For all of you who have been yearning for the chance to vote for Joe Scarborough, look at these comments in Parade…
Have there been moments—say, during the tax debate in December—when you wished you were back in Congress?
Not yet. I think I may at some point. We have more influence doing the show. There are 435 members of Congress. There’s one Morning Joe show. Hopefully, we can keep hammering the argument that you can disagree with other people and have debates but remain civil.
“At some point”? How seriously are you considering a return to politics?
My wife always tells people, “He’s not going to be able run to for anything because I’m not going to let him start a campaign.” Look what’s happened to Barack Obama over the last two years or George Bush for eight. It’s a blood sport. But at some point I may feel the need to run for office again.
What would make you?
An absence of leadership. The same thing that had me run the first time, in 1994, when I felt the country was veering off dangerously in the wrong direction. If Washington continues to fumble issues like taking care of the debt, getting the troops home, and rebuilding our economy, my wife and I may sit down and say, “These are critical things and maybe we need to get back in the ball.”
It’s interesting that Scarborough calls his own debates civil, because, you know, that’s a label, and I thought he opposed those.