War of Words

[February 21st, 2007] Serious spittle is flying between Portland's two nationally syndicated radio talk-show hosts.

On Monday, The Oregonian profiled Thom Hartmann, the progressive-plus talk jock who's had a local show on KPOJ 620-AM since 2005. Hartmann's star got elevated this month when the national program he also does took over the spot once held by Al Franken, the Air America poster boy who left radio to run for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota.

In the O's profile, Peter Ames Carlin quotes Hartmann saying of the Vietnam War that "Lyndon Johnson wanted to kill me." Carlin then writes, "Still, Hartmann joined the Air Force in 1968, thinking he could work as an engineer, thus avoiding dangerous duty. Quickly realizing he was wrong, Hartmann managed to flunk an end-of-basic-training physical, earning a quick ticket back to civilian life."

Lars Larson pounced on that admission. (For those who have been brain-dead for the past decade, Larson is the award-winning journalist who years ago traded his notebook for a radio mic; his conservative local show on KXL 750-AM regularly twists the underwear of Oregon Democrats, and his national show now airs on 175 stations.) In an article this week for the online version of the national conservative journal Human Events (humanevents.com), Larson wrote, "From this it's only reasonable to infer that Hartman lied his way out of the Air Force, which is a federal crime."

Larson, who was 15 when the Vietnam War ended, then cites the Uniform Code of Military Justice, adding, "The man who will now lead the liberal battle against Rush Limbaugh in talk radio and who will tell America daily about the illegal war by the illicit president with the questionable military record has some very serious questions to answer about his apparent violation of the UCMJ."

Hartmann wasn't immediately available for comment because he was broadcasting this week from New York, but we're guessing he might have something to say about it on the air. Stay tuned.