Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck mocked President Obama’s 11-year-old daughter for asking her father what he was doing to stop oil from spilling into the Gulf of Mexico -- the very question many Americans have regarding the government’s response to the ongoing disaster.Now, I don't know whether Malia actually ask the "plug the hole" question or whether it was just a political prop by the speechwriter, but either way, you just can't go after kids. Besides just being rude it hurts your credibility on other issues.
President Obama Thursday, in an effort to illustrate the point that many Americans were frustrated by ongoing environmental disaster, told reporters that even his daughter Malia asked: “Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?”
During his radio show, The Glenn Program on Premiere Radio Networks, Beck today imitated the middle school student, speaking in a high-pitched childish tone and implied that only an uneducated person would ask what the president was doing to address the crisis.
“Daddy? Daddy? Daddy, did you plug the hole yet? Daddy?” Beck said, imitating Malia.
Beck’s co-host Pat Gray then responded as if her were the president.
“Honey, not yet ... Not time yet, honey. Hasn't done enough damage,” responded Gray.
Beck then broke character to comment on the educations of Malia and her young sister Sasha, 9.
"’Did you plug the hole yet, daddy?’ Is that's their -- that's the level of their education, that they're coming to -- they're coming to daddy and saying 'Daddy, did you plug the hole yet?'" Plug the hole!” said Beck.
It was that line that raised the ire of liberal bloggers and parents who assailed Beck online for taking his attack on the president too far by going after his daughters.
This reminds me a bit of what happened to Rush Limbaugh in the 90's on his TV show when he was talking about White House dogs and a picture of Chelsea Clinton came up on screen. Rush immediately apologized and the problem was attributed to a technical error, but I don't think the Clintons or the Democrats ever forgave him for that.
Beck has now apologized for his miscue:
Following the publication of this story, Glenn Beck issued a statement apologizing for the bit making fun of Malia.That's gonna leave a mark.
“In discussing how President Obama uses children to shield himself from criticism, I broke my own rule about leaving kids out of political debates. The children of public figures should be left on the sidelines. It was a stupid mistake and I apologize--and as a dad I should have known better,” Beck said in a statement emailed to ABCNews.com.
On Wednesday Beck say the media should “leave the families [of politicians] alone.” He was then discussing a story about a journalist working on a book about Sarah Palin who moved into the Wasilla, Alaska house next to former Republican vice presidential candidate.
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5 comments:
I agree that children are off limits. I also find Glenn Beck to be a little phony (just my impression).
That said, it is Barack Obama (or the speechwriter) who indeed does inject his daughters into these remarks. He is using them and it is disgusting.
Obama made his kids propaganda props. Pure and simple.
Mocking the President is fair game, but a dicey move.
Mocking the kids is right out of order.
And worst of all, it went on for most of four hours.
I'm probably not going to renew my "Insider Extreme" subscription, but I had already decided that because of on-going quality control problems, but the crowning blow (if this one had not come along happened earlier in the week when Gray preempted (Beck allowed Gray to preempt) several hours to argue that the Moslem facility near the WTC should be stopped even if obscure law had to be found or new law enacted.
(Beck's positin was that the Constitution forbade any such action by the Federal government and equal justice probably prevented any state or local action (Burguiere concurring).
Beck has hurt himself.
I don't think Beck is a phony, but I think he does not think every thing through.
A further thought. Took me a while to think it, so I've no place to stand to yell at Beck about.
Why would anybody believe that the through-the-bathroom-door conversation actually took place? Or was accurately quoted?
(The answer is of course: Because are the most gullible pushovers on the planet.)
A follow on thought: Conversation in the bathroom about pluggin ..... nevermind. I don't even want to go there.
I see upon re-read that the probably-false-nature of the bathroom proclamation had been raised before I first commented here.
So I am the principle part of the gullibility problem.
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