Airing Maddow clips, Gibson referred to "island of Lesbos" and played clip of voice saying, "Ooh, lesbians. Yummy"
While discussing the controversy surrounding Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, on the April 30 edition of his nationally syndicated Fox News radio show, host John Gibson aired an audio clip of MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow in which she asked, "What else has to happen in the news to push Jeremiah Wright out of the headlines?" Following her comments, Gibson aired an unidentified audio clip of a man saying, " Ooh, lesbians. Yummy." Later in the segment, Gibson's producer, known on-air as "Angry Rich" said, "That Maddow's become bathtub boy's pit bull, hasn't she?" -- an apparent reference to MSNBC's Countdown host, Keith Olbermann. Gibson replied, "Ooohhh. ... Well, I don't know, you know? She may have one of those -- I shouldn't say anything more, should I?" "Angry Rich" said, "No," and Gibson said, apparently referring to his associate producer, "Christine's shaking her head back and forth," and went on to air an audio clip in which an unidentified woman said, "I would like to thank my wife." Gibson later said, "Did I tell you about the people ... on the island of Lesbos?"
Prior to airing the clip of Maddow's comments, Gibson said, "Rachel Maddow -- can they get any farther to the left over there at MSNBC ... than Rachel Maddow?" "Angry Rich" replied, "If they exhumed Che Guevara from his grave and put him on." Gibson replied, "Chairman Mao, maybe? He's dead, too."
Following controversial remarks he made about actor Heath Ledger's death on the January 22 and 23 editions of his radio show, Gibson apologized on the January 24 editions of his since-canceled Fox News television show, The Big Story, and his radio show, in which he said:
GIBSON: I have received emails regarding some comments I made on this radio show the other night after the shocking death of Heath Ledger. I'm sorry that some gay groups and others took my comments as anti-gay and insensitive. I'm aware that Ledger has a family and many fans who were grief-stricken by his sudden death.
From the April 30 edition of Fox News Radio's The John Gibson Show:
GIBSON: What if the pastor [Wright] comes up with a picture of the candidate [Obama] sitting there listening as -- nodding and applauding as the pastor yells "God damn America, the U.S. of KK of A. Ask not what you can do for your country."
Rachel Maddow -- can they get any farther to the left over there at MSNBC --
ANGRY RICH: Not possible.
GIBSON: -- than Rachel Maddow?
ANGRY RICH: If they exhumed Che Guevara from his grave and put him on.
GIBSON: Chairman Mao, maybe?
ANGRY RICH: Perhaps.
GIBSON: He's dead, too.
[begin audio clip]
MADDOW: I thought he seemed angry. But, I mean, as I said before, so far, Barack Obama has said -- and I've made notes of it as he has done it: He vehemently disagrees with him, he strongly condemns him, he categorically denounces him, he rejected him outright. Today, we got that he's appalled by him, that he's outraged by him.
I find it incredible that we're all sitting here going, "Why won't the Jeremiah Wright controversy go away?" Well, you know what? Today John McCain unveiled his health care plan. We got three different statements, three different policies from the candidates on gas prices. We got the president of the United States making a huge economic speech and speaking to reporters for 40 minutes. We've got four Marines, or four U.S. soldiers who were announced to have been killed in Iraq yesterday. What else has to happen in the news to push --
JOE SCARBOROUGH (MSNBC host): But Rachel --
[crosstalk]
MADDOW: -- Jeremiah Wright out of the headlines, before we do it for six straight headlines --
SCARBOROUGH: Rachel --
MADDOW: -- on every politics show in the country?
SCARBOROUGH: When you have Jeremiah Wright --
MADDOW: This is all we're capable of talking about anymore.
SCARBOROUGH: -- going -- when you have --
[end audio clip]
GIBSON: That is --
AUDIO CLIP: Ooh, lesbians. Yummy.
