In a way I understand Howard's hesitation. He was artie's ONLY champion during all the speculation in early 2007 when he was missing shows left and right. And in many ways was indeed an enabler. Literally everyone from Gary, Robin, Fred, Benjy, Will, Jason, Hein, and almost every single caller was telling Howie that Artie was definitely using again but he kept defending him. It's really sad to listen to if anyone else has been listening to old shows. Whether it was his diet, his gambling, his Daner, or his drug abuse, it added a lot of content to Howard's show. It's just a shitty situation all around.
The show is clearly better with Artie but at the same time Artie clearly cannot be trusted. I shudder every time I listen to the old shows and he's lying through his teeth. And Howard is always pretty strict with people whom he felt betrayed or hurt him. Leno, Jackie, Dee, Cabbie, Artie, etc. Sure there were a few times where he had "reconciliation" with someone but the relationship is always clearly different.
