John Sununu, generally speaking, is something of a jerk. And lots of conservatives have little use for Sununu thanks to his role in brokering the abandonment of President George H. W. Bush’s “read my lips” tax pledge as the latter’s chief of staff.

Which made Sununu, as a surrogate for Mitt Romney’s campaign, not necessarily the best choice. That could have something to do with why he’s doing MSNBC spots rather than a network people actually watch.

That said, you’ve got to hand it to Sununu for absolutely eviscerating Andrea Mitchell yesterday on the question of “outsourcing” and President Obama’s plan to jack up taxes on the people who make the country work…

Mitchell had little to offer outside of DNC talking points, as though somebody from the Romney campaign can’t swat those away. And Sununu, being something of a jerk who knows that since he’s on MSNBC he doesn’t really need to be diplomatic to either the host or her audience, didn’t hold back.

This kind of stuff seems to happen often to Mitchell, though. One wonders where MSNBC’s quality control is – it’s one thing to be shamelessly partisan while claiming objectivity, but it’s something else to get clobbered on your own show like this on a continual basis.

UPDATE: As a bonus, how about Paul Krugman getting annihilated by a Spanish economist? This guy’s name is Pedro Schwartz, which sounds like something Mel Brooks would make up…

Love this quote: “Often Nobel prize winners are tempted to pontificate on matters that are outside the specialty in which they have excelled. And they have this mantle of authority whereby whatever they say . . . is accepted with resignation from some and enthusiasm by others.”