Despite His Love for Chris Wallace, Imus is Fed Up with Sunday News Shows

Chris Wallace and his wife Lorraine will join Imus in studio in January, when Mrs. Wallace’s book “Mr. Sunday’s Soups” comes out. “As they say in mob movies, she’s a civilian,” Wallace, the host of Fox News Sunday, told Imus today. “So aim your fire at me.”
 
Naturally, Imus misinterpreted Wallace’s plea. “Your wife’s a wimp?”
 
One can only hope that Lorraine Wallace is as tough with Imus as Fox News’s Megyn Kelly was with Rep. Anthony Weiner, who, during an on-air discussion yesterday about tax cuts, didn’t back down when Weiner acted arrogant and condescending.
 
“She was asking perfectly legitimate questions, like what is the justification for the estate tax, other than the fact that you want to take some more money away from people?” said Wallace, who then considered that question himself.  “Let’s take me, or let’s take you: you pay your taxes all these years, so all of this money has been taxified, if you will. Now, you die, and…if it goes to your children, it gets taxed again at some exorbitant rate. Why?”
 
Imus was similarly perplexed by the logic of the estate tax, which can send upwards of 55 percent of an inheritance back to the government. “It’s criminal,” he said. “The government should stop wasting money.”
 
Which doesn’t seem likely anytime soon, given that inclusive in the deal that extends tax cuts for the wealthy and benefits for the unemployed is $1 trillion more in stimulus money. Many Democrats are disappointed in Obama’s concessions, but even critics have predicted this agreement could help the President and all Democrats come 2012.
 
Wallace believes the Left will benefit, and clung to this view despite Imus revealing that Bill O’Reilly was of the opposite mindset. “So, you’re saying O’Reilly is a moron?” Imus said. Displaying an uncharacteristic amount of hubris, Wallace, who appears “semi-regularly” on The O’Reilly Factor, replied, “He is mistaken in this particular instance,”
 
Trying to further stoke the Fox News flames, Imus offered Wallace the same riddle he posed yesterday during Blonde on Blonde: If Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity were both drowning, who would Glenn Beck save?
 
“I think he probably lets them both drown,” Wallace said, to Imus’s delight.
 
Wallace actually had something to promote this morning, having already booked Rep. Paul Ryan, the new head of the House Budget Committee, and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer for this week’s edition of Fox News Sunday. “When I booked it, I actually thought to myself, ‘Now I’m going to be able to tell that dope Imus who’s on the show!’” Wallace said, oblivious to how pathetic he sounded.
 
Sadly, “that dope” has lost total interest in all Sunday morning interview shows. “I hope your show goes well,” Imus told his guest. “I’ll be watching Sportscenter.”
 
-Julie Kanfer