What do you do when you’re a cable news network struggling to keep up in the ratings? Do you lure viewers away from your competitor with programming that they would want to watch, or alienate those same viewers by insulting their intelligence?
The latter seems to be the strategy for CNN’s Jack Cafferty. Shortly before 5pm EDT on the June 22 The Situation Room, Cafferty made this remark to substitute host John King after reading viewer responses to his question of the hour:
John King, substitute host: "Jack, I’m glad they always tell you exactly what they’re thinking."
Cafferty: "And, and they’re pretty smart, too."
King: "Yes they are, yes they are. Thank you very much–"
Cafferty: "The dumb ones watch Fox."
King [laughing]: "Ouch! Ouch, ouch, that’s going to bring some more e-mail."
Cafferty has not been shy to hide his contempt for Fox News, or the 'F-word network', as he referred to the channel in 2005. As Newsbusters reported in February of this year, Cafferty opined that Vice President Cheney's decision to do a sit-down interview with FNC's Brit Hume was "a little like Bonnie interviewing Clyde." Apparently, Cafferty doesn’t believe that you make more friends with sugar than vinegar.
