Ed Schultz Lashes Out At Mildly Critical Caller

ANOTHER MELTDOWN

Ed Schultz Can't Tolerate Even Mild Caller Criticism







Is Ed Schultz the most thin-skinned person in all of broadcasting? With yet another on-air meltdown, once again the result of a mildly critical caller, the hotheaded libtalker / MSNBC host has demonstrated that it doesn't take much to set him off.

In March, we tried to warn MSNBC that Schultz was a loose cannon, but of course, they weren't inclined to listen. We've also discussed the fact that Big Eddie has been bought and paid for by the Democratic Party, which makes some distrust him, even from the left.

Finally, we've noted Schultz's floundering MSNBC program, with ratings that only the Weather Channel could envy.


This time, a caller's polite questioning of Schultz's cavalier stance toward the Obama Administration's approval of Hummer's sale to a Chinese firm was all it took to create the latest meltdown. Here's our exclusive clip, with a partial transcript:

SCHULTZ (20:22): Let's go to Drew in Monterey, Calif. You're on the Ed Schultz show. How you doing, Drew?

CALLER: Hey, thanks for taking my call, Ed. I'm deeply disturbed right now. You know, I just turned on your program and I hear you laughing about the fact that we just sold Hummer to China and that we're going to be buying, you know, Hummers from China to get more efficient gas mileage. I mean, I gotta admit, it's good to keep a sense of humor about things, but I do not find anything funny about the United States selling off pieces of its, you know, largest company. Not only are we selling that company, we're selling jobs to China and you're *laughing* about it?

SCHULTZ: Drew, stick it up yours, will ya? There isn't anybody that's fought for American jobs on the radio or on television more than I have. Shove it, buddy! Just shove it!

One behavioral pattern we've noticed is how Schultz seems especially touchy when challenged from the left, which seems to have been the case again here. With some liberals known to distrust him, Ed appears to have his guard up more than usual in these instances.

In broadcasting, these meltdowns represent the textbook definition of bad radio. Is it really that hard to have a civil discussion with a relatively polite caller? In each case, it's Schultz that can't keep his cool, as opposed to the caller, which more frequently occurs in talk radio.

Drew in Monterey had a good point: why is sending Hummer overseas acceptable to Washington's political establishment? Instead of discussing the point, Schultz simply began to hurl insults. That's the mark of a weak performer.



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