Glenn Beck says he preaches common sense

Whoopi Goldberg called him a "lying sack o' dog mess" on national TV less than two weeks ago.

Penn Jillette visited Beck's Fox News show and questioned his feelings about gay people.

Regular folks who watch his nightly TV show or listen to his syndicated radio program either consider him a hero or a raving lunatic.

Could Glenn Beck be any more polarizing?

But Beck -- political commentator, author, ubiquitous media presence -- says he isn't preaching to Democrats or Republicans.

He says he's only preaching common sense and the importance of individual rights.

"This administration, coupled with the last one . . . there is a lack of anyone with real common sense standing up," Beck, 45, said by phone from New York recently. "I have not seen an exception, or anyone who truly understands what a farmer in Iowa understands.

"Thomas Jefferson, your proudest resident, talked about common sense with men who worked with their hands in the dirt every day. They don't understand -- either party -- that this [economy] is unsustainable. We're looking at a patient that if we don't reverse the course of treatment has what, 10 years of life left?"

Beck's viewpoints usually slant to the right -- he vehemently supports gun rights and isn't quite sympathetic to environmental causes. But he told Jillette he has "no problem" with gay people and on a recent show, complimented President Obama for his decision to fight the release of torture photos.

"That's not a flip-flop," Beck said, recalling the phrase many used to criticize the president's move. "That's intelligence."

The incident with Goldberg, which got him filleted on "The View" recently, had nothing to do with politics, but about Beck's decision to tell a story on his radio show (heard locally on WRVA) about sharing a train ride with Goldberg and Barbara Walters. In the storytelling, Beck massaged some facts, making Goldberg and Walters appear like spoiled prima donnas.

Beck apologized that he "misspoke," and within hours, the clip from the show was a viral sensation.

That's the kind of interest Beck now generates.

His show, which moved to Fox from CNN in January, regularly wins its 5 p.m. time slot (in the 25-54 demographic) against CNN's Wolf Blitzer and MSNBC's Chris Matthews with an audience triple the size.

And while Beck's daily audience lags behind Fox powerhouse Bill O'Reilly, who usually nabs between 500,000 and a million viewers each night, Beck's average of 400,000 to 600,000 viewers is often in lockstep with the arguably more familiar Fox name, Sean Hannity.

Beck's popularity is expanding not only because of his TV show, but the franchise he's building as an author of three (soon to be four) books and a popular touring act.

His latest live run ends in Richmond on Saturday, and Beck said that since it's the last date of the tour, "you'll get all of the hits."

Given his already-crammed schedule, it's natural to wonder why Beck adds the stress of performing live to his routine.

"The stage shows are hard for me to give up," he said. "It's the only medium where I can truly feel the people."

Beck, whose career began as a morning drive DJ in the'80s, has achieved New York Times bestseller-status with his three books, "An Inconvenient Book," "The Real America: Messages From the Heart and Heartland," and "The Christmas Sweater."

His latest, due June 16, is called, simply, "Common Sense."

Contact Melissa Ruggieri at (804) 649-6120 or .