Howard Stern Wrong

Politicians all make mistakes, but not all own up to them

For the many among us who don't fully understand the complicated high-level web of domestic affairs and foreign policies, a sex scandal provides a means to evaluate our national politicians. We all have personal lives, and we all have standards for how we conduct our personal lives that we often export to others — including our elected leaders. That's why a sex scandal is great fodder for the press.

John Edwards' recent indictment was based around his personal life, but he is practically out of the political spotlight. Criticizing a defunct politician is simply no good. Anthony Weiner, however, is a different story. Weiner was an upwardly mobile politician. His name had been associated with the job of running New York City, which brings a tremendous deal of political notoriety. Thus, unlike Edwards, Weiner has something to lose.

Although the weeks of confronting allegations showed that Weiner was committed to trudging through the mess he had made, he resigned. Common wisdom and reports suggest that Weiner's actions would bring a political bulls eye to the Democratic party, and as such he was a liability not necessarily to himself but to his party in the upcoming election. Therefore, it seems very likely that Weiner was asked to go rather than make the decision himself. But in the end it was his decision to respond to the pressure to resign.

Weiner's resignation speech was a hard speech to give. If you've ever taken a public speaking class, the nerves you feel as you give your first speech cannot even possibly compare to that experience. However, Weiner was no novice and he battled through a heckler, who attempted to belittle the congressman. However, the identity of the heckler shows that he was there just simply to distract Weiner or to steal the spotlight. The heckler was a part of the infamous Howard Stern radio show. While the heckling was shocking, in retrospect such antics might be expected from the Stern show. Weiner, however, battled through the disruption as he had battled through the past three weeks. Although the situation Weiner faced was the result of his own poor actions, he had to endure a setting that no one would ever want to face. The heckler made that even worse. Just perhaps it might drive some sympathy towards Weiner, whose actions do not deserve sympathy.

A good resignation speech does just that, gain sympathy. It's a remarkable aspect of political scandals that the very individual responsible for the ills of democracy through their misconduct is the very same person who alleviates those very ills. For all his actions, Weiner stood up and removed the problem, which was himself. Conventional social norms show that the pictures Weiner posted were wrong and it was even worse when it was revealed that his wife was pregnant. However, conventional social norms also suggest that when your caught, take responsibility. Such actions often make something bad into something good (or at least not so bad). So while Weiner's initial actions were wrong, one could not claim that his final actions were wrong. In fact, they may be something worthy of restrained praise--especially when confronting a joking heckler at such a somber event.

Aflac was wrong to fire Gilbert Gottfried, Howard Stern says ...

Aflac shouldn't have been shocked that Gilbert Gottfried sent out insensitive tweets, shock jock Howard Stern said Tuesday morning.

Gottfried, who provided the duck voice for the insurance company's mascot in commercials, was shot down by Aflac   Monday after the comedian tweeted a slew of cringeworthy jokes about the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan, sparking outrage and eventually Gottfried's termination.

Although Gottfried may have had a long and successful career in voiceover work, most notably as Iago, the parrot in Disney's "Aladdin," Stern said Aflac should have been aware of the darker, more adult side of the often-abrasive jokester.

"When the Aflac people hired him to be the Aflac duck, they knew all of this," Stern, who is no stranger to being fired over offensive comments, said Tuesday on his radio show on Sirius XM. "They know this is an offensive guy. This is a guy whose humor is offensive. He's made fun of every disaster I've ever heard.... How does a company like that then all of the sudden say: 'Oh! The comments you made about Japan!' ... There's NO reason for him to be fired. To be fired for offensiveness? He should have never been hired then."

Aflac, however, seemed comfortable Monday distancing itself from the actor while releasing him from any further work as the duck voice. "Gilbert's recent  comments about the crisis in Japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at Aflac," Michael Zuna, a senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a statement Monday. "Aflac Japan -- and, by extension, Japan itself -- is part of the Aflac family, and there is no place for anything but compassion and concern during these difficult times."

Gottfried, who is poised to release his first book in April, "Rubber Balls and Liquor," went back on Twitter Tuesday after Stern's defense and apologized in a series of tweets for his behavior. "I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by my attempt at humor regarding the tragedy in Japan," he wrote around 11 a.m. Pacific Time.

Later he followed it up with another tweet to clarify his feelings even further. "I meant no disrespect, and my thoughts are with the victims and their families."

-- Tony Pierce

Seriously, I could do that Aflac duck voice. "!AFLAC!!". There. Pay me...

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