Larry King as Mr. Civility? 'The Term Wacko Right-Winger Is Redundant'

July 6th, 2010 9:49 AM

For those who think Larry King is the sweet saint of the sensible center, we can always draw up from our Notable Quotables archives some of King's conservative-bashing venom from the Clinton impeachment period for a rebuttal. Take a look at these:

"Shouldn't someone tell President Clinton that one of his archenemies, Rush Limbaugh, actually said the following last week, speaking in defense of Bill Gates and Microsoft? `It's OK to lie, everybody lies in business, especially in a civil case.' Apparently to Rush, lying is OK about business but not about sex." -- CNN's Larry King in his October 26, 1998 USA Today column, failing to recognize Limbaugh's parody of how liberals excuse Clinton's lies but want Gates pursued.

"If he had to testify, do you think Thomas Jefferson would have been impeached? No chance, there was no talk radio." -- CNN's Larry King in his USA Today column, November 16, 1998.

"What-if department...What if President Clinton announced a cure for cancer developed by the National Institutes of Health? What would critics say? Would Bob Barr want him impeached for failing to tell us the study was going on? Would Rush Limbaugh decry the President taking credit while admitting getting rid of cancer wasn't a bad thing? Would Pat Buchanan insist that no nation other than America be given it? Would The Wall Street Journal worry about its effect on pharmaceutical stock prices? And so it goes...." -- CNN's Larry King in his USA Today column, February 15, 1999.

"The term wacko right-winger is redundant. For example, they're the only people who don't like being called compassionate. Someone remarked that many now defend the tobacco industry because its products kill people early, saving us dollars in having to care for aged people." -- "Larry King's People" item in USA Today, March 8, 1999.

"I can't figure out how religious leaders can support the National Rifle Association. One would think that guns and God don't mix." -- CNN host Larry King in his USA Today column, May 17, 1999.