MSNBC's Geist: "[S]ome people looked at those clips of Hillary Clinton on Saturday and thought, perhaps, about the b-word"

Summary: On MSNBC Live, co-host Willie Geist stated that "some people ... thought, perhaps, about the b-word" when viewing "clips" of Sen. Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail on February 23. Geist made the statement while discussing a segment from the February 23 edition of NBC's Saturday Night Live in which comedian Tina Fey said, "[M]aybe what bothers me the most is that people say that Hillary is a bitch. Let me say something about that. Yeah, she is. And so am I."

During the 9 a.m. ET hour of the February 25 edition of MSNBC Live, co-host Willie Geist stated that "some people ... thought, perhaps, about the b-word" when viewing "clips" of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on the campaign trail on February 23. Geist made the statement while discussing a segment from the February 23 edition of NBC's Saturday Night Live in which comedian Tina Fey said, "[M]aybe what bothers me the most is that people say that Hillary is a bitch. Let me say something about that. Yeah, she is. And so am I."

After the clip aired, Geist asserted, "Like all good comedy, it speaks to some truth. And some people looked at those clips of Hillary Clinton on Saturday and thought, perhaps, about the b-word ... and about her being too aggressive. But she's doing what she has to do." Co-host Mika Brzezinski then said, "[Former Clinton press secretary] Dee Dee Myers brought that up on Morning Joe with us. And she was saying, you know, unfortunately, when she saw Hillary Clinton this weekend saying shame on you, Barack Obama, and making fun of the whole Obama movement, that she came off looking in a way that only a female candidate can look to some people -- that unfortunately, there is still a double standard. And for Dee Dee Myers -- who's written a book, Why Women Should Rule the World -- you would think, you know, she wouldn't want to believe that that is true, but she does." Geist added, "She's honest about it. She said she actually cringed when she saw that -- maybe not for herself, but because she knew how other people would react to it. So Tina Fey makes a joke about it, but there's actually something to it in the end."

Media Matters for America has documented numerous examples of media figures using the word "bitch" in reference to Clinton.

• On the February 18 edition of Fox Business News' Cavuto, host Neil Cavuto said of Clinton, "[S]he's trying to run away from this tough, kind of bitchy image that her critics claim that she has, wouldn't that reinforce that image and actually help Barack Obama?"
• On the March 15, 2007, broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Glenn Beck said: "Hillary Clinton cannot be elected president because ... there's something about her vocal range." He went on to say, "There's something about her voice that just drives me -- it's not what she says, it's how she says it," adding, "She is like the stereotypical -- excuse the expression, but this is the way to -- she's the stereotypical bitch, you know what I mean?"
• Politico chief political columnist Roger Simon began his November 16, 2007, column about Clinton by asserting, "The (rhymes with rich) is back."
• On the November 14, 2007, edition of CNN's American Morning, during a discussion with co-anchor Kiran Chetry about John McCain's response to a question during a campaign event in Hilton Head, South Carolina, where a questioner asked, "How do we beat the bitch?" -- presumably referring to Clinton -- Politico chief political correspondent Mike Allen said, "[W]hat Republican voter hasn't thought that? What voter in general hasn't thought that?"

From the 9 a.m. ET hour of the February 25 edition of MSNBC Live:

BRZEZINSKI: Oh, my -- I can't stop. Every time I see it I laugh. She's [Tina Fey] amazing.

GEIST: She's good. But you know what? Like all good comedy, it speaks to some truth. And some people looked at those clips of Hillary Clinton on Saturday and thought, perhaps, about the b-word --

BRZEZINSKI: Well --

GEIST: -- and about her being too aggressive. But she's doing what she has to do.

BRZEZINSKI: [Former Clinton press secretary] Dee Dee Myers brought that up on Morning Joe with us. And she was saying, you know, unfortunately, when she saw Hillary Clinton this weekend saying shame on you, Barack Obama, and making fun of the whole Obama movement, that she came off looking in a way that only a female candidate can look to some people -- that unfortunately, there is still a double standard. And for Dee Dee Myers -- who's written a book, Why Women Should Rule the World -- you would think, you know, she wouldn't want to believe that that is true, but she does.

GEIST: She's honest about it. She said she actually cringed when she saw that -- maybe not for herself, but because she knew how other people would react to it. So Tina Fey makes a joke about it, but there's actually something to it in the end.

—R.C.