Again?! Right-Wing Radio Hosts Meet with President Bush

Media Matters picked up this odd story...

In a August 1 blog entry on Townhall.com, syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt wrote that "President Bush invited ten talk show hosts into the Oval Office for an hour of conversation today -- Glenn Beck, Bill Bennett, Neal Boortz, Scott Hennon, Laura Ingraham, Lars Larson, Mark Levin, Michael Medved, Janet Parshall and me. This was an off-the-record conversation, and so I won't be quoting the president." Blogger (and Media Matters for America Web producer) Oliver Willis noted Hewitt's post, and Talkers Magazine's website published a photo of the group.

Several conservative talk radio show hosts reportedly met with President Bush in September 2006, as Media Matters for America documented.

LINK: White House soirée, part deux: Beck, Bennett, Ingraham, Medved, and others met with Bush

I reported on the September 2006 charade here...

-Mr. Joseph

"Outspoken" Ingraham has a problem with CNN's description of her

From Crooks and Liars...

Conservative radio talkie, Laura Ingraham was discussing Bush's immigration plan and the attacks he's making on conservative vocal critics of it with John Roberts of CNN, when she weakly tried to play the CNN is liberal elite card on Roberts. John Roberts was like, "say, what?" Her proof? She was characterized as being "outspoken."

INGRAHAM: …But to insult his base, I mean, I hope he thinks he's going to be saved by the liberal elites at CNN, John, because if he is, then I'll be wrong about this. But I think it's kind of silly.

ROBERTS: Excuse me, what was that last comment?

INGRAHAM: By the way, John, how did you introduce me for this segment before the break. The outspoken Laura Ingraham. Do you guys introduce liberal commentators that way? I'm going to check.

ROBERTS: Yeah, we do actually.

That's a pretty tough depiction of her, wouldn't you agree. I guess I'd be bummed if I was called an outspoken blogger…The Nitpicker has more. "This post is dedicated to the memory of the Myth of the Liberal Media, born April 6, 1954, died October 24, 2006."

Then, this morning, Laura Ingraham made snide comments about the supposed liberal slant of CNN to American Morning host John Roberts. She even had proof from that very interview, in fact: John Roberts had called her outspoken. Never mind that Al Franken was called an "outspoken comedian and liberal" by CNN. Or that Hugo Chavez is an "outspoken leftist". Or that Cynthia McKinney, Michael Moore and Nancy Pelosi were all referred to as "outspoken liberal(s)." None of those things matter. In the minds of the Republican hothouse flowers, any word used to describe them–other than heroic or beloved–can be seen as an attack by the dastardly liberal media…read on

TRANSCRIPTS:

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you want to kill the bill, you don't want to do what's right for America, you can pick one little aspect out of it. You can use it to frighten people or you can show leadership and solve this problem once and for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: What do you think about Laura, the fact that he says that opponents of this bill are opposed to what's right for America?

INGRAHAM: If one little aspect of the bill is the border, then I guess the president is right. But I think one little aspect is how you actually certify that the border is enforced. John, to certify that the border is enforced in this bill, which I hope the president has read, all you require, all it requires is that the president certify that the border's enforced, that the money has been allocated to hiring these new people and it's been allocated toward the border. George Will said it best, if that actually holds, then we should say that Iraq is democratized because we spent the money there.

ROBERTS: He seems to suggest that critics of the bill such as yourself are unpatriotic.

INGRAHAM: It's absurd. I think it was a bad, tactical decision for him to say that. The way to get people on your side is not to insult them, especially people in the conservative movement, who worked tirelessly to get him re-elected. The president has been consistent on supporting this. You have to give him credit on that. I've never questioned his motives in pushing for this type of comprehensive reform. But to insult his base, I mean, I hope he thinks he's going to be saved by the liberal elites at CNN, John, because if he is, then I'll be wrong about this. But I think it's kind of silly.

ROBERTS: Excuse me, what was that last comment?

