On Monday's Joy Behar Show on HLN, as host Behar discussed controversial political commentators with guests Phil Donahue and Republican strategist Alex Castellanos, Donahue praised the success of far-left MSNBC hosts Ed Schultz and Keith Olbermann, and lamented not having included a "Worst Person" segment in his short-lived MSNBC show. Donahue: "Worse, worser, worsest, I wish I thought of that. Maybe I would still be on the air. But I`m watching this. I see, first of all, I`m crazy about Ed Schultz, although he`s come a long way without my support. Why he didn`t have a show earlier I don`t know."
Behar played an unusual part as she argued against Donahue from a conservative point-of-view, suggesting that Schultz and Olbermann are "radical," and defending FNC from charges by Donahue that liberal voices who praise President Obama are not included on the news network.
But she ended up agreeing with his claim that primetime shows on FNC -- which he referred to as "shout shows" presumably referring to The O'Reilly Factor and the Hannity show -- do not feature liberal voices, ignoring the regular inclusion of liberals like Juan Williams and Alan Colmes on The O'Reilly Factor, while even on the Hannity show at least one liberal commentator is usually present during the show's nightly "Great American Panel" segment:
PHIL DONAHUE: You will never hear on Fox News a positive comment about Barack Obama because it doesn`t fit the broadcast format.
JOY BEHAR: Well, we hear it from Juan Williams and Mara Liaison on the Chris Wallace show (Fox News Sunday) because they have a panel discussion.
DONAHUE: Well, okay, but talking about night time, the shout shows, the shout shows.
BEHAR: That`s true.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Monday, April 26, Joy Behar Show on HLN, with critical portions in bold:
JOY BEHAR: We`re back and we`re talking politics with Phil Donahue and CNN contributor Alex Castellanos. Okay, you know, a lot of people say that Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are very irrational and very, you know, they`re just bad for the party because they`re so volatile. But on the other side, Phil, you have, what`s his name, Ed Schultz, and you`ve got at MSNBC, you have Keith Olbermann. Are they equal in their volatility and destructiveness?
PHIL DONAHUE: Not at all. I think, first of all, somebody like Ed Schultz, and, by the way, I watch these shows. I used to be there, so I`ve more than a passing interest in this.
BEHAR: Yes.
DONAHUE: I am just totally absorbed by what`s going on. Worse, worser, worsest, I wish I thought of that. Maybe I would still be on the air. But I`m watching this. I see, first of all, I`m crazy about Ed Schultz, although he`s come a long way without my support. Why he didn`t have a show earlier I don`t know.
BEHAR: Is he as bad as the others? He`s radical, too.
DONAHUE: How is he radical?
BEHAR: I`m just giving you what they say about him.
DONAHUE: Ed Schultz pushes back against the Obama administration, against the President himself, against the Democratic whips in Congress. He pushes back. You will never hear on Fox News a positive comment about Barack Obama because it doesn`t fit the broadcast format.
BEHAR: Well, we hear it from Juan Williams and Mara Liaison on the Chris Wallace show because they have a panel discussion.
DONAHUE: Well, okay, but talking about night time, the shout shows. The shout shows.
BEHAR: That`s true.
DONAHUE: You know, for-
BEHAR: Do you think it`s racism that`s behind all the attacks on Obama?
CASTELLANOS: No, no. I think most folks knew he was a black man when they elected him President of the United States.
BEHAR: But this, what about this birther bill that is requiring all presidential candidates to produce their birth certificate before getting on the Arizona ballot. What is up with Arizona?
CASTELLANOS: Well, if Arnold Schwarzenegger came up and said he was running for President and you said okay, would you check? If I`m driving a car, they make you produce a driver`s license.
