Limbaugh’s comments about Hillary Clinton, aging, and America’s visual culture drew discontent from Whoopi Goldberg who, not giving the king of talk radio any doubt, declared "he was being crappy." When Elisabeth Hasselbeck urged Whoopi to read the transcript, Goldberg claimed to listen to the king of talk radio regularly.
The transcript on Rush Limbaugh's website is not available, but ABC's Jake Tapper offered some context. Rush Limbaugh noted an unflattering picture of Senator Clinton and blamed Hollywood for a culture obsessed with physical appearance. This will subsequently harm Hillary Clinton as she grows older. Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck read the transcript and drew the same conclusion.
In promoting her upcoming special "The Ten Most Fascinating People of 2008," Walters claimed to have enjoyed her interview with the conservative icon even calling him a "good sport."
The entire transcript follows.
JOY BEHAR: Well, let’s see Rush’s interview because he’s so controversial.
BARBARA WALTERS: I picked- what I liked about Rush is that he’s really human with me and let me spar with him. You know, can you imagine $38 million a year? But as he says he’s worth it.
BEHAR: Oh yeah. He’s worth every cent.
[laughter]
WALTERS: You know what? He’s got the viewership. He’s got the viewership. So let us just show you a little part of, of our sparring, okay?
[Begin video]
WALTERS: I want to quote something you said. "Does the country actually want to watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?" You said this about Hillary Clinton.
RUSH LIMBAUGH: Yes.
WALTERS: You have watched me get older on a daily basis.
LIMBAUGH: Right.
WALTERS: Sarah Palin, whom you love, is going to get older on a daily basis.
LIMBAUGH: Yes.
WALTERS: Men get older on a daily basis. What’s with you Rush?
LIMBAUGH: [laughing] You know the context-
WALTERS: I never thought I’d be sitting here doing a number with you.
LIMBAUGH: The context of the statement was how unfair our culture is to aging women versus aging men.
WALTERS: You weren’t fighting our battle.
LIMBAUGH: I was!
WALTERS: No.
LIMBAUGH: I meant it as a comment on our culture in a sympathetic way.
WALTERS: Okay, I will let that go.
[End video]
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Liar! Liar!
[applause]
ELISABETH HASSELBECK: I couldn’t tell if you were going to slap each other or kiss.
WALTERS: He almost never does, does interviews, so it was great fun to- I mean there were other things that we-
SHERRI SHEPHERD: He was getting a little under collar with you.
BEHAR: I think that looks do matter on television. That’s why he’s on radio.
[laughter]
WALTERS: There’s, that’s my Joy! I have to say he was a good sport. I appreciated his coming on with us. He is entertaining.
BEHAR: Yeah.
SHEPHERD: Well, what he said though, you know, he compared the ageism. He used a lot- I was reading, I was reading the- the transcript and he used a lot of comparisons to Hollywood. I don’t know, we’ve never had a woman who, who’s gotten so far that we could make that- that we can say that.
WALTERS: Me!
SHEPHERD: No, no, I’m sorry in politics.
BEHAR: In politics. In politics.
SHEPHERD: Barbara, I’m talking about in politics.
HASSELBECK: I think your point Sherri is that’s important. I think in his transcript he was- it was more of a social commentary in how, you know, we are obsessed with looks and aging and weight and, you know, what is more difficult for a woman. We have had actors come on and say-
GOLDBERG: That’s not what he was doing.
HASSELBECK: -they have a hard time getting roles.
GOLDBERG: Come on, he, he was doing what he does. He, he-
HASSELBECK: Read the transcript.
GOLDBERG: I not only will read the transcript, I listen to him. I listen to him on a daily basis and I’m telling you, he was being- yes- and he was being a little crappy, come on!
BEHAR: Sexist.
GOLDBERG: No, forget the sexist, he was being crappy, yes. He called her several other names that were not attractive.
HASSELBECK: Who, you’re talking Hillary?
GOLDBERG: Yes. When it comes to Hillary Clinton, he was being not a very nice man about it. That’s all I’m saying.
WALTERS: But do you know what else he said about Hillary?
HASSELBECK: He was saying we don’t tolerate aging well in this country and we don’t.
GOLDBERG: That’s not what he was talking about.
HASSELBECK: It is absolutely true.
GOLDBERG: He was not talking about that.
WALTERS: He also said about Hillary that he thought it was such a wise decision of, of Barack Obama to make because now he took her out of the running for president.
BEHAR: Can I just say that, that a lot of what he says is true because- but in this particular environment, people are losing their jobs and we’re worried about the wars on two fronts, and all of this other stuff, looks don’t matter much or Sarah Palin would have won the award for- or would have won the election for John McCain. Madeleine Albright, when you see her, she’s not a beautiful woman and she’s getting older. But you’re saying that woman has gravitas. She knows what she’s talking about.
HASSELBECK: Some people would say that.
BEHAR: I don’t agree with his point. I don’t agree with it.
WALTERS: He would agree, he would agree with you.
HASSELBECK: The fact that we are a look obsessed society? We are a look obsessed society.
GOLDBERG: Well, he made the-
BEHAR: Everybody knows that. It’s nothing new.
GOLDBERG: He made that very clear because he-
BEHAR: And he makes $38 million for that comment.
[laughter]
WALTERS: But that’s one of the reasons we chose him as one of the ten most fascinating people.
GOLDBERG: He’s way fascinating to me.
BEHAR: Well, he’s controversial.
GOLDBERG: He is definitely.
BEHAR: Maybe you should do that show, the ten most controversial people.
