Poor Andy Rooney. It’s easy enough to make fun of him as a commentator who makes millions writing ’60 Minutes’ pieces about the contents of his desk drawer, or whether women make better lawn mowers than men. But things get even worse when Andy tries to make a serious point.
I found myself rubbing my eyes tonight as Rooney began to make a cogent, if simplistic, argument about the misuses of patriotism – to hawk products and advertise the Olympics. Then he had to go screw it up with this jaw-droppingly clueless ending:
“The rest of the world doesn’t like the way we behave as if no one else’s country is as good as ours and we ought to stop acting that way ? even if we’re right.”
Way to make your own point, Andy.
Actually, it seems to me that thisis the viewpoint of most Americans, though if it really wasn’t good in some way, nobody’d believe that, would they? I’m not sure if thats a bad thing or not. Possibly its a good thing if you can really believe that your country is the best in the world (whether it is or not).
I have a whole bunch to say about this but it was too long for your comments thing so I posted it to my blog
What kind of sado-masochist are you that you keep watching that doofus?
Come on man! Yuo remind me of the guy who gets hit in the head with the dodgeball then tosses it back to the bully after each time when you discuss Rooney.
I love Andy Rooney. It’s going to be a very, very sad day when he dies. He’s one of the last great satirists (even the last sentence of his last commentary was purely and ingeniously satirical), and poor Charles Grodin isn’t even qualified to wash his socks.
I hope to god you’re kidding, Jon-Jon.
It could mean that my brain is rotting, that I need to start a regiment of psychoactive drugs, or that I’m just getting old and stodgy before my time, but somehow — even if he doesn’t really mean it — Rooney’s monologues effectively scratch my itch for good satire. Unfortunately, he’s usually preaching to the converted, since who watches 60 Minutes, anyway?
Rooney’s hard hitting reportage of the war is some of the best on tv, despite the war being over fifty seven years ago. Besides, what other octo-broadcaster is better qualified to cover a crematorium in Georgia while qualifying for one himself? If you want media ghouls, try bagging Walter Cronkite or Ted Kennedy. They never stay buried. And leave Andy Rooney to what he does better than any network personality of his time: decompose.