Missing Hall of Famers? Garrison Keillor declined & Michele Bachmann snubbed. Fox & Friends co-anchor Gretchen Carlson may have been a bit abashed as she was was inducted into the Hall of Fame at her high school alma mater on September 8. Not only did the renowned raconteur Garrison Keillor decline the very same honor but her “favorite babysitter,” GOP Prez candidate and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, was not even nominated for it. To boot, her dear dad zinged her with zest about being “excellent at boys” during her time at Anoka High School.
When Gretchen returned to F&F four days later, she proudly previewed a snippet of her parents introducing her at her high school’s “first ever Hall of Fame induction ceremony.”* As the footage began, her dad proudly proclaimed, “While at Anoka High, she was valedictorian, homecoming attending: then, looking up over his reading glasses with an arched eyebrow, he jauntily jibed, “and excellent at boys and socializing.” (Of course, her doting dad also included her being Miss T.E.E.N. Minnesota and Miss Teen Nationals runner-up and alluded to her being 1989 Miss America.)
After that vid clip ran (and a subsequent one of her hugging her parents), a tearful Gretchen profusely praised both her mom and dad and thanked her community and family. However, she failed to mention the declination of the award by Keillor (who self-deprecatingly said that he “wasn’t anything in high school” but was rather “a quiet, mediocre student with no plans”) nor the obvious omission of Bachmann to be named for the honor itself or in the preliminary nominations. As to her father’s ribbing about being “excellent at boys,” Gretchen said nary a word.
In Gretchen’s defense, she did address, at least, Bachman’s exclusion from Anoka High’s Hall of Fame with her home state’s largest newspaper. According to the Star Tribune, Gretchen said, “My favorite baby sitter….I feel completely disheartened that she’s not part of this”: she added, “In the committee’s defense, in growing up in a small town, I know this happens. It was a grass-roots effort, from the heart. This is just so unfortunate.”
Even though Gretchen’s viewers may not solicit an explanation for Keillor’s skipping out on the Hall of Fame. With little doubt, they may want to know more about her your dad’s “excellent at boys” barb. If they do, they may want to heed the advice of the eponymous host of “Your World with Neil Cavuto” as to cable news customers who do not get FBN: I.e., “Demand it!”
A belated congratulations, Gretchen!
*Fox & Friends – 09/12/11 (@ 8:32 a.m. ET)
Tags: Anoka High School, FBN, FNC, Fox & Friends, Fox and Friends, Fox News, Garrison Keillor, Gretchen Carlson, Michelle Bachman, Miss America, Neil Cavuto, Your World with Neil Cavuto
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