If you haven't read the introductory post, or noticed from some of the other posts, this blog is going to be spending a lot of time around 1997. In a bid to avoid taunts of irrelevance, we'll be posting current Pat Robertson/700 Club clips on a regular basis. You may also notice that compared to the robust Pat Robertson of yesteryear, today's 83-year-old version is—how can I put this delicately?—comparatively enfeebled. (Was that delicate enough? I did say "comparatively.")
The U.S. unemployment report for August 2013 was 7.3%, or 11.3 million Americans who are looking for work. The report was released at 8:30 AM on Friday, September 6, but The 700 Club, which airs at 10 AM, did not make mention of the report. Nor did its CBN News segments on the following Monday, September 9, mention the report, either. Instead, we were treated to this from Pat Robertson:
“We understand that there are ninety million people—ninety million people—out of work in America right now… It approaches the Great Depression time.”And no, he did not say "nineteen"—a number that is still wrong, not to mention larger than the worst unemployment level of the 2007-09 recession—he clearly said "ninety." And of course, longtime co-host Terry Meeuwsen sat stunned and gasped, "That's unbelievable!" because even if she knew Pat was wrong—and it's not clear whether she recognized his blunder—you simply do not correct Pat Robertson on the air of his own show. Or maybe she wanted us to take "That's unbelievable!" literally. Because it is unbelievable that 90 million people—58% of the workforce—are unemployed. (That 58%, by the way, would more than double the unemployment rate of the Great Depression at its worst, not just "approach" it.)
It's enough to make you wonder whether Pat's going senile, but no one has the power to tell him it's time to retire from the show.
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