Philly’s Own Michael Smerconish Hates America, Just Like Colin Powell
Michael Smerconish is a Republican talker here in Philly, and on the national stage with David Gregory’s MSNBC show, and as a substitute host for O’Reilly’s “No Spin Zone.” He’s come out for Barack Obama in yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, and as a result he may be jeopardizing his place as a GOP sycophant. Good on him.
It’s Monday and it’s time again for an episode of Republican Pundits Gone Wild, with your host, Steven Reynolds. Today’s contestant, shedding the redstate scales that have blinded him in the past, is Michael Smerconish.
The big Philadelphia conservative talk radio station is 1210, WPHT, the Big Talker. Smerconish leads off the WPHT lineup in the morning, and is followed by those usual rabid Republican suspects, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. Smerconish also guests in the conservative chair on David Gregory’s show on MSNBC, and substitutes for Bill O’Reilly on radio. He’s building his reputation for being a conservative voice in this country, hoping for the big time, perhaps. But as Will Bunch notes, Michael Smerconish may have shot himself in the foot yesterday as to those career aspirations.
OK, I’m not crying a whole bunch at Michael Smerconish maybe ruining his career. Indeed, I’m happy to see any so-called conservative coming out in support of Barack Obama. It pleases me no end to see every new face showing that they are inspired by Obama, hopeful that our country can take a new direction, and critical of the last eight years of Bush and the failed Republican leadership. (Smerconish’s earlier column, just Friday, signaled his choice, as it was entitled “McCain, The First Obituary,” and purported to detail just what went wrong with that wrong-headed and mean-spirited campaign.) But this is about Michael Smerconish’s Sunday column for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and how he lines up for Obama, though mostly against the incompetencies and ugliness of the John McCain campaign. Here’s a little of his Sunday column from the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Economy. We face economic problems that are incomprehensible to most Americans, certainly they are to me. This is a time to covet intellect, and that begins at the top. Jack Bogle, the legendary founder of the Vanguard Group, told me recently that McCain’s assertion that the fundamentals of the economy were “strong” was the “stupidest statement of 2008.” In light of the unprecedented volatility in the market, who can dispute Bogle’s characterization and the lack of understanding that McCain’s assessment portends?
VP. I opined here that Sarah Palin demonstrated the capacity to be president in her speech to the Republican convention. Sadly, there has been no further exhibition of her abilities, and she remains an unknown quantity. We are left questioning the judgment of a candidate who bypassed his reported preferred choices, Lieberman and former Gov. Tom Ridge, and instead yielded to the whims of the periphery of his party. With two wars and a crumbling economy, Palin is too big of a risk to be a heartbeat away from a presidency held by a 72-year-old man who has battled melanoma. Advantage Joe Biden.
Opportunity. In a speech delivered on Father’s Day, Obama lamented that too many fathers are missing from the lives of too many children and mothers. Look no further than Philadelphia for proof that the nation has a fatherhood problem at the root of its firearms crisis. And no demographic is affected by this confluence of factors like the black community. Among the many elements needed to address this crisis are role models, individuals whom urban youth can aspire to emulate. Little more than a year ago, Charles Barkley told me: “I want young black kids to see Barack on television every day. . . . We need to see more blacks who are intelligent, articulate, and who carry themselves with great dignity.” Obama can be that man.
Hope. Wednesday morning will come and an Obama presidency holds the greatest chance for unifying us here at home and restoring our prestige around the globe. The campaigns have foretold the kind of presidency we can expect from each candidate. Last Friday in Lakeville, Minn., McCain himself had to explain to a supporter who was “scared” of an Obama presidency that those fears were unfounded. Another told McCain that Obama was untrustworthy because he is an “Arab.” Those exchanges were a predictable byproduct of ads against Obama featuring tag lines such as “Too Risky for America” and “Dangerous,” and a failure to rein in individuals at McCain events who highlighted Obama’s middle name, all against a background of Internet lore.
