Thread: Glenn Beck Attacks President's Daughter

UPDATE: Glenn Beck has issued a statement, addressing the matter described below:

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.

I think that was the right thing to do under the circumstances.

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So, call me crazy, but I'm beginning to think that Fox News infotainer Glenn Beck's principles lack some internal moral consistency.

See, a couple of days ago, Beck interviewed sometime-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, and he took what appeared to be a principled stand on the matter of how people should treat the families of public figures. Speaking with Palin, Beck decried the tactic: "Leave my family, leave people's families alone...When it was Bill Clinton, you don't go after Chelsea Clinton. You don't talk about the Bush kids. Now, the minute they get into politics, that's a different story. You leave the families alone."

Now, Beck's stand here was rooted in the belief that Sarah Palin's new neighbor, journalist Joe McGinnis, moved in next door to her with the intention of being a danger to Palin's children. That is, as they say, some horsedung. Nevertheless, I can definitely get on board with the whole "leave the families alone" idea. Glenn Beck has had a long time to reflect upon that time he mocked a woman's miscarriage because her husband committed the terrible crime of being the host of a rival morning show in the same market as Beck. Maybe he felt bad about that! But whatever the reason, decrying the practice of criticizing the families of public figures is, at the root, very laudable.

Here's the thing, though: Beck was only able to abide by those principles for a few hours. On this morning's broadcast of his radio show, he chucked all of that out the window and went on an extended jag of mocking Malia Obama, who had the temerity to get herself caught up in the news cycle:
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LISTEN:

Gah, here is some of the transcript of this thing:

BECK: (imitating Malia) Daddy? Daddy? Daddy, did you plug the hole yet? Daddy?


PAT GRAY (co-host): (imitating Obama) No I didn't, honey.

BECK: (imitating Malia) Daddy, I know you're better than [unintelligible]

GRAY: (imitating Obama) Mm-hmm, big country.

BECK: (imitating Malia) And I was wondering if you've plugged that hole yet.

GRAY: (imitating Obama) Honey, not yet.

BECK: (imitating Malia) Why not, daddy? But daddy--

GRAY: (imitating Obama) Not time yet, honey. Hasn't done enough damage.

BECK: (imitating Malia) Daddy?

GRAY: (imitating Obama) Not enough damage yet, honey.

BECK: (imitating Malia) Daddy?

GRAY: (imitating Obama) Yeah?

BECK: (imitating Malia) Why do you hate black people so much?

GRAY: (imitating Obama) I'm part white, honey.

BECK: (imitating Malia) What?

GRAY: (imitating Obama) What?

BECK: (imitating Malia) What'd you say?

GRAY: (imitating Obama) Excuse me?

BECK: (laughing) This is such a ridiculous -- this is such a ridiculous thing that his daughter-- (imitating Malia) Daddy?

GRAY: It's so stupid.

BECK: How old is his daughter? Like, thirteen?

GRAY: Well, one of them's, I think, thirteen, one's eleven, or something.

BECK: "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!

GRAY: (imitating Obama) Yes, I was doing some deep-sea diving yesterday, and--

BECK: (imitating Malia) Daddy?

GRAY: (imitating Obama) Yeah, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, I was doing--

BECK: (imitating Malia) Why--

GRAY: (imitating Obama) Yeah, honey, I'm--

BECK (imitating Malia) Why, why, why, why, do you still let the polar bears die? Daddy, why do you still let Sarah Palin destroy the environment? Why are -- Daddy, why don't you just put her in some sort of a camp?

And on and on it goes like that.

So, to revise the central tenets of Beck's "leave the families alone" credo, people should only criticize the children of public figures of people whom Glenn Beck doesn't like, including the ones who are stillborn.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/2 ... 93587.html

OH BOY!! I can't wait until the apologists show up!! You should be ashamed for listening to this garbage!!

Glenn Beck is an overgrown radio DJ. Has some good ideas on the 9-12 Project. Makes a lot of money.

The blame for this starts with Obama.

Most people who are public figures keep their children out of the issues by not talking about them to the public or the press. No, the president's children are not off limits and they have all been criticized and made fun of. Obama will not get special treatment.

When you open a can of worms like this, your children will be talked about.

"Did you Plug The Hole Yet, Daddy?"

A statement like this can be so perverse and it's ripe for late night talk show remarks. Did Obama not even understand the innuendo of that statement before he repeated it? I don't know too many fathers who would have shared that comment with others.

This is what happens when you let Obama go live without a teleprompter.

Dixie

Normally, I would say leave the kids out of it. However!!! This time Obama drew his daughter into the discussion himself. He was the one that opened the door. Obama wants it both way - he wants to use his kids to forward his political agenda but wants other people to keep hands off. In any case, I didn't see this as a direct attack on the daughter, I view it as mocking Obama's use of his daughter as a political tool.

Originally Posted by ReggieMay

Normally, I would say leave the kids out of it. However!!! This time Obama drew his daughter into the discussion himself. He was the one that opened the door. Obama wants it both way - he wants to use his kids to forward his political agenda but wants other people to keep hands off. In any case, I didn't see this as a direct attack on the daughter, I view it as mocking Obama's use of his daughter as a political tool.

yea that is how i see it as well, but i have no problem with Glenn coming out later and issuing a statement saying it was in bad taste

Beck was way, way out of line.

Just because Obama talked about his daughter does not mean that a middle aged TV jock is entitled to tear into an 11 year old.

It was wrong when the media went after Palin's kids, even though Palin put her kids into the spotlight, and it is wrong when they go after Obama's daughter.

Isn't it time we returned to basic civility in this country.

Going after an 11 year old.... geez.....

This is very "Christian" of him . See, there is no difference between a Christian and an atheist when it comes to morals. Both are just as likely to be jerks, but one difference being that as an atheist you do not have to deny facts such evolution.

Originally Posted by Dixie

This is what happens when you let Obama go live without a teleprompter.

Dixie

This is what it looks like...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of61E1FesPU

I took this more as a political statement, than an attack on a child.

It's more about and 11 year old realizing her father is moving way too slow and how infective he is when a real crisis comes along.

Dixie

Originally Posted by Dixie

I took this more as a political statement, than an attack on a child.

It's more about and 11 year old realizing her father is moving way too slow and how infective he is when a real crisis comes along.

Dixie

Then why did Beck go after her school, and imply that she was stupid?
No, it was not merely a political statement. It is high time we all started practicing basic manners.