MISSPOKE: Lies, Misstatements and Gaffes by the Rich and Powerful

Oops! John Edwards reportedly close to admitting he's Rielle Hunter's babydaddy

2009-09-19T21:25:00Z

As a federal grand jury investigates whether John Edwards committed crimes in connection with his affair with Rielle Hunter, the former Democratic presidential candidate reportedly is thinking about fessing up to fathering Hunter's 19-month-old father.

We'll have the video when it becomes available.

Gov. Mark Sanford: 'I wanted to do something exotic'

2009-06-24T20:10:00Z

After a week of cover ups, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford confessed Wednesday that he hasn't really been away hiking the Appalachian Trail as his staff had told reporters. Instead, he admitted in a nationally televised press conference, he was shacked up in South America with his Argentinian paramour.

Sanford earlier had told a reporter for the State newspaper of Columbia, S.C., that he'd planned to go hiking but then changed his mind and decided to go to Argentina because "I wanted to do something exotic."

In the press conference he admitted he was "doing" a woman with whom he's been having an affair for the past year.

Sanford, who is married, had been considered a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2012.

SC Chief Justice Roberts slips up during the swearing in

2009-01-21T01:34:00Z

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

You would expect the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court to know how to swear in a new President -- the words of the oath are written into the Constitution, after all. But Chief Justice John Roberts slipped up a bit.

First, Barack Obama, who technically became President a few minutes earlier -- the transfer of power happened automatically at noon -- jumped the gun a bit, starting to recite the first line before Roberts had finished saying it. Then Roberts slightly mangled a bit of the speech, referring to "the office of President to the United States." He also misplaced the word "faithfully."

Obama started to recite the words then stopped, casting a look at Roberts that essentially said: "Wanna try that again?" Then they got it right.

The video above captures the moment.

Here is a transcript of the swearing in.

Talking turkey with Sarah Palin

2008-11-22T20:00:00Z

After performing the traditional Thanksgiving ceremonial function of sparing a turkey's life, Sarah Palin cheerfully chews the fat with reporters as a blood-splattered worker slaughters turkeys right behind her.

Sweet.

Breaking news: MSNBC and others fooled by fictitious 'political strategist'

2008-11-13T16:43:00Z

Combine the 24-hour news cycle with unprecedented competitive pressures and shrinking newroom staffs and what do you get?

You get MSNBC's David Shuster naming a fictitious source for all the recent high-profile Sarah-Palin-is-an-ignorant-diva stories and then interviewing real political campaign strategists about the revelation.

Shuster aired the report based on an entry found on a blog that, according to the New York Times, was created by Hollywood writers to pitch a TV show.

Now both Shuster's report and the Times' reporting about the hoax have become grist for the hoaxer's blog. This TV show is getting plenty of free pre-publicity.

Amazon.com Widgets

John Edwards Confesses on 'Nightline'

2008-08-11T01:10:00Z

John Edwards admits his affair on ABC's Nightline but denies fathering a love child in an apparently well-rehearsed presentation in which he frames his affair the way he wants it to be seen.

John Edwards: Caught

2008-08-11T00:59:00Z

A breaking news report about John Edwards admitting he cheated on his wife after lying about it for months.

Tape of John Edwards dismissing tabloid 'lies'

2008-08-11T00:53:00Z

Apparently, John Edwards misspoke when he dismissed National Enquirer reports as "full of lies." He did it right after telling a reporter he'd be happy to serve his country in whatever capacity Barack Obama wants, whether in the campaign or in the administration.

Watch Bill lie about Hillary's Bosnia lies and imply that his wife is senile

2008-04-12T06:21:00Z

Why does Hillary Clinton lie?

2008-04-08T00:29:00Z

We know why politicians lie when they get in trouble: they think the consequences of telling the truth are too severe to bear. That's why Richard Nixon lied about Watergate, and Bill Clinton about Monica Lewinsky. The more complicated question is why they fib—why politicians insist on stretching unimportant stories in ways that are easy to check and refute.

Thus begins Jonathan Alter's column this week in Newsweek about Hillary Clinton's obsession with inflating her "35 years of public service."

"While Hillary is not generally an insecure person, she is highly defensive about this record," he writes. "Without it, she would have only seven years (her Senate career) of public service to cite. Hillary's "movie" of her own life, and of her presidential campaign, is dependent on those years seeming as meaningful as possible."

Eluding enemy sniper fire, Hillary makes it to Jay Leno's couch

2008-04-05T03:59:00Z

Ah, so it was a "lapse." Hillary Clinton went on the Tonight Show last night in part to continue her "charm offensive," as they're calling it on MSNBC, but also clearly with the agenda of addressing her repeated misstatements about the circumstances of her trip to Bosnia. She tosses if off in a way that seems almost casual, getting it out of the way early, but there's no doubt this is her Hugh Grant moment even though she managed to escape Leno asking, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Here's the YouTube clip:

Hillary Clinton and Bosnia

2008-03-25T15:35:00Z

Inaugural post

2008-03-25T15:25:00Z