The 'Conservative' Geraldo Rivera? Only in the NY Times

A New York Times story on Friday by young Atlanta-based reporter Robbie Brown, "Mississippi Mayor Facing Trial Dies After Election Loss," dealt with the death of Frank Melton, the controversial mayor of Jackson, Miss., and included a bizarre characterization of Fox News host Geraldo Rivera:

Less than two days after he lost his bid for re-election, and four days before he was to go on trial, the mayor of Jackson, Miss., died early Thursday, city officials said....Mr. Melton was known for his flashy, hands-on approach to combating urban crime. He carried a police badge, two guns, a bulletproof jacket and a large stick while personally patrolling Jackson's toughest streets, although he was not certified as a member of the Police Department. This approach earned him a national reputation and the support of conservatives like the Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera.

Brown evidently doesn't watch much Geraldo, who was a passionate defender of Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky controversy and resulting impeachment, and had this to say about Obama and Republicans on his Fox program "Geraldo at Large" on March 29, 2008:

He is a wonderful candidate and I'd be proud to vote for him in every regard, just about. I think he's a terrific guy. But I have no doubt in my mind, having lived through the David Dinkins-Rudy Giuliani bare-knuckled campaign for the mayor of New York, that certain people....I'm talking about white people, basically. They are gonna go into the secrecy of that polling place, they're gonna remember Reverend Wright, they are going to be affected in a negative way. And I think that it will make Barack Obama's success in the campaign for the White House extremely difficult.

Sounds like a real rock-ribbed conservative to me.