Posted by chicagomedia.org on October 25, 2008 at 12:01:38:
Don Wade's Obama Comments Anger Some
CHICAGO � Don Wade's become a Chicago radio institution by combining a very funny sense of humor with hard-edged conservative commentary.
But Friday morning, even his co-host and wife, Roma, objected when Wade imagined how Barack Obama's allegedly adoring press corps would cover it if the senator murdered his grandmother, CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports.
Barack Obama and a Secret Service agent walked on a back street in Honolulu Friday as the senator made what may be his final visit with his gravely ill grandmother. She's retired bank vice president Madelyn Dunham.
She was the subject of a morbid attempt at humor by morning drive time host Don Wade. Wade claimed reporters would let Obama get away with anything, even if they were shown videotape of the senator suffocating his own grandmother.
Shortly after that segment aired, some listeners began complaining.
Typical of comments to CBS-2 News was this e-mail: "Don Wade of WLS talk radio crossed the line this morning describing an insensitive and coded hate scenario where Obama goes to Hawaii and murders his grandmother. It was appalling, disturbing, ugly and over the top."
890-AM's general manager said he had not heard the segment. Wade himself seemed to backpedal a few moments later on his show Friday.
Spokesmen for the Obama campaign said they would have no comment.
(Mike Flannery, CBS2)