Radio host thrives on Savage attacks

[Guest $iLk]

New York Daily News

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WOR evening host Michael Savage gets pretty good numbers for a guy who, over 10 years in radio, may have antagonized half the world.

The latest estimate by Talkers magazine is that Savage has more than 8.5 million listeners a week, tying him with Howard Stern as the third-most listened-to host in America, behind Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

On WOR, 6-9 p.m. nightly, his show has inched ahead of WABC (770 AM) - the only WOR show to do so.

He didn't do this moderately.

Liberals? His latest best-selling book is unsubtly titled, "Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder."

He likes some of President Bush's policies until you get to immigration and Iraq, battles Savage charges Bush is too lily-livered to win.

In 2003, gay groups helped kill Savage's MSNBC show by convincing sponsors to leave after he told a caller, "I hope you get AIDS and die."

He said he didn't know his mic was live.

He jabs other talk hosts, including Hannity and Limbaugh, whom he sometimes calls "Hush Bimbo" - though he says it's not personal, just political.

"They sell themselves short when they swallow and spit out the Republican line," he said. "To them, everything Bush does is great. How is that humanly possible, to agree with someone about everything? They lose credibility. Plus, it's boring."

Savage calls himself a "true conservative" who would "practice random acts of violence" in countries that harbor terrorists and round up all immigrants who don't support America.

Some call this bigotry that promotes a dangerous us-and-them mentality.

"More and more people see I'm right," Savage said.

And oh, by the way, he also enjoys both argument and competition.

For instance, he loves being ahead of WABC, which dropped him in 2003 when he left its sister KFSO in San Francisco.

"What ABC did was outrageous," he said. "Not to mention stupid. So this is sweet."

Savage traces his fighting spirit in part to his youth.

"I went to school in the Bronx," he recalled. "Going to the bathroom and getting out alive was a major victory. That's also where I started talking fast."

And being funny.

"That's one of his strengths," said Talkers editor Michael Harrison. "He mixes contemporary politics with old-fashioned Borscht Belt humor. He can be deadly serious or he can be playing with you. Sometimes it takes people a while to realize that."

"I take things to an extreme sometimes," Savage said, "to make a point."

And if a fight breaks out, well, that's okay, too, as long as it stays on the radio.

"A guy came to my table at dinner the other night and insulted me," he said. "I got up and left. I said, 'I know where this is going,' and if it does, I'm the one who's going to end up in jail."

He doesn't brood over things like that, he says, though he admits he occasionally thinks it would be fun to get back on TV.

"I'd do it differently this time," he said. "Radio talk doesn't work on TV. I'd do a variety show. I'd set it in a bar, with good-looking women and dogs walking around. I'd be the bartender. Uncle Mike. We'd talk like people talk in a bar.

"With maybe a little politics."

Originally published on August 17, 2005

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He jabs other talk hosts, including Hannity and Limbaugh, whom he sometimes calls "Hush Bimbo" - though he says it's not personal, just political.

"They sell themselves short when they swallow and spit out the Republican line," he said. "To them, everything Bush does is great. How is that humanly possible, to agree with someone about everything? They lose credibility. Plus, it's boring."

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[Guest]

I listen to 3 show during the day, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Medved, and then Michael Savage.

And when did I say that everything that Bush does is great?

[Guest $iLk]

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And when did I say that everything that Bush does is great?

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Strawman Jag... I didn't list your name anywhere in my OP. I quoted Michael Savage for Emphasis.

[John Prezioso]

Rush has not been very "Ra-Ra Republican" lately, at least not to the extent he used to be. He often gets on them for being wimps and not standing up to Kennedy and Pelosi.

And Savage is anything BUT "ra-ra" when it comes to either political parties. He gives Bush credit where credit is due, but no more. He is as critical of Bush as anyone, when he is wrong.

I tend to think he focuses a little too much on the doom and gloom, but he is nothing if not entertaining.

The point is, if Jag listens to these guys, he's not just getting fed the "Republican line" as it were.

[John Prezioso]

And why do keep calling Jag a scarecrow?

Strawman n.: an effigy in the shape of a man to frighten birds away from seeds [syn: scarecrow, straw man, bird-scarer, scarer]

[Guest $iLk]

Etymology:

"Straw man" is one of the best-named fallacies, because it is memorable and vividly illustrates the nature of the fallacy. Imagine a fight in which one of the combatants sets up a man of straw, attacks it, then proclaims victory. All the while, the real opponent stands by untouched.

[Ben Zwycky]

It's a philosophical/ debating term, attacking the straw man= creating a weakened parody of what the other person is saying and critisising that instead of reponding to his actual points

see here

[John Prezioso]

Hmmm.... maybe I should be more clear when I'm being sarcastic.

Oh well, I guess I'll keep my day job since comedy is not my forte!