Imus' Apology and the FOX News Spin

Radio talk show host Don Imus has been suspended for making racially insensitive comments regarding the Rutgers University Women’s Basketball team, the Cinderella story of this year’s NCAA Women’s Tournament, reaching the finals but losing to Tennessee.

IMUS: So, I watched the basketball game last night between -- a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women's final.

ROSENBERG: Yeah, Tennessee won last night -- seventh championship for [Tennessee coach] Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by 13 points.

IMUS: That's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and --

McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.

IMUS: That's some nappy-headed hos there. I'm gonna tell you that now, man, that's some -- woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like -- kinda like -- I don't know.

The fact that Imus and his sidekicks have been making comments like this for years is not the point. What I find bizarre is that 1) its taken this long for Imus to fall out of the frying pan and into the fire and 2) the “punishment” is a two week suspension.

Two weeks? That is tantamount to a slap on the wrist. Many have been fired for comments less reprehensible. Imus has apologized and being a former listener, his apology sounded genuine to my ears. He definitely seemed embarrassed and humiliated. Many are still calling for his firing, including Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Imus did make an appearance on Al Sharpton’s radio show. Here is his apology...

and part of the Sharpton interview.

Unfortunately, our decent, fair and balanced friends at FOX News took the opportunity to show how maligned conservatives are in the “liberal media” world, claiming that if this had been a conservative talk show host, he or she would have been skewered, but since Imus “leans left” it’s not a big deal. Conservatives are treated differently.

First of all, calling Imus left wing is way off the mark. What left winger has Mary Matalin, Joe Lieberman and Ann Coulter on as regular guests? But they are right about one thing: conservatives do get treated differently.

Has anyone called for the firing of John Gibson?

GIBSON: “Do your duty. Make more babies. That's a lesson drawn out of two interesting stories over the last couple of days.
First, a story yesterday that half of the kids in this country under five years old are minorities. By far, the greatest number are Hispanic. You know what that means? Twenty-five years and the majority of the population is Hispanic. Why is that? Well, Hispanics are having more kids than others. Notably, the ones Hispanics call "gabachos" -- white people -- are having fewer.”

I’m sure the resignation of Glenn Beck is coming soon, isn’t it?

BECK (to Rep. Keith Ellison): “And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, ‘Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.’"

How about the King of the Swine, Rush Limbaugh?

LIMBAUGH: "Hey, Barack Obama has picked up another endorsement: Halfrican American actress Halle Berry. "As a Halfrican American, I am honored to have Ms. Berry's support, as well as the support of other Halfrican Americans," Obama said.
He didn't say it, but ..."

Yes, I suppose FOX News is right. Limbaugh and Beck and Gibson and Coulter and Hannity and on and on and on, don't really fall under the same standards. They are so poorly treated.

Here’s Dan Abrams subbing in for Joe Scarborough attacking FOX News for their spin on the Imus suspension.