Oh my... (Dave Lenihan's comments on Condi Rice)

[Lyle]

"She's been chancellor of Stanford," Lenihan said on the air. "She's got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that."

He said he had meant to say "coup" instead of the racial slur.
If this guy (http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/03/23/djfired.rice.ap/index.html) was trying to be clever, I guess it backfired on him in a huge way:
A St. Louis radio station quickly fired a talk show host for uttering a racial epithet as he talked about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on his morning show Wednesday.

[yankeefan24]

he get's what he deserves. i'm glad there's a no tolerance policy in those places. Even if he 'meant to' say something else doesn't change it. If i said i didn't mean to shoot someone, would i still be arrested? i think so. I don't feel bad for people like him.

[Lyle]

he get's what he deserves. i'm glad there's a no tolerance policy in those places. Even if he 'meant to' say something else doesn't change it. If i said i didn't mean to shoot someone, would i still be arrested? i think so. I don't feel bad for people like him.I'm not defending him, but there's a big difference between using a racial slur and shooting someone!

I'd like to be able to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I just can't imagine him "accidentally" saying something like that. Is anyone here from the St. Louis area and familiar with his show? Does this sound like a stunt that he would be likely to pull, or is it more likely that it was an honest mistake?

[Agathon]

Harry Belafonte called her and Colin Powell "House Slaves".

... he was right too.

[aquajet]

he get's what he deserves. i'm glad there's a no tolerance policy in those places. Even if he 'meant to' say something else doesn't change it. If i said i didn't mean to shoot someone, would i still be arrested? i think so. I don't feel bad for people like him.

I'm sorry, but your commentary is nearly as ridiculous as the situation revolving around one man's use of the word niggardly (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/jan99/district27.htm).

We all have slippery tongues sometimes; just the other day I ordered some "french flies" at a restaurant. "Coon" and "coup" have nearly identical pronunciations. I didn't hear the comment myself, but I'm willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

[aquajet]

I'd like to be able to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I just can't imagine him "accidentally" saying something like that.

Based upon what was reported in the article, how Mr. Lenihan was sitting at home and "still trying to figure out what happened and was drafting a letter of apology to Rice" and how it was his "dream job," I can't imagine he would purposefully say something like that. Why would he make such a comment knowing well enough that it would likely cost him his job in today's public climate? It seems more logical to me that it was simply a mistaken slip of the tongue.

[mpw]

he get's what he deserves. i'm glad there's a no tolerance policy in those places. Even if he 'meant to' say something else doesn't change it. If i said i didn't mean to shoot someone, would i still be arrested? i think so. I don't feel bad for people like him.
The guy made a mistake, and from the report it was just a slip of the tounge rather than an error of judgement.

Should anyone who has a slip of the tounge lose their job? I'm sure there are plenty of democrats who'd say yes.

I hope this guy sues the station and gets a huge payout for wrongful dismisal.

[Thomas Veil]

If this guy has no history of bigotry, I could believe it was a slip-up. It happens.

Anybody see the famous clip of Gene Rayburn, host of The Match Game, where he meant to compliment a female contestant's "pretty dimples" and said "pretty nipples"?

Yeah, either way it's kind of sexist, but in the '60s when that apparently occurred, for former was still considered acceptable, while the latter was obviously not (and still isn't). The point is that Rayburn made a weird slip of the tongue. It didn't automatically brand him a sex maniac...or get him fired.

The fact that this guy sounded horrified at the words that had just come out of his mouth lead me to believe that he's an okay guy, he just had a gigundous brain fart.

[skunk]

The fact that this guy sounded horrified at the words that had just come out of his mouth lead me to believe that he's an okay guy, he just had a gigundous brain fart.And let's face it, if brain farts were sackable offences, most of the Administration would be out of a job for that alone.

[xsedrinam]

Me thinks the honky doth protest too much.

[tristan]

As a talk show host, his job is to communicate for a living. So yes, making a mistake like this should lead to dismissal, or at least suspension. He knew he had a public-facing job and was responsible for every word that comes out of his mouth. If he was working in the back office, then it wouldn't be that big a deal - maybe just a stern lecture from management.

[leekohler]

The guy made a mistake, and from the report it was just a slip of the tounge rather than an error of judgement.

Should anyone who has a slip of the tounge lose their job? I'm sure there are plenty of democrats who'd say yes.

I hope this guy sues the station and gets a huge payout for wrongful dismisal.

I agree. This is wrong. I think it's rather obvious this guy didn't mean to say it. He apologized immediately. It's not as if he waited to see if anyone would call in and demand an apology. They shouldn't have fired him.

[skunk]

I do rather wonder why the word "coon" was so near the tip of his tongue...

The words "Freudian" and "slip" come to mind.

[yankeefan24]

in reference to all the criticism i received to my post earlier in the thread:

part of the reason why i am unconvinced that he 'accidently' said that was that he said it twice. I occasionally make mistakes like that. but i always catch it before i can say it again. i have not heard the show, but sometimes the employers tell the hosts what they should talk about. For example, the employer might say "talk about how great rice is." he doesn't feel that way and his tongue slips into how he really feels. I don't know.

Regardless, I feel that the fairest punishment was placed on him. I will not make any more comments in this thread.

[katchow]

Anybody see the famous clip of Gene Rayburn, host of The Match Game, where he meant to compliment a female contestant's "pretty dimples" and said "pretty nipples"?



that clip floors me everytime. heck, i'm laughing right now just thinking of it. the look on his and the contestants face is priceless.

a perfect example of a freudian slip. anyone have a link for that clip?

[Lyle]

in reference to all the criticism i received to my post earlier in the thread... I will not make any more comments in this thread.Some people disagree with your opinions, but you shouldn't take that as criticism. I don't know how familiar you are with the folks who are "regulars" here in the Politics forum, but believe me, if someone like skunk or leekohler decides to criticize you, you'll know it. :D