June 5, 2009
IT TAKES REAL EFFORT TO BE THIS AWFUL.... Once in a while, Sean Hannity's painful on-air antics are so over the top, they're almost hard to believe.
Last night, for example, whining incessantly about President Obama's speech in Cairo, Hannity told Fox News viewers that the president "decided to give 9/11 sympathizers a voice on the world stage." He then showed Obama saying, "I am aware that there are still some that would question or even justify the events of 9/11."
And then Hannity moved on to other attacks.
Here is what the president actually said:
"The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms.
"In Ankara, I made clear that America is not -- and never will be -- at war with Islam. (Applause.) We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security -- because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.
"The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaeda and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice; we went because of necessity. I'm aware that there's still some who would question or even justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with."
The point, which even some of Hannity's limited skills could understand, was to address the persistent conspiracy theories in some parts of the region (9/11 was not a real terrorist attack, was not launched by al Qaeda, etc.). Obama was not giving "9/11 sympathizers a voice on the world stage," he was setting the record straight, characterizing terrorists as bloodthirsty monsters, and encouraging Muslims to reject outrageous lies.
It was the kind of message Sean Hannity should have approved of. Instead, he engaged in some clumsy editing to lie to his viewers and smear a president while he's overseas. What a sad joke.
Hannity is obviously incapable of shame, which is too bad. Now would be an excellent time for some.
—Steve Benen 3:00 PM
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Sean hannity clearly has no love for America, Americans, Truth, or decency. He is all about deceit and hate.
Posted by: c4logic on June 5, 2009 at 2:58 PM | PERMALINK
You expect a guy who says he'll get waterboarded for charity then pussies out- and someone else has the stones to do it(Mancow) to be anything but a lying sack of dog mess.
He's only on the air to piss off sane people, because that's what get's eyeballs to sponsor ads.
Posted by: johnnymags on June 5, 2009 at 3:00 PM | PERMALINK
ABC's Good Morning America gave Insanity a forum yesterday to spew his toxic ignorance. I turned it off without listening to what he had to say. I have a life.
ABC wants to emulate Faux News, I guess. They've been the most right-wing broadcast network for years now, so it's not a terribly long stretch for them.
Posted by: Screamin' Demon on June 5, 2009 at 3:01 PM | PERMALINK
Every time I see or hear Sean Hannity, I catch him being:
- stupid;
- dishonest; or
- both
I mean that literally. Every single time. I have never heard him make an honest, intelligent point about anything. Ever.
And this buffoon is one of the leading lights of the conservative movement.
That is just painfully sad.
Posted by: UncommonSense on June 5, 2009 at 3:01 PM | PERMALINK
Sean hannity clearly has no love for America, Americans, Truth, or decency.
America is the greatest, best country God has ever given man on the face of the Earth.
None of you moonbats has the courage to say it.
Posted by: That's "Mister Hannity" to you on June 5, 2009 at 3:05 PM | PERMALINK
"I am aware that there are still some that would question or even justify the events of 9/11."
The Republicans are overplaying this strategy, and I expect before long Jon Stewart and Keith Olbermann will skewer them for it. But almost all of Joe Biden's "gaffes" are these mitigating clauses. Hillary is more qualified than me, but... or Whatever we do has a chance to be wrong, but... Our enemies will test us, so therefore... Sotomayor's wise latina comment was the same. Eventually, pretending they don't hear the rest of the sentence is going to bite them in the ass. It's not just context. It is willful and OBVIOUS misinterpretation.
Posted by: Danp on June 5, 2009 at 3:12 PM | PERMALINK
Sean Hannity is not a "sad joke".
Sean Hannity is a deliberate, malicious, vicious LIAR.
Sean Hannity is paid a LOT of money to LIE.
Sean Hannity LIES to an audience of weak-minded, ignorant, hateful Ditto-Heads who don't know that he's LYING, because their only sources of "information" are the DELIBERATE LIES told to them every day by Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, et al.
And even if the Ditto-Heads did know that he is LYING, they wouldn't care, because they've been told that Sean Hannity is a "conservative", and they've been brainwashed into believing that anything that is branded "conservative" is good, and must be believed and obeyed, whereas anything that is branded as "liberal" is evil and must be hated.