INGRAHAM: By the way, John, how did you introduce me for this segment before the break. The outspoken Laura Ingraham. Do you guys introduce liberal commentators that way? I'm going to check.

ROBERTS: Yeah, we do actually.

INGRAHAM: OK, I'm going to check that.

ROBERTS: Are you denying that you're outspoken Laura?

INGRAHAM: No, why would you say that?

ROBERTS: I just think that we're appropriately characterizing you.

INGRAHAM: OK, got it.

ROBERTS: You're definitely outspoken. You were outspoken about immigration on Wednesday's show.

INGRAHAM: How about radio talk show host and author. That's quite effective.

ROBERTS: This isn't about a disagreement between you and I. This is about you and your views here. Mitt Romney's coming up on your show today.

LINK: Ingraham outraged by being called “outspoken”

I hate her.
-Mr. Joseph

Don Imus: CANCELED

MSNBC reports...

MSNBC said Wednesday it will drop its simulcast of the “Imus in the Morning” radio program, responding to growing outrage about the radio host’s racial slur against the Rutgers women’s basketball team.

“This decision comes as a result of an ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension. It also takes into account many conversations with our own employees,” NBC news said in a statement.

Talk-show host Don Imus triggered the uproar on his April 4 show, when he referred to the mostly black Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos.” His comments have been widely denounced by civil rights and women’s groups.

The decision does not affect Imus’ nationally syndicated radio show, and the ultimate decision on the fate of that program will rest with executives at CBS Corp. In a statement, CBS reiterated that Imus will be suspended without pay for two weeks beginning on Monday, and that CBS Radio “will continue to speak with all concerned parties and monitor the situation closely.”

MSNBC’s action came after a growing list of sponsors — including American Express Co., Sprint Nextel Corp., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., and General Motors Corp. — said they were pulling ads from Imus’ show for the indefinite future.

NBC News President Steve Capus said he made the decision after reading thousands of e-mails and having countless discussions with NBC workers and the public, but he denied the potential loss of advertising dollars had anything to do with it.

“I take no joy in this. It’s not a particularly happy moment, but it needed to happen,” he said. “I can’t ignore the fact that there is a very long list of inappropriate comments, of inappropriate banter, and it has to stop.”

NBC’s decision came at a time when Imus’ program on MSNBC was doing better competitively than it ever has been. For the first three months of the year, its audience was nearly identical to CNN’s, leading CNN to replace its morning news team last week.

‘He's crossed the line’
Calls for Imus’ firing from the radio portion of the program have intensified during the past week, and remained strong even after MSNBC’s announcment. The show originates from WFAN-AM in New York City and is syndicated nationally by Westwood One, both of which are managed by CBS Corp. MSNBC, which had been simulcasting the show, is a unit of General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal.

Bruce Gordon, former head of the NAACP and a director of CBS Corp., said before MSNBC’s decision Wednesday he hoped the broadcasting company would “make the smart decision” by firing Imus.

“He’s crossed the line, he’s violated our community,” Gordon said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “He needs to face the consequence of that violation.”

Gordon, a longtime telecommunications executive, stepped down in March after 19 months as head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the foremost U.S. civil rights organizations.

He said he had spoken with CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves and hoped the company, after reviewing the situation, would fire Imus rather than let him return to the air at the end of his suspension.

“We should have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to what I see as irresponsible, racist behavior,” Gordon said. “The Imus comments go beyond humor. Maybe he thought it was funny, but that’s not what occurred.”

A CBS spokesman, Dana McClintock, declined comment on the remarks by Gordon, who is one of at least two minorities on the 13-member board.

The 10 members of the Rutgers team spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday about the on-air comments, made the day after the team lost the NCAA championship game to Tennessee. Some of them wiped away tears as their coach, C. Vivian Stringer, criticized Imus for “racist and sexist remarks that are deplorable, despicable, abominable and unconscionable.”

The women, eight of whom are black, agreed to meet with Imus privately and hear his explanation. They held back from saying whether they’d accept Imus’ apologies.

