Friday, January 11, 2008

Andy Albertini Hates Saving for College

It seems to me that conservative talk show hosts get more arrogant the longer that they are on the air. I've seen this happen over the years again and again (to be fair, it might happen to liberal talk show hosts too, but there really aren't any of those who stick around long enough to see a change). Charleston talk radio host Andy Albertini is a perfect example and is a work in progress.

When Andy first hit the airwaves after the demise of Jerry Waters he seemed to be a reasonable person most of the time, but the longer he stays on (and I have to admit, I am very surprised he is still on) the more of a blow-hard he becomes. This morning he pontificated for quite some time about the evils of "529s". He talked about the genesis of 529s and how liberals had used them for all kind of improper political gain. He pointed at the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act as the reason he could not vote for John McCain because that was the act of congress that created 529s. He went on and on. He must have said the number "529" thirty times in about two minutes as he worked himself into a frenzy about this great evil that has been perpetrated on the citizenry.

What's wrong with saving for college, Andy?

Just yesterday I heard him talking about being proud of having and paying student loans with which he paid for his education. Does he think that debt-financed education is better than that which is saved for? What a non-neo-con position that is!

This is just inexplicable, unless Andy was wrong. Nah, couldn't be. At the very moment I am writing this he is talking on the radio about how he is always right; a subject introduced by the "Mr. Know-it-All" fanfare from the "Rocky and Bullwinkle Show."

Of course, he coud have meant "527" which is the IRS designation for certain politcal action committees, the creation of which was provided for by McCain-Feingold. But wouldn't that mean he was wrong about something?

Now I don't mean to bust Andy's chops too much, but I would like to use this incident to point out to him and his fan that people sometime mispeak. If Hillary Clinton, John Edwards or any other Democrat/Liberal would have committed this same faux pax he would have railed about how out of touch and stupid they were.

Intellectual honesty: It's what's lacking in talk radio.

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