Personal Asides: Bernie Stone, Naisy Dolar and Russ Stewart Make the Show Qualify as “Shootout”…How the Imus Story Got So Big.

Stone-Dolar-Stewart.

Bernie Stone, his opponent Naisy Dolar and Russ Stewart made “Political Shootout” live up to its name. After repeated requests to get Dolar on “Shootout” which went unanswered, she called up while Stone was on the air—but after taking a swipe at Mike Noonan for being Stone’s campaign manager…(like what’s wrong with tha?...and being reminded that Noonan is close to the Daleys)…she inexplicably hung up. Somebody at her elbow probably told her to do that. But it was a good old-fashioned mud fight and the only time citizens of the 50th had a chance to hear the two candidates together. Stewart’s acerbic questioning of both Stone and Dolar showed he is a tremendously gifted professional for which I thank him.

How the Imus Story Grew.

The “Wall Street Journal” the other day gave an excellent almost hour-by-hour spread sheet of how the Imus story grew from just another so-so scatological tirade by the radio talk show host to a national story with political repercussions. The idea that Imus is a conservative, of course, is a canard—unless conservatives are noted for broadcasting things like “I hate Jesus Christ!” Imus is an equal opportunity insulter and he has done enough tirades at conservatives to justify how Maureen Dowd, Joe Lieberman and Barack Obama phoned in of their own inclination.

Among other things, the story answers something I have long pondered…how do certain liberal columnists who are supposed to work during the day come up with exact quotes from those radio talk show personalities they attack? My favorite liberal columnist here in Chicago—QT’s Zay Smith—comes in with word-for-word replays of Limbaugh. How did he get it unless he listens to Limbaugh every day—highly improbable. Also my un-favorite liberal columnist, the eternal kid hired by the “Sun-Times” to write kid talk pop reviews, Richard Roeper, used to occasionally come up with rebuttals to Ann Coulter. Coulter is an acquired taste but has more erudition, humor and historical savvy in her little finger than Roeper could acquire with his meager gifts in a lifetime. How did he used to come up with her views that she expressed on TV word-for-word unless he watched her and taped her? An unlikely prospect.

The answer: there is a liberal commentary service like Clif’s Notes which tapes all the shows and gives answers which very possibly our friends crib. One Ryan Chiachiere, a 26-year-old researcher in Washington, D. C. works for the liberal watchdog organization Media Matters for America. He was assigned to monitor Imus. He clipped the video of Imus saying “nappy-headed ho’s” and began the process which took seven days before MSNBC canned Imus and another day before CBS axed him. Media Matters posts offensive things and sends email blasts to hundreds of liberal reporters. Getting rid of Imus who is a national pest is one thing but Media Matters for America is very selective, isn’t it? The fact that black rappers use the “ho” reference goes unchallenged (gee, our African American friends might be offended).

I don’t think conservatives have such a network…following Katie Couric, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams…do they?