Larry King Live

Larry King Jokes About Moose Shooting Back at Sarah Palin, Moore: ‘Bigots’ in GOP Behind Illegal Immigration Law
By Brad Wilmouth | April 28, 2010 | 7:56 AM EDT

On Tuesday’s Larry King Live on CNN, after guest Michael Moore joked about there being possibly 100 million Sarah Palin fans in America who "want to, you know, shoot moose from a helicopter or whatever else that they think that's cool that she does," King questioned whether there are really 100 million people who approve of moose hunting and then joked, "I think that there’s 100 million moose who’d like to shoot up to the helicopter."

Earlier in the same show, as the conversation focused on the new law cracking down on illegal immigration in Arizona, after making a Nazi reference by joking that the measures remind him of Hogan’s Heroes, he ended up charging that a "bunch of bigots in the Republican Party of Arizona" are to blame for the law. Moore: "I think it's the result of a bunch of bigots in the Republican Party of Arizona. That's, that's what it's the result of. And it's sad that they're behaving that way and it makes the rest of us look bad as Americans."

Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Tuesday, April 27, Larry King Live on CNN, with critical portions in bold:

Larry King Goes on Attack for Homosexuality: Asks Pastor Why He Didn’t Like Boys Romantically; Compares Ted Haggard to St. Peter
By Jeff Poor | April 24, 2010 | 10:38 AM EDT

Whatever your view on homosexuality might be as it pertains to Christianity, there's probably one place one wouldn't go to seek clarity on the issue - a Jewish TV host that's in his seventh marriage.

However, CNN, the so-called most trusted name in news, had "Larry King Live" host Larry King tackle this issue on his April 23 program in a special broadcast entitled "Can You Be Christian and Gay?" King's special featured recently-out Christian singer Jennifer Knapp, embattled former evangelical preacher Ted Haggard and Horizon Christian Fellowship Senior Pastor Bob Botsford.

But it was Botsford, who had previously been somewhat critical of Knapp's decision to go public with her sexuality, that took the brunt of the questioning from King, a TV anchor not normally known for hardball questioning, unless it involves this issue (i.e., his interview with former Miss California Carrie Prejean).

Partial Transcript Below Fold

'Family Guy' Creator: Palin’s Down Syndrome Episode Outrage 'Partially Politically Motivated'
By Jeff Poor | April 23, 2010 | 9:49 AM EDT

Nothing is off-limits for Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Fox's "Family Guy" series, well almost anything. That's the message he wanted to convey in an appearance on CNN's April 22 "Larry King Live."  

MacFarlane was asked about an episode, originally aired on Feb. 14, which showed one of the characters, Chris Griffith, out on a date with a female with Down Syndrome, which she said her dad was an accountant, and "my mom is the former governor of Alaska." Some said he stepped over the line, others thought it wasn't a big deal.

However, Palin reacted on the Feb. 16 broadcast of Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" by asking why "Family Guy" would stoop to such a level.

"This world is full of cruel, cold-hearted people who would do such a thing," Palin said. "Look. I look at Trigg and he is going to face things as special needs children will be facing much more difficult than we ever will. So why make it tougher on the special needs community? When is enough enough? When are we going to be willing to say some things just aren't really funny?"

Larry King Thinks Sarah Palin Should Pose For Playboy
By Noel Sheppard | April 21, 2010 | 2:23 AM EDT

CNN's Larry King thinks former Alaska governor Sarah Palin should pose for Playboy.

Chatting with comedienne Sarah Silverman on Tuesday's "Larry King Live," the host brought up the liberal media's favorite conservative female target.

"We can't leave without asking you, my producers say I must ask you. Sarah Palin, what do you think?"

