[HPFGU-OTChatter] Oh, That Rush! He's Such A *Kidder!*

[Amanda Geist]

First off. As a list admin, I believe that this thread is too political.
This is not a subject where discussion will engender *any* compromise or
meeting of the minds. It is simply divisive.

That said.

> Man.  I've been following the sorry tale of Rush Limbaugh's implosion,
> and since it is a downright fascinating little story, I'm moving a
> discussion from another HPfGU list to this one for exploration.

You mean, because it was totally inappropriate for that other list.

> He also has a rather unfortunate history of saying things that range
> somewhere between "racially insensitive" to "outright racist."

In your opinion.

> Anyway, despite his partisan background, he was hired by ESPN (cable
> sports channel) to do American football coverage a month ago -- which
> he said was his dream job.

I fail to see what having a partisan background has to do with it. I'm sure
all the others have political beliefs. They didn't discuss theirs; Rush
didn't discuss his. This was completely out of the realm of politics.

> For this, Rush was forced to resign.  He offers no apology and stands
> by his statement.

I would like to see your solid source for "forced." He resigned of his own
choice, because he didn't want to distract from the focus of the show, which
is football rather than people who can't understand the subject of a
sentence.

> Here's what I don't get though.
>
> If you think an athlete isn't very good, why not just say so and leave
> race out of it?  You know, talk about the person's accomplishments and
> failures on the field.  Why do some folks have such a hard time
> accepting that a person of color might actually be *good* at something?

Back when  *I* learned to parse sentences, I could identify a subject, and
the subject of Rush's derision was the media and their *non*impartial
treatment of an athlete because of his color. He said nothing derogatory
about McNabb at all. And the week before, he identified another black
athlete as, in his opinion, the best quarterback in the league. Sounds like
Rush is perfectly able to accept excellence when excellence is truly
exhibited.

> Cindy -- who would have cut Rush a break had he backed down and
> admitted his mistake, because we all slip up sometimes

~Amanda, who thinks Rush was both within bounds and correct in his analysis
of McNabb as a quarterback, and is totally delighted with her local
station's vocal support of Limbaugh