Discussing Obama and Rev. Wright controversy, Rosen said that "if Hitler had been more moderate, he could have been a positive force too"

Summary: When a caller stated that if Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, "would moderate his message," he could "be a positive force with his talent," Newsradio 850 KOA host Mike Rosen responded, "And if Hitler had been more moderate, he could have been a positive force too." Colorado Media Matters has pointed out that despite having decried "gratuitous comparisons to Hitler and Nazis," Rosen on numerous occasions has used such comparisons.

On his March 28 Newsradio 850 KOA broadcast, Mike Rosen told a caller that in a March 18 speech addressing the controversy surrounding Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama "finessed ... why he would subject himself and his children to [Wright's] rant for as many years as he did." Rosen later responded to the caller's comment that if Wright "would moderate his message," he could be a "positive force with his talent" by saying, "And if Hitler had been more moderate, he could have been a positive force too."

As Colorado Media Matters pointed out, Rosen in the past has said that "gratuitous comparisons to Hitler and Nazis always annoy me because they trivialize the seriousness of what Nazism was all about." However, on numerous occasions, Rosen has used Nazi comparisons to denigrate liberals, as Colorado Media Matters has noted repeatedly.

Earlier in the call Rosen said, "Let me say at the outset, I am not equating the Reverend Jeremiah Wright with Adolf Hitler," adding, "There are clear differences between the two." Rosen continued, "However, having said that, Hitler was also very smooth, and very charismatic, and very eloquent. So charisma and eloquence are not necessarily trumping attributes. People have done the worst things in the world with those skills."

Rosen later described Obama's March 18 speech as "eloquent" before claiming that "it avoided some of the key points" regarding Wright. Rosen also stated, "It's content that I'm concerned with, and what Barack Obama finessed in his damage-control speech -- which was warmly embraced by his apologists in the liberal media -- what Barack Obama finessed was why he would subject himself and his children to this rant for as many years as he did." The caller responded, "Yes, and if he is going to be some kind of uniter, how does that then happen?" Then, referring to Wright, the caller stated, "I mean, my feeling about this individual is, if he would moderate his message, which he won't, of course, he actually could be a positive force with his talent." Rosen then said, "And if Hitler had been more moderate he could have been a positive force too," before adding, "Jeremiah Wright by design is a demagogue -- and a hatemonger."

From the March 28 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Mike Rosen Show:

ROSEN: Let me say at the outset, I am not equating the Reverend Jeremiah Wright with Adolf Hitler.

CALLER: Oh, no. No.

ROSEN: There are clear differences between the two. However, having said that, Hitler was also very smooth, and very charismatic, and very eloquent. So charisma and eloquence are not necessarily trumping attributes. People have done the worst things in the world with those skills.

CALLER: I would agree, and I've made that exact same point to this same friend regarding Obama. She happens to be a Hillary supporter. So she's sort of glad about all of this controversy. But I've said, you know, look at this rock-star nature to some of these events, and what not, you know -- and sort of made that same point. In 1935 Hitler had Germany wowed, you know.

ROSEN: Mmm-hmm.

CALLER: And a lot of Europe. But anyway, the guy is -- you know, I guess what I'm saying is I can understand the success of his message in the community to which he speaks.

ROSEN: Yes.

CALLER: And if it was looked at in full context, it does --

ROSEN: It's just as bad in full context.

CALLER: -- look a little different.

ROSEN: No, it doesn't. Frankly, not to me. And I've read text of what he said --

CALLER: Have you? Uh-huh.

ROSEN: -- in full context. One, I think, smoking gun that trumps a lot of damage-control efforts is the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and his church's embrace of Louis Farrakhan.

CALLER: Yes. And I agree.

ROSEN: They share much the same philosophy.

CALLER: I agree.

ROSEN: And Louis Farrakhan, you could also say the same things about. In his universe, he's charismatic, and eloquent, and persuasive to people who are inclined to be persuaded by that line of argument.

CALLER: Yes. Yes. I would agree. I do think -- you know, I listen to your analysis and others that were similar about Obama's speech a couple weeks ago that --

ROSEN: Obama's speech was very eloquent too, but it avoided some of the key points.

CALLER: It didn't address the issue, really --

ROSEN: Yeah.

CALLER: -- and I think he missed at least a chance to tell people, or to urge people, you know, look at the totality of what he said -- and you're no doubt right. And in fact, I did tell my friend. I said, look, I still disagree with the guy, but he's a heck of a lot smoother if you look at the whole thing than just the final crescendo of, you know, "No, God --"

ROSEN: I agree, but I don't award any points for smoothness.

CALLER: Yeah, yeah. Well --

ROSEN: It's content that I'm concerned with, and what Barack Obama finessed in his damage-control speech -- which was warmly embraced by his apologists in the liberal media -- what Barack Obama finessed is why he would subject himself and his children to this rant for as many years as he did.

CALLER: Yes, and if he is going to be some kind of uniter, how does that then happen? I mean, my feeling about this individual is, if he would moderate his message, which he won't, of course, he actually could be a positive force with his talent, but he's not --

ROSEN: And if Hitler had been more moderate, he could have been a positive force too.

CALLER: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

ROSEN: Jeremiah Wright by design is a demagogue -- and a hatemonger.

CALLER: Yes. Yes. That I do agree with; he's very slick at it, but that is the essence or the finality of it. And I just was -- actually, I was shocked, really, to see it in context and realize that even though this is someone I still disagreed with, that my co-worker did have a point, you need to look at the totality of it.

ROSEN: Yeah, well, we have looked at the totality, and he's just as guilty in the totality.

CALLER: Yeah, when you arrive at those conclusions.

—C.K.