On the September 10 broadcast of KSFO's The Lee Rodgers Show, a caller suggested that Sen. Barack Obama's remark that “you can put lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig” was directed at Gov. Sarah Palin and said: "[I]t's a little indicative of a Muslim attitude towards women that's creeping up, you know, and he just can't help but say it, how he feels." Guest host Brian Sussman responded: “Well, there's no question that Muslims, at least the religious ones, look at women as second-class citizens. That was just a low blow. He should not have made the remark. I don't know if it was his father's genetic DNA welling up inside of him or not, but I'll tell you something: It was stupid. The question is, did he know what he was saying?”
Additionally, earlier in the broadcast, Sussman referenced the widely circulated photograph of Obama wearing traditional Somali clothing, saying: “I remember the Barack turban, when he was dressed up in his little bin Laden outfit. You know, because his family -- it was a family outfit. His family's Somali.” In fact, Obama's father was from Kenya, not Somalia. Sussman went on to repeat the falsehood that Obama's family is Arab, asserting: “His family's actually Arab. They're not sub-Saharan Africans. They're Arab Africans. That's why we're so suspect of this guy.”
Sussman also said of Obama: “Your papa was a Muslim, your stepfather was a Muslim, all of your siblings are Muslims. What's wrong with that, buddy? Embrace it. Embrace it, man. And shame on you for using the pig line. You probably insulted a lot of Muslims in the process.”
Sussman has previously made the false suggestion that Obama is a Muslim. As Media Matters for America noted, during the July 30 broadcast of The Lee Rodgers Show, Sussman said: “If Barack Obama were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence for a jury of his peers to pronounce him guilty? I doubt it. I think Obama would walk.”
From the September 10 broadcast of KSFO's The Lee Rodgers Show:
SUSSMAN: I'm with you, man. Appreciate your call on KSFO. Yeah, I remember the Barack turban, when he was dressed up in his little bin Laden outfit. You know, because his family -- it was a family outfit. His family's Somali. His family's actually Arab. They're not sub-Saharan Africans. They're Arab Africans. That's why we're so suspect of this guy. But that was off-limits. Can't do that. No, no, no. Can't go down that road. But the lipstick on a pig line, go right ahead. Refer to Sarah Palin as a dominatrix, go right ahead. Poke fun at her 17-year-old minor daughter who's pregnant, go right ahead.
OFFICER VIC (co-host Tom Benner): “Don't use my middle name.”
SUSSMAN: Don't -- can't use his middle name, Hussein. Well, guess what? You were born with it, dude. Barack Hussein Obama. Muslim names all. Your papa was a Muslim, your stepfather was a Muslim, all of your siblings are Muslims. What's wrong with that, buddy? Embrace it. Embrace it, man. And shame on you for using the pig line. You probably insulted a lot of Muslims in the process.
[...]
SUSSMAN: Kirk, you're on the air. Thanks for checking in.
CALLER: Thank you for taking my call. Listen, I really think that he said it on purpose, and that it's indicative of a -- I would -- I'm going to go a little far here. I think it's a little indicative of a Muslim attitude towards women that's creeping up, you know, and he just can't help but say it, how he feels.
SUSSMAN: Well, there's no question that Muslims, at least the religious ones, look at women as second-class citizens. That was just a low blow. He should not have made the remark. I don't know if it was his father's genetic DNA welling up inside of him or not, but I'll tell you something: It was stupid. The question is, did he know what he was saying?
OFFICER VIC: Yeah.
SUSSMAN: And we're beginning to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt he did, especially when you think of some of the ridiculous quotes Howard Dean has made over the years. He's never apologized for any of these, to my knowledge.
Nathan Tabak is an intern for Media Matters for America.
