The pair put in separate appearances on Morning Joe. After the never-shy Huffington called on the government to stop “protecting the equity holders” in banks, Haines came on and called Huffington “clueless” and suggested “in the future, you might want to get someone who knows what they’re talking about.” He pointed out that, contrary to Arianna’s claim, equity holders in the banks have been “destroyed.”

As you’ll see from the screencap, Mika Brzezinski’s jaw literally dropped at Haines’ candid comments.

For the record, Haines is of course correct.  Let’s take CitiGroup, which has been a key recipient of bailout funds and much in the news, including here at FinkelBlog earlier today. One year ago, its share price was $29.22. Today: $3.72, a loss of of over 87%.  Equity holders certainly have been, as Haines put it, “destroyed.”

Pay-per-view gladiators of course need noms de guerre.  The Morning Joe crew jokingly referred to Haines as “Mr. Sunshine,” so let’s go with that for him. Any suggestions for a fitting sobriquet for Arianna?

Disclosure: I own a modest stake in Citi share shares.  Because I bought them relatively recently, I’m “only” down 73%.