Stringer said late Wednesday that she did not call for Imus’ firing, but was pleased with the decision by NBC executives.

She said the meeting with Imus was never designed to call for his removal but to give the women on the team the opportunity to meet with him and for him to see the people he had so publicly hurt.

“The young ladies and I needed to put a face behind the remarks... He needs to know who these young ladies are that he hurt,” Stringer said.

Imus has apologized repeatedly for his comments. He said Tuesday he hadn’t been thinking when making a joke that went “way too far.” He also said that those who called for his firing without knowing him, his philanthropic work or what his show was about would be making an “ill-informed” choice.

The Rev. Al Sharpton said in New York that he would put pressure on CBS but that the issue was larger than Imus.

“I think we also have to have now a broad discussion on how the music industry allows this to be used,” Sharpton said. “I don’t think that we should stop at NBC, and I don’t think we should stop at Imus.”

LINK: MSNBC drops simulcast of Don Imus show

Media Matters issued a statement regarding this decision...

Cancellation Sparked by Racist Comments First Posted by Media Matters

Washington, DC - This evening, David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters for America released the following statement regarding the decision of NBC News to cancel MSNBC's simulcast of Imus in the Morning.

"By canceling their simulcast of Don Imus on MSNBC, the National Broadcasting Company has finally done the right thing. We hope CBS Radio will again follow NBC's lead.

More and more Americans are coming to understand the damage done by major news organizations providing a platform for bigoted commentary and other conservative misinformation, and they are demanding change. MSNBC's decision is an important step in the right direction.

This decision sends a clear message to other networks, journalists and media personalities that bigotry and hate speech have no place on America's airwaves.

The cable networks would be well advised to think twice about their broadcasting decisions in the future. It is our hope that this will open a larger dialogue on the overall tone of the media today."

As first posted by Media Matters for America, on the April 4 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, host Don Imus referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team, which is comprised of eight African-American and two white players, as "nappy-headed hos" immediately after the show's executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, called the team "hard-core hos." Later, former Imus sports announcer Sid Rosenberg, who was filling in for sportscaster Chris Carlin, said: "The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the [National Basketball Association's] Toronto Raptors."

More ...
LINK: Imus Cancellation: Statement from Media Matters

RELATED READING...

LINK: Media Matters: Timeline: A week in the life of Imus in the Morning

LINK: Crooks and Liars: Laura Ingraham Cuts and Runs on Hannity & Colmes

LINK: C&L: The Daily Show Tackles Imusgate

LINK: Think Progress: PBS’s Gwen Ifill speaks out on Imus.

LINKS from the Drudge Report...

VIDEO: NBCNEWS PRESIDENT...

CBS puts off any further action...

Hillary Slams Imus: 'I've never wanted to go on his show and I certainly don't ever intend to go on his show'...

CBS Director Hopes Imus Will Be Fired...

Obama calls for Imus to be fired...

Rosie on Imus: 'Thought police' are coming...

Edwards On Imus: 'I Believe In Forgiveness'...

Will CBS Radio follow suit? I'm not sure -- not after this comment he made....

-Mr. Joseph

O'Reilly vs. Cavuto (Plus Cavuto's "scantily clad women")

Media Matters documented this little gem. I'm glad they found it and I'm glad Laura Ingraham and Bill-O discussed this -- I can't stand Neil Cavuto.

TRANSCRIPTS:

From the February 1 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: They say, look, nature screwed up. It should be, you know, everybody in a free-fire zone. Now, I understand -- I did not hear this, so correct me if I'm wrong -- on your program, you had people giving Fox News jazz because we used --

INGRAHAM: Intervention time, Bill. Here we go again.

O'REILLY: -- cheesecake video, right?

INGRAHAM: What is the purpose of your running the continuous loop -- are we going to run the B roll of this? This is what I am talking about. What is --

O'REILLY: We ran it last night for cosmetic surgery.

INGRAHAM: Here is what I'm saying.

