HOWARD KURTZ (HOST): Many presidents, many politicians, many of us, use bad language in private. The Obama White House slogan was don't do stupid “s” in foreign policy. Would the coverage have been different if he had expressed the same sentiment without that word, or some version of that word, and said lousy Third World countries?
SUSAN FERRECHIO (WASHINGTON EXAMINER): Absolutely. Because in this sense, everyone started to put the “s” word up without the asterisk, not Fox, but other places, and I think they were trying to convey a message here. That they think the president is so -- he's such a degenerate and a racist that they actually have to put these words on the screen. That these FCC-regulated broadcast stations violating all kinds of rules to put these up there to make the point that this president is just so bad, he used the “s” work.
KURTZ: Since you mention the coverage of the word, The New York Times, The Washington Post, which broke it, actually used the word, MSNBC, CNN used it 36 times in one night, according to one report. Fox hasn't been using it. I actually disagree with that decision, I think it should be used sparingly and not for shock value, but I think it's one of those words that's important to understanding just what did he say, even though obviously some people find it offensive.
