The Bobby Haircut and Kendel Ehrlich Show
He's back! Live and local, it's Bobby Haircut, the former governor of the great state of Maryland, now starring with his lovely wife on a weekly radio gabfest that is turning into a must-listen for political junkies and fans of personality entertainment alike.
Well, ok, maybe that's stretching it, but the Kendel and Bob Ehrlich Show, Saturday mornings at 9 on WBAL in Baltimore (available to Washington area listeners online at wbal.com), is a little bit of Regis and Kelly, a little bit of wonkorama, and a little Payback Time, all packed into a two-hour time slot when most talk stations are busy selling airtime for diet and exercise infomercials.
Since the former First Couple's radio debut March 31, the show has taken on a friendly, informal tone, as you'd expect from the guy whose casual manner and off-the-cuff speaking style were a big part of his popularity, right down to last fall, when he lost a reelection bid despite being personally popular.
If you expected Ehrlich's radio show to be bitter and vengeful, there's some of that. Most of the guests tend to be Republican legislators and ex-members of the gov's administration, but they've been mixing it up too, even inviting the occasional Democrat onto the show.
If you expected Ehrlich to be fun and self-deprecating, there's that too. "The losing candidate--me--should not complain," Ehrlich said on the latest show. "Despite having a lot of money, we were unable to get the point across." He was talking specifically about the energy pricing issue that hurt him in the Baltimore area, but he's said this sort of thing often enough that he clearly means it about his entire '06 campaign.
(Kendel disagreed with Bob on this one: The loss was not a matter of being unable to make his points, but rather "It was about people not taking the time to understand. No one sits down at the dinner table with the family" anymore, she said. It was a kind of Bowling Alone theory of Maryland politics.)
And if you expected the Ehrlichs to be as chipper and snarky on the air as they seemed to be in public life, you get a dose of that too. Last Saturday, the couple debated who was hotter, Ehrlich or Martin O'Malley, and callers chimed in with overwhelmingly pro-Bobby views--this is a very, very friendly audience, at least as reflected in the phone calls.
Caller: "You're hotter than Martin O'Malley."
Bob Ehrlich: "That's three to one, First Lady, three to one!"
Caller: (About O'Malley) "He's an attractive man, but Bob Ehrlich's a manly man!"
So why are the Ehrlichs doing this? Is an office job so painfully constricting to Bobby that he simply must find some way to connect with his people? Or is he just keeping a foot in the water for a 2010 rematch with O'Malley?
An April 20 letter from Ehrlich (paid for by the Bob Ehrlich for Maryland Committee) to supporters sounded a lot like the wonky parts of the radio show--a recitation of the problems O'Malley is facing and the supposed failures of the new governor. "Just because I have left office...doesn't mean that I have left the public arena," Ehrlich reminds his friends.
Being governor was "the greatest four years of my life," he says, and he announces he's writing a book about politics in America (does this man want to be vice president?) There's the standard blast against "the hard left shift in Maryland," and Ehrlich, in an uncharacteristic shot against illegal immigrants, blasts O'Malley for pushing a plan to give immigrants in-state tuition at Maryland universities.
The letter concludes by asking for a $500 contribution. This man is running for something. But hey, enjoy the radio show--it's free of charge.
By Marc Fisher |
May 3, 2007; 7:12 AM ET
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Posted by: bmoregirl | May 3, 2007 08:19 AM
It shoud be "Marty Haircut" now! I have never seen a single hair out of place on the morons head. And before anyone starts calling me a right wing conservative, I am a registered Democrat in MD.
Posted by: | May 3, 2007 11:00 AM
I am also a registered Democrat in MD.
Fact #1: Bob Ehrlich left office with a $800 Million surplus.
Fact #2: Martin O'Malley has used all of that surplus in his first budget.
Question #1: Does anybody out there think Martin O'Malley will reduce his next budget so it will balance as required by law?
If yes, see ya.
If no ...
Question #2: Will the increased money we taxpayers have to pay be in the form of a tax increase or will Martin O'Malley try to hide the increase as a "fee" ?
Either way, there will be an increase in what we pay.
Posted by: SoMD | May 3, 2007 11:35 AM
Marc, I think you're jealous of the hair. Ever hear of 'sour grapes?' O'Malley may be cute in an Irish pub pounding out his sham-rock music but that doesn't qualify him to run the State of Maryland. But, then again, that never stopped any other politician from holding office.