OK, I’ve used far too many of Smerconish’s words here, but I hope he’ll indulge me, especially as I’ve recognized his even-handed treatment of Barack Obama in the past. Yesterday he laid out the case, and he essentially says that John McCain has failed us as a people. He’s failed us in judgement with his choice of Sarah Palin, he has failed us by running an ugly and divisive campaign, he has failed to find an economic policy that is coherent. . . on and on John McCain has failed, but Smerconish does more than merely say McCain has failed, a conclusion many Republicans have come to. He notes that Barack Obama has brought us hope and has inspired us. I daresay Barack Obama has inspired Michael Smerconish.
Where does Michael Smerconish go from here? I listened to him on WPHT on the morning drive today, a first for me. Frankly, the lineup at WPHT sickens me usually, and I need to keep my head clear when I get to work for my students. I can’t afford to subject myself to the stupidity of the WPHT callers so early in the morning. And boy were Smerconish’s callers stupid today. Many even went so far as to suggest that Colin Powell is a traitor, an outcome I predicted yesterday. Will Smerconish get fired from the station? Will he be able to hold his seat as a Republican on David Gregory’s show on MSNBC? Time will tell. Certainly, though, in the face of rabid callers and in the face of potentially losing his job for supporting Barack Obama, Michael Smerconish should be praised, at least a little bit, for backing the right candidate in this Presidential race.
As a final word, I have run across Michael Smerconish a few times down the Jersey shore in the summers. I’ve stood in line with him at ice cream shops and seen him strolling on the street in the town I go to every weekend of the summer. I’ve never stopped Michael Smerconish before to ask him about a column, partly, I suppose, because it would be hard not to berate him. I’ll end that now. Next time I see Michael Smerconish, I intend to introduce myself. Indeed, I plan to send him a link to this column. Heck, I can’t give him a new job when he loses his WPHT gig (and maybe even lose his Philadelphia Inquirer column, given their erratic politics), but I can at least give him an attaboy.
Stay tuned for further adventures of Republican Pundits Gone Wild!
steve, appreciate your thought on “Smerc” — as they refer to him on RTTW H — and hope that you are correct.
(since i didn’t know about him — remember i live on the west coast — until RTTWH came on several months ago, my first thoughts about Smerc is that he was a conservative Dem — his admiration for obama was just too obvious!)
it is unfortunate, then, that — in the eyes of his repug employers — his lack of judgment may end with Smerc being kicked out of the fraternity. it’s obvious, however, that his talented insights in capturing political turns of events will not deter any future employment opportunities.
when the election is over, i would not be surprised to see msnbc repackage RTTWH and make it a daily weekday program
sometimes its format — and the shenanigas of DG to create sparks — is unnerving, but by and large it a program to watch for a take on the day’s politics.
rachel maddow’s show is very good, too, especially her penchant for a take on the events of the day that throws light on things missed by other programs
Maddow is one of my favorites, but she is not like Smerconish, who has wandered in the wilderness of the neocon desert before he came to at least a partial truth. Smerconish for years in Philly seemed to want to join Limbaugh and Ingraham and the others in the neocon pantheon of hate. His listeners are excoriating him for backing away from that dream now.
When I first moved to Philadelphia, I took a listen to Smerconish and was immediately turned off by some of his rhetoric. That was a little over a year ago, and since then I have seen him on Race for the White House and generally found him to be likable. I still don’t listen to his show (I have XM, so I’m all about America Left), but at least he seems to have dropped to neocon act and move over to being a common sense Republican. I’m glad to see him announcing his full support for Obama, and I hope it doesn’t destroy him professionally.
OT, but “Philly” related:
Pa. woman ordered out of chemical-free ‘bubble’.
(Begins): “Ten hours a day, every day, Elizabeth Feudale-Bowes confines herself to a galvanized-steel-and-porcelain shed outside her house. Inside are a toilet, a metal cabinet, a box spring with the metal coils exposed, and a pile of organic cotton blankets. Aluminum foil covers the window. The place is as austere as a prison cell — but it’s also her sanctuary from an outside world that she says makes her violently ill. She and her husband call the structure “the bubble.”
“This bubble, though, may be about to burst: A judge has ordered it taken down by the end of the month.”
Can we say “Theocratic Fascism?”