Quote of the Day

Dennis Prager, the conservative who attacked incoming Rep. Keith Ellison for wanting to take the oath of office on the Quran, speaks out.

Published December 18, 2006 8:49PM (EST)

"Listen, listen, the only place where intellectual depth is allowed is talk radio ... [A]ll of the intellectual depth in the media, 90% of it, is located in our profession." -- Dennis Prager, in a softball interview with friend and colleague Hugh Hewitt.

You may remember Prager as the conservative talk-show host who wrote a column about Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, attacking Ellison for saying he wanted to take the oath of office on the Quran. (If you've forgotten, Prager wrote, "Forgive me, but America should not give a hoot what Keith Ellison's favorite book is. Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress. In your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath.")

Apparently unperturbed by the fact that no members of Congress swear their oath on the Bible, and that any requirement that they do would be blatantly unconstitutional, Prager has continued his crusade unabated. Now insisting that he's been misinterpreted (seems like a pretty clear statement to us, but hey, what do we know?) and that he's the real victim here, Prager was on Hewitt's show to complain that former New York City Mayor Ed Koch had called Prager a "bigot" and called for his removal from his post on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, a post to which President Bush appointed him earlier this fall.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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