Outburst at Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes is pure Rendell, observers say

This Sunday, on CBS's 60 Minutes, an event will occur that will shock the heck out of everyone in America.

Except those who live around here.

Ed Rendell's going to blow up at a reporter.

The outburst is recorded and ready to roll. The subject is casinos. Lesley Stahl, longtime CBS reporter, one of the smarter people in the business, is pressing Rendell about casinos and their effect on addictive gamblers. He takes it less than well.

"People are losing money for the state to get its revenue," Stahl says. "They're losing money."

Rendell replies, beginning to sputter: "Let me answer this. You . . . you've . . . I've always . . . I've known, uh, for two or three decades, you're a very smart person."

"But not now," Stahl says.

"But you're not getting it," Rendell says.

"I'm dumb now," Stahl says.

"You're not getting it," Rendell says, clearly flustered. "Those people would lose that money anyway. Don't you understand? You guys don't get that. You're simpletons. You're idiots if you don't get that."

By the end, he is grimacing and waving his hands.

It's yet another volcanic media moment for the soon-to-be-ex-governor, yet another unguarded Rendell rant. It follows hot on the heels of his still-glowing declaration, after a blizzard postponed an Eagles game, that the United States had become "a nation of wusses."

Buzz Bissinger, whose book A Prayer for the City chronicled much Rendell rage, said Friday, "Ed is a huger-than-life personality, wildly funny, wildly passionate, with a terrible temper. What's different about this is that he lost it on the most-watched news program in the country.. . .

"It's been quite a two weeks, I'll say that. Another round of Ed Rendell stories all over the country. This is what makes Ed Rendell one of the most remarkable politicians in the country."

The blowup blew up all over the Web Friday, especially on news and politics sites. On Twitter, many a tweet concerned Rendell and his temper.

Christine Guerrini, a Philadelphia tweeter, tweeted: "1st the 'wusses' comment, now Rendell lashes out on 60 mins. . . . how do u think his reps are going to handle this?" Robert Edwards of Levittown tweeted: "Just saw the clip of Gov. Rendell on 60 minutes about gambling. . . . He looks like a lunatic."

Indecision Forever, the Comedy Central TV channel's blog site, colored Rendell's grimacing face Incredible Hulk green and added this headline: "Gov. Ed Rendell Goaded Into Turning Into Hulk on National Television."