I’d like to cut this poor girl a little slack, but look at this clip and you’ll have to agree: this is really beyond dumb.

Based on my experience, here’s what I think happened.

This was probably written by an associate producer at MSNBC (who probably makes $11 a hour, not 10) and who is a recent graduate of a state college with a degree in journalism (specialty: broadcasting and film) and who is, maybe, 21 years old and has only the faintest idea who Jesse Jackson is (or, rather, was.) The writer relies on information provided by a booker who perhaps is thinking that Jesse Jackson is either one of the Jackson Five, or a former star of major league baseball. In this person’s brain, the only other significant black politician besides Barack Obama is that guy Hal, what’s his name, Sharper? Hal Sharper?

Then again: when you produce news 24 hours a day with a smaller and smaller staff (some of whom are no doubt doing five jobs at once, and spending all their spare time updating their resume reels to look for the next job) and you hire people who work like gypsies, drifting from network to network, and job to job, with no sense of loyalty or corporate pride or institutional memory — let alone, a sense or knowledge of recent American history…well, this is what happens.

Been there, seen that.

H/T The Anchoress.