Joe and Mika have epic clash over lack of women in the Obama administration

Thursday morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski clashed mightily during a discussion about the lack of women appointees in the current Obama administration.

The loud, contentious back and forth began when Scarborough showed an image of the Oval Office showing a line of men, all top brass within the Obama cabinet.

"You know, I've got a nine-year-old daughter," he said. "What does she think when she sees this picture?"

"Oh, please," scoffed Brzezinski.

"What's 'Oh, please?'" demanded Scarborough. "Barack Obama and his team savaged Mitt Romney for a month off of an offhanded comment that really meant nothing, and here we are on something that matters!" he said, his voice rising to a shout. "And you're forgiving him while you lit into Romney for a month and the media lit into Romney for a month and now you all are hypocritically, and I will say it, hypocritically giving this man a pass because he's a Democrat that you're cheering for."

He accused Brzezinski and others on the panel of while looking the other way when Obama appoints a majority of men to high-ranking positions within the administration.

Brzeszinski and argued that on substantive matters of policy, with appointments to the Supreme Court and with the percentage of women working in the White House, Obama has made it clear that women are a priority and that Scarborough was basing his whole argument on one random photo.

She then said, "I'm trying to ignore, the -- and I'm afraid to use this word, because it won't be good for you, okay? -- because you're being chauvinistic right now. And you need to stop."

"You're calling the wrong guy a chauvinist," Scarborough insisted. "And seriously? Hold on," he said, snapping his fingers at her. "You want to call me a chauvinist?"

"Just stop," Brzezinski responded.

As Scarborough wound himself up, asking over and over, "After seeing me work here for five years, you want to call me a chauvinist?", Brzezinski tried to make it clear that he was acting chauvinist by talking over a female panelist.

"Well if that's what you want to do because your president who you worship on this show every day is selecting men," he said, "and even Ruth Marcus and other people in the New York Times going back to 2009 saying that this White House is not a positive place for women."

Watch the video, embedded via Mediaite, below: