Glenn Beck clearly has what it takes to attract an audience. He's been a top five radio host for years at this point, and arguably number three behind Hannity and Rush (Arbitron ratings are largely B.S....).
Its understandable that the far-left doesn't like him--let's face it, they're waiting for the day when they can line up all up against the wall, but you can tell who the left fears the most by where they get criticized.
Beck was often the focus of criticism by media (doesn't) matters and other left-wing media watchers, who were angry with CNN for trying to broaden their viewer base.
Clearly Beck has not lived up to the expectations CNN expressed when they hired him. And his performance over time suggests that there is not much reason to believe that he will improve. A responsible programmer would be seeking to cut their losses. And it’s not as if they don’t have a broad variety of AAA players that could be called up: Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartmann, Rachel Maddow, Stephanie Miller, Sam Seder, Taylor Marsh, Jim Hightower, Laura Flanders, Harry Shearer, or any other of the many distinguished progressive commentators. They could even draft their own Jack Cafferty who has developed a cult following on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.
Clearly it just bugs the hell out of them that anyone exists who contradicts the demented left-wing cosmology. As the saying goes--be careful what you wish for. Beck jumped to Fox last year and debuted his show a month ago to numbers more than triple his HLN audience, demonstrating what the real nature of the problem was--politically polarized audiences. Frankly, I'd have to consult a guide to find HLN on the tuner.
In any case, Beck, with a lousy 5 PM slot that can only be seen on the east coast, is attracting more viewers than all his competitors combined, outperforming Greta Van Susteren and nipping at the heels of Shepherd Smith's show. My mother, a big Beck fan, will shoo me off the phone at three o'clock so she doesn't miss the show.
That kind of success hasn't gone unnoticed, and the fire alarm has been pulled at the politiburo. Beck has graduated from contemptuous dismissal by the media peanut gallery to the big-time: mockery by Stephen Colbert.
You have to be somebody to get the Colbert treatment, so congratulations Glenn Beck--you've made it into the big-time.
