Posted on 02/11/2006 5:11:16 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
February 11, 2006
When's the last time you recall a famous elected official being called a drunk on live national TV? It happened this morning on the Today show.
Today was surely looking for a light touch on New Orleans when co-host Campbell Brown interviewed New Orleans magician, comic and eccentric extraordinaire Harry Anderson in a pre-Mardi Gras piece on "Life after Katrina." But the NBC show surely got a bit more than it was bargaining for.
When Anderson took some shots at FEMA and the federal response to Katrina, Brown, in an apparent bid for balance, responded:
"Let me ask you about Mayor Nagin, because your mayor has come under a lot of crticism too for how he's handled the rebuilding effort. What do you think of the mayor?"
That's when Anderson made his alcohol allegation:
"I know the mayor, he's a decent man. He's said some wacky things lately. Maybe a Colt 45 isn't the best choice for breakfast."
If Brown was shocked, she hid it well, and continued the interview without skipping a beat. Still, don't expect to see Anderson turning up again on a network show any time soon.
Mark, have you seen lately that a couple of DUmmies are DOSing/trolling/orcing the comments threads on your site. Not registered myself, but I read a handful of comments threads this morning after I read your post here (went to your site looking for any possible TODAY/Anderson vid), and thought you should know.
Gun control? bump..
Breakfast is served, your honor.
I'm glad I just caught this thread. I just flipped to the Today show (delayed one hour for Central time zone)and got to read it as Harry Anderson said it. Funny stuff. Now back to Fox and Friends.
I'm not sure I agree, if he's taking shots of the PotUS on a morning talk show. Do we really need another lib celebrity doing that?
If I went to work drunk I would be totally ineffective.
I would also be fired in very short order.
I hope the good folks of New Orleans have the wisdom to fire this waste-case at the next election.
Brings back incredulous memories of going to The Cave during college days and consuming pitchers of the stuff - back when we were immortal. If Nagin is still drinking Colt 45 for breakfast at his age, he's a better man than me.
Wow....Page just told Julian off.
I wasnt listening very intently, so I cant give the full context of the conversation, however, she stated, "That's why you (Julian)& I would never go on a date..."
Julian responded by saying, "You got that right...."
Way to go, Page Hopkins!
I used to love Harry Anderson on the TV show Night Court but my favorite character was the DA Dan Fielding played by John Larroquette who is a New Orleans native.
The John Larroquette Show was also great TV show for a while. Larroquette played a recovering alcoholic named John Hemingway, not a stretch since Larroquette is himself a recovering alcoholic, who runs a seedy bus station in St. Louis and quotes the novels of Thomas Pynchon and keeps a sign over his desk, This is a Dark Ride.
It was a wonderfully dark, deep and sometimes, poignant comedy whose characters were shown as flawed and kind of seedy in a very real way. Larroquettes portrayal of early recovery and AA was probably the closest network TV as ever come to portraying what its like, although in a rather dark and satirical way. After the first season NBC tried to revamp it into a more traditional comedy and ruined it completely.
OK that was off topic. Nagin probably does have Colt 45s for breakfast it would explain a lot. I used to know a gal from NO who's father was in politics down there. She told me excessive drinking and eating were the main past times in that city - it was the way of life.
Wow - sorry I missed this. I like Page - she's an unabashed conservative who doesn't suffer Julian gladly.
Phillips just came out with one of his inanities. Discussing Sharon's current health crisis, Julian asked a reporter if the upcoming elections would be postponed - as if Sharon hadn't already been in critical condition for weeks!
LOL! Page & Julian were at it just now - again.
Allison had to cut them off, she called them the "Bickersons."
O I can't stand that julian. I refuse to watch while he is on. A total lamebrain.
Thanks to all who explained to this old lady what a Colt 45 is! I figured it was some kind of handgun!!
LOL!!
Brown is dumb as a brick and had no idea what he had said.
Brown is dumb as a brick and had no idea what he had said.
ping! : )
I should have clarified in the column, but did figure that the photo in #3 was a good indication of what I was referring to ;-)
When asked about his statement later, Anderson said, "I was describing the Colt .45 firearm, sir. it seems Mr. Nagin is forever shooting himself in the head with his outrageous statements".
Interesting point. Do you think it's possible she didn't get the Colt 45 reference?
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