The Gist

A Rough Day on the Show

The vid-clip here is a sample of some of what went down on the show today. Throughout the five months of Democratic primaries I have not endorsed either candidate on the show, genuinely believing both to be great -- each with pluses and minuses -- and also feeling a responsibility to be a referee between the supporters of both camps among the listeners.

I have been hard on both of these candidates at times, and praised them both as well at other times. In truth, I was annoyed with one of them at various points, only to get annoyed at the other at other times, and it really doesn't matter who I voted for because it was the person I was less annoyed with on that particular day. Had my primary occurred a week later I would likely have voted for the other!

That said, we now have a presumptive nominee, and it is historic and it's time for everyone to come together. I have challenged listeners throughout these months about their support of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But one thing I have said is that no matter what happens, we've got to beat down John McCain.

That's why I got tough on Wednesday with many angry Clinton supporters -- understandably demoralized -- who called in to say that there was no way they could vote for Obama and would now be voting for McCain. This, even though they would rather a Democrat, and in some cases they are gay and understand that John McCain courts antigay bigots.

That, to me, crosses the line and is completely unacceptable and is, frankly, insane. Is it about race? In many cases, I'm sure. In other cases, perhaps not, but whatever it is, it's time we hash it out and get to the bottom of it and make sure people understand the stakes here. This clip was just one exchange from a very emotional day on the show on Wednesday, as Clinton and Obama supporters called in droves. Things are raw and tense, and a lot of people are grieving. But we have really got to come together. Hopefully Hillary Clinton will help to do that in her unity speech this weekend, something I wish she'd done on Tuesday night but which will still be enormously helpful.