The TV hosts talk with David Carr about the midterm elections, a polarized Washington and the pleasures of working for Michael Bloomberg.
You both have a reputation for using alcohol to get sources to say things they should not. Should I have brought a bottle of tequila? Mark Halperin: That is an urban legend. It’s not like it’s never happened, but it’s not S.O.P. John Heilemann: Did you want a beer?
Breaking through the political clutter on television will be difficult, given that your new show, “With All Due Respect,” is on Bloomberg TV. Don’t you worry that you’ll have the ratings of a night light? Heilemann: I think we have been, maybe to a fault, pretty good at self-promotion. We plan to make sure people are aware of what we and everyone else here are doing.
If you ask people about Bloomberg, they will say he is a rich man who did a good job of running New York. Consumers don’t really know the media brand. Halperin: This will be a very sophisticated attempt to finally crack the nut on how to be consumer-facing here.
What is it like working for Michael Bloomberg? Heilemann: The purest pleasure imaginable.
Really? He seems sort of scary. Heilemann: No. Soft, warm and cuddly. Halperin: I have occasionally worked with people whom others consider scary. My strategy always is to not be scared.
Why is the show called “With All Due Respect”? Halperin: In Washington, 80 percent of the time, what they mean when they say that is, I’m about to kick you between the legs. Heilemann: “Due respect” could be a whole lot, or it could be virtually nothing.
The midterm elections are coming up. Are the Republicans going to gain control of the Senate? Halperin: As Yogi Berra said, Prediction is difficult, especially about the future. Heilemann: It’s close in six states. The Republicans have spent all kinds of money pummeling the Democrats in those races for months, and yet they are still within the margin of error.
People don’t seem to care that much, in part because the only thing that has come out of Washington lately is rhetoric. Halperin: You hear that from people across the political spectrum. It’s not just Republicans unhappy with the president or Democrats unhappy with John Boehner; it’s people left, right and center. I’ve never seen it so pronounced.
Would you rather split a six-pack with Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton? Halperin: I’ll go with Hillary Clinton right now, only because she’s a little more relevant to our forward-looking lives. But when the Palins drink, apparently exciting things happen. Heilemann: Michelle Obama. Although she’d want it to be light beer, and that’s not really to my taste.
Do you ever get tired of covering the horse race? Heilemann: No. Politicians are just so interesting as human beings. It’s like a strange combination of idealism and narcissism. Halperin: It’s like a good Mexican soap opera.
Could anyone be a good president in this environment? Halperin: Three guys in a row ran saying they’d try to change the partisanship in Washington. All three seemed pretty qualified to do it, but it’s a big challenge. Heilemann: The government is much more polarized than the country is. Whether it’s money or gerrymandering, you end up with this government that is unrepresentative; it is wildly polarized, and the country is not.
How will you guys fit in a divided political ecosystem? Halperin: We’re for love and not hate, we’re for ideas and not rhetoric and we’re for storytelling and not slashing.
In an ad for the show, you say it’s like a taco joint and a sushi bar rolled into one. That sounds yucky. Halperin: There’s actually a place in SoHo that is a taco-sushi bar all in one. So before you knock it, try it.