John Kerry Says that Don Imus Shouldn't Have Been Fired

In an interview today with NY1 News, NYC's 24-Hour News Channel on the Web, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry said that shock-jock radio host Don Imus shouldn't have been fired by CBS. Senator Kerry is the only Democrat so far to take this stand. The Senator and former presidential hopeful said that he would consider appearing on any future show hosted by Don Imus. Kerry noted in his interview that the Rutgers team had accepted Imus' apology. Radio host Don Imus was fired last week after he made controversial remarks about the members of the Rutgers women's basketball team.

NY1 has the transcript of Kerry's remarks about Don Imus:

Kerry: "I think that the...you know the punishment has to fit the crime so to speak. I think a long suspension, or a strong suspension met with his appropriate level, given that the team forgave him. To me it was in the hands of the young women. They made the judgment that they thought he was genuine and they felt they could forgive him. And I think it was appropriate to pay a price on the airwaves but I'm not sure that it was appropriate to say you're off forever."

NY1 Dominic Carter: "If Mr. Imus has a show in the future would you appear on it?"

Kerry: "It would depend on what the context of the show was obviously. If he goes back to doing the same old same old I'd have trouble doing that, but if it's a different show and he says it's going to be different sure."

Senator Kerry appeared on the Don Imus show many times. In an unscheduled call-in interview on the "Imus in the Morning" Radio Program in November 2006, Kerry made an apology of his own. The Democratic Senator was under fire for telling a group of California students that individuals who don't study hard and do their homework would likely "get stuck in Iraq"-

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."