Vieira Hits Jackson With 'Hymietown,' Lauer Softpedals With Sharpton

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

How big was the Imus story on this morning's "Today"? The show devoted the entire first half-hour and half of the second to it. Both Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira seemed uncomfortable, struggling to sound the right note. But while Vieira had the gumption to confront Jesse Jackson with his own record of having made a bigoted statement, Lauer tiptoed to the edge and backed off when confronting Al Sharpton about his racially-charged past.

View video here

.In the first half-hour, "Today" simulcast its show with "Imus in the Morning," and had both Imus and Sharpton as guests. Here's how Lauer's brinksmanship, which came at 7:13 AM EDT, went down:

MATT LAUER: You've also been around a long time, and you have also by the way been the subject of controversy and criticism over the years from various groups. You're also a minister, and in that role preach the teachings of the Bible. One of the teachings of the Bible is forgiveness. How does forgiveness apply to Don Imus?

AL SHARPTON: I think that forgiveness is in order. I think that if he meets with those young ladies and they want to forgive him, that is their moral choice to do, and maybe the right thing to do. A man stabbed me, for leading a march that he disagreed with, a man of another race. I went to jail and met with him and said I forgave him. I didn't say he shouldn't do time for what he did.

Nice jujitsu. Sharpton managed to turn Lauer's allusion to the Reverend Al's own history of making racially-charged statements into a moment of self-congratulation for his forgiveness of another. Sharpton couldn't have slid by so smoothly had Lauer raised Sharpton's controversial past more explicitly.

In the second half-hour, Jesse Jackson was one of four guests [including Imus friend James Carville who said he'd go back on the show]. Meredith Vieira showed some gumption in raising, albeit apologetically, Jackson's past.

MEREDITH VIEIRA: But people do say stupid things some times. And Reverend Jackson, I apologize, but some of your critics reminded me of 1984, and I remember it as well. You were running for president, and you referred to New York City as as "Hymietown." And you were raked over the coals for that. A lot of people said you were anti-Semitic, John Lennon [?]. And it took you seven days to apologize, and then you begged for forgiveness. So what's the difference between that and this?

JESSE JACKSON: Well, if it's repetitious and if it's a pattern, that is one question but the broader context here I must say is Shaquanda Cotton being sent to jail for seven years for pushing a hall monitor. We come out of March Madness, with all the blacks on the basketball court. UCLA had 132 [black?] freshmen admitted last year. And the Final Four, 26,000 freshmen in those four schools, 2,000 were black. Last year, more black men in jail than college in every state. That's a context. In some sense this spark hits a dry field.

This is jujitsu on steroids. Without even devoting a full sentence to "Hymietown," Jackson was off and running on other matters, claiming to put things in "context." In what sense are black incarceration and college admission rates a "context" for his anti-Semitic remark?

Jackson was back at the end of segment, asking whether the Imus situation had set a new standard for NBC and MSNBC. It is a measure of just how charged the entire subject matter is that Meredith Vieira paused over three seconds, an eternity on TV, before thanking her guests and, her voice seemingly choking, sending it over to [a very subdued] Al Roker for the weather.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Imus ping to Today show list.

[Rummyfan]

JJ:Last year, more black men in jail than college in every state. That's a context.

I guess more are applying for jail than college!

[DungeonMaster]

Imus s*cks for making us have to deal with Sharpton and Jackson this week.

[TomGuy]

Jackson and Sharpton smell $$$$$.

The 3-step program:

Step 1 - Mandatory apology tour [in progress now]

Step 2 - Mandatory rehab stint [may happen during the 2 week penance period]

Step 3 - Obligatory contribution of allot of $$$greenbacks [a.k.a., shakedown]

[massgopguy]

The Standards are lower for jail. For now anyway.

[ClearCase_guy]

Jesse and Al, showing how it's done -- You. Just. Don't. Apologize.

Imus is in trouble because he truly felt sorry for what he said. He felt bad. He wanted to make up for it. He wanted to apologize. That's blood in the water, and the sharks smelled it. That's why he's in trouble.

[maizey]

Imus is always call the vice president a war criminal.
I don’t see any great protests about that.

[jwalsh07]

George Allen was crucified for maccaca(sp?).

Don Imus will be rehabiliated for "nappy headed ho's" and become an even more lethal tool for the Bush hating left.

Ever it was and ever it shall be because the right is too stupid to see life as it is.

Since we hold the race baiting Sharptons and Jacksons of this world in contempt, some of us are wont to defend Imus' coarsening of the culture and race baiting vis a vis Hurricane Katrina on the grounds that other folks do it.

Sometimes the enemy of your enemy is not your friend and Imus falls right in that category.

Oh well, such is life.

[advance_copy]

Which word did Imus say that is banned, "nappy" or "ho"? I'm just trying to keep track. I understand that the N-word is banned, because of it's historical context, it is obscene. Ann Coulter recently learned that the F-word describing homosexuals is banned.

Now, I'm just trying to keep the list up to date. Is "nappy" banned or "ho"? Let me know when they ban the word "dittoes"... Because that's what's next, folks, bank on it.

[betsyross1776]

Imus has made countless bad comments about Catholics and nobody says a word.Imus makes fun of Jesus and uses His name and no one says anything.I guess catholics and Jesus are fair game and this is not. i feel sorry for those kids who went to the national championship and were made fun of by Imus being Catholic and the brunt of his jokes a lot of time I can understand how they would feel. But I do not think they need Sharpton or Jackson to speak for them , I think they are college educated and can speak for them selves. I spoke for my self I don’t watch Imus any more.What goes around comes around Mr. Imus.

[L98Fiero]

“Imus s*cks for making us have to deal with Sharpton and Jackson this week.”

Yes, it’s Imus’ fault that one group in this country has the power to limit the speech of others. /s

[miss marmelstein]

I wonder who will avoid his show in the near future and who will continue to embrace him? My guess is that the notoriously cowardly Chris Matthews will run from Imus like a deer facing a bow and arrow.

[mpackard]

Did ya see the SouthPark where the dad (cant remember whose) said the n word on wheel of fortune and had to literally kiss Jagmos ass??? Too realistic to be too funny.

[marsapan]

bunch of folks passing the buck around these days.

I didn’t witness Jackson getting ‘raked over the coals’ for the Hymietown comment. If he had been, i would have paid for front-row seats.

[mpackard]

And doesn’t the outrage ring hollow when the view continues to have a big sweaty lesbian calling the pres a murderer and war criminal? I mean, really.

[Polyxene]

The President, Vice President, conservatives, Christians, and white men are all still fair game, not just to Imus but to all of the RAT/lib/socialists.

[marsapan]

you’re a dittohead.

i’m a dittohead.

We’re all dittoheads.

[Ron in Acreage]

It’s all about the Benjamins!

I’ll bet any amount of money that those Rutgers girls have, own, and purchased, CD’s by rappers that call them ho’s and much worse. These girls idolize them, dance to them, and love their celebrity status. The same scum that are calling for Imus’s head, give these rappers the red carpet treatment at every appearance they make. PDiddy, Dre, Snoop, Ice-T etc., have made millions on these “women”.

[napscoordinator]

Good for Meredith!!!! She knocked it to the Reverand.