Where Has Paul Begala Gone? (Hint: It's NOT the Light Side)

It’s unclear what kind of circles the Democratic strategist Paul Begala runs in, but he reported today that the number one question he gets wherever he goes anywhere is, “Where can I get Imus on the radio in Washington?”

In fact, just yesterday Begala spoke (for some reason) to a group of Burger King franchisees from across the country, and during the picture-taking portion of the event many of them asked him that very question. It was in sharp contrast to some other groups he said are more interested in, “Where are the hookers?”

Imus acknowledged that while his show does not necessarily have mass appeal, it has a huge audience. “And it’s the right audience,” he stipulated.

For once, the two men agreed. “It’s very smart people, and very well-off people,” said Begala, who apparently took some sort of radio demographics course prior to today’s appearance. “If you want to reach them, go on Imus.”

As luck would have it, Imus will meet tomorrow with the person responsible for syndicating Imus in the Morning, a man who once told his predecessor not to spend too much time trying to syndicate Imus “because he’s going to die pretty soon anyway." 

Ever practical, Begala suggested Imus bring his gun along to said meeting. “It’s always useful to remind people that we’re all simply temporary tenants on this planet, and we never know when our day is up,” he said. “And maybe some crazy cowboy with a gun and a bad attitude is going to walk into a meeting.”

Moving on to stuff of actual relevance, Begala noted that his primary season has been most interesting from the Republican side. “This looks like a very good year to be a Republican,” he said. “And yet they keep nominating some pretty eccentric—some would say extreme—candidates.”

Rep. Mike CastleAs an example, he pointed to the Delaware Senatorial race, where the relatively moderate Republican Mike Castle, the state’s former governor and a current congressman, is going up against Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell for the Republican nomination.

“If Delaware nominates Mike Castle, the Republican is leading the Democrat Chris Coons by 11 points,” said Begala. “If they nominate the Tea Party activist O’Donnell, they’re trailing by nine points.”

Though the outlook for Republicans to take over the House is “promising,” in Begala’s view, he cautioned that there are still 49 days to go until midterm elections. He instructed Democrats to use that time wisely.

“Instead of saying, ‘Look, I know there’s 10 percent unemployment and we’ve got two wars going on, but we’ve really done a great job,’ the message ought to be, ‘They’re worse!’” Begala said.

On the issue of whether a Muslim group should build a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, Begala’s view was in line with many of his Liberal counterparts, who claim freedom of worship trumps sensitivity. But that doesn’t mean he takes the issue lightly.

“The people who committed those acts of terrorism were no more Muslims than the IRA terrorists were Catholics,” Begala said. And yet, he added, “no good person, I don’t think, should oppose building a church in Northern Ireland.”

And besides, Begala said, “There are bars and strip joints in lower Manhattan.”

Having clearly lost Begala to the dark side, Imus said only, “This is sad.”

-Julie Kanfer