Seemingly unable to tell the difference between a man who affirmatively asserted racist assumptions about the physical abilities of a whole race and a man doing his job by pressing lawyers about a contention in a brief, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd smeared Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: “I couldn’t help but think of Al Campanis on Nightline.”
Ted Koppel, a panelist on Sunday’s show who interviewed Campanis on ABC’s Nightline back in April of 1987, agreed: “You know, it’s funny. I was thinking of Al Campanis too.”
Koppel regretted that “being a Supreme Court justice means never having to say you’re sorry.” A despairing Todd sighed: “No, I guess.” Koppel, as if there should be some sort of a draconian penalty for Scalia daring to say something which Koppel and Todd don’t understand, fretted: “That’s it. He said it. What’s going to happen to him? Nothing.”
Todd again sighed: “No, it was so declarative. There’s a lot of anger.” (Not sure if Todd was bizarrely contending Scalia showed anger or if Todd was referring to anger on the left exacerbated by MSNBC and NBC.)
From Matthew Balan Friday night on NewsBusters: “NBC Plays Up 'Gasps' in Supreme Court After Scalia's Affirmative Action Remarks”
From National Review Online: “Scalia Practices Reason, Not Racism”
On the April 6, 1987 Nightline (video), Campanis, GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers, contended there were no black managers or executives in Major League Baseball because “they may not have some of the necessities to be, let’s say, a field manager, or perhaps a general manager.” He dug himself in further: “Why are black men or black people not good swimmers? Because they don’t have the buoyancy.”
From the Sunday, December 13 Meet the Press:
CHUCK TODD: There was a Supreme Court argument over an affirmative action case with the University of Texas. Let me just play what Antonin Scalia said. It’s caused quite a bit of controversy. Take a listen.
AUDIO OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA (from oral arguments on Wednesday on Fisher vs University of Texas): There are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less advanced school, a slower track school where they do well.
CHUCK TODD:Ted, I couldn’t help but think of Al Campanis on Nightline.
TED KOPPEL: You know, it’s funny. I was thinking of Al Campanis too. And I was thinking both of them had the same problem. It’s generational. He really doesn’t think he is saying anything untoward. This is the kind of thing that someone of Antonin Scalia’s generation has been saying all his life. Al Campanis did the same thing. But the key thing is being a Supreme Court Justice means never having to say you’re sorry.
TODD: No, I guess.
KOPPEL: That’s it. He said it. What’s going to happen to him? Nothing.
TODD: No, it was so declarative. There’s a lot of anger.