How do they know what is "conservative" and what is "liberal"? That's easy. The giant corporations that fund Fox News and Rush Limbaugh tell them, that's how.
Sean Hannity's audience are ignorant dumbasses, but Sean Hannity is not. He knows exactly what he is doing, and he knows exactly why he is paid a lot of money to do it.
He may sometimes behave like an ignorant dumbass rather than a deliberate purveyor of calculated, scripted, teleprompted, corporate-sponsored lies, but that's just part of his fake, phony TV persona that helps him to "get over" with his dumbass Ditto-Head audience.
Posted by: SecularAnimist on June 5, 2009 at 3:13 PM | PERMALINK
Sooner or later there will be another kind of 'payday' for Hannity. He's too stupid to see himself getting old and irrelevant...and the embarrassment he is now to many he will never live down. I don't know anyone who watches him...thank god.
Posted by: bjobotts on June 5, 2009 at 3:13 PM | PERMALINK
America's ignorant have a voice.
Posted by: SteveA on June 5, 2009 at 3:14 PM | PERMALINK
Peter Jennings claims Rush Limbaugh is the greatest voice for America since Ronald Reagan. Now we know where the sewer goes.
Posted by: bjobotts on June 5, 2009 at 3:16 PM | PERMALINK
is there a competition among those on the right to become america's biggest buffoon? funny part is that while they might be helping their own ratings, ultimately they're hurting whatever credibility conservatives might have. my guess, however, is they care more about the ratings ...
Posted by: mudwall jackson on June 5, 2009 at 3:17 PM | PERMALINK
I'm reminded of the campaign speech in Berlin to the largest foreign crowd for an American Presidential Candidate ever. The local fox news political guy, Randy Shandobil, a hack of course, knocked the speech and promoted McCain's visit to a nearly empty German Restaurant in a small town in Pennsylvania and billed it as a significant campaign stop. They have nothing and know it. They are truly the definition of a bunch of losers.
Posted by: dannyshenanigan on June 5, 2009 at 3:18 PM | PERMALINK
maybe simon cowell can start a new talent-search show: america's got buffoons.
Posted by: mudwall jackson on June 5, 2009 at 3:19 PM | PERMALINK
Hannity is top on the list -- followed very closely by Tucker Carlson -- of rightwing boy-men creeps who absolutely, richly deserve a good, swift kick in the balls.
Posted by: electrolite on June 5, 2009 at 3:24 PM | PERMALINK
It never ceases to amaze me the number of dead babies Obama can eat at one sitting.
Posted by: Glenn Beck on June 5, 2009 at 3:28 PM | PERMALINK
God... the stupid. When will it end?
Posted by: DH Walker on June 5, 2009 at 3:32 PM | PERMALINK
Hannity is obviously incapable of shame
This is not exactly Breaking News.
Posted by: Tea Bagger Jones on June 5, 2009 at 3:34 PM | PERMALINK
Hannity is another one whose every utterance should be greeted with scorn and derision. Nothing else.
Outrage is what they are looking for and when they find it they know they have succeeded.
Ditto for O'Reilly, Beck and the rest.
Posted by: PowerOfX on June 5, 2009 at 3:45 PM | PERMALINK
A fun movie recommendation is Face in the Crowd with Andy Griffith and directed by Elia Kazan. Truly a great movie about media manipulation.
Posted by: Objective Dem on June 5, 2009 at 3:51 PM | PERMALINK
I wonder what it's like to be utterly devoid of ethics and honesty.
Fortunately, unlike Sean Hannity, I will never know.
Posted by: Naked Bunny with a Whip on June 5, 2009 at 4:24 PM | PERMALINK
What the hell is a "9/11 sympathizer?"
Posted by: Mahnkenstein on June 5, 2009 at 4:28 PM | PERMALINK
Hannity is just another self-loathing closet-case whose Projection amplifier is continuously set to "11" (With apologies to Spinal Tap)
Posted by: bikelib on June 5, 2009 at 4:39 PM | PERMALINK
Maybe Edwards was right in a way? Maybe there are two Americas. I don't even know what he's talking about half the time. Its like Bizaro World.
