I’m beginning to suspect that the answer is yes.

Faithful readers and Savage fans will recall that Savage has been going through a bit of a rough spell lately, what with being banned from Britain by the former British Home Secretary, his legal loss to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, his legal loss (on First Amendment grounds, no less) to Brave New Films, resulting in a public apology and his recent dumping by his former radio flagship station, KNEW in San Francisco.

Then there was the very embarrassing dissing by his son, Russell Weiner, when young Russ (at least publicly) distanced himself and his company, Rockstar Beverages, from any of his father’s comments. To further the point, Russell and Rockstar apparently made donations to some gay rights groups, I guess to show they’re down with the LGBT community.

So now, it appears as though Savage is taking a page from his son’s book.

Yesterday I wrote about the $50,000 that Savage is donating to the California Association of Highway Patrolmen Widows and Orphans’ Trust Fund, and why the fund should refuse the donation.

Today a press release comes from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, stating that Savage and his organization, the Paul Revere Society, have donated $25,000 to help the organization save elephants in Malawi.

Malawi?

“IFAW is thankful for the Paul Revere Society which has generously supported IFAW’s work to help elephants in Malawi,” said Chris Cutter of IFAW.

Huh.

The reason I suspect this is part of a thinly disguised plan to buy Savage some goodwill is twofold: first, Savage hardly ever talks about the donations he makes, let alone sends out press releases.

Second, the releases are nearly identical, indicating a concerted campaign has begun.

Here’s the first paragraph of the release announcing the gift to the orphans and widows’ fund:

The Paul Revere Society and Dr. Michael Savage, Syndicated radio host, noted author of over 20 books and Director of the Paul Revere Society has donated the generous sum of $50,000.00 to the California Association of Highway Patrolmen (CAHP) Widows and Orphans’ Trust Fund.

And here’s the first paragraph of the release announcing the animal protection donation:

The Paul Revere Society and Dr. Michael Savage, Syndicated radio host, noted author of over 20 books and Director of the Paul Revere Society have donated $25,000.00 to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Hmmm.

Here are a couple of more paragraphs from the animal protection release:

The Paul Revere Society is a patriotic organization, with a core charter calling for the protection of this country’s Borders, Language & Culture. Its Director, Dr. Michael Savage, is best known for his syndicated radio show “The Savage Nation”. Its audience ranges from 8 to 10 million listeners on close to 400 stations across America, making it the 3rd largest radio talk show in the country.

It is Dr. Savage’s sincere hope that this $25,000.00 donation will assist the IFAW in their global efforts to help animals in distress. The Paul Revere Society and Dr. Savage pledged the money to the IFAW in June 2009.

And some select paragraphs from the widows and orphans donation:

The Paul Revere Society is a patriotic organization with a core charter for the protection of this country’s Borders, Language & Culture. Its Director Dr. Michael Savage is best known for his syndicated radio show “The Savage Nation”. Its audience, ranges from 8 to 10 million listeners on close to 400 stations across America, making it the 3rd largest radio talk show in the country.

It is Dr. Savage’s sincere hope that this current donation of $50,000.00 will help aid the families of those that have paid the ultimate price in service of California’s citizens. The Paul Revere Society and Dr. Savage pledged the money to the CAHP Trust Fund in June 2009.

Several months ago Savage hired a British PR firm that promised to get his name in the papers on a daily basis. While that hasn’t happened, it’s clear they’ve been busy brainstorming over ways to burnish his image.

But seriously, couldn’t you guys come up with some original copy for the second release? I’m sure you’re getting a nice hefty retainer; the least you could do is spend Savage’s listeners’ money wisely.

And for the record, I believe the IFAW should return the $25,000 to Savage, for the same reasons I believe the trust fund should do so. The stench associated with the money is not worth it, Let’s face it, his own son has disavowed the statements Savage has made. His own son!

You know,  Columbian drug lords built hospitals in their communities. But they were still scumbags.

Keep the faith.