DON'T PANIC: A nerdy discussion about why we can calm down about Romney's VP pick

[Note: this is probably going to be one of the nerdiest posts about Romney's choice for vice president you'll read. Bear with me...]

Fans of Douglas Adams' comedic science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are familiar with the phrase, "DON'T PANIC." These two words are described in the books as being written "in large, friendly letters on the cover" of the electronic guide book that inspired the name of the series. Intergalactic travel is a complicated and dangerous endeavor, so a little reminder not to panic is a helpful concept.

I'm starting to think that all articles speculating about Mitt Romney's choice for vice president should be required to have a large "DON'T PANIC" label on them. Too many people seem to have lost the ability to discuss the topic with any sort of calmness or logic.

Condi Rice puts the smack down on Lawrence O'Donnell

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell made an attempt to interview former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by tossing wildly inaccurate and illogical liberal talking points at her. Rice repeatedly smacks him down so many times, I'm surprised he wasn't bleeding from the ears by the end of the interview.

The carnage starts almost immediately, when Rice openly mocks O'Donnell for not understanding that September 11th was, well, kind of a big deal:

O'Donnell: [Bush is] clearly saying that September 11th is the reason he looked at Iraq differently and saw a threat there.

Rice: Yeah. Are you surprised by that?

O'Donnell: Yes.

Rice: After September 11th...

O'Donnell: Yes, because Iraq had nothing to do with September 11th.

Rice [grinning and shaking her head]: After September 11th, of course you look at threats differently...

O'Donnell keeps interrupting her to repeat the tired bit about "Iraq had nothing to do with September 11th!" and Rice stops him...

Lawrence, we can end this interview right now if you don’t want me to finish my point.

 ...and calmly gets back to the point that it's not that Iraq caused September 11th, but that Iraq was presenting its own threat, and golly gee, what we learned on September 11th is that we should take threats seriously.

The beat down continues from there. Enjoy:

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Hat tip to Moe Lane, who humorously labeled his RedState post "MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell *had* 32 teeth." Newsbusters and The Daily Caller have some great commentary on this interview as well.

That was too easy. Next victim...uh...I mean interviewer!

[Cross-posted at The Minority Report]