Comparing Goldberg to Huberman

Not long ago, conservative author Bernard Goldberg released a book entitled "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is Only #37)." As Huberman points out in his recently released book "101 People Who Are Really Screwing America (And Bernard Goldberg Is Only #73)," he claims that in Goldberg's list of 100 people, 81 are liberal, 7 conservative, and 12 others. So, anywhere from 81-93% of the people on Goldberg's list are liberals. I will lay this out in black and white, starting with Goldberg's list, then listing Huberman's people, and making a few comments.

Goldberg's List

100. Rick Hilton & Kathy Hilton
99. Matthew Lesko
98. Sheila Jackson Lee
97. Todd Goldman
96. Eve Ensler
95. Courtney Love
94. Guy Velella
93. Richard Timmons
92. Kerri Dunn
91. Barbara Streisand
90. Michael Jackson
89. Jane Smiley
88. Aaron McGruder
87. Sheldon Hackney
86. Chris Ofili
85. The Dumb Celebrity (quotes from Cameron Diaz, Fred Durst, Kate Hudson, Margaret Cho, and Janeane Garofalo)
84. The Vicious Celebrity (quotes from Alec Baldwin, Wallace Shawn, Sean Penn, and Janeane Garofalo)
83. The Dumb and Vicious Celebrity (quotes from Linda Ronstadt, Martin Sheen, David Clennon, and Janeane Garofalo)
82. Laurie David
81. Tim Robbins
80. Kitty Kelley
79. Harry Belafonte
78. Norman Mailer
77. Linda Hirshman
76. Barbara Foley
75. Eric Foner
74. Katha Pollitt
73. Barbara Kingsolver
72. Ward Churchill
71. Phil Donahue
70. Jimmy Swaggart
69. Matt Kunitz
68. Katherine Hanson
67. Randall Robinson
66. David Duke
65. Oliver Stone
64. James Wolcott
63. Amy Richards
62. Howard Stern
61. Michael Savage
60. Ludacris
59. Shirley Franklin
58. Eminem
57. Ted Field
56. Diane Sawyer
55. David Westin
54. Neal Shapiro
53. Anna Nicole Smith
52. Markos Moulitsas
51. Ann Pelo
50. John Vasconcellos
49. Ingrid Newkirk
48. Robert Byrd
47. Maxine Walters
46. Barbara Walters
45. Ken Lay
44. Dennis Kozlowski
43. Paul Eibler
42. Gloria Steinem
41. Susan Beresford
40. Scott Harshbarger
39. Peter Singer
38. Jim McDermott
37. Al Franken
36. Nancy Hopkins
35. Jeff Danziger
34. Bill Moyers
33. Bob Shrum
32. Jerry Springer
31. Maury Povich
30. Latrell Sprewell
29. John Green
28. Julian Bond
27. Paul Begala
26. Dr. Martin Haskell
25. James Charles Kopp
24. Lee Bollinger
23. The Unknown American Terrorist (from the Earth Liberation Front)
22. Michael Newdow
21. Judge Roy Moore
20. Howard Dean
19. George Soros
18. Al Gore
17. Al Sharpton
16. John Edwards
15. Ted Rall
14. Mary Mapes
13. Andrew Heyward
12. Dan Rather
11. Noam Chomsky
10. Ralph Neas
9. Jonathan Kozol
8. Paul Krugman
7. Margaret Marshall
6. Jimmy Carter
5. Anthony Romero
4. Jesse Jackson
3. Ted Kennedy
2. Arthur Sulzberger
1. Michael Moore

Huberman's List

101. The Obnoxiously Loud and Constant Cell Phone User
100. Dan Brown
99. Bill and Brian France and NASCAR
98. Toby Keith
97. Joe Francis and Girls Gone Wild
96. J.K. Rowling
94 & 95. Marc Cherry and Candace Bushnell
93. Tucker Carlson
92. Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim
91. "Dr. Phil" McGraw
90. Mark Burnett
89. Steven Rosen and AIPAC
88. Richard Wilkins
87. Linda Chavez
86. Charles Cawley and Successors at MBNA
85. L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology
84. Franklin "Not of the Same God" Graham
83. The Snowmobile, ATV, and Jet Ski Industries
82. Arthur Finkelstein
81. Kirk Lyon and the Sons of Confederate Veterans
80. Bill Donohue
79. Bradley Smith 1
78. Bradley Smith 2
77. God
76. Pope Benedict XVI
75. Kansas State Board of Education
74. Nihad Awad, Ibrahim Hooper, and CAIR
73. Bernard Goldberg
72. Halliburton
71. William Regnery
70. Arnold Schwarzenegger
69. Randall Terry
68. Dr. Laura Schlessinger
67. SUV Buyers
66. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
65. Mel Gibson
61-64. Brown, Owen, Meyers, and Pryor
60. James Baker and the Carlyle Group
59. John Bolton
58. Senator Tom Coburn
57. The Average American
56. Ralph Reed
55. Pat Robertson
54. Sun Myung Moon
53. The Coors Family
52. Jack Oliver
51. Mark Hyman and Sinclair Broadcasting
50. Lowry Mays and Clear Channel Communications
49. The "Wall Street Journal" Editors
48. Kenneth Tomlinson
46 & 47. Elaine Chao and Mitch McConnell
45. Democrat Pussies
44. Samuel "Rob" Walton and Wal-Mart
43. J. Dennis Hastert
41 & 42. Alex Castellanos and Mark McKinnon
39 & 40. Myron Magnet and Marvin Olasky
38. John D. Graham
37. Jeffrey Holmstead
36. John Roberts
35. John Yoo
34. The Discovery Institute
33. James Inhofe
32. Ann Coulter
31. David Horowitz
30. Sean Hannity
29. Bill O'Reilly
28. Roger Ailes and Fox News
27. Rush Limbaugh
26. Michael Ledeen
25. The Federalist Society
24. Grover Norquist
23. Rick Santorum
22. Wayne LaPierre and the NRA
21. Richard Mellon Scaife
20. Phyllis Schlafly
19. Alberto Gonzales
18. Gail Norton
17. Andrew Card
16. Bill Ford, Jr.
15. James Dobson
14. Rupert Murdoch
13. The So-Called Liberal Media
12. Lee Raymond, ExxonMobil, and The American Petroleum Institute
11. Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas
10. Condoleeza Rice
9. Paul Weyrich
8. Heritage Foundation
7. American Enterprise Institute
6. Tom DeLay
5. Osama bin Laden
4. Donald Rumsfeld
3. Karl Rove
2. George W. Bush
1. Dick Cheney