GIBSON: Mmm. Joe Scarborough was trying to get in there. Now, this is in the David Gregory show yesterday at 6 o'clock on MSNBC.
ANGRY RICH: He's got a show?
GIBSON: Well, you could call it that.
ANGRY RICH: OK.
GIBSON: But it was David Shuster filling in. Now, Shuster --
ANGRY RICH: Robin.
GIBSON: -- is -- yeah. He's -- I know he's Robin to bathman. But Shuster isn't used to guests from his own network fighting. He doesn't quite know how to handle it.
[begin audio clip]
SCARBOROUGH: When you have Jeremiah Wright going in front of the National Press Club, saying -- again, Barack Obama's spiritual mentor, someone that Barack Obama didn't distance himself from until today -- saying that [Nation of Islam leader] Louis Farrakhan was one of the great people of the 20th and 21st century. The same Louis Farrakhan that said Hitler was a great man and that Judaism was a gutter religion. It required the Obama campaign to do something. There is a big difference between Barack Obama saying --
MADDOW: It didn't require that. [laughs]
SCARBOROUGH: -- in Philadelphia -- I'm sorry, you might find that funny --
MADDOW: No --
SCARBOROUGH: -- I can guarantee there are millions of people in America who don't.
[end audio clip]
GIBSON: Joe's right about that. Joe's right about that. And Rachel Maddow is, of course, as usual, wrong.
[begin audio clip]
MADDOW: I don't find you tying Barack Obama to Hitler funny. I find it funny for you to say that what Jeremiah Wright is doing --
SCARBOROUGH: Did I do that?
[end audio clip]
GIBSON: No, you didn't do that.
[begin audio clip]
MADDOW: -- requires a response from Barack Obama.
SCARBOROUGH: Well, it does.
MADDOW: What requires a response is the blanket media coverage of everything Jeremiah Wright does that will not quit.
SCARBOROUGH: OK, Rachel, if I can talk for a second here.
MADDOW: Please do.
SCARBOROUGH: In Philadelphia, Barack Obama said this, quote: "I can no more disown him" -- Jeremiah Wright -- "than I can disown the black community or my white grandmother." That's not him separating him. Today, he said that he [Wright] was "divisive and destructive. He was appalling. He gave comfort to those who prey on hate. He is not the man I met 20 years ago." He had to do that.
SHUSTER: Point made, point made.
[crosstalk]
[end audio clip]
GIBSON: Shuster, there -- point made, point made! Let's move on here.
AUDIO CLIP: Holy hole in a doughnut.
ANGRY RICH: That Maddow's become bathtub boy's pit bull, hasn't she?
GIBSON: Ooohhh.
ANGRY RICH: She acts like she owns the place now.
GIBSON: Well, I don't know, you know? She may have one of those -- I shouldn't say anything more, should I?
ANGRY RICH: No.
GIBSON: Christine's shaking her head back and forth.
AUDIO CLIP: I would like to thank my wife.
ANGRY RICH: Immaterial.
GIBSON: It is?
ANGRY RICH: Yeah.
GIBSON: Did I tell you about the people --
ANGRY RICH: Oh, God.
GIBSON: -- on the island of Lesbos? Nevermind. So bathman --
ANGRY RICH: Heading down this road.
GIBSON: -- bathman --
ANGRY RICH: Right.
GIBSON: It's an excellent news story today. It was on the AP, I saw.
AUDIO CLIP: Annie Leibovitz. I had two photo shoots with her. You got to do what she says.
GIBSON: Annie Leibovitz. Bathman also got into this today -- bathtub boy. Or was it yesterday with --
ANGRY RICH: Last night.
GIBSON: Richard Wolffe, the Brit who covers American politics for Newsweek -- how does that work?
[begin audio clip]
OLBERMANN: Certainly this is the second time Senator Obama has tried to put the Reverend Wright controversies behind him by replacing some of the sound bites from the pastor with sound bites of his own. It worked to some degree last month, some would argue it worked brilliantly. Is it likely to work to any degree again?
RICHARD WOLFFE (Newsweek reporter): Well, I think he went a long way beyond the sort of strategy before about replacing his words -- replacing Reverend Wright's words with his words. In a sense, voters, I think, were looking for two things out of this. First of all, how do candidates respond to these kind of crises? What we saw today was --
[end audio clip]
ANGRY RICH: Desperation.
[begin audio clip]
WOLFFE: -- Obama moving finally in a decisive way and showing some emotion. You know, in covering him for more than a year, I've never seen him express this kind of anger and dismay on anything. So, that's one important factor here. And the second piece of this is the big question about this: What was the relationship between these two men? Did Reverend Wright speak for Obama? Did Obama speak in the same way as Reverend Wright? What we saw today was such a complete denunciation, such a complete break that anyone who has the question in their head about how close these two people are should have it really answered. There is a vast chasm between them now.
[end audio clip]
GIBSON: A vast chasm.
AUDIO CLIP: Hello.
GIBSON: Anybody who thinks that -- who is confused about whether Reverend Wright really was the pastor of Barack Obama should have it answered. And if they don't have it answered, they're obviously a racist.
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Off topic, but by any chance was the "audio clip of a man saying, " Ooh, lesbians. Yummy."" that of the late Walter Mathau in "Grumpy Old Men?" (or was it "Grumpier Old Men"?)
LOL... "Grumpy Old Men" - the official movie of John McCain's candidacy. :)
There is more intelligence in Rachel Maddows pinky than there is in Gibson, Angry Rich and at least half the FOX Noise channel crew. TV and radio sides!
Gibson and Angry Rich have all the right in America to say what they want and are allowed to make complete and total a$$holes of themselves!
Even the return of the Fairness Doctrine won't stop them from showing off their grade school intellect..... its to good of comedy to do otherwise!
Here's your corporate media Mr. and Mrs. America,
An open microphone to defacate on America. Like what we've become, Mr. and Mrs. America?
Sorry to hear Gibson is still around. I thought he was exiled to some island.
Sorry to hear Gibson is still around. I thought he was exiled to some island.
He should be. To the Isle of Lesbos. Where he'd get beaten to a pulp by some members of Dykes on Bikes. :-)
Keith Olbermann = Bathtub Boy
Ha! I love it. I'll be calling him that instead of St. Keith
Thanks for the link MMFA :-)
Rachel Maddow -- can they get any farther to the left over there at MSNBC --
Well that sounds pretty accurate to me.
Rachel Maddow can be annoying at times, IMO, but the whole Lesbos thing is childish, but hey what do you expect from Gibson?
I like Bathtub boy, that is funny.
Gibson does have a sense of humor.
Sue, I knew you'd like that as much as I did :-)
Can't wait for the next Olbermann...I mean Bathtub Boy thread ;-)
I think homophobia might trump a goof on Keith Olbermann.
And homophobia is hardly "childish".
Bathtub Boy:
Yes. I love how Gibson mocks Olberman for his reluctance and sometimes refusal to go "All Lewinski All the Time" on cable news. Gibson actually ridiculed Olberman for pleading to do a story on Darfur or on Global Warming.
Gibson was glad to see the Lewinski scandal come up because he was tired of constantly reporting on Princess Diana's death for a year after it happened.
That will tell you why Gibson's where he is, and Olberman's where he is.
I didn't know his show was cancelled either...
He can go back to selling used cars. Maybe he can become a televangelist? He's got the hair.
Tommy, I wasn't aware either, but I have been away for a while.
Gibson gave a great non-apology apology, though:
I'm sorry that some gay groups and others took my comments as anti-gay and insensitive. I'm aware that Ledger has a family and many fans who were grief-stricken by his sudden death.
Notice how the non-apology apology always places the blame on other people and/or their (mis)perception? He's sorry that some gay groups "took" my comments as anti-gay. No admission or ownership to what he did wrong all by himself. Classic.