Without question, Silverman's comment was not as shocking as King's response (video follows with transcript, relevant section at 4:00, h/t Twitter's @Cubachi, file photo):  

Jane Fonda Decries Hanoi Jane ‘Myth’ ‘Created by Right-Wingers,’ Palin Popularity ‘Worries Me’
By Brad Wilmouth | April 6, 2010 | 7:29 AM EDT

On Monday’s Larry King Live on CNN, guest Jane Fonda portrayed herself as a victim of a "myth" that was "created" by "right-wingers" about her infamous "Hanoi Jane" visit to Vietnam to protest the Vietnam War. Without specifying what aspect of the "Hanoi Jane" story she considered to be a fallacy, though the "Product Description" at Amazon.com seems to shed some light on what she was referring to, she claimed that author Jerry Lembcke’s new book, "Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, and Fantasies of Betrayal," dispels the "myth," and asserted that it is "sad" that some conservatives are "still stuck in the past":

JANE FONDA: No, it's about the myth, you know, why it is that 300 people went to North Vietnam, people, many people before me, why me, why have they created this myth? You know, when I came back from North Vietnam, there was maybe a quarter of an inch of media about it in the New York Times. Nobody made any big deal out of it. It was created, and some people are stuck-

LARRY KING: By critics?

FONDA: By right wingers. There are some people who are like stuck there, you know, they're still stuck in the past. I always want to say, "Get a life," or, you know, "Read what really happened," you know. The myths are now true.

Referring to people who sometimes protest against her, she continued: "But it makes me sad for these people who are stuck because they've not taken the time – if they're going to waste their energy on hatred, they should take the time in finding out what was really true."

The "Product Description" of the book at Amazon.com contends:

CNN Still Hungry for Food Rules, Eats Up Oliver's Food 'Revolution'
By Julia A. Seymour | April 1, 2010 | 1:40 PM EDT

The "obesity epidemic" is the fault of poor individual choices and sedentary lifestyles, but in the news, blame typically falls on companies, rather than on the individual. CNN has attacked grocer stores, restaurants and food manufacturers for creating supposedly "addictive" products and in story after story called for more food regulations, taxes or other intervention.

CNN's hearty appetite for food control has gone on for years. They've waged a war on obesity all while promoting government meddling like higher taxes on drinks made with "cheap" corn syrup to fight the "obesity epidemic," health zoning prohibiting fast food restaurants from South L.A. and trans-fat bans just for starters. CNN even criticized supermarkets for wanting customers to buy products from them, back in 2006.

Larry King Deferential to Sinead O'Connor, Tough on Carrie Prejean
By Matthew Balan | March 31, 2010 | 4:45 PM EDT
Larry King, CNN Host; & Sinead O'Connor, Irish Singer | NewsBusters.orgCNN's Larry King, moderating a panel discussing the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal on his program on Tuesday, tossed softballs at noted anti-Catholic Sinead O'Connor, who recently pushed for Catholics to stop attending Mass. By contrast, King hostilely interrogated former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean in November 2009, to the point where she almost walked out of the interview.

The CNN host spent the second half of his 9 pm Eastern  program to the Church scandal, bringing on Sinead O'Connor, two Catholic priests, the Catholic League's Bill Donahue, and former CNN anchor Thomas Roberts, a victim of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest when he was a teenager. After introducing his guests, King first turned to O'Connor and asked her about the previous segment, where he had interviewed two alleged victims of Father Lawrence Murphy, who was accused of molesting up to 200 deaf boys: "Did you hear the earlier guests talk about this, and what did you think about what they said?" Later, the anchor asked the Irish musician, "What do you think His Holiness [Pope Benedict XVI] should do?"
CNN Ratings Plunge as Network Clings to Self-proclaimed 'Center' Strategy
By Lachlan Markay | March 31, 2010 | 10:45 AM EDT
CNN's ratings woes continue. The cable news network trails its three competitors in every prime time slot. The Fox News Channel, meanwhile, is enjoying record ratings.

Even Joy Behar, HLN's pseudo-newscaster at the 9 pm slot, beat CNN's Larry King Live 21 times during the first quarter of 2010. King suffered the worst ratings of his CNN career.

