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Before going to work at MSNBC, Rick Stengel had been President Obama's Undersecretary of State for "Public Diplomacy." With the sort of "public diplomacy" Stengel displayed today, we're lucky he didn't touch off WWIII! Stengel appeared on Nicolle Wallace's MSNBC on Thursday, just after Brits Katty Kay and Keir Simmons made moving and emotion-laden statements about the passing of Queen Elizabeth. Stengel proceeded to announce that he was going to make himself "the skunk at the garden party." And man, did he deliver! Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Rick Stengel, the former Time editor turned Obama State Department flack turned MSNBC analyst, appearing on Nicolle Wallace's show this afternoon and defending Biden on the Afghanistan fiasco, said: "It hasn’t quite worked out as we thought." Ping to Liberal Media Criticism list.

On Nicolle Wallace's show this afternoon, former Time editor turned Obama aide Rick Stengel told Nicolle Wallace that the leaders of other countries view the US as a "god------ s--- show." Wallace, far from reprimanding Stengel, gushed "I love it!" and proceeded to repeat the vulgarity. Even when Stengel sought to apologize for his outburst, saying "I'm sorry," Wallace rushed to reassure him: "It's perfect: you're perfect." Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Rick Stengel was being facetious . . . right? Then again, given the authoritarian proclivities of the left, who knows? On Nicolle Wallace's MSNBC show this afternoon, Stengel — the former Time editor turned Obama aide turned MSNBC analyst — appeared on Thursday's Deadline White House and said: "Voters should be forced to listen to an entire Trump press conference because then I think it’s impossible to vote for him."Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Richard Stengel gave a peculiar apology to outraged Twitter users on Sunday after he tweeted #UnitedForGaza to his 15,000 followers. In a tweet directed to the State Department, Mr. Stengel said, “Critical for a full, credible and unimpeded intl investigation of crash. Urge Russia to honor it’s [sic] commitment,” Twitchy first reported. After receiving swift backlash, the tweet was deleted, and Mr. Stengel sent out a terse explanation. “Earlier tweet with wrong hashtag was a mistake. My bad,” he said. (Snip) Twitter users weren’t buying Mr. Stengel’s apology.

The account for U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Rick Stengel published a tweet with a pro-Gaza hashtag, which was captured by the following screenshot.

A member of the MSM moving to the Obama administration? A "natural extension" indeed! Nancy Gibbs, the new Time editor, has really let the cat out of the bag. Appearing on Morning Joe today, she described the move of her predecessor, Rick Stengel, from Time to a State Department job in the Obama administration, as a "natural extension" for him. Now it's true that Gibbs couched her remarks in terms of Stengel's role in both jobs being that of telling "America's story around the world." More accurately, Gibbs might have said that Stengel has always seen his job as telling...

Time managing editor Rick Stengel (pictured above) is leaving journalism to go work for the State Department, making him at least the 15th 21st reporter to go to work for the Obama administration. Stengel will be the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Politico and Capital New York report. The last high-profile journalist to leave Time for the Obama administration is Jay Carney, who is currently White House press secretary (pictured at right). Update: Thanks to a few tipsters, we've updated with a bigger count. They're listed below. A wave of reporters went to work for...

The risk that Afghanistan might once again become a staging ground for al Qaeda attacks on the US? Meh. The danger of cross-border raids from Afghanistan into Pakistan that could lead to nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists? Yawn. But a US withdrawal from Afghanistan that would lead to a setback for women's liberation there? Now you've got the liberal media concerned! Rick Stengel of Time gave a perfect illustration of the phenomenon on today's Morning Joe. As is his Friday wont, he unveiled the new Time cover, which portrays the heart-rending image of a young Afghani woman...

There was a classic moment on Morning Joe today when Mika Brzezinski asked Time editor Rick Stengel whether the magazine's current issue contains anything about the allegations that the Obama admin offered Joe Sestak a top federal job in return for getting out of the Senate primary against Arlen Specter. Hat tip NB reader sarainitaly. A flat-footed Stengel seemed totally stumped. He stammered and stumbled until Mika gently explained she was talking about "the Sestak controversy. Joe Sestak." Finally the penny appeared to drop: "oh, Sestak. No. No. There is not. There is not." View video here.

Appearing on Morning Joe a couple weeks ago, Rick Stengel was quick to blame the controversy over Rev. Wright's past remarks on "the incredible ignorance of white Americans" about what goes on in black churches. But Stengel wasn't quite so forgiving when it came to the past of the current pontiff. Appearing on today's Morning Joe to discuss Time's cover story on Pope Benedict XVI's impending visit to America, Stengel blithely referred to the Pope as having been the Vatican's "hatchet man" during his years as a cardinal. View video.

Not that Time's in the tank for Obama or nuthin'. Not that its new cover merely depicts Barack with an ethereal glow, asks the question whether experience matters and answers it largely in the negative. No, it gets much better. The magazine's editor goes on Morning Joe and just happens to mention a study comparing a new nurse with a nurse who has 35 years of experience. And he lets us know that not only did the experienced nurse not perform any better than the rookie, she actually wound up . . . killing the patient faster!