Diane Dishes But Can't Take: Sawyer Accuses Larry Elder of 'Attacking' Her

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Touchy, touchy! Diane Sawyer is in the business of dishing out tough questions and challenging people's answers. But when a guest on today's "Good Morning America" politely corrected her on a First Amendment matter, the GMA host was quick to accuse him of "attacking" her.

Los Angeles-based radio talk show host Larry Elder was Diane's guest, in to discuss the Imus matter. Sawyer introduced him as a "conservative radio host" though on his own site Elder describes himself as a "libertarian" and "a blend of fiscal conservative and social liberal." Of course we all know how many times the MSM has described Al Sharpton as a "liberal" in the course of his innumerable appearances over the last week or so: that would be precisely zero, at last count.

Elder opined that Imus' punishment did not fit the crime. Imus' comment was offensive sexist and racist, said Elder, "but he apologized, apologized again, did the obligatory beatdown tour a la Michael Richards by appearing on the Al Sharpton show, and as far as I'm concerned, that should have been enough. In the grand department store of life, Don Imus operates in the toy section and I think that those remarks should have been taken with some perspective, but they weren't."

To her credit, Sawyer then raised the issue of rap lyrics, displaying some on-screen with blanked-out words, their messages more vile than anything Imus had said.

In wrapping things up, Sawyer said "free speech issues abound in all of this."

ELDER [politely correcting her]: Diane, I do want to take issue with the term 'free speech.' This has nothing to do with free speech. Free speech has to do with the government suppressing political speech. This has to do with a private employer, CBS, determining for all sorts of reasons that Don Imus ought to go. That's just the way things go. That's just free enterprise. It has nothing to do with free speech."

SAWYER: Well, free speech enables you to end this interview by attacking me! Thank you very much.

ELDER: I didn't attack you Diane, I was just simply clarifying something.

SAWYER: Alright, Larry, good to talk to you this morning.

There were big smiles on both sides, but one sensed that Sawyer's feelings had indeed been hurt, and that Elder was trying to recover from what he feared might have been a GMA-career ending moment.

Lessons learned: the MSM is quick to identify people as "conservative" even if they don't see themselves that way. Liberals rarely get tagged. And the heavy hitters of the MSM can dish it out, but aren't nearly so good when it comes to taking.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Diane-dishes-but-can’t-take ping to Today show list.

[NRA1995]

Cry me a river, Diane!

[Peach]

SAWYER: Well, free speech enables you to end this interview by attacking me! Thank you very much.

You have got to read this interview. If Sayer thinks that Larry Elder was attacking her, we're in so much trouble.

[Rutles4Ever]

Diane Sawyer. Yet another intellectual failure heard from.

[silent_jonny]

SAWYER: Well, free speech enables you to end this interview by attacking me! Thank you very much.

Sounds like she was expecting to be attacked by the conservative.

Or maybe she wanted to give that impression.

[Rutles4Ever]

You hit the nail on the head. What these brainiacs don’t realize is that if they don’t quit with this hyper-sensitive tyranny, the amount of resent generated will outweigh any “benefit” of minding “p’s” and “q’s” when expressing one’s constitutional right to an opinion.

[pikachu]

Funny thing is Dianne will have one of her staff check FR for this posting and she will be very upset that she did not come off as the ‘golden goddess’ she wants to be revered as and that someone mentioned her face looks like corrugated cardboard these days. tsk-tsk

[TNCMAXQ]

This all started with Clinton, when they fended off legimate criticism by calling it a “personal attack.” Meanwhile it was fine for the Dems to start referring to conservatives as extremists.

Gee, I thought Diane was supposed to be a Republican because 30+ years ago she worked for Nixon. The left point this out as if it somehow brings “balance” to the media. What a laugh. As Ann Coulter pointed out, Sawyer was a low level staffer in the Nixon White House, and after President Nixon left office. She was hardly a right wing activist.

[Peach]

We were at dinner two nights ago, before this even reached this frenzied point, and the people sitting at the table next to us said this was turning people against minorities because of the double standard.

[Howlin]

but one sensed that Sawyer's feelings had indeed been hurt, and that Elder was trying to recover from what he feared might have been a GMA-career ending moment

And here we are. A liberal gets her feelings hurt and leaves her guest wondering if HIS remarks might be the next food for the feeding frenzy.

[Peach]

And Elder is a social liberal!! But he’s not fiscally liberal so just like our freepers who think if one isn’t a socon then one can’t possibly be conservative, we have the libs going after the less than pure liberals.

[weegee]

Just because Larry Elder is a black American, does not make him right or give him a opportunity to speak in Diane Sawyer’s world.

To the politically correct, what is of utmost importance is that you agree with them. Especially in the infotainment world of ABCDisney news for housewives.

The programs are not about dialgue, they are about soundbites and the appearance of balance (”See, we have a conservative on!!!”).

Al Sharpton has repeatedly refused to appear on Larry Elder’s show.

[Peach]

That’s a good point, weegee.

A lot of freepers have steadily maintained that it is the liberals who try to keep minorities from advancing into the protected world of the limousine liberals, and things like this interview prove that to be so.

[proud American in Canada]

Wow, Diane has thin skin. And seems to be dumb as well. I guess she couldn’t think fast enough to recover from a perfectly logical, and correct, point.

[Mo1]

These people are reminding me of that snot nose little brat who no one liked to play with at school because they were forever running to the teacher

[originalbuckeye]

Nah. Sawyer knew Larry wasn’t attacking her. It’s just projection and a useful idiot buzzword. Accuse the other guy of doing what you are doing/what you usually do. I saw Mary Ann Marsh accuse GWB of ‘going negative’ in the run up to the 2004 election when GWB had said nothing even remotely questionable. The first accuser always gets the sympathy.

[SkyPilot]

SAWYER: Well, free speech enables you to end this interview by attacking me! Thank you very much.

Good grief! What a crybaby.

[jaycee]

Diane can attack and attack but she can’t take anything. He was not attacking her.....touchy, touchy Diane!

[Bahbah]

If Sawyer thinks that Larry Elder was attacking her, we're in so much trouble.

It appears that any contradiction or clarification by any non-liberal is going to be characterized as an attack. I find this reaction by Ms. Sawyer very, very surprising...and maybe alarming.