That Barker fellow

I've twitted Bob Barker on this blog for his obsessive support of animal rights. Maybe it's just because I like a good hamburger. Or maybe there's something more important about the 88-year-old legend that bothers me.

I'm not talking about Barker's endless legal travails on The Price is Right. To be blunt, I don't give a thin (fully rights-protected) rodent's behind about those shenanigans. Barker asked for big trouble with the lawyers when he diddled one of the models. He got what he asked for, but I have no idea - and I absolutely don't care - if he really deserved it.

Maybe it's the perfect hair. No, that's just a detail, but a telling one. Barker was always so in control, so the literal Master of Ceremonies. They might as well have coined the title for him. Perfection can't help but irritate a little, and Barker was real close to perfect for a long, long time.

So he has to command respect for his ability, even from my carping self. Criticism seems almost beside the point for anybody who was that good for that long at his work. I'll still give him a little grief about the critters, though.