Time Magazine once again brings us their list of the 100 most influential people of the year. And once again they include some sour notes that evoke a tortured combination of laughter and groans. By naming Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck as "most influential" Time is courageously cutting against the grain. After all, Palin received the Lie of the Year award from Politifact last year. And Beck was Media Matters' Misinformer of the Year. But perhaps the funniest part of this year's worst honorees is the people selected to honor them.
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Sarah Palin, number nine on the list, received an adoring tribute from the Motor City Jackass, Ted Nugent. Palin must be so proud to be praised by the has-been rocker whose last album featured a woman in bondage, on a platter like a pig, with a hand grenade stuck in her mouth. Also, during the last presidential campaign Nugent said this while brandishing a couple of assault weapons:
Nugent: I was in Chicago last week I said, "Hey Obama, you might want to suck on one of these, you punk?" Obama, he's a piece of shit and I told him to suck on one of my machine guns. Let's hear it for them. I was in New York and I said, "Hey Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset you worthless bitch." Since I'm in California, I'm gonna find Barbara Boxer she might wanna suck on my machine guns. Hey, Dianne Feinstein, ride one of these you worthless whore.
Ted Nugent was obviously the best qualified person to represent the political philosophy of Palin, especially her commitment to equal rights and respect for women. In his commentary he even had the guts to praise Palin for her "herculean work ethic," by which he must mean her decision to quit halfway through the gubernatorial post to which she was elected so that she could stuff her pockets full of cash.
Glenn Beck (#12) got an even more fitting tribute from an even bigger jackass - Sarah Palin. Beck was lauded by Palin as a "history buff," and "America's professor of common sense." That's mighty high praise coming from someone who couldn't cite a single magazine that she read, and who thinks that the Constitution gives the vice-president authority over the Senate.
"Glenn's like the high school government teacher so many wish they'd had, charting and connecting ideas with chalk-dusted fingers — kicking it old school — instead of becoming just another talking-heads show host."
Excuse me, Sarah. But Glenn Beck IS just another talking-heads show host. What exactly do you think he does for a living? And I don't know anyone who wishes they had Beck as high school government teacher. Certainly not anyone who was actually interested in learning. There may have been some who thought he would be an easy grader since he wouldn't have known any of the correct answers himself. And if his fingers were dusted with anything, it would have been cocaine.
Nevertheless, Time has seen fit to honor both Palin and Beck. It's hard to see what Time regards as influential when both of these people have higher unfavorable ratings than favorable, and most of the country/world pays them no attention at all. Even a majority of Republicans think that Palin is unqualified to be president and Fox News left Beck off of their new ad promoting the network as "The Most Powerful Name In News."
But that's Time Magazine and the liberal media for ya.