# SHOCKING NEWS: Sean Hannity is a Lying Douchebag! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 10, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594 "2009-07-10T18:55:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/61 "2009-07-10T20:48:48Z")
> [@Sinaijon](#): > > Only Walesa seems to give all the credit to Reagan and the US. I can’t watch the clip at the moment, so no comment about whether it is an example of lying or bad editing. But this part of your argument seems problematic. I know he strongly credits Reagan for his support, and there’s no reason to doubt that the US under Reagan played a key role in his success. But whatever he might personally and humbly say about where credit is due, he gets some of the credit, no? ---
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/62 "2009-07-10T20:52:24Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Everything necessary to show how you’ve incorrectly simplified things to you your own advantage is available upthread. I don’t have time right now to run you back through it. > > **RT** , I’ll try to answer later. Regards. I think I see the misunderstanding. You seem to be under the impression that the interviewer simply wanted to characterize the end of the cold war in a particular way, and expecting Obama to just nod. In fact, that’s not how interviews work. The interviewer asks a question, and the interviewee responds. Does that make sense? Okay, so if you watch the video again (please, everything you need to know is contained in the video, it’s not long, please watch it) you’ll see the interviewer asked a question of Obama, which has been interpreted as a demand that Obama give more acknowledgement to the contributions of American presidents. Now, we can do multiple choice and you just select a letter. Do you think A) The interviewer didn’t ask why Obama didn’t give greater weight to America’s leadership? B) The interviewer didn’t expect a response to his statement (which was actually a question, if you watch the clip)? C) The news clip didn’t remove any response by Obama that did give credit to American leadership? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/63 "2009-07-10T20:53:12Z")
[QUOTE=Syntropy] So because I disagree with you I must not have done any research? Okay. I’m sorry, you didn’t mention earlier that you were delusional in addition to being a sanctimonious twat. [/QUOTE] Well, I didn’t realize you were an idiot of biblical proportions, either. So, I guess we were both in error. You seem clueless, but let me try once more…it’s not a matter of disagreement here. Had you said that the US/Reagan had played a less pivotal role, or that the role we played was counter balanced between internal pressures happening in the Soviet Union coupled with pressures by other countries both inside and outside the Iron Curtain, then it would be a debatable point. Saying we played little or no role makes you sound like a fucking idiot. And by posting this little gem I’m willing to go beyond ‘sounds like’ at this point and just go for broke…you are a fucking idiot who doesn’t know what s/he is talking about on this subject and should seriously consider doing some research for future reference. Just some un-friendly advice that I’m sure you won’t take. C’est la vie…you can lead a horse to water, but you really shouldn’t shoot it mid-stream while looking at it’s teeth… > [@](#): > > The Soviet Union did indeed fall due to a myriad of reasons; collapsed economy and corruption within the bureaucracy being the chief among those. Reagan’s speech to ‘tear down this wall’ may still cause conservatives to wet their pants but in truth, it was already over by that time. Couple of things, sparky. First off, I quoted what you ACTUALLY said, and what I was responding too…it’s right in the thread, ehe? You said ‘Reagan and the US had little to no role’. Secondly, you are again missing all of the other stuff the US/Reagan did prior to the ‘tear down this wall’ speech. Yes, the Soviet Union fell for a variety of reasons…and one of the big one’s was it’s competition with the US for the previous 40 odd years to try and be the worlds number one super power. Reagan’s main effect, besides the psychological, was an increase in defense spending that, simply put, pushed the Soviet’s over the edge…they couldn’t keep up and they fell apart trying too. I really could give a shit if you believe any of this or not. Some of it’s debatable, some of it’s pretty solid. What’s really not in question is whether or not the US played a role in bringing down the Soviet’s. The sum total of the US and Reagan’s effect on the situation was not, as you seem to be saying, a silly speech. That was only ONE thing, and a very minor one at that. Anyway, whatever. Have fun storming the castle. