No Rhodes Scholar

Perhaps stunts like this are one of the reasons no one listens to Air America, besides the fact it just isn't entertaining radio - yesterday on the liberal blog Talking Radio, a story surfaced about Air America hostess Randi Rhodes.

Colleague Jon Elliott spun a tale that Rhodes was mugged and beaten while walking her dog the previous night. The alleged incident occurred near her Manhattan apartment, on 39th Street and Park Avenue, on Sunday night.

Elliott explained that Rhodes was dressed in a jogging suit and not wearing any jewelry or carrying a purse so he speculated, "this does not appear to me to be a standard grab the money and run mugging."

Then he continues: "Is this an attempt by the right wing hate machine to silence one of our own, are we threatening them." "Are they afraid that we are winning. Are they trying to silence and intimidate us."

Well now.

The tirade was nothing but political shenanigans as it turns out. Rhodes' attorney and a police source told the Daily News it was all a hoax, there is no evidence a mugging occurred, let alone a politically motivated attack.

As the WSJ.com article points out, "remember there was a time 15 or 20 or 30 years ago being mugged in New York was not even unusual. Thank you, Rudy Giuliani."

Sounds like Jon Elliott is no Rhodes scholar.

What a stupid publicity stunt. Desperation does strange things to people.