They say that imitation is the sincerest form of plagiarism.
Fox News commentator Sean Hannity has therefore paid tribute to Keith Olbermann with a segment on his new Sunday night Fox New Channel show. While Olbermann’s Worst Person in the World segment targets politicians, common criminals and businesses with a dash of humor, Hannity’s Enemy of the State segments are more narrowly focused and lack even a hint of humor.
During the segment’s debut on Sunday, Hannity targeted actor Sean Penn. According to Hannity, Penn had disparaged him and called for the impeachment of several members of the Bush administration. No specifics were offered, thus leaving viewers to wonder when the alleged incidents occurred. Penn has played political piñata for conservative commentators for several years now.
More disturbing than the content of the statement is the title of the segment itself. Olbermann’s title is deliberate over-the-top hyperbole. Enemy of the State is a phrase with unfortunate connotations of totalitarian regimes. Pick a dictator – any dictator. Haven’t they all at one time designated somebody as an enemy of the state? And including whatever remarks Penn may have made against Hannity raises another question: Does Hannity have some role in the government that we don’t know about?
I have a couple of alternate titles for Hannity’s new segment. He might try Hannity’s Hit List or Hannity’s Inanity. Viewers or Hannity himself could add the letter S to the second word of each title if they thought that was appropriate.
In the meantime, Enemy of the State will remain a mean-spirited, poorly executed copy of the original.