There are a few in both Goldberg and Huberman's lists that make me kind of shake my head and laugh. I do notice a lot more celebrity types in Goldberg's list, however: Courtney Love, Barbara Streisand, Michael Jackson, The Dumb Celebrity, The Vicious Celebrity, The Dumb and Vicious Celebrity, Tim Robbins, Oliver Stone, Ludacris, Eminem, Anna Nicole Smith, Latrell Sprewell, Jesse Jackson, and those are just 13 that I randomly picked. Huberman lists: Dan Brown, Toby Keith, J.K. Rowling, and Mel Gibson are the names I immediately notice. My comment about these names is simply this, how much power do these celebrities truly have over American citizens' lives? We don't vote them into office (excluding Ah-nuld, which is why I didn't include him on the list). We pay money to be entertained by these people, whether it be to listen to some music by Eminem, watch a film with Tim Robbins, read a book by J.K. Rowling, or watch a game in which Latrell Sprewell participates. Do they decide when we go to war, where we do it, and how we go about it? No. Do they decide on Supreme Court Justices? No. Do we look to them for guidance and leadership after an attack like that on 9/11? Again, no. So, how in the world are these people "screwing up" America? I may not like much in terms of rap or country music, but I'm not going to claim that either is "screwing up" America.

As a blind man could see from the lists, Goldberg's is much more concentrated on liberals and Huberman is much more focused on conservatives. In Huberman's defense, his book was released after Goldberg's and his prime motivation to write the book was to show the other side of the spectrum as opposed to Goldberg's list. But, keep in mind, Huberman does have a history of writing books that deal with being critical of President Bush, so he's no Bush-lover.

I have read complaints from some conservatives on the listing of "God" in Huberman's book. Please read the section on "God" before judging. It's meant in a figurative sense.

I have enjoyed Huberman's book thus far, but I'll admit, some of the listings are silly. J.K. Rowling is the author of the "Harry Potter" series and Huberman basically claims to have listed him because he's sold so many books. But, again, I don't take some of these silly listings seriously. I simply laugh at them at perhaps in wishful thinking, believe that it's just poking fun at some of Goldberg's listings.

From what I've read of both books, I can say with a straight face (yes, even at the computer screen) that while both are silly at times, Huberman's is much more to the point and well-researched than Goldberg's. While Huberman does list some people who just simply annoy him, he does list individuals who have great power in what they do, where as, Goldberg would rather believe that the "liberal media" is ruining America. If Goldberg had written the book back when Clinton was in office, while I may not agree with it entirely, I'd understand if he'd put the names of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and others near or at the top of his list. But, Michael Moore? A film director and author? Just because of "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore is the person who is "screwing up" America the most? How is that possible? Moore makes his films to provoke thought, inform, and entertain people. Some may not like his humor. Others may not like the point the film is trying to make. I thought "Fahrenhype 9/11" was rather weak in the points it tried to make, but I'm not going to claim the director of that film is ruining America more than anyone else. As I just mentioned with Clinton while he was in office, Huberman mentions those in office right now in the Bush administration. Whether I be conservative, moderate, or liberal, I could understand why Huberman would do such a thing, just as I could understand Goldberg going that route during the Clinton years. If they both wrote similar books during the Clinton administration and Goldberg place Al Gore #1, Bill Clinton #2, and Huberman placed Steven Spielberg #1, even though I may not agree, I'd understand Goldberg's rationale more than Huberman's.

The books simply preach to the choir. If you're a die-hard Republican, I wouldn't recommend buying Huberman's book. If, on the other hand, you're not too supportive of what the Bush administration has done through the past almost six years and want a few laughs along the way, then I'd definitely recommend "101 People Who Are Really Screwing America." Some listings may be silly, but they are still humorous and make for some fun and easy reading.

Link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_People_Who_Are_Screwing_Up_America