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Barney Frank was just on CNBC. I’ve started a game of watching at what point Frank goes into his overly dramatic routine that he’s being interrupted and not allowed to answer the question. He does this all the time.

Fortunately, this time he was up against Mark Haines who doesn’t put up with his nonsense. I don’t think Congressman Frank understands that he’s not the chairman everywhere in the world. It's pretty sad: You put a gavel in some people's hands and it goes to their heads.

The fun begins at 4:50. Haines asked a perfectly reasonable question. In Frank’s response, he asks Haines a question (two actually) to which the anchor responded. This set Frank off.

Frank has perfected this gimmick. He's given a question that he doesn't want to answer so he goes off on a tangent and simply filibusters. When the interviewer tries to get him back on topic, he acts outraged.

I think a reasonable person could call this interrupting. Personally, I wouldn't. It's simply part of the give-and-take of any conversation. Still, if Frank were truly interested in addressing the question he could respond with a firm "I'm getting to that," or about a hundred other ways. Instead, he erupts and brings the conversation even further from an answer -- and gets to play the victim to boot.

Congressman Frank is a bully pure and simple and today he was put in his place.

I'll see if I can find clips of his previous antics. Here's one from yesterday: 6:22 on June 10

Posted by edelfenbein at June 11, 2009 10:02 AM