Anderson Cooper: Teabagging Regrets?

When some people think of Anderson Cooper, they think "teabagging."

That's fair. Cooper brought the association on himself.

Last month, Cooper uttered the infamous words that are inexorably tied to him now: "It's hard to talk when you're teabagging."

Video -- Anderson Cooper 360

He cracked himself up and he cracked up his guest, David Gergen.

The lowbrow Cooper was asked about his comment at During the Q & A section of his appearance at the Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture, the lowbrow Cooper was asked about his "teabagging" comment.



Cooper brushes off the remark as a "stupid, silly, one-line aside."

Supposedly, he regrets the particular remark, but that doesn't stop him from continuing to mock the Tea Party protesters.

Transcript

ANDERSON COOPER: I think it's an incorrect statement to say that I am trying to..., I was in any way trying to disparage protests that, you know, legitimate protests. I don't think it's my job to disparage or encourage, which oddly, other networks seemed to be doing. Um, protests... I think there's... Protest is the great right of all Americans. And I, I, I... it's not my job in any way to try to make fun of other people or, or disparage what they were doing. And I don't believe that's what I was intending to do.

I do think, you know, in this case, I think it's odd and sort of mildly humorous that this one phrase happened to be used and adopted. And if a group is going to adopt a term which has other... has meanings which have long been established, it's not completely out of the norm that you would at least comment on the fact that there is an alternate meaning to this phrase. This is more than I ever really wanted to discuss this...

But let me say, I, I... if people took offense to that and felt that I was disparaging their legitimate right to protest and what they were doing, then that is something I truly regret; because I don't believe in doing that. And I surely regret it, even saying it, just because, um, you know, there was no point. I mean, it just... it... having this discussion just takes away from, you know, the real story.

So, um, you know, it was a one-line, wry comment that popped in my head and I said it. It's something that's been repeated... So, I certainly understand why some people would be offended. You know, this is, you know, you're on TV a lot of times and you end up saying things. And some of things sometimes you regret and sometimes you don't. So, I hope that at least explains, you know, my thinking.

How lame!

At one point, Cooper makes fun of the protesters again and then he expresses regret. It seems half-hearted given the additional mocking.

I never read or heard the Tea Party protesters call themselves "teabaggers" or engaging in "teabagging."

Certainly, if any did, it was because those individuals weren't aware of the crude meaning of the term.

Cooper went out of his way to use the line on the air. I don't think it was wry. I think it was offensive. The man has his own show on CNN. It's not something he said in the cafeteria in junior high.

And in spite of his claim, it was most definitely "out of the norm" to call attention to the alternate meaning.

Did Cooper ever feel the need to call attention to the alternate meaning of Dick Cheney's first name?

I don't watch his show. Maybe he did.

Cooper says he didn't believe that he was disparaging the protesters. That's BS. Of course he was, and so were his lib colleagues.

He says he regrets the comment. Fine. Then he should act like it. He had an opportunity to go on the record and offer a sincere apology rather than continuing to mock the protesters.

I don't believe Cooper regrets it.