Posted by: Southern Maryland Republican | May 3, 2007 01:29 PM
The "bobby Haircut" moniker was funny the for first five minutes after it first came out.
Now it looks more and more stupid and unoriginal every time I see it. It's played out. Get another joke.
Posted by: CEEAF | May 3, 2007 03:12 PM
Marc, I think "Bobby Haircut" is a really funny joke. Please keep using it. And please keep mocking the political chaos that is our friendly neighbor to the North.
Posted by: Virginia | May 3, 2007 03:44 PM
Mr. Fisher's comment, printed as an excerpt in the Washington Post of this week,
that the Truckers protesting illegal immigration and NAFTA on the Beltway was to be likened to "vigilantism."
I found this comment to be incindiary, and irresponsible.
Posted by: chris anderson | May 3, 2007 05:23 PM
Maybe when people figure out that a new car is going to cost 3 to 5 THOUSAND dollars more because of these Democrats, and when the coming O`Malley tax increases rain down on everyone`s heads, Ehrlich might be missed instead of sneered at.
Posted by: gitarre | May 3, 2007 07:35 PM
Maybe when people figure out that a new car is going to cost 3 to 5 THOUSAND dollars more because of these Democrats, and when the coming O`Malley tax increases rain down on everyone`s heads, Ehrlich might be missed instead of sneered at.
Posted by: gitarre | May 3, 2007 07:40 PM
i prefer just to refer to him simply as "Haircut," using his first name shows too much respect after he ran Maryland into the ground and O'Malley came in to save the day. As O'Malley has said recently, O'Malley has already brought "historic progress" to Maryland in just 4 months as Governor, he will go down as the greatest governor in the history of Maryland and the USA, we are so fortunate to have him, he is doing God's work.
Posted by: | May 3, 2007 08:04 PM
I love the "Bobby Haircut" moniker. Keep using, Marc!
Posted by: Harry | May 4, 2007 05:28 PM
Why don't bobby and mrs. haircut ever bring up the MASSIVE DEFICIT they left Governor O'Malley? Hey Kendel, people aren't stupid like you the mr. sideburnless think they are. Want to comment on your busing in rehab people from Philadelphia to hand out fraudulent flyers?
Posted by: MD4BUSH | May 6, 2007 10:57 PM
Question: "Why don't bobby and mrs. haircut ever bring up the MASSIVE DEFICIT they left Governor O'Malley?"
Answer: Precisely because Ehrlich left O'Malley with a surplus. O'Malley created the deficit and then made it worse by raiding the rainy day fund more than any other Gov in MD history. O'Malley has created a real mess and he's going to raise billions of dollars of taxes. He's made a real mess.
Posted by: | May 7, 2007 09:01 AM
Question : "Want to comment on your busing in rehab people from Philadelphia to hand out fraudulent flyers?"
Answer: What on earth are you talking about. Other than your wild imagination, can you sight a singe finding by any government authority that this occurred, no you can't. If this really had happened, the US Dept of Justice would have brought voter fraud charges against the Ehrlich campaign, instead the entire matter was dropped. Try again.
Posted by: | May 7, 2007 09:05 AM
Stop whining. Focus on doing something productive, like reporting on politicians in office or those running for office. Obviously you have some sort of personal vendetta against Ehrlich. Did someone make fun of your hair in elementary school and you are still trying to take it out on adults? That's not a mature example for your own kids who I'm sure you are trying to teach equality and being kind to all.
Posted by: MD Dem | May 7, 2007 11:05 AM
I wouldn't trust O'Malley or Brown to clean a toilet properly much less run the budget correctly. They've already managed to make a mess of the budget and talking about a special session to raise taxes. What a circus.
Posted by: | May 7, 2007 11:27 AM
"What on earth are you talking about. Other than your wild imagination, can you sight a singe finding by any government authority that this occurred, no you can't. If this really had happened, the US Dept of Justice would have brought voter fraud charges against the Ehrlich campaign, instead the entire matter was dropped. Try again."
Get a clue! Ehrlich admitted to busing homeless people to hand out flyers which implied that he and Michael Steele were endorsed by Kweisi Mfume. His justification was something along the lines of "The Democrats did it too."
Posted by: MCG | May 10, 2007 11:42 AM
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I find Martin to be the most attractive man around. I have a poster of Martin on my wall right next to my Bobby Sherman poster. I hope they make a Martin lunchbox like they did for Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy. Get well soon Katie!!!