Apologies and Eulogies In The Morning

Don Imus returned to the airwaves Monday morning on New York's WABC-AM, broadcasting from a local theater. Imus spent 15 minutes apologizing for the umpteenth time for the racially insensitive (not to mention unfunny) remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team, which got him fired from his previous jobs at CBS Radio and MSNBC.

Then he said: "The program is not going to change . . . Dick Cheney is still a war criminal. Hillary Clinton is still Satan. And I'm back on the radio."

Imus introduced his new cast, including Karith Foster and Tony Powell, who just happen to be African-American. In the two-and-a-half hours we saw, Foster contributed not much more than an FCC-friendly standup routine (which meant it wasn't all that funny), and Powell is the resident sports guy. Holdovers included Charles McCord (who demonstrated why you shouldn't do newscasts in front of a live studio audience--unless your name is Garrison Keillor) and a Bill Clinton impersonator, presumably there to tell us why Hillary is not Satan.

Some of Imus' guests who bailed on him during the controversy have chosen to forgive and forget. Appearing on Monday's show were presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, political polar opposites (and married couple) James Carville and Mary Matalin, and Republican presidential candidate John McCain. The Arizona Senator (whom Imus says he's supporting--for now) appeared via phone to dodge Imus' persistent questions about whether he thinks gays should be in the military. It should be noted that Imus has had politicians from both parties on his show in the past, one of the few national radio hosts who still do that sort of thing.

In addition to WABC, the new "Imus In The Morning" is syndicated by Citadel Broadcasting's ABC Radio Networks to 17 stations. There is also a TV simulcast on RFD, a rural-oriented satellite channel whose programming is of little interest to city slickers. Fast-forwarding through the commercials, however, we noticed that Ralph Emery and Crook and Chase--who used to have shows on The Nashville Network before they dumped country and became Spike TV, the home of "CSI" reruns and Ultimate Fighting--are still on the air at RFD.

The circumstances that got Imus fired in the first place was supposed to lead to a national discussion of race relations in America, such as why African-Americans can use the N-word in normal conversation and white people can't, or the negative effects of rap music on black women. There was a discussion, confined mostly to Larry King's and Oprah Winfrey's shows, before the Imus story faded from the headlines. Then it was back to business as usual.

On the same day as Imus' return to radio, a memorial service was held in Miami for pro football player Sean Taylor, who was killed during a botched home invasion at the age of 24. While those who mourned Taylor painted a picture of a young man who had turned his life around, the news media, noting Taylor's past transgressions on and off the field, made it sound as though he had gotten what he deserved--which wasn't true. Also, because the suspects police picked up happened to be African-American, people seem to be shrugging this off as another example of black-on-black crime.

Don Imus may be back on the radio a presumably changed man, but Sean Taylor won't get another chance. The world hasn't changed that much.