Marjorie Valbrun at The Root, via NPR:

The larger question is why Farrakhan is the litmus test for black politicians' views on race and not the politicians' own record of comments, actions and legislative votes? Why is it that only after they repudiate Farrakhan are they then deemed not to be closet black militants? Farrakhan does not have the political influence over black people that some white Americans apparently believe. Nor does Rev. Al Sharpton, or Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., or any of the other prominent black people that the media treat as proxies for all black people.

Reporters did not run out in droves to ask white politicians to reject Don Imus after he made his remarks about the black female basketball players at Rutgers University. White politicians did not eagerly line up to do so. Nor did they repudiate fellow white politicians who did not. A few, and only a few, said they would no longer go on the Imus show. (Tim Russert, who appeared often on the Imus show, was not among those who said they would no longer be a guest.)

Most black people saw Imus as an irresponsible white man with a powerful microphone, not as the living embodiment of white America. We know the difference. Read more...

I'd suggest a shout out to Tim Russert to ask repeatedly if McCain will disavow his endorsement by John Hagee, as he did to Obama with Farrakhan's, but since McCain has been courting Hagee for a year, that might be too pointed a question to ask, eh Tim?

And as Jane Hamsher suggests to Russert:

..he needs to have Bill Donohue on Meet the Press.

Fair is fair, right?

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It's no secret that Chris Matthews has a mancrush on Senator John McCain, but I think he needs to take a step back and look at reality -- stat. During his Power Rankings on Monday's Hardball, Matthews contends that because John McCain is expected to do well on Super Tuesday and is likely to be considered his party's nominee for President, and has Rudy Giuliani stumping for him, he will LOOK presidential, therefore, he has the best shot to win the White House in '08.

So because McCain LOOKS presidential, tens of millions of Democrats will suddenly go brain dead and vote for a man who is running on a platform that runs counter to what they believe in and put another warmongering, anti-choice Republican who is despised by the base of his own party in the White House for another four years.

I put together a little mashup of the segment because by and large, there was little to be found outside the ordinary -- what is outside the ordinary (and logical thought) is Tweety and Howard Fineman somehow trying to make people believe that McCain already looks like the presumptive Commander In Chief and that both Obama and Clinton will have a hard time competing against him. Fineman actually brings up the Bay of Pigs...

 Gwen Ifill calls out Imus's pals like Russert and Brooks over their "radio silence" before Imus was fired and asked why they went on his show in the first place.

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Russert was very careful how he spoke about Imus today and said that NBC was "civil" in their deliberations about Imus..As long as they are being "civil," everything is A-OK.

Transcript via Nico:

And yet, you write this: “Why do my journalistic colleagues appear on Mr. Imus’ show? That’s for them to defend and others to argue about. I certainly don’t know any black journalists who will.”

You know, it’s interesting to me. This has been an interesting week. The people who have spoken, the people who issued statements and the people who haven’t. There has been radio silence from a lot of people who have done this program who could have spoken up and said, I find this offensive or I didn’t know. These people didn’t speak up. Tim, we didn’t hear from you. David, we didn’t hear from you. What was missing in this debate was someone saying, you know, I understand that this is offensive. You know, I have a 7-year-old god daughter.

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 On Wednesday night, as the Imus controversy swirled, Al Franken asked Larry King why Glenn Beck was still on CNN after he asked newly elected Rep. Ellison if he was working for the enemy. I've asked the same question myself. One that CNN has never answered....04/11/07

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Transcript via CNN

FRANKEN: You know, it's -- it's their choice. I think -- I think NBC made the right decision. I think cable news is cable news. And he has that position.

I have heard a lot of talk radio -- now, I will give you an example. CNN has Glenn Beck on. Glenn Beck asked my congressman, Keith Ellison, who is the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, you know, I just want to ask you, how do I know that you're not working with the enemy?

And he said that -- I think he said it on CNN. But he certainly is -- he's on CNN. I don't know why that wasn't grounds for CNN thinking, well, maybe Glenn Beck shouldn't be on. I mean, how dare he say that to a congressman who has just been elected?

And I hear this kind of thing a lot of time. I monitored a lot of right-wing radio when I was doing my show and before it. And I've heard Rush Limbaugh say things that are worse than this. (full transcript below the fold)

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  File this under: OMG  CNN:

Gov. Jon S. Corzine was critically injured when his motorcade crashed en route to a meeting between radio personality Don Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team, a doctor said.

Corzine, 60, suffered numerous broken bones but his injuries were not considered life-threatening, officials said. He was recuperating early Friday at Cooper University Hospital in Camden after two hours of surgery to repair a seriously damaged leg and other injuries.

Dr. Robert Ostrum said that Corzine's surgery was successful but noted that the governor would need two more operations on his leg in the coming days.

Doctors also inserted a breathing tube that would remain "for days to weeks, until [Corzine] is able to breathe on his own again," Ostrum said.

We wish the Governor the very best.

CBS fired Don Imus from his radio show Thursday, less than 24 hours after MSNBC pulled the plug on his talk show’s television simulcast amid the uproar over his racial slur....read on

 MSNBC has fired IMUS...

Talk show host Don Imus' situation worsened Wednesday, when MSNBC announced that it would no longer simulcast the "Imus in the Morning" radio program...read on

When will all the other racist talk show hosts on Conservative radio be fired? They spew garbage all day long like Limbaugh (Halfrican American) and Beck with never any consequences. Instead, they get to go to the White House for message control.

Two players from the Rutgers team addressed the media yesterday as the whole team held a press conference. What was impressive was Carson calling attention to the lame media we now have today...

