Ted Turner Gets the Recognition He Deserves

Liberal windbag Ted Turner came away the big winner at last night’s DisHonors Awards, one of the best annual dinners held in Washington, D.C.

Each year the Media Research Center puts on the show, roasting the most outrageously liberal reporters. From what I’m hearing today, the 2006 dinner was delightful. (I made a brief appearance early in the evening, but had to scoot before the actual awards ceremony.)

The consensus at HUMAN EVENTS seems to be that Stan Evans, author of the forthcoming book, “Blacklisted By History: The Real Story of Joseph McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies,” stole the show with his acceptance speech on behalf of Rosie O’Donnell, winner of the “I’m Not a Political Genius But I Play One on TV Award.”

Like all winners last night, O’Donnell wasn’t in attendance. So the MRC recruited a star-studded group of conservatives to take their place at the podium. Besides Evans, they included Major Gen. Jack Singlaub, Linda Chavez, Ron Robinson and Ken Cribb.

The “Quote of the Year,” selected by the audience, went to Turner, who had this exchange on CNN’s “The Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer on September 19:

Ted Turner: "I am absolutely convinced that the North Koreans are absolutely sincere. There’s really no reason for them to cheat [on nukes]....I looked them right in the eyes. And they looked like they meant the truth. I mean, you know, just because somebody’s done something wrong in the past doesn’t mean they can’t do right in the future or the present. That happens all the, all the time."
Wolf Blitzer: "But this is one of the most despotic regimes and Kim Jong-Il is one of the worst men on Earth. Isn’t that a fair assessment?"
Turner: "Well, I didn’t get to meet him, but he didn’t look — in the pictures that I’ve seen of him on CNN, he didn’t look too much different than most other people I’ve met."
Blitzer: "But, look at the way, look at the way he’s, look at the way he’s treating his own people."
Turner: "Well, hey, listen. I saw a lot of people over there. They were thin and they were riding bicycles instead of driving in cars, but–"
Blitzer: "A lot of those people are starving."
Turner: "I didn’t see any, I didn’t see any brutality...."

You can read other recaps (now or later today) by Ian Schwartz at Expose the Left and Mary Katharine Ham at HughHewitt.com. Kudos to the MRC for inviting bloggers this year. Hopefully they’ll grow in number in years to come.

UPDATE - 3:30 p.m.: It just occurred to me that the MRC had a perfect opportunity last night to pull off a real coup had it asked Jim Martin to accept the award for Ted Turner’s winning “Quote of the Year.”

Martin, president of the 60 Plus Association, can’t go anywhere in Washington without being confused for Turner. See for yourself below. (Turner is on the left; Martin on the right.)