My favorite non-apology apology for all-time was Bush's now infamous "We were all wrong" about Iraq. Claiming he was wrong, but everyone else was, too - which was utterly false. Everyone wasn't wrong about Iraq. News accounts of the time prove that several allies had serious doubts about our intelligence claims at the time.
I Like mine Szechuan style ;)
kidding! "I am not a cannibal" -Richard M. Nixon on Survivor
He's still around, Gibson?
Oh he still has a radio show.
Oh he still has a radio show.
He does have a face for radio... :-)
AA,
The difference for me is that Gibson stoops to making fun of a group of people and/or persons who are not in the public arena and do not deserve the slime thrown at them by Gibson, or anyone for that matter.
Maher pokes fun and may be irreverant, or mean depending on your point of view, but he does it to public people in politics/media/pop culture.....that is entirely different, in my opinion.
Maher's monologues on his show were pretty corny, about at a Johnny Carson level, but his ad-lib stuff, and New Rules, were usually pretty damn funny.
Sorry, AA, if you can't make a distinction between Gibson and Maher, you're funny bone may be undersized even by conservative standards.
"Gibson is about as funny as Bill Maher." --AA
AA, Unless you are referring to Maher's part in "DC Cab", I disagree.
; )
How humiliating that must be.
If anybody here will admit to listening to Gibson's show, I have a question- does it make any more sense, or have any sort of point, when listened to in real time, as opposed to the gibberish transcripted above?
For anybody who doesn't know the origins of "Bathtub Boy", it's actually sort of funny. According to somebody's acount of things, KO got so tired of having to report some BS issue (I think it was the Lewinsky deal, don't quote me), that he quit going to work. The story is that somebody from the studio went to his place, and he was in the bathtub and told them to shove off, he was staying there.
Even if the story's true, the insult sort of backfires, as it's used by those focused on smears and propaganda to poke fun at somebody who got so sick of the crap he just sat it out. It's sort of like the trolls here who can't seem to grasp any of the items, keep posting the same debunked points, then call the other posters childish name-callers when they finally tell the trolls that they're idiots.
to poke fun at somebody who got so sick of the crap he just sat it out.
Yeah he sat it out in a bathtub. Heck he could have a bed-in like John & Yoko.
No Keith sat in a tub...Sorry, that's funny.
I think "bathtub boy" is supposed to be the counterpart to O'Reilly's "Falafel-Guy."
and for the record, according to Gibson himself, the story is true.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuj7iAA-eOw
warning: it's 6+ minutes of Gibson screaming "Blue dress" and talking about how he was actually never for impeachment.
Even if the story's true, the insult sort of backfires, as it's used by those focused on smears and propaganda to poke fun at somebody who got so sick of the crap he just sat it out. It's sort of like the trolls here who can't seem to grasp any of the items, keep posting the same debunked points, then call the other posters childish name-callers when they finally tell the trolls that they're idiots.
BRAVO!!!!!
You can do better than Tommy, Colonel. Believe me, I've fallen under his spell myself.
There are plenty of fish in the sea.
And Tommy, if you're reading this, you should be ashamed of the way you treat your men.
It's time to move on Colonel.
Jeepers, Pearlene, I think that's the second "Bravo!" you've tossed my way in the last few days. It looks like Tommy and I are having a little falling out, so I may be vulnerable. Are you working me? ;0)
Col when your good your good and YOUR good! Plus you don't have to use **** in your sentences. :)
Lynn,
I sincerely hope you are wrong about the lasting affect Wright has had on voters regarding Obama. It is still early, this media generated nonsense cannot be front page for another 6 months, there is no way......best to get it out now. If Obama survives the onslaught of that, and Hillary's arrows, and gets the nomination, perhaps this beating he is taking will toughen him, season him to the crap that's coming from the Republicans.
