In an homage to material-poor five-year-old comedians everywhere, Rush Limbaugh did an impression of Chinese President Hu Jintao on his show yesterday that was straight out of the 50s (the 1850s).
State Sen. Leland Yee, who is running for mayor of San Francisco, condemned the radio bit in a press release:
“Today, Rush Limbaugh reached a new low as he mocked the Chinese language and culture. His classless act is an insult to over 3,000 years of cultural history and is a slap in the face to the millions of Chinese Americans who have struggled in this country and to a people who constitute one-quarter of the world’s population. His comments belittle the contributions of the Chinese community and are sadly indicative of the bigotry that has often plagued his commentary and lined his pockets. Mr. Limbaugh owes the Chinese community an apology for this pointless and ugly offense.”
Today, Limbaugh defended the imitation by playing a clip of Sid Caesar on "Whose Line Is It Anyway," in which the then-79-year-old comedian did a mock Japanese translation in a recreation of his old "foreign dub" skit. Limbaugh said the clip was from 2007, but it was actually from 2001.
A New York Assemblywoman, the only Asian American in the state legislature, has also condemned Limbaugh.