Larry King, RIP

It was amazing to me how big Larry King was for years on radio, then on TV. Even before his show on CNN, a large percentage of people said he was the biggest influence on their political views even though he never really expressed his own views. 

King's been quoted saying that he never learned anything while he was talking, but that depends on who you're listening to. He wrote a foreword to a book by charlatan John Edward, the "psychic" who talks to the dead. South Park dubbed Edward "The Biggest Douche in the Universe". King wrote that he didn't know if Edward talked to the dead or not. You could say that about anybody, I guess. Maybe Miley Cyrus communicates with the dead. How would anybody know?

Members of the Ku Klux Klan would appear on King's show and insist they weren't racist. He never asked what they were doing in the Klan if they weren't. Seems like an obvious question.

On one show, he had a woman on who had written a book claiming that Elvis Presley faked his death. I wasn't sure what to make of his response. I thought he was expressing doubt when he asked why no legitimate news organization was pursuing the story, but he ended by promising to put the author in touch with a real reporter he knew.