Wednesday, August 11, 2004

I GUESS IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THE DEFINITION OF "McCARTHYISM" IS

...Or, at least, the definition of "question":

When, earlier this year, [Sean] Hannity challenged former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta to produce evidence that he’d "said something that was so false," Mr. Podesta generated 15 examples that he then posted on the Web on June 16 as "The Document Sean Hannity Doesn't Want You to Read."...

[Hannity] moved on to his statement, from Sept. 18, 2003, that "I never questioned anyone's patriotism."

Mr. Podesta had come up with Mr. Hannity asking a guest, "Is it you hate this President or that you hate America?"

"Stanley Cohen, who is the Hamas attorney," said Mr. Hannity. "Do you know who he is? He's the political wing of Hamas, a terrorist organization. 'Is it that you hate the President or that you hate America?' That’s a question. That's not saying 'You're un-American,' which is how I would interpret saying 'You’re un-American.'"

Mr. Hannity sipped his Coke. "It depends on how you say 'questioning one's patriotism,'" he said. "When you ask me if I’m doing that, I'm saying 'You're un-American' ... If I’m asking an inquisitive question, versus saying 'You're un-American' -- I’m not
saying you're un-American, I'm not questioning your patriotism. I don't know if any of these are legitimate quotes anyway. But I stand by that statement."

--New York Observer

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