Anderson Cooper, who used to rely on King's historically impressive viewership for a ratings boost of his own, dropped 42 percent of his viewers. All this despite his coverage of major news events this year such as the Haiti earthquake and the health care battle on the Hill.
Biden Drops F-Bomb To Obama, CNN's All Over It
By Noel Sheppard | March 24, 2010 | 9:43 AM EDT

Vice President Joe Biden was caught telling President Obama at Tuesday's healthcare reform bill signing, "This is a big f**king deal."

Although this didn't get a huge amount of attention from most mainstream media outlets, the folks at CNN were all over the story covering it many times throughout the day.

One of the network's most prominent hosts, Larry King, addressed Biden's vulgarity with his guests Tuesday evening.

Actor Stephen Baldwin responded, "Larry, the Bible says, 'Out of the mouth comes the things that are within our heart.' So I'm not surprised that the vice president's a potty mouth."

He continued, "And quite frankly, I think it's official today, Barack Obama is the greatest gangster to ever come out of Chicago" (video embedded below the fold with transcript, h/t PoliJam):

Betty White: Craig Ferguson Wrote Sarah Palin ‘Crazy B*****’ Joke, Larry King Laughs at ‘Good Delivery’
By Brad Wilmouth | March 17, 2010 | 11:15 PM EDT

During an interview on Wednesday’s Larry King Live on CNN, actress Betty White recounted a controversial joke from October 2008 when she called Sarah Palin a "crazy b****" during an appearance on CBS's Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as she pretended to be then-presidential candidate John McCain’s speechwriter for a skit. Her recitation of the line inspired laughter from host King, as he praised the actress as having "good delivery." White also informed King that the line had been written by Ferguson or his writers as it was part of a pre-planned sketch.

Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Wednesday, March 17, Larry King Live on CNN, followed by a transcript of the relevant clip of the Late Late Show on CBS from October 2008:

Media Cast Liberal Republican Meghan McCain as ‘Voice of Young Conservatives’
By Colleen Raezler | February 17, 2010 | 10:27 AM EST
CPAC, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference begins Feb. 18. Conservative leaders will rally the troops before the mid-term elections in November and discuss the future role of conservatives in politics.

One person who will not be in attendance is Meghan McCain, despite the year-long media attempt to make citizens believe she is somehow representative of conservatives. She tweeted on Feb. 11, "I have no idea where this weird rumor I am speaking at CPAC came from, it isn't true and I will not be attending or speaking."

McCain, the 25-year-old daughter of former Republican presidential nominee John McCain and a writer for The Daily Beast, has taken it upon herself to tell the GOP what needs to be fixed within the party. Because she calls herself a Republican, media outlets have perpetuated the notion that she is also conservative. By doing that, they've pushed a liberal social agenda that directly conflicts with conservative values.

Writer Kathleen Parker, herself no stranger to conservative bashing, praised McCain last spring as "one smart cookie" who "in a matter weeks ... has created a brand, presenting herself as a fresh face of her daddy's party and voice of young conservatives."

Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post and a contributor to MSNBC, suggested last summer that "maybe what the Republican Party is going to have to do is skip a generation and wait for the Meghan McCains to come of age so they can run for office and take over the mantle of the party."

Maher Strikes Again: Americans 'Not Bright Enough to Really Understand the Issues'
By Jeff Poor | February 17, 2010 | 9:53 AM EST

Either Bill Maher was doing his best effort to impersonate Mel Brooks as King Louis XVI in "History in the World, Part I" or he has a complete and utter disregard for the intellectual competency of the American people.

Maher, a perennial bomb thrower with a hard left ideology appeared on CNN's Feb. 16 "Larry King Live," facing the king of softball interviews, Larry King, and let it be known he thought alleged terrorism plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should be tried in New York City and that health care should be forced through by the Obama administration, despite the wishes of the American people.

And why should the American people's wishes be ignored? They're "not bright enough."

"But what the Democrats never understand is that Americans don't really care what position you take, just stick with one," Maher said. "Just be strong. They're not bright enough to really understand the issues. But like an animal, they can sort of sense strength or weakness. They can smell it on you."