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Carson : I'd like to pose a question, Not a question of insult, but of pure thought  Where were these major networks when the youth were making history for a prestigious university.

FOX is its usual self. Fred Barnes says: "Rutgers basketball team "acted like victims."

Obama says he should be fired... Atrios: Dodd still unsure what he thinks....and, advertisers keep bailing. Sprint, Amex, GM, Ditech, P&G, GlaxoSmithKline, Staples ...Edwards all for forgiveness... TV Newser broke the story...Media Matters responds...

  Jon Stewart and crew weigh in on the Don Imus controversy.

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Decency bows before the advertising dollar once again:

Media Matters: 

While many in the press have reported the decisions by NBC News and CBS Radio to suspend Don Imus for two weeks following his racist "nappy-headed hos" comment from last week, few have addressed the convenient timing of Imus' return to broadcasting later this month.

Imus' suspension from MSNBC and CBS Radio is set to begin next Monday, April 16, and end two weeks later on Monday, April 30. He'll be back on the radio and MSNBC just in time for the spring ratings sweeps in May.

"It is unfortunate that MSNBC and CBS Radio have failed to accept any responsibility for airing Don Imus' bigoted remarks over the years," said Karl Frisch, spokesman for Media Matters for America. "Equally troubling is the possibility that his return to broadcasting is scheduled just in time for the spring ratings sweeps. It would be inappropriate for MSNBC to benefit financially from the publicity likely to surround Imus' return."

 It's interesting that only the beltway pols that go on Imus's show regularly are the ones trying to save his job...Of the ones that I can remember, not one of them, not Chris Dodd, (he's issuing a statement soon) Joe Biden, James Carville, Joe Lieberman, Tom Oliphant, John McCain, Craig Crawford, Tim Russert, Andrea Mitchell, David Gregory or Mary Matlain (Santorum is his pal too) express the same outrage that the Rutgers women's basketball players feel..Maybe this is a reason that we get a Michael Smerconish saying this on Scarborough Country:

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Smerconish: If you understand the context----I don't interpret it as a racist statement per se...

But wait, he know blames the victims....

However, we've also have a society on our hands that we have people walking around--anxious to be offended..

Michael blames Sharpton for all of this in some way. Hypocrisy abounds...Think what you want about Sharpton, but Imus went on his show to apologize...Sure, those girls of the team were just waiting to be called "nappy-headed hos" so they can cry foul and be victims of racism. They were just looking for it...I'm speechless over his response...

Here's the transcript and video for context of what happened....Gwen Ifill responds also...

Howard Fineman will be very happy. "NBC News is suspending for two weeks Imus simulcasts on MSNBC."  The Imus Blog is down also... I believe Roy is a fan of the radio show and is not affiliated with Imus...Although we disagree on a lot of issues, he's been a nice guy to C&L.

Via Blitzer...Both James Carville and John McCain want Imus to be given a second chance....Where's Joe Lieberman's support?

Don Imus got himself into hot water last week after he made racially insensitive remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team. Today he sat down with Reverend Al Sharpton, who has called for his firing, to talk about the incident.

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John posted earlier about Imus' "apology." 

Update: John Amato: Here's a shorter version where IMUS gets into it with a caller who from Ebony magazine, (thanks to Duncan for clarifying)": Download | play 4 minutes long...

IMUS: "Don't talk about me doing used car commercials. I'll bet you I've slept in a house with more black children who were not related to me than you have. Do not get into my face about this...why don't you show up here in person."

  SFGate: (h/t Gregory)

The radio station that produces Don Imus' talk show pledged to keep tabs on its content after he apologized for calling the players on Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy headed hos."

"We are disappointed by Imus' actions earlier this week which we find completely inappropriate," WFAN-AM said in a statement Friday. "We fully agree that a sincere apology was called for and will continue to monitor the program's content going forward."

Imus apologized Friday for the comments made earlier this week on his nationally syndicated program.

The National Association of Black Journalists demanded the immediate firing of the "Imus in the Morning" host. Imus questioned the players' looks, describing them as tattooed "rough girls." His producer compared the team - which has eight black members - to the NBA's Toronto Raptors.

El Paso Times:  Sharpton, critics call for Imus's ouster 

 Lieberman was on with Imus this morning and sounded like a man who doesn't have a clue about the situation in Walter Reed even though he supports sending more troops over to Iraq. He then thinks Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley was a fine replacement for Weightman after it was reported that he is part of the urine problem. Then Joe backs down on that fact. Simply disgusting. Holy Joe has the audacity to weasel out of it by using the phrase "mea culpas."

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via Imus Blog--(thanks for the audio)

Imus: It would occur to me Senator Lieberman. Particularly if you were somebody who thought this war was such a wonderful idea as you did. And continue to support this idiotic exercise and you sit on some of these committees. That you would have a special responsibility to know what the hell is happening to these kids. It’s not enough to say you didn’t know or didn’t ask the right questions. I mean that’s why we elected you.

Lieberman: We all have responsibilities and I take it very personally because I have supported the war and I continue to believe we have to do everything we can to have it end successfully. I have a special responsibility and we should all be doing mea culpas. Battlefield medicine, I’ve been to battlefield hospitals when I’ve been over in Iraq, Walter Reed in the main building unbelievable. Unbelievable heroism by soldiers who have lost limbs and are just devoted to coming back as close to normalcy as they can. But the other stuff, just crazy and unacceptable and I think you’re going to see a change now.

IMUS:  "How do we get this fixed?" (full transcript below the fold)

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Email the Walter Reed Public Affairs office, and tell them to let Don Imus tour the full Walter Reed facilities.