Posted by Slush on February 09, 2004 at 16:52:18:
Mark Belling has been POUNDING the idea that "Bush never said the word 'imminent' in his 2003 State of the Union speech for months.
This afternoon, he once again got callers on the topic. In fact, he got two callers in a row who insisted that Bush said the OPPOSITE--that it was NOT "imminent."
Belling was of course rude and abusive, booting both callers and even saying "I'm telling you, he never even said that WORD!"
He then said he'd "admit he was wrong and retract if anyone could PRODUCE a comment where he said the word "imminent".
Well, I finally got sick of it, so I googled for a transcript, which I found at Whitehouse.gov. I searched the term "imminent" and found the following paragraph:
"Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option. (Applause.) "
So I call in and tell Paul just to tell Belling that its as simple as lookig at the transcript. What does Paul do? Of course, he immediately treats me like I'm the anti-Christ because I've proved Mark wrong. He insists that I go "on air" to discuss it and he queues me up.
So what happens?..Belling finishes with his current caller and announces he's abandoning the topic. (Paul had obviously messaged him that I had him cold). Paul then comes back on the line with a "Sorry, buddy"...and I say, "Look---I never wanted to go on air---I just want the retraction and an apology to those callers he was so rude to."
Paul says, "I'll see what I can do..."
When Belling comes back on, he says, "During the break, I checked the transcript on Whitehouse.gov and found that I'M RIGHT! Bush never said it was "imminent" and he never said "it as not imminent"...what he said was, "Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent". So I was right and the callers were, of course, wrong".
WTF!!!!????
Belling has been POUNDING the idea that Bush never UTTERED the word "imminent" in any way, shape or form in that speech. He has said, "..he never said the word imminent" probably a half dozen times.
The guy is just completely full of crap. Even when he's caught cold in a major goof, he just spins it and basically lies his ass off.
I think this one's worth a complaint to the FCC. The guy is using the public airwaves to spread disinformation, and he's not checking his facts pre-air nor is he retracting incorrect statements when they are brought to his attention.