Larry King on Bashir-Palin clash: 'didn't she step over a line with that comparison, though?

The dust has all but settled in the uncomfortable exchanging of words between former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and MSNBC's Martin Bashir. Enter Larry King.

Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File

On his Hulu show "Politicking with Larry King," King suggested that Palin was the one to initially "step over a line" when she compared the federal debt to slavery. He began by asking his guests, MSNBC contributors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, to comment on Bashir, who memorably said Palin should be punished for the comparison by being on the receiving end of a gross act.

"Was he out of line?" King asked.

"By his own admission, by apologizing, of course," Halperin said.

Heilemann chimed in, "I think it’s not a great idea to--we’re big fans of civil discourse, and we go on television and we get in arguments with people all the time, and the key is to try to have an argument with someone; you can be passionate about it, but try to keep it civil. Martin realizes that he stepped over a line, as he said he did, and it’d be better if he had firm disagreements or strong disagreements without having to do that."

King then turned things back on Palin. "Didn't she step over a line with that comparison, though?" He asked.

Said Heilemann, "She’s been known to hyperbolize, but there wasn’t a personal attack on anyone in particular there."

"Right," said King.

Bashir has since apologized for his remarks and Palin has accepted, though she stood by her debt-slavery comparison in a CNN interview.

The King interview airs on Hulu Thursday.