Brand Stench by Association?

It remains to be seen whether Don Imus will keep his job. Major advertisers are heading for the hills, including Proctor & Gamble, Bigelow Tea and Staples. But to me, the more interesting parlor game over the next few weeks will be watching which of Don Imus’s regular sparring partners (Tim Russert, Bob Schieffer, Senator John McCain, to name only a few of the radio host’s regular political and journalistic A-list ) will remain as his call-in buddies.

As The Washington Post asks today:

Imus has often joked about the need to provide a few minutes of buffer
– "a window of purity," he calls it — between these guests and the
raunchier segments on his weekday morning show, which is syndicated by
CBS Radio and simulcast on MSNBC. But after the furor over the host’s
remarks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team, that window has
slammed shut. Regular guests are now faced with a dilemma: jettison a
longtime relationship, or be associated with a show now widely regarded
as disreputable?

Everyone is hedging–citing friendship–as Bob Schieffer did:

" ‘Will I go back on?’ said Schieffer, who called Imus’s description of the team as "nappy-headed hos" indefensible. ‘If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have anything to do with them. But
I’m not going to sever a relationship with someone who has apologized
for what he said. He’s my friend. I hate what he did, but he’s still my
friend.’

It seems to me that we’ve developed an acceptable duck and run response to the morally reprehensible comments flowing ever-more freely these days. We apologize, do a few mea culpas with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and go on.

When is enough enough? It’s time to hold Don Imus and everyone else who makes racist, sexist "jokes" accountable.