Step Away From the Mic....... Please!!

“This is a big f@$%^ing deal?” Vice-President Joe Biden

“It’s easy being Vice President. You don’t have to do anything.” Vice President Joe Biden

“I want to cut his nuts off” Rev. Jessie Jackson

“She wears little eye-patch underwear,” Republican Michael D. Duvall, California state assemblyman

As a radio talk show host and teacher of public speaking, I am amazed every time I hear about these high profile public figures making what they thought to be private remarks on open microphones. To make it all the worse, it is not as if the microphones were hidden or someone was spying on them; in each of these instances the perpetrators were right around the microphones. You would think they would know better based on the fact that they are around microphones for radio, television and speaking all of the time.

Again, having experience operating the sound board in a radio studio, the microphone is clearly lit when it is “hot” and unlit when it is not on. I make sure before I say anything in the microphone that I check to see if the microphone button is lit and I equally take the precaution to make sure the light is unlit and the volume is shut totally off before I say anything in the studio. I must admit, these gaffes by the likes of Joe Biden and Jessie Jackson have made me even that much more cautious when I am in the studio or anywhere near a microphone.

Did Vice President Biden not think the microphone would pick up his “This is a big f%$#ing deal" comment? What in the world was on his mind or not on his mind? Once again like with the sex scandals, one would think that each would learn from the other, but apparently that is just not the case. So, as with all of the sex scandals, let’s see who will make the next blunder around a “hot” microphone. Enjoy the videos or better yet, learn from them. Oh, and if you are wondering, the talk show is The Reading Circle with Marc Medley, heard live on Saturday mornings at 6:00 a.m. on WP88.7 FM and on www.wpradio887. org. As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments.