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.
-----
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:
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.
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