Fox News, known for being utterly ridiculous, has taken it a step further this week, airing a diatribe about Tony Hawk's recent ride in the White House during some Father's Day weekend festivities with President Obama from DailyGut.com grumbler Greg Gutfeld (host of Fox News' "Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld" 3am crapshoot)

The rant is basically a rehash of a post from Gutfeld's website on Monday – Gutfeld thinks skateboarding in the White House is disrespectful to the place's hallowed halls, grown men who skateboard should be ridiculed, Obama is childish and should be grounded, blah blah blah. On his own website he closes with this zinger: 

"Someone please dig up Reagan. I'd take a dead leader with balls over a living camp counselor who wants all the cool kids to like him."

But wait, there's more: For the Fox News segment he inexplicably adds this insane quip at the end to generate some more noise:

"And if you disagree with me, then you sir are worse than Hitler."

With all due respect, Mr. Gutfeld, Right Wing Clown, I disagree with you. There is nothing childish about riding skateboards – no more so than Barack Obama playing basketball or George W. Bush riding his mountain bike – and no disrespect intended or conveyed in riding a skateboard in the White House.

Tony Hawk puts it all in perspective today via Twitter:
"Amazing that in today's struggles, 4 urethane wheels rolling on a tile floor can cause political alarm. News shows want quotes. Distraction?"

Also, for the record, Tony Hawk is NOT the first person to ride a skateboard in the White House:

Bob Burnquist skated the White House in 2007, at the urging of the Secret Service. Add that math up, Mr. Gutfeld: Burnquist's ride was on George W. Bush's watch. On Twitter today, Burnquist writes: "When I went a couple of years ago, I brought my board in too, secret service told me to skate, I did... Didn't twitter it though. Glad I didn't, didn't want to be responsible for a War with Brazil because of me skateboarding in the White House. Whew!"

Andy Macdonald skated the White House in 1999, while there at the invitation of President Clinton. To my knowledge he was the first to have the honor, but presumably any other skateboarder ever invited to the White House would have done – and would do – the same.

Tony Hawk was at the White House promoting fatherhood responsibility and mentoring programs, at the invitation of the president. Bob Burnquist was promoting environmental sustainability. Andy Macdonald was promoting the president's Partnership for A Drug-Free America. All worse than Hitler? Seriously? In other news from that same controversial day at the White House, Chef Bobby Flay dared to COOK SOME FOOD on the grounds of the White House and Washington Redskins wide-receiver Antwan Randle El CAUGHT A FOOTBALL there. Scandal!

Macdonald, Burnquist, and Hawk are upstanding role models by just about any measure. They were invited to the White House, in each case, specifically BECAUSE of their skate stardom and because they have used their skate cred to help promote other extremely positive work that is important to them, and, in the estimation of certain presidents, important to this country.

You, Mr. Gutfeld, to use your own fun phrase, are a screaming joke.