Thoughts on NPR's firing of Juan Williams

I'm a big fan of National Public Radio, in fact I listen to it every single day, but I'm dismayed at their handling of the recent Juan Williams situation. They played directly into the hands of the right wing and the ilk at Fox by making themselves look the like the politically correct "thought police".

Unless you've been living in a cave for the last four days, you're probably already familiar with what Juan Williams said on Fox News and NPR's response. (If you don't know what happened, why are you reading this?). I didn't particularly like what Juan Williams said on Fox (essentially, he stated that people he sees in airports, dressed in Muslim garb, make him "nervous"), although compared to some of the stuff that passes for political discourse on that network, it wasn't THAT egregious. (The readers of this blog, if there are any, may wish to argue that point).

The broader issue is the aftermath of Williams' comments, and I did have a problem with NPR's handling of the situation. Apparently, NPR has a policy that their journalists and commentators must remain neutral, which seems ridiculous (and, for that matter disingenuous, since I've noticed NPR folks like Neal Conan, Terri Gross, and Diane Rehm expressing their opinions on subjects--and what's wrong with that anyway?). In any case, was Juan Williams really representing NPR when he appeared on Fox? Couldn't NPR simply have issued a disclaimer stating that Juan Williams was speaking as an individual when he appeared on Fox, and his opinions did not necessarily represent those of National Public Radio?

Does NPR simply have an axe to grind with Juan Williams? Are they angry that he has the audacity to appear on Fox News in the first place? (I never had a problem with Juan Williams appearing on Fox News, as it provided NPR the opportunity to reach out to a more politically diverse--i.e. conservative--community. Why not present yourselves as willing to reach out to a constituency not generally associated with National Public Radio?).

The fallout has been sharp criticism of NPR from many different sides, which is deserved. What is not deserved, but not surprising, is the cries from the right that NPR should have it's funding cut. This is, of course, completely ridiculous. I have no problem with a rebuke, but NPR still provides easily the best radio programming anywhere. (Of course, that is an opinion coming from a bleading heart liberal like myself, so take it with a grain of salt).

With left-leaning politicians taking a beating this year, and with elections only eleven days away, this sort of negative publicity for NPR is ill-timed. It's just the sort of ammunition the right needs to reinforce, to the American people, how "out-of-touch" the left is, as exemplified by the "elitists" at National Public Radio who profess to open-minded discourse but dump one of their own if he does not toe the company line. (If you haven't noticed, I'm putting words in their mouths--but I'm pretty sure that's how people like Bill O'Reilly and Fox will spin this fiasco).

The big winner in this is...drum roll, please...Juan Williams. Nobody need feel any sympathy for Juan. He just signed a two million dollar contract with Fox and is better known now than at any time in his long career.