Legal Commentary

Juan Williams: Cable Talk Shows Are Where He Belongs

By Jeralyn

Juan Williams' post-firing statement confirms what those who have listened to him over the years have known all along: Fox News is where he belongs.

Two statements say it all:

I say an ideological battle because my comments on "The O’Reilly Factor" are being distorted by the self-righteous ideological, left-wing leadership at NPR.

and

They are taking bits and pieces of what I said to go after me for daring to have a conversation with leading conservative thinkers.

NPR is "Left wing" while Fox showcases "leading conservative thinkers." What more do you need to know? [More...]

His problem is, as I said yesterday, he shouldn't be a news analyst at all. His world is his opinions. Analysis requires objectivity. He's a commentator and a pundit, and he belongs on cable talk shows. NPR recognized this when they demoted him to outside commentator from in house news analyst and reduced his on air time and role. Its mistake was in keeping him on even in that capacity. What value is a commentator to a progressive news organization when the commentator views the network not as a group of leading progressive thinkers but as "left wing"?

His insistence that his statements were not bigoted because he was only expressing his visceral feelings shows an astounding lack of self-perception. It's an irrational fear and it's classic bigotry. It's judging people by their appearance and their ethnicity. If he really harbors those fears, he should be working with a therapist to overcome them. That's what the NPR chief said earlier and then apologized for. Her apology may be a good idea from a PR standpoint, but her comment was valid.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on October 22, 2010 (boomark / email).