TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Beck Dismisses Liberal, Conservative Labels

ADVERTISEMENT

By WALT BELCHER wbelcher

@tampatrib.com

Published: January 19, 2009

Glenn Beck says he is tired of the divisive politics of the left and the right.

And he admits that he has done his share of adding fuel to that fire.

He says the labels of "liberal" and "conservative" just paint people into boxes, and "I have helped paint them - how stupid of me."

So will it be a kinder, gentler, middle-of-the road Beck who returns to television today?

Well, don't expect him to start singing "Kumbaya" and hold hands with Barbra Streisand.

Nah, Beck is Beck. He's not going to alienate the viewers of Fox News Channel where his new talk show debuts at 5 p.m. His first guest is Gov. Sarah Palin, beamed in live from Alaska.

Even though the former GOP vice presidential candidate has been on a tear lately about how she was unfairly portrayed in the media during the campaign, she's probably heading into friendly territory on the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration.

During a recent telephone interview, Beck said he wants to be a champion of common sense. "I'm a passionate guy who says what he thinks," he said.

"It's not about being a liberal or a conservative; it's about having principles," he continued. "It's about hard work, honesty and integrity and I believe in those things."

Beck, who got his radio talk show start at WFLA, 970 AM, says he's a little concerned about his new show because he is going to say things that aren't being heard on the other talk shows on CNN and Fox News Channel.

He also broke into long, excited rants about the dangers of America becoming a "giant nanny state" with government bailouts for every failed business and how no one is willing to accept responsibility.

It was vintage Beck. He shouldn't be concerned. His fans won't be disappointed.

LOOKING GOOD: Tampa salesman Joel Rush faces more ethical tests tonight on the third installment of ABC's "True Beauty" at 10 p.m.

The beautiful contestants are secretly tested on compassion and sportsmanship involving a photo session while performing one of four sports activities: volleyball, tennis, basketball and karate.

NBC RENEWALS: NBC has announced renewals for "30 Rock," "The Office" and "The Biggest Loser" for 2009-10. Network officials also said that "Heroes" is probably safe.

MORE 24: Last Sunday's two-hour debut of "24" on Fox averaged 12.5 million viewers. That was up a little from November's prequel TV movie "Redemption" (12.1 million), but down 21 percent from the program's 2007 series premiere. It came in third behind NBC's Golden Globes telecast and ABC programming that included "Desperate Housewives."

The second half of the "24" debut last Monday drew about 12.3 million, coming in a respectable second to the CBS comedies.

IDOL CHATTER: Last week's debut episodes of "American Idol" average around 30 million viewers, down 10 percent from last year and more than 20 percent from 2007. But still that's a huge number these days.

OZZY & HARRIED: The weirdest project on the drawing board has to be "Osbournes Reloaded," a comedy/variety show starring Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Billed as a sort of kooky "Sonny & Cher," it will get a test run on Fox this spring. The Osbourne kids, Jack and Kelly, are involved, too.

The comic potential of the Osbournes was discovered on their MTV reality series that ended in 2005. Sharon has been a judge on "America's Got Talent" and Ozzy continues to perform at rock concerts. He also is featured as a mumble-mouthed loon in a hilarious TV commercial for Samsung cell phones.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

"House," 8 p.m., Fox

On this new episode, House treats a man whose constant pain mirrors House's condition.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT