JOE SCARBOROUGH:

Well, let us just say it’s surprising, and I would just throw it back to you – all and tell you what the McCain campaign is saying this morning, and what a lot of Republicans, they’re asking really a question: what if Sarah Palin had said electing John McCain would create an international crisis because of his age. Would that be above the fold on the front page of the New York Times, the Washington Post? Would that be a lead story? We’ve got somebody who’s an expert in the media who I think, Mika, knows a lot better than we do, Dan Rather. Dan, talk about the double standard. Are there times that you would cover this story differently if Sarah Palin said it rather than Joe Biden? Not you, but the media.

DAN RATHER:

Well I think the point is well taken, Joe, that certainly if Sarah Palin had said this it would be above the fold in most newspapers today … But let me point out that what happens on the internet may be as important or more important than what’s happening in the newspapers. And I’ll be surprised, and you know, Joe, I’m frequently surprised, but I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t have a run on the internet, with among the points two that you raised. Number one, if Sarah Palin had said this, the newspapers would have jumped all over it and so would have the major television outlets. And number two, they can’t be happy inside the Obama campaign about this, and let me emphasize I’ve not spoken with them this morning.

SCARBOROUGH: They are not.