Bill Cunningham surprises no one

with his thinly veiled hate-speech.

At a Republican rally today for Senator McCain in Cincinnati, arch-conservative, self-proclaimed bombastic, radio talk show host, Bill Cunningham, inflamed the crowd by repeatedly calling Senator Obama by his full Christian name: Barack Hussein Obama. McCain, unaware of these remarks, apologized for the following comments:

"Now we have a hack, Chicago-style Daley politician who is picturing himself as change. When he gets done with you, all you're going to have in your pocket is change," Cunningham said as the audience laughed.

The time will come, Cunningham added, when the liberal-leaning media will "peel the bark off Barack Hussein Obama" and tell the truth about his relationship with indicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko and how Obama got "sweetheart deals" in Chicago.

McCain wasn't on stage or, he says, in the building when Cunningham made the comments, but he quickly distanced himself from the radio talk show host after finishing his speech. McCain spoke to a couple hundred people at Memorial Hall in downtown Cincinnati.

"I apologize for it," McCain told reporters, addressing the issue before they had a chance to ask the Arizona senator about Cunningham's comments.

"I did not know about these remarks, but I take responsibility for them. I repudiate them," he said. "My entire campaign I have treated Senator Obama and Senator (Hillary Rodham) Clinton with respect. I will continue to do that throughout this campaign."

Cunningham was not amused. He does not take kindly to criticism. His opinion is that he spoke the language of the crowd better than McCain and in fact represents what true conservatism is all about. !THEREFORE! he is withdrawing all support of McCain's bid for the presidency.

On Sean Hannity's show this afternoon, Cunningham laughed through ruffled feathers, defending himself as having done nothing wrong: this is Obama's real name and so why can't he say it repeatedly? He's been doing that on his radio show for months. This is nothing new so why is anyone upset? Without even realizing it, however, he undermined this "innocent" position when he claimed that he had been asked to rile up the crowd and he knew using Obama's whole name was one way to do it. Oh dis-ingenuousness, thy name is Cunningham!

For those not familiar with Cincinnati talk radio, let me illustrate the kind of baseness that is this self-proclaimed "great American." When speaking of the AIDS crisis a number of years when Bono's humanitarian AIDS eradication activism brought him through town, Bill came down on the rock star as supporting immorality and making the American government pay for it. He summed up the real solution to the AIDS crisis this way (this is my memory of his comments so not verbatim): "If men could just keep from doing it up the butt, we'd have no crisis. Seriously." Chuckle, chuckle. "If they can't keep from doing it up the butt, then it's not our problem. Why throw money at men who don't have any self-control? Stop having that kind of sex and you won't get AIDS." Then he and whoever was in studio with him at the time laughed heartily like they had just told the greatest bar joke in history.

I have never tuned in again.

Needless to say, Cunningham's so-called promotion and protection of true conservatism sounds more like endorsing racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism (including Muslims) and mysogeny.... though today he suggested that he might vote for Clinton as a protest vote against Obama and McCain (who has now lost Cunningham's support, and therefore all his loyal listeners, as well).

The only concern I have now is that his loyal following will turn out and vote for Hillary, which would undermine the true democratic process, if you ask me. For the first time, I've wished for closed primaries. That sabotage vote seems really evil and filled with cynicism.

Blech. Time to get some anti-bacterial scrub and wash myself.