Imus Let Us Down

NJ.com columnist Fran Wood is raising a question many Imus fans have been asking since Friday.  Why put Tim Russert back on the show?  Sure, we're all trying to move on from what happened in April, but Tim Russert?   He was the biggest cowards of them all (in more ways than one.)

Wood writes: "What Russert did was calculated. He put his finger to the wind, sensed there was a gale force blowing against Imus, and went with it.  Does that mean Imus can't forgive him? Of course not. He could put it on a billboard. But the fact you've established a polite working relationship with a colleague who stabbed you in the back doesn't mean you start inviting him over for dinner."

Wood goes on to say, "To my ears, Russert's appearance Friday added nothing, at best echoing political analysis supplied earlier by Pat Buchanan and George Stephanopolous. But maybe that's just me. Frankly, I was tired of "Meet the Press" and Big Russ long before Little Russ threw Imus under the bus."

CLICK HERE for the full article.

We couldn't agree more.  Having Russert back on the show was a huge dissapointment for us here at IMUSTRUTH.   The cranky old cowboy let us down.  We love the new I-man, but in cases like this, we really miss the old one.

Brian Williams suggested Imus go to Iraq to "change the subject;" Claims he didn't really know Imus

The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz writes in his new book "Reality Show," that NBC anchorman Brian Williams felt it hard to defend Imus during the Rutgers controversy because "they had no off-air relationship," and because Williams had only met Imus in person twice.

The Kurtz book, which hit bookstores today, claims Williams spoke to Imus on the telephone during the controversy, suggesting Imus travel to Iraq to "change the subject."

Kurtz writes, "The truth was, Imus remained an enigma.  Williams didn't really know him.  They had met twice and spoken on the phone three or four times, but Imus seemed to be the wizard behind the curtain.  Some of the crude talk on the show had always made him wince, and it was hard for him to defend Imus from these charges of racism and sexism, Williams felt, because they had no off-air relationship."

Kurtz reports Williams called Imus at home after Williams visited the Rutgers campus to interview the team's coach and players. 

Kurtz writes, "Williams was disappointed that Imus was offering the same defenses that he had been making on the air, but found him to be contrite.  Williams told Imus that he should visit Iraq, that such a trip would be a valuable experience for him and help him change the subject.  But it was not a good phone call.  The man seemed close to despondent."

Kurtz also details the internal battle over Imus at NBC News, reporting that NBC news president Steve Capus had gotten advice from Tom Brokaw during the controversy.  Kurtz says Brokaw felt Imus was not getting adequate credit for his charitable endeavors.

Kurtz's book devotes 2 1/2 pages to Imus' firing, mostly from the perspective of NBC's Williams.  It finishes by saying the whole thing had been painful for Williams to watch, but that Williams felt "Imus had always done things his own way and in the end he paid the price."