Since he took over as the main afternoon host on RNZ National, I (and no doubt many other radio listeners) have generally regarded Jesse Mulligan as adequate: competent enough, personable, often delightfully quick with a pun. Probably the worst anyone would have said about him was that he was a pleasant but vacuous comedian and an earnest if not pretentious gourmand.
Last week, however, Jesse Mulligan filled in for Jim Mora, as he occasionally has done in the past. Sadly for him, and even more sadly for listeners, he found himself having to talk to people about matters of grave consequence—the Syrian insurrection and the Israeli raid on a peace protest ship in international waters. He was simply not up to the job. My take on Mulligan then was simply that he was indolent, therefore poorly prepared, therefore unable to intelligently interview even a mediocre academic like Paul Sinclair, [1] leave alone an ideologically driven liar like Dr David Cumin. [2]
It’s getting harder and harder to take such a benign view of Mulligan, however. Today, his intellectual laziness segued with disturbing smoothness into a nasty little attack against one of the West’s leading dissident journalists. That he did this in tandem with the sneering long-time Mora producer and dutiful chortler Julie Moffett makes it almost inevitable that he will be compared to the sneering, scoffing Jim Mora, and even to such insalubrious characters as Mike “Contra” Hosking, or Larry “Lackwit” Williams…..
JIM MORA: Julie Moffett.
JULIE MOFFETT: Another WikiLeaks LEAK reveals that Hillary Clinton apparently suggested that Wall Street INSIDERS were best qualified to regulate the banking industry, and also included her APPARENT admission of the need for money from banking executives for political fundraising. [mocking singsong tone] Hmmmm. This comes from thousands of emails HACKED from Clinton’s campaign chair John Poseda’s [sic] email account, and appear to include the excerpts from Mrs Clinton’s paid closed-door speeches to Wall Street executives after leaving her position as Secretary of STATE. [3]
JIM MORA: This is not the smoking GUN, really, IS it? There have been so many revelations, allegations, opinions about Hillary and her connections with Wall Stre–, I mean, either Julian Assange has got something saved UP for just before the election but, I mean, tha–, this has been SEIZED ON, it’s considered—
JULIE MOFFETT: Yeah.
JIM MORA: —ahhh, interesting MATERIAL by her OPPONENT.
JULIE MOFFETT: But they go around lobbying EVERYONE for money, don’t they?
JESSE MULLIGAN: It’s pretty much exPECTed, isn’t it.
JULIE MOFFETT: Yeah.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Why is Assange on TRUMP’s side? Or is ‘e just anti-CLINTON?
JULIE MOFFETT: He’s just anti-EVERYTHING isn’t he?
JESSE MULLIGAN: Yeah I s’pose SO. I would’ve thought if you had the choice between two people, SURELY—- [Julie Moffett snorts sardonically] —someone in HIS position would go with CLINTON.
JULIE MOFFETT: He doesn’t NEED to release anything on Trump.
JESSE MULLIGAN: I guess so. [snorts] That’s right! [snorts]
JULIE MOFFETT: Really. You KNOW.
JESSE MULLIGAN: It’s all being released from ‘is MOUTH!
JULIE MOFFETT:[snorts] Yeah, ha ha!
JESSE MULLIGAN: Huh, ha ha ha ha ha.
JIM MORA: We’ll talk about that after four.
JESSE MULLIGAN: Okay.
….Pause….
JULIE MOFFETT: Paper ROAD MAPS seem to be making a comeback….
Jesse Mulligan, out of his depth, is plummeting from bad to much worse.
The Panel pre-show, RNZ National, Monday 10 October 2016, 4:20 p.m.
Jim Mora, David Farrar, Ali Jones, Julie Moffett, Jesse Mulligan
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/thepanel/audio/201819389/the-panel-pre-show-for-10-october-2016
member of New Zealand’s wacky ACT cult…