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GOP convention winners and losers, from Condoleezza Rice to Clint Eastwood (+video)

10. Loser: David Chalian

Donna Svennevik/ABC/AP
Yahoo News Washington bureau chief David Chalian at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., in a photo released by ABC news on Aug. 28. Yahoo News fired Mr. Chalian after making a comment about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, before Yahoo began its live coverage of the GOP convention on Tuesday evening. Yahoo is streaming coverage in association with ABC News.

Juan Williams may have been criticized harshly, but the Yahoo News Washington bureau chief was the only person to actually lose his job over speaking without thinking.

It was the latest firing from a hot-mic incident: Mr. Chalian was caught on tape during an online video broadcast Wednesday saying that Mitt and Ann Romney were “not concerned at all” about hurricane Isaac and were “happy to have a party with black people drowning.”

Chalian, who was apparently joking with a colleague and wasn’t aware his remarks were being recorded and broadcast, was fired later that day.

Chalian later issued an apology to the Romneys, saying: “I am profoundly sorry for making an inappropriate and thoughtless joke. I was commenting on the challenge of staging a convention during a hurricane and about campaign optics. I have apologized to the Romney campaign, and I want to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to Governor and Mrs. Romney.”

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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