Calls Against Baird Flooding Talk Shows

From Los Angeles to the nation’s capital, radio talk shows are being flooded with calls about the controversy surrounding Zoe Baird, President Clinton’s nominee for attorney general, and the overwhelming sentiment is that she should withdraw.

“At least 75% say that she should step aside and most of them identify themselves as Democrats,” said Michael Jackson, a talk show host from KABC in Los Angeles. “Even most of those who admit to hiring illegal aliens themselves believe that she, as attorney general, should be held to a higher standard.”

Jackson said the intensity of the response to his programs discussing Baird is at least as great as the strength of the response when the Marines went into Somalia.

At radio station KSTP in Minnesota, host Joe Soucheray said he had hoped that he could move on to another subject Thursday, since the controversy over Baird had taken up most of his air time all week. But callers still wanted to talk about Baird, he said.

“It was hot and heavy for two hours,” Soucheray said just after a Thursday evening show during which he took about 55 calls on the subject. “Minnesota is an overwhelmingly Democratic state but most of the callers find her not favorable.”

Of the callers who registered opinions with talk show host Diane Rehm at WAMU in Washington, D.C., 13 said Baird ought to pull out, three said she ought to be confirmed and two were undecided.

“Comments ranged from, ‘I think people are making too much of it,’ to, ‘Clinton does not need this. This is no way to begin a new Administration,’ ” Rehm said.

Many Democratic callers expressed outrage that a nominee to Clinton’s Cabinet would have such an issue in her background, especially since the new President has emphasized that he will not tolerate corruption of any kind in government.

“I’m a Democrat and I’m angry as all get out!” one caller told KSTP.

Jackson said that attitude was common among his callers as well. “They did not like the pragmatism of her ‘fessing up because she wanted the job.”

Rehm said callers to her show were “good, hard-working, honest people talking.”