Imusisms

Money talks, suckers walk, and in the case of Don Imus, the sponsors have spoken.

In the toxic aftermath of the shock jock’s ill-spoken commentary on the athletic attributes of the Rutgers Women’s Basketball squad, it wasn’t Al Sharpton’s usurpation of Les Moonves’ role as head of CBS Radio, nor the cancellation of his TV simulcast by MSNBC that was the undoing of knotty-headed host.

It was the defection of sponsors like Staples and Bigelow Tea, and the ad dollars they control, that proved fatal to Imus’ career with CBS.
This time.

He’ll be back.
Smart money is on a re-emergence on satellite radio, according to Media Columnist Jon Friedman. How poetic it would be to see Imus opposite arch-nemesis Howard Stern on the pay-per-epithet channels.

Ironically, MSNBC ran an on-line poll about the Network and CBS being minus Imus; 51% agreed with the suspension, but that canning the comedian went too far. 22% didn’t think the incident was that big a deal to begin with.

There's other money betting on Imus.
Froggle.com is reportedly doing a land-office business selling items emblazoned with this month's three most-inflammatory words. Bet the guy who thought these up is laughing all the way to the bank.
"Thanks, Don; I owe you."

So Don Imus enters the halls of celebrity infamy in the company of foot-in-mouth stars like the NBA’s Tim Hardaway and his “I hate gays” statement ( I notice he’s still employed), Shaquille O’Neal’s anti-Asian mocking of Yao Ming, "Tell Yao Ming, 'ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh,” (Shaq’s still employed, too); New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s ill-conceived attempt at humor in saying Mahatma Ghandi "used to operate a gas station," and Jesse Jackson’s unforgettable reference to New York as “Haime Town.”

Even The Pope got in on the action last year, quoting a text that some interpretted as derrogatory to Muslims. An Italian nun was murdered in the fallout of that one.
Yep, The Pope is still The Pope.
That infallibility clause in his contract, I suspect.

One of my favorite pundits, Michelle Malkin, accurately observed that we’re turning in to a “Turret’s Nation,”(which I am surprised has not elicited outrage from their lobbyists.)

I think we just need to acknowledge the phenomenon and put a label on it.
“Imusism” comes to mind.
Sounds like Onanism, ironically (look it up), which in this case is probably accurate. After all the jacking around over this saga, we’re left with a waste of talent and a feeling of unfulfillment. No one wins.
Everybody loses.
The ultimate Imusism.