I just hope there is nothing more in Obama's past that is waiting out there......if there is, I hope he and his advisors will get it all out soon, put it behind them and on to McCain and talking about issues and the future.
Enough of dopey pastors, please!
We will see Tommy. I've grown increasingly cynical over the campaign season. I was usually the bright eyed idealist which is probably why I was drawn to Obama’s change message. I always thought if enough of us said no to the political games and distractions we could change the way DC and politics operate, I’m not so sure anymore. I hope this change in me isn't going to be a lasting one I don't want to be a Debbie Downer for life and I liked the old me better. Anyway have a great week-end.
"I always thought if enough of us said no to the political games and distractions we could change the way DC and politics operate, I’m not so sure anymore. I hope this change in me isn't going to be a lasting one I don't want to be a Debbie Downer for life and I liked the old me better. Anyway have a great week-end." - Lynn
Lynn, to paraphrase someone or other...
Hope for the best nationally, but work to change things locally.
Really, there is not so much else a person can do. With fortune, the local changes might spread into something grass roots and national and visible within a single lifetime--but that's not the purpose. The purpose is to make things better for those within real reach. ...If things are truly better for them, they will also do their part. It will accumulate.
Yes, there is a *lot* of self-centered stupidity out there, and it will work against things. But you cannot let that crush you...keep showing the people around you the right way to live.
And in the meantime, have a great weekend.
I think the tale will be told once it becomes a one on one contest. People begin to pay more attention to the candidates themselves and less about the spin. When they see them side by side or listen to one speech then another and compare the two. I think a lot of people dont make up their minds until then. I think if Obama is the candidate and people begin to listen TO him instead of what is said ABOUT him he will turn a lot of heads and will fare well in a direct comparison with McCain.
My wife once said to me about the political scene that it was so big and overwhelming, that it was like trying to drain a swamp with a teaspoon. I told her YES its exactly like that, but we have to have faith, that we arent the only ones with a teaspoon and that if things are generally changing for the better it isnt important that the injustices disappear in our lifetime, it is still important that we were PART of dealing with the injustices. It is important to remember that incremental changes are important. That a small change helps one person or a few people the world is a better place for it. It is always important to remember that it isnt just about us and that you dont fight the fights you can win, you fight the fights that need fighting
Nice, Solon. It's easy to get discouraged by the focus on BS and the trivial behavior of the media, so I appreciate the reminder. I get pretty frustrated at times, not only by those with a soapbox/TV/radio station, but by those who swallow the most sugar-coated version of things offered by them.
This whole Rev. Wright thing had me pretty tired. I'm not religious at all, and have been called a religious bigot and anti-Christian on this site for comments I've made. Even some of the more liberal posters here have called Wright hateful/a nut/ etc., and while I don't agree with some of his opinions, I really find the guy pretty interesting, and a lot more ballsy than most of the pablum-spewing invertebrates in the media and politics that I see when I turn on the TV.
I was on the road a good part of this week, and flipped around the radio dial quite a bit. If you haven't heard any of the Rush Limbaugh "Operation Chaos" party game, it's pretty funny. Basically, the dittobots are desperately trying to postpone the day that Grampy McCain has to talk about any issues.
I don't know if they're really affecting the primaries, or if Republicans are just not showing up, but it's basically a bunch of dimwits playing army. The Oxymoron is calling himself the Commander-in-Chief, and his sheep are calling in for instructions per strategy, while consoling each other over the scary black pastor that has forced them to deal with a small dose of the world outside of their little bubbles.
Funny part is, I don't think Obama's poll numbers have suffered too badly, considering the all-out assault by the righty media, who have nothing much else to do while Gramps is coddled in seclusion.
I wish I could say I was confident enough in my fellow Americans that nothing could put McCain in the White House.I can't, I meet enough people that believe anything thy're told, and there's several months of slime to go.So thanks for the reminder.
