GEICO psychotherapist. "It's my father. I'll put him on speaker."

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Ex-Wonkette swipes at Katie. Ping to Today show list.

[Thrownatbirth]

My father is at Burning Man.

Her father is wearing a loincloth and wandering a scorching desert encampment in an acid-induced, semi-catatonic state totally at the mercy of thousands of strangers, all of whom happen to be anarchists.

[elli1]

Ouch!! That's a bleeder.

I can't help but be reminded of when CBS sent Connie Chung to OKC and saw the live broadcast of her 'interview' with Fire Chief Hansen.

[bray]

Will she be Bowing to Mecca 6 times a day in a Burka?

Pray for W and Our Troops

[Rummyfan]

Burning Man festival [described by its creators as "an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance"]

What the heck?????

[N. Theknow]

Burning Man festival [described by its creators as "an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance"]

What the heck?????

Allow me to translate:

A peyote-induced stupor.

[mad_as_he$$]

It was in the low 90’s yesterday. Hardly scorching by Black Rock standards. But his loincloth is full of alkali dust at this point and that is about as unpleasant as you can get.

[freekitty]

Couric is nothing but a fool. The network made a mistake in hiring her. It’s that simple. Nothing is going to help that.

[subterfuge]

What the heck?????

It's kind of a hippie-UFO-"Save the Earth"-metaphysical-love-in. But mostly the UFO part.

[COUNTrecount]

She's leaving the country just in time for this release.

[paddles]

I wonder if the perky little miss is taking her own booze or expects to find enough in-country?

She can't face the cameras without a stiff belt. In the old days she dumped it in her morning tea/coffee. The prime time anchor spot at least allows her to put an umbrella in it.

[Inspectorette]

This picture must have been taken after one of her early rounds of cosmetic surgery. Even though I wouldn’t be caught dead watching SeeBS News, from recent pix I’ve seen of The (Rapidly Drooping) Perkster, she’s veering off into Joan Rivers territory.

[nutmeg]

She's the Ex-Wonkette now? Guess I'm out of the loop...