“Call
them irresponsible.
Isn’t
it demonstrable?
Throw
in great self-righteousness, too.”—Charles Osgood, The Osgood File, January
2, 2013 WCBS Radio Network Broadcast (to the tune of “Call Me Irresponsible”)
In
the late Seventies, Charles Osgood
came out with a book puckishly titled, Nothing
Could Be Finer Than a Crisis That Is Minor in the Morning. That’s one way
of viewing the fiscal cliff—invariably described since New Year’s Day as “averted”—except,
as the veteran CBS newscaster noted in his deadly hilarious spoof of the
situation several days ago, all our nation’s representatives have done is kick
the can down the road.
Let
the yahoos on Capitol Hill bray on. If there’s any pleasure to be derived at
all from the agony they’ve just put us through (and will do again—just you
wait), it’s a reminder of the pleasures of listening to the whimsical, wise Mr.
Osgood, who turns 80 today. I haven’t had a chance to watch CBS’ television
news show Sunday Morning as much as
I’d like in recent years, but whenever I have tuned in, I see that the
program that Charles Kuralt started more than 30 years ago remains in good
hands with his replacement.
I
have more than a passing interest in this fine longtime newsman. He not only
came from my hometown of Englewood, N.J., but studied drama with John
Travolta’s mother at my alma mater, the late, much-lamented St. Cecilia High
School.
Over
the years, Osgood has appeared as a guest on the annual Christmas show of
another radio legend, WNYC –FM deejay Jonathan Schwartz. It’s somehow
appropriate, as both are throwbacks to a more civilized time—so it’s doubly
hard even to conceive of anyone filling their respective niches.
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