I'm behind in my blogging, but I wanted to get in my two-cents before this completely drifted from memory.
I watched Imus's show some mornings on MSNBC, and enjoyed certain aspects. I liked the interviews he did with authors and the fact that he promoted books. I liked the phone calls from media people on the news of the day. I liked the Ranch in New Mexico and the charity work he did.
His taste in music was baffling and his desire to make everyone hear it was often cringe-worthy.
On the other hand the show was juvenile, and Bernhard the producer and Bo Dietl the ex-cop were complete knuckle-draggers who always pushed the program down and brought out the worst in Imus's so-called "sense of humor". If anything caused Imus to feel like he could say what he said, it was those dopes.
For the most part he was a grouch and a bully, and many mornings it seemed like it was all they could do to keep him from abusing everyone he came in contact with.
It is just that he was fired, but the world is not a better place. He just happened to be in a situation (being on MSNBC) where he was too visible to be let off the hook. Limbaugh, who was fired from ESPN and unsuccessful on television, has the luxury of living in the margins, and therefore can continue to be as vile as his little audience want him to be. Just like Michael Savage and Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly and the rest of the hardcore 30%ers. Glenn Beck is on CNN and lets hope he won't waste too much time saying something as stupid as humanly possible.
Until then we should be grateful for John Stewart and Stephen Colbert and Keith Olbermann.
