Glenn Beck says, "jump," the establishment media ask, "how high, boss?"
Fox News' Glenn Beck has made no secret of his desire to influence the stories other news outlets cover, at one point boasting that a story on his program about ACORN would divert the media's attention from health care reform. In recent months, Beck has successfully pushed into the mainstream stories about ACORN; the April 15 and September 12 tea parties; White House "czars" Van Jones, Mark Lloyd, and Cass Sunstein; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Beck couches the question in his favorite rhetorical affectation - pretending that he is pained to have to ask it, but it is so important that he just cannot leave it unsaid. It is similar to the tortured expression and tone of voice that he adopted in 2006 when asking then-newly-elected Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison, a Muslim, if he was "working with our enemies."
With regard to the anti-Christ question, Beck insists he is only bringing it up because of all the e-mails he has been receiving from his viewers about it. Apparently, it never occurred to him to do what any responsible network news personality might do with such messages, which is to dismiss them as the rantings of lunatics.
Beck's sardonic laughter, as he pretends that he cannot even believe he's saying this, is almost as revolting as the question itself.
To his credit, Hagee refuses to take the bait and shuts Beck down in no uncertain terms.
But think about what it means that John Hagee, a man with a notorious reputation for religious bigotry, demonstrates more decency and restraint than a talk show host employed by CNN, The Most Trusted Name in News. What does that say about Glenn Beck? What does that say about CNN?
BECK: Let me ask you, because I got -- I get so much e-mail on this, and I think a lot of people do, and I`ve only got a couple of seconds. They say Glenn, you and the media, you`ve got to wake up. Barack Obama`s making people faint and cry and everything else. And he`s drawing people in.
There are people -- and they said this about Bill Clinton that actually believe he might be the anti-Christ. Odds that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ?
HAGEE: No chance. He has a lot of charisma. There`s a media love affair with him right now. He is a very formidable political person. I believe the best leader for America in the future is John McCain.
BECK: Thank you very much, Pastor.
Back in just a second. That`s good news, at least where I stand.
If you would like to let CNN know your thoughts about Mr. Beck, you can do so here.
Somehow, Glenn Beck failed to notice that he makes millions of dollars per year to express his opinions on television and on the radio. Despite the fact that one of this country's five corporate owners of the news media is willing to pay him millions of dollars per year for expressing his opinions, Beck says he's one of the people in America who "just can't win."
Why can't Beck seem to grab hold of even a small part of the American dream? Why, it's because he belongs to the single most oppressed group in this country: the white, Christian male.
I just -- I'm white. I'm human. There are a lot of environmentalists that don't like humans, but within the humans that accept humans, I'm white.
The majority of humans don't like whites. I mean, I just can't win. You can't win. And why is it? Because if you are a white human that loves America and happens to be a Christian, forget about it, Jack. You are the only one that doesn't have a political action committee for you.
God forbid, I forgot that I'm also a conservative. I'm a conservative, which is not popular in America, but I'm a conservative that doesn't like the Republicans. I can't win! I've got to find one thing that I agree with, you know, the rest of the world on, I guess. I'm tired of being in that group. Conservatives get no respect.
