Clintons get letter of regret after off-color 'roasting'

March 23, 1996
Web posted at: 11:30 a.m. EST

WASHINGTON (CNN)-- The head of a journalists' association has apologized to President and Mrs. Clinton for off-color remarks made about them at a "roasting" but rejected their request that a tape of the dinner not be shown on C-SPAN.

President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton were guests of honor Thursday's at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association annual banquet. At the dinner, radio talk show host Don Imus made remarks about the first couple that the White House deemed tasteless.

Among other things, Imus called Clinton a "pot smoking weasel," joked about his alleged extramarital affairs and tweaked Mrs. Clinton about her financial troubles. (2.3M QuickTime movie)

White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry, who also sat at the head table with the Clintons, said, "a large part of the entertainment, if that's what you call it ... was fairly tasteless." McCurry told C-SPAN that Imus's remarks were "beyond the pale" and asked the network to cancel plans to rebroadcast the dinner program Saturday.

Terry Murphy, chairman of the Radio and Television Correspondents Association and vice president of C-SPAN, sent Clinton a letter saying, "We regret putting you and the first lady in a position of having to endure embarrassment."

C-SPAN, however, declined to change plans to replay the program Saturday at 9 p.m. and midnight.

The cable network issues a statement Friday which said: "C-SPAN stands by its long-announced schedule to re-air the dinner on Saturday night, so that the general public can see what this fuss is all about."

Joel Hollander, general manager of Imus' flagship station, New York's WFAN, dismissed criticism of Imus' performance and said he would make no apologies for the shock jock's remarks.

"Our position is that they absolutely knew what Don Imus is before he was invited to the dinner," Hollander told the Daily News.

Related site:

• Unofficial Imus home page

Feedback Send us your comments. Selected responses are posted daily.

| CONTENTS | SEARCH | CNN HOME PAGE | MAIN US NEWS PAGE |

---

Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.