O'REILLY: Cosmetic surgery.

INGRAHAM: I don't know if there's a rampant mid-life crisis going on on this network among the male anchors. But I can tell you that my female listeners are basically saying you can make these debates -- have these debates. Are we having more? This is what I mean! What is the purpose? We don't care about the coffee shop babes with their bikinis. OK?

You can talk about cultural issues and cultural debates without running the constant loop of this video.

O'REILLY: I'm putting you in charge now.

INGRAHAM: It's ridiculous.

O'REILLY: You're in charge of the Fox News Channel.

INGRAHAM: Yeah right. You'd get better demos with me, Bill.

O'REILLY: We do a story like we did last night on cosmetic surgery. OK? Women enhancing themselves. You say no video of that. Correct?

INGRAHAM: No, you are trying to make --

O'REILLY: No, I'm saying this is the truth. That's why we used it.

INGRAHAM: Bill, why did you do the story about the naked parties at Yale. Do you think that's really a cultural phenomenon that a T-warrior needs to fight against?

O'REILLY: It was at Brown.

INGRAHAM: Wherever.

O'REILLY: Student activity fees were being used to fuel an orgy.

INGRAHAM: Why did you run the video? Why?

O'REILLY: To show people what happened at Brown.

INGRAHAM: You don't think people know what a nude party would look like? You had to see it?

O'REILLY: I don't think so. I had to. I didn't know.

INGRAHAM: Why did your pal Cavuto, who I like very much --

O'REILLY: And nobody was naked, by the way.

INGRAHAM: Why did you run the video, during Cavuto, of, you know, the guy who came up with the Girls Gone Wild franchise?

O'REILLY: I don't have anything to do with Cavuto. I think he is a demented guy.

INGRAHAM: I like Neil Cavuto. But the point is, it's really started to creep into the Fox programming.

O'REILLY: I just want to get this clear. You, Laura Ingraham, no video of cosmetic surgery or anything. None.

INGRAHAM: No. You can talk about an issue without training the camera on a particular --

O'REILLY: I didn't shoot those shots.

INGRAHAM: You know what also I find interesting? All the women also wanted to know this. Where did all the segments about the Playgirl, you know, issues out there? Where are all the men? Where are all the male enhancements?

O'REILLY: I don't know anything about those stories. I don't know. I'm confused.

INGRAHAM: Why are those photos all of women? You say is you are a T-warrior, right? You're a T-warrior.

O'REILLY: I am.

INGRAHAM: Then act like one and stop playing this video.

O'REILLY: No more bikinis! They're over.

INGRAHAM: How about the hands over the boobs.

O'REILLY: No hands! No anything!

INGRAHAM: You don't want to hear me, Bill, but you should hear me, because people are tired of it.

O'REILLY: Never again. We'll be right back with Dick Morris.

LINK: O'Reilly on Fox News vice president Neil Cavuto: "I think he is a demented guy"

RELATED READING...

Check out Media Matters' observations of Cavuto's dementia here, here, here, and here.

-Mr. Joseph

UPDATE:

More RELATED READING...

LINK: Kurtz: "Fox News does seem to like video of scantily clad women"

LINK: Fox's revealing Oscar coverage: Parental guidance suggested

LINK: Cavuto's World populated by Victoria's Secret, Playboy models and a pole-dancing Pamela Anderson

Bush hosts right-wing radio talk show hosts at White House.

From Think Progress ...

The guest list included Sean Hannity, Neal Boortz, Michael Medved, Laura Ingraham, and Mike Gallagher. (Rush Limbaugh was unable to attend.) Friday’s off-the-record talk, set for 30 minutes, ended up lasting 90 minutes, where Bush told his guests that the war on terror has to be about right versus wrong, “because if it’s about Christianity versus Islam, we’ll lose.” He also showed them the pistol Saddam Hussein had when he was captured.

LINK: Bush Hosts Right-Wing Radio Talk Show Hosts at White House

Yuck.
-Mr. Joseph