Monday, May 21, 2007

NBC questions free speech

NBC is apparently keeping hope alive:
NBC’s “Today” show attacked radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh for his parody of an LA Times op-ed titled “Obama The Magic Negro.” As I mentioned two weeks ago, the parody song is now well over 2 months old, yet the media is just getting to the hitjob now
Actually, the piece is striking in it's ignorance of the actual target--NOT Omaba Obama, but Al Sharpton.

While the skit was certainly teetering on the precipice of political correctness there was nothing even remotely approaching Imus's personal smear on the Rutgers girls. Geez, NBC's own Saturday Night Live just ran a lampoon of the candidates this past weekend, which targeted Barack (even mentioning his middle name Hussein) while leaving Hillary pretty much alone. Will they investigate themselves?

But all of the above is neither here nor there. The 64K question is what NBC is trying to accomplish here. Upfront we know Imus was on their payroll so it could be about deflecting attention from his lawsuit, or how about this--maybe the Today Show was throwing a match into a roomful of gas cans to see if one of them might ignite and blow Rush off the air, just in time for the upcoming election season.

Interesting coincidence--Air America is ramping-up their programming this week by announcing new hosts and new guests, many of them prominent politicians. Shall we question why NBC hasn't probed Randi Rhodes and the crew (aside from the fact most of America doesn't know who they are)?

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