Hey E,
In addition to the disrespect I feel from the Clintons a lot of her supporters have been extremely disrespectful and dismissive of the AA vote. They've been saying things that I used to hear from wing nut posters like "they" don't need our votes and one Clinton supporter said that Blacks and young people are "messing" up the Democratic Party. The truth is a lot of the blue states are blue because of a consistent loyal African American electorate that supported the Democrats. When these now shit talking Reagan Democrats were buddying up with the Republican Party election after election we were steadfast to the Democratic Party and now they tell us we are being disloyal to the Clintons, and they tell us about all that the Clinton’s have done for AAs; look Blacks provided the electoral edge that put Bill Clinton’s ass in office and now the Clintons and their supporters fueled by the Clinton’s never ending well of BS dismiss us like yesterday's garbage; so who’s disloyal???Lynn you'll never find me ignoring the clunkers and dino's in the democratic party. A pox upon them.
The local delegation is not everything I want in one. They do support my positions well enough that they get my support. Someone offers better, they may get my support. Out of my district Ms. Burner D, originator of the Responsible Plan to get us out of Iraq, will probably be a fresh washed Representative in a year. She looks to have company. Some hopefully replacing a Blue dog or two.
You've got some anger with Clinton. Legitimate anger I've no doubt. Pearl is of a similar attitude. I respect both of your opinions, and the way you express them.
There is a good sized population that verbally agrees and supports you. Not all of them are your friends. You both are probably good at seeing these people. Share that knowledge.
Why is Olberman
called bathtub boy ?
Think the Col has the story above
This gibson guy should have a show with that imus guy... they could call it THE CREEP SHOW: All Creepy, All The Time.
As a Rhodes Scholar, she earned a Ph.D. in political science at Oxford. I think she is quite well qualified to offer politcal commentary on cable TV. She is certainly more qualified than anyone at Fox News.
Maddow is pretty damn sharp, it's even challenging sometimes to listen as fast as she speaks thoughtfully .
Hilarious contrast with The Silver Helmet Gibson. Look at what he has to do to satisfy his audience;
Gibson: "Maddow---she's wrong!---Che Guevara!---Mao!!"
Typical Gibson viewer: "duuhhhhh..... Maddow bad!"
I heard Rachel's radio show when she brought up that topic about the Island of Lesbos. Apparently, the people of Lesbos are upset tabout the kind of context their people name has been given. which is, what else, Lesbian.
Every time Rachel mentioned the word lesbian on her show, she used some soundbite of the word being uttered matter-of-factly by some Bill O'Reilly-type-of-sounding voice, and I couldn't contain myself. I cracked up in laughter each time she played the soundbite lesbian. She is such a treasure for laughter. Keep up the good work, Rachel. I really needed that laugh.
Man, look how old John Gibson is now. What a bitter, immature senior citizen. Most men of his age are neighborly, kindly grandfathers and well..decent human beings.
This dude is a 5 year old trapped in a 70 year old man's body.
No matter what MMFA puts up on their site the fact remains that Barack Obama will be the nominee for the Democrat Party. Hillary is done. And McCain shall beat Hillary if she does steal the nomination.
You folks are all crazy.
BCVD, this fall will show you that McCain won his last election as Senator. He's toast, regardless of the challanger.
Slamming Gibson is easy because he is not really a "news" anything. His show is constructed to be controversial and so (by extension) watchable. The only question I have is with the sponsors that pay money to have their commercials placed next to the nonsense put out by Gibson.
The more important question is the fact that Gibson is presented under the Fox News moniker. Is this news? Is he doing commentary or just spewing stuff so he can get ratings?
The danger is not FOX (because they are clearly targeted to the 20% that still support Bush), but other media outlets that assume that by emulating FOX they too will get high ratings and lots of advertising money. An so we see CNN and MSNBC head down the "Foxification" road to excretable journalism.
Gibson is not to be blamed because in Hell (i.e. FOX news) you do what you can to survive.
Have a Lesbian Christmas everyone!
-John Gibson