Shut Up, Chutzpah,
December 3rd, 2007After making good with those he offended and his producers (and maybe his conscience) Don Imus said (to applause),
“The program is not going to change.”
His debut, on WABC-AM, completed a comeback that seemed improbable at the height of the furor over his calling the players “nappy-headed hos.” CBS Radio fired him on April 12, pulling the plug on his “Imus In the Morning” program that had aired on more than 70 stations and the MSNBC cable network.
Shortly after the new program started at 6 a.m., Imus introduced the cast, which included two black comedians, Karith Foster and Tony Powell. Powell did the sports segment of the show. Also returning was Bernard McGuirk, the producer who instigated the Rutgers comment and was fired as well.
Imus’ guests on Monday’s show included historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Dodd and McCain, and political analysts James Carville and Mary Matalin.
While Imus pledged to use his new show to talk about race relations, he added:
“Other than that, not much has changed. Dick Cheney is still a war criminal, Hillary Clinton is still Satan and I’m back on the radio.”
A little too much apologizing, for my tastes, but not if he truly meant it all. If he did, good for him. He isn’t the only person returning where they belong today: Gillian Gibbons, better known as “The Lady That Named a Teddy Bear Mohammed and Got Jailed For it”, was pardoned and is going home soon. Funny story: a friend who I hadn’t heard from in awhile sent me a note the day after the scandal began and said, “I’m going to name my dog Mohammed.” I laughed, just like I laughed when I read that Chavez has been rejected by the voters in Venezuela. What chutzpah!