Posted by: Scott F. on June 5, 2009 at 4:51 PM | PERMALINK
I think Olberman mentioned once that he met Hannity and Hannity joked with him that "those people out there really think we hate each other" - They don't know it's all an act. Olberman failed to see the humor. Therin lies the problem of this uber rich brand of right wing commentator who have honed their act (hello Rush, Beck, Tucker, Pat Buchannan et al) and think nothing of lieing, agitating the simple minded and doing what is wrong for the country for the sake of the almighty dollar . I'm getting paid a lot so I must be right. How do they manage to sleep at night ?
Posted by: John R on June 5, 2009 at 4:54 PM | PERMALINK
How do they manage to sleep at night ?
To bastardize an old song, they count their money instead of sheep.
Posted by: Lifelong Dem on June 5, 2009 at 5:18 PM | PERMALINK
Hannity is just another self-loathing closet-case whose Projection amplifier is continuously set to "9/11" (With apologies to Spinal Tap)
Just one addition there.
Posted by: M. Bouffant on June 5, 2009 at 5:45 PM | PERMALINK
Yeah, but Michael Moore is fat!
Posted by: jm on June 5, 2009 at 6:01 PM | PERMALINK
Sean Hannity is a loathsome, anti-American, anti-truth, anti-decency, anti-morality piece of excrement. And his fans are fucking morons.
Posted by: giantslor on June 5, 2009 at 6:05 PM | PERMALINK
One day this week, I think June 3, Hannity had Jonah Goldberg on his panel. Hannity played a clip of Rush Limbaugh saying that America is a Christian nation, among other things. Hannity then repeated Rush's statement that America is a Christian nation and Rush's other statements, and then asked Goldberg if he agreed with Rush. The Doughy Pantload didn't even attempt to disagree with Rush and Hannity on the Christian nation claim and blathered on obsequiously.
It was Jonah's finest moment as a lickspittle.
Posted by: Roger Ailes on June 5, 2009 at 7:10 PM | PERMALINK
I can't believe that we allow a puppet like Hannity to take up space in our minds. The guy is paid to be the voice of opposition. It's a job to say stupid things to advance the conservative agenda. He'll say whatever he needs to gauge a reaction. He's jumped the shark months ago and is becoming more irrelevant by the day. It's up too us to ignore his crap and allow his descent in to obscurity continue.
Posted by: Kelvin on June 5, 2009 at 8:41 PM | PERMALINK
I've said for years to my wife that if I were ever diagnosed with a terminal illness the first thing I'd do would be to determine which one of these irritating hatemongers I'd eliminate, leaving the world a better place as I left. It's kind of odd that now, as I face a potentially life-altering brain MRI next week, I'm right there with Roger Ailes (comment above).
Hannity's an entertainer, and the worst consequence of him is, sadly, to have to admit that you're his wife or his kid. Wasting bullets on him or his like would only give them relevance they don't have. Whatever happens, I'll just put my feet up, and enjoy his ratings drop.
Posted by: Jer on June 6, 2009 at 1:37 AM | PERMALINK
Sorry. It was Kelvin's comment I was referring to.
Posted by: Jer on June 6, 2009 at 1:39 AM | PERMALINK
Hannity should instead read David Horowitz, who actually loved the speech. Actually, per Horowitz's parsing, we should stop worrying about how much of a "neoliberal" and how little of a real liberal Obama is, and instead worry about how much of a neoconservative he is.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/06/05/obama_horowitz/index.html
Keep defending him, Steve; maybe some day you'll figure out why MSLBs like you, as unrepentant as war hawks of six years ago, exasperate me.
Posted by: SocraticGadfly on June 6, 2009 at 2:02 AM | PERMALINK
What the hell is a "9/11 sympathizer?"
Precisely the question that came to my mind! "9-11 conspiracy theorist" would be an understandable term. "Those who claim 9-11 was an inside job" would be wordier, but would be much more precise. I can imagine attaching all sorts of meanings to "9/11 sympathizer."
Posted by: Rich2506 on June 6, 2009 at 11:59 AM | PERMALINK
Hannity is a whore, but at least he charges dearly for his services. Rupert Murdoch is Hannity's pimp. What's his excuse?
Posted by: Al on June 7, 2009 at 10:21 AM | PERMALINK
I think Obama & speech writers craft these little bites to into larger speech to ensure job retention for douchebags at fox news.
Posted by: k8 on June 8, 2009 at 10:10 AM | PERMALINK