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/64 "2009-07-10T20:53:21Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > But whatever he might personally and humbly say about where credit is due, he gets some of the credit, no? Definitely. A very large amount, by my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/65 "2009-07-10T20:56:49Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Obama clearly struggled in coming up with even their last names, and seemed to struggle again in connecting them up with their respective countries. But that isn’t a big deal. Obama can’t know everything about everything, and the struggles of those two countries are several decades old. Obama knows who Havel is and the history of the Prague Spring and Velvet Revolution. Obama met and spoke with Vaclav Havel in the Czech Republic just three months before that interview. > [@](#): > > Barack Obama meets Vaclav Havel > > Before leaving the Czech Republic for Turkey on Sunday evening President Obama met with the icon of the Velvet Revolution, the former Czech president Vaclav Havel. Mr. Havel said he had been greatly impressed by Mr. Obama’s speech in Prague. However he warned Mr. Obama against the excessive hopes that were being pinned on him. Mr. Havel said this was a reflection of his own personal experience. The US president said he was aware of the problem and had already started to notice early signs of it. > **[News](https://english.radio.cz/news)** > > News from the Czech Republic. [Photograph of Obama and Havel](http://www.eu2009.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=15960&newsid=15970&listid=11) [Another one](http://content.usatoday.com/topics/photo/Vaclav+Havel/0eEYbip8b90ul/27) The speech Havel was referring to was the one Obama had made earlier in Hradčany in Prague, where he had this to say: > [@](#): > > We are here today because of the Prague Spring –- because the simple and principled pursuit of liberty and opportunity shamed those who relied on the power of tanks and arms to put down the will of a people. > > We are here today because 20 years ago, the people of this city took to the streets to claim the promise of a new day, and the fundamental human rights that had been denied them for far too long. Sametová Revoluce – (applause) – the Velvet Revolution taught us many things. It showed us that peaceful protest could shake the foundations of an empire, and expose the emptiness of an ideology. It showed us that small countries can play a pivotal role in world events, and that young people can lead the way in overcoming old conflicts. (Applause.) And it proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon. [Speech transcript](http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-By-President-Barack-Obama-In-Prague-As-Delivered/) ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/66 "2009-07-10T20:57:14Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > Can someone please transcribe for those of us at work? Here you go (transcribed by hand, but should be accurate): Interview clip shown on Hannity: > [@](#): > > **Major Garrett** : In your speech this morning, you said, “The Cold War reached its conclusion because of the actions of many nations, over many years.” Mr. President, are the Russians’ sensitivities so fragile that you can’t say the Cold War was won, The West won it, and it was led by a combination of democratic and republican American presidents? > > **Barack Obama** : [T]here were a whole bunch of people throughout Eastern Europe who showed enormous courage, and I think that it is very important in this part of the world to acknowledge the degree to which people struggled for their own freedom. The interview clip not shown on Hannity: > [@](#): > > **Major Garrett** : In your speech this morning, you said, “The Cold War reached its conclusion because of the actions of many nations, over many years.” Mr. President, are the Russians’ sensitivities so fragile that you can’t say the Cold War was won, The West won it, and it was led by a combination of democratic and republican American presidents? > > **Barack Obama** : You just cut out Lech Walesa and the Poles, you just cut out [Vaclav] Havel and the Czechs; there were a whole bunch of people throughout Eastern Europe who showed enormous courage, and I think that it is very important in this part of the world to acknowledge the degree to which people struggled for their own freedom. I’m very proud of the traditions of democratic and republican presidents to lift the Iron Curtain. (I’ve underlined the parts of Obama’s statement that were edited out of Hannity’s clip.) Hannity’s clip continues, with: > [@](#): > > **Barack Obama** : We don’t have to diminish other people in order to recognize our role in that history. Now, Hannity adds his commentary: > [@](#): > > **Sean Hannity** : Unbelievable. Now _that’s_ interesting, because Lech Walesa, the leader of the Polish Solidarity Movement, said this about the end of the Cold War. He said, quote: > > “We in Poland took him [Ronald Reagan] so personally. Why? Because we owe him our liberty. This can’t be said often enough by people who live under oppression for half a century.” – Lech Walesa, Wall Street Journal, June 11 2004 > > Mr. President if I were you, you may to consider hitting the history books maybe before your next foreign trip. I can only hope that **Starving Artist** is defending a different video, because this is really blatant deception. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/67 "2009-07-10T20:59:12Z")
Fascinating. In an attempt to prove Obama is unpatriotic [I guess?], they accidentally proved that he’s ignorant. It’s as though Major ‘n Sean were out shootin’ at some food, and up through the ground came a bubblin’… hmm. That’s not oil. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/68 "2009-07-10T21:01:37Z")
**xtisme** desperately needs a visit from the apostrophe redistribution fairy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/69 "2009-07-10T21:01:53Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Obama clearly struggled in coming up with even their last names, and seemed to struggle again in connecting them up with their respective countries. But that isn’t a big deal. Obama can’t know everything about everything, and the struggles of those two countries are several decades old. My dad will sometimes accidentally call me by my brother’s name, and correct himself afterwards. Obviously, he has no idea who I am. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/70 "2009-07-10T21:05:51Z")
[QUOTE=Spiff] xtisme desperately needs a visit from the apostrophe redistribution fairy. [/QUOTE] You’ll get no argument from me on that score. 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/71 "2009-07-10T21:09:36Z")
> [@](#): > > …Obviously, he has no idea who I am. Oh, that just means you were adopted and nobody likes you. Think nothing of it. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/72 "2009-07-10T21:14:31Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Oh, that just means you were adopted and nobody likes you. Think nothing of it. Ahh ok, that would explain Obama’s hesitance with Walesa, too. Obama adopted him a few years back. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/73 "2009-07-10T21:15:46Z")
> [@](#): > > We in Poland took him [Ronald Reagan] so personally. Why? Because we owe him our liberty. This can’t be said often enough by people who live under oppression for half a century." – Lech Walesa, Wall Street Journal, June 11 2004 FTR, Walesa was eulogizing Reagan following his death that week. Of course, he would emphasize Reagan’s role in Poland’s freedom! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/74 "2009-07-10T21:19:32Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Fascinating. In an attempt to prove Obama is unpatriotic [I guess?], they accidentally proved that he’s ignorant. > > It’s as though Major ‘n Sean were out shootin’ at some food, and up through the ground came a bubblin’… hmm. That’s not oil. I"m sorry, I don’t see where the actual quote from Obama: > [@](#): > > Barack Obama: You just cut out Lech Walesa and the Poles, you just cut out [Vaclav] Havel and the Czechs; there were a whole bunch of people throughout Eastern Europe who showed enormous courage, and I think that it is very important in this part of the world to acknowledge the degree to which people struggled for their own freedom. I’m very proud of the traditions of democratic and republican presidents to lift the Iron Curtain. Makes him look ignorant…??? I especially think that the part where Obama references “in this part of the world” is relevant. In other words, when in Europe, it is diplomatically correct to acknowledge Europe’s contributions to struggling for their own freedoms. How can this be construed in any fashion as ignorant? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/75 "2009-07-10T21:26:59Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > FTR, Walesa was eulogizing Reagan following his death that week. Of course, he would emphasize Reagan’s role in Poland’s freedom! I know what you mean. Just look at the way that people are eulogizing Michael Jackson. Why, if a person didn’t know better they’d think he’d written, sang and produced some excellent music. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/76 "2009-07-10T21:30:50Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I know what you mean. Just look at the way that people are eulogizing Michael Jackson. Why, if a person didn’t know better they’d think he’d written, sang and produced some excellent music. Nope… it’s blatantly obvious now that you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/77 "2009-07-10T21:35:33Z")
So they cut it for time, no big deal there. But Hannity then goes and does what he has a PhD in, and that is insulting the intelligence of anyone with half a brain. He tries so hard to be oh-so-wise-and-funny, and fails almost every time. If I was his agent I’d make him stick to interviews so he couldn’t go off on these asinine, childish excursions. He was much more tolerable when Holmes was around to keep him away from himself. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/78 "2009-07-10T21:36:07Z")
[Transcript of full and Hannity-ized versions here.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/08/sean-hannity-caught-selec_n_228060.html) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/79 "2009-07-10T22:06:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I wish people here would ignore Fox instead of bashing it; but even so, this is dishonest even by your standards. Sorry to nitpick, but that’s impossible. **Starving Artist** _is_ the standard for dishonesty. He sets the bar beyond which others cannot or will not go. He is the _ne plus ultra_ of dishonesty. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594/80 "2009-07-10T23:39:54Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I know what you mean. Just look at the way that people are eulogizing Michael Jackson. Why, if a person didn’t know better they’d think he’d written, sang and produced some excellent music. Damn, you’re right. When people talk about the recently dead, they **never** are over-complimentary. I mean, I know that _I_ always insult the hell out of dead people, so obviously if somebody _compliments_ a dead person, they must have been truly super-wonderiferously awesome! Unless of course they’re democrats - democrats are all spawns of satan and only do bad things, so when people say nice things about them, it’s because other evil democrats are mind controlling them. But republicans? They are truly always more awesome than anyone ever says about them, even their allies and best friends. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shocking-news-sean-hannity-is-a-lying-douchebag/502594.md?page=5)