# Bob Novak chickens out of debating Eric Alterman **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 27, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785 "2005-05-27T17:57:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/21 "2005-05-30T06:00:16Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > _This_ I gotta see a cite for. I think it’s an error. I remember Franken discussing in _Big Fat Idiot_ how (as near a direct quote as I remember) “everytime Rush has travelled out of his little womb of a studio it has been a disaster”. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/22 "2005-05-30T14:19:05Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > You could always read [Alterman on Goldberg](http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:jTxmSK_ui1sJ:www.thinkingpeace.com/Lib/lib015.html+%22bernard+goldberg%22+arguments+book+-townhall&hl=en)😃 Wow. Thanks for the link. I hadn’t read “Bias,” and after reading Alterman’s review, I’m not sure why anyone should. I wonder if **Bricker** can offer any insight from the Goldberg book or elsewhere as to where Alterman got it wrong. Anyone who rejects the idea of needing to support their assertions with any sort of evidence, as it is claimed that Goldberg did, should be laughed out of the room, not feted. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/23 "2005-05-31T06:18:25Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > Wow. Thanks for the link. I hadn’t read “Bias,” and after reading Alterman’s review, I’m not sure why anyone should. You might want to start a new thread on this. There are some folks on the SDMB who will gladly testify to Bernie Goldberg as being the second-greatest truth-teller in history (right after either Moses or Rush Limbaugh), but they might not be aware that their idol is being discussed in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/24 "2005-05-31T08:42:59Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I seem to remember Al Franken admitting that Rush Limbaugh would clobber him in a debate. So he settled for flaying Limbaugh alive in print. Right. _Cite_? Limbaugh has a better chance of scoring Oxycontin from Betty Ford than he would in debating Franken. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/25 "2005-05-31T16:41:09Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I think it’s an error. I remember Franken discussing in _Big Fat Idiot_ how (as near a direct quote as I remember) “everytime Rush has travelled out of his little womb of a studio it has been a disaster”. Actually, Franken’s book is where I remember seeing an admission to the effect that he wouldn’t fare well in a confrontation with Limbaugh. I’ll see if I can find it in my copious spare time. Some people just don’t have prime debate skills. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785.md?page=1)