Sarah Palin Slur Prompts MSNBC Apology [Video]

Sarah Palin received a formal apology today from one of her harshest critics.

MSNBC host Martin Bashir apologized on air (see embed above) for vile comments he made about the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate on Friday.

MSNBC is known for generally cheerleading the Obama agenda and heaping scorn on the opposition.

During the Friday program, responding to Palin’s comparison of the national debt to slavery, Bashir declared that Palin should she be subject to the same brutal, disgusting punishment that a certain 18th century overseer administered to slaves, which included defecating and urinating in their mouths. Said Bashir: “When Mrs. Palin invokes slavery, she doesn’t just prove her rank ignorance. She confirms if anyone truly qualified for a dose of discipline from Thomas Thistlewood, she would be the outstanding candidate.” He also referred to Palin as a “world-class idiot.”

This afternoon on his low-rated broadcast, Bashir apologized to Palin. The Washington Post notes that “At the top of his MSNBC show today, Martin Bashir unleashed an apology so contrite, so complete that it sounded as if his job was riding on it.”

Bashir’s Palin apology included the following remarks:

“Last Friday, on this broadcast, I made some comments which were deeply offensive and directed at Governor Sarah Palin. I wanted to take this opportunity to say sorry to Mrs. Palin, and to also offer an unreserved apology to her friends and family, her supporters, our viewers, and anyone who may have heard what I said.”

Continued Bashir: “My words were wholly unacceptable. They were neither accurate, nor fair. They were unworthy of anyone who would claim to have an interest in politics, and they have brought shame upon my friends and colleagues at this network, none of whom were responsible for the things that I said, and in a place where we try every day to elevate political discourse and focus on issues that matter to all of us…”

Newsbusters compiled a list of recent inflammatory statements that Bashir has made on MSNBC about those who don’t share his liberal agenda.

In a separate development, actor Alec Baldwin’s MSNBC show is on hold after he allegedly made an anti-gay slur during a street altercation with a photographer.

If you are a regular MSNBC viewer, do you agree that the network seeks “to elevate political discourse”?