Glenn Beck's Top 5 Embarrassing Failures

5. Glenn Beck Cannot Spell. On the August 27, 2009, edition of his show, Glenn Beck took to the chalkboard to review topics supposedly related to President Obama. He was attempting to create an abbreviation that spelled a word. What did he wind up with?

"OLIGARH":

On his show the next day, Beck explained that his misspelling proved that "you can't spell 'oligarch' without the czars."

Beck gave an encore performance on July 8, 2010, when he said his next show would be about the "history of heroes and villains in the textbooks." The chalkboard behind him asked, "Heros or Villians?":

4. Beck Says The Alamo Was About "Mexican Independence." On his February 10 show this year, Beck was complaining about the way the history of the Alamo was being taught in Texas. In the wind-up to his outrage, Beck said of the soldiers in the Alamo, "Well, let's make sure we get it right. They were only fighting for Mexican independence. Uh, that's the truth, but apparently, that's not good enough":

The Battle of the Alamo was about Texan independence, of course.

It seems unlikely that Beck was misspeaking -- in another segment later in the same show, he stressed the fact that the Alamo soldiers were "fighting for Mexican independence."

3. Beck Graphic Of "Really Big" People In ACORN Includes "Silas" From The Da Vinci Code. On his June 22, 2009, program, Beck aired a graphic of "all the people that are really big" in ACORN. He seemed flustered as he inspected the graphic and said, "I don't think the albino from" The Da Vinci Code was part of the organization's leadership:

2. Beck Is Outraged That Democrats, Including Famed Civil Rights Activist John Lewis, Had "Compare[d]" Themselves To Civil Rights Activists. On March 22, 2010, the day after the House of Representatives passed landmark health care reform legislation, Beck ripped congressional Democrats for "compar[ing]" themselves to civil rights activists. He showed a picture of a group of Democrats with locked arms, and shouted, "How dare you!":

One of the people in the image was Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. That would be the same John Lewis who was a prominent civil rights leader during the 1960s, even having been beaten for his activities.

A well-known picture shows Lewis in a line of protesters at the Selma Civil Rights March, his arms locked with a group of people that includes Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.:

1. On Eric Massa Day, Beck Admits, "I Have Wasted An Hour Of Your Time." In the days before the House voted on health care reform last year, then-Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) was facing an ethics investigation over allegations he had made inappropriate advances toward a male aide. Conservative media figures like Dick Morris were salivating at the prospect that a scandal could derail the vote.

On March 5, 2010, Massa announced he would resign, and on March 7, he accused the Democratic leadership of trying to get him out of the way to smooth the passage of the health care bill. The following day, Massa's resignation became official, and Beck said on his Fox News show that Massa would appear for the full hour of his March 9 program to "expose the game."

The result was a bizarre and painful-to-watch train wreck of an interview that was widely panned and ultimately gave Beck none of the damning revelations he had been hoping for. Beck himself apparently recognized as much toward the end of the show, apologizing to his audience and telling them, "I think I've wasted your time":