Will Bill O'Reilly Endorse John Kerry?

[faithincowboys]

It is becoming clear to me that Bill O'Reilly is not on our side. Despite protestations to the contrary (he claims he is an independent), O'Reilly is a man of the left.

Why?

O'Reilly's political hero is RFK.

In an interview with Kerry, he seemed like a John French Kerry fan.

He was an attack dog when Lynne Cheney was a guest on his program.

He was an attack dog when Marc Raccicot was on his show.

He hyped the Rilya Wilson case and bashed brother Jeb on the eve of the Florida Gubernatorial election-- an election that the Democrats wanted to use to deal a body blow to Dubya.

Because he is saying that the reports of WMD in Iraq were phony (though they could still turn up) and requires heads to roll and suggests Bush has a credibilty gap.

Because in a segment tonight regarding an all-white private prom in Georgia, he blamed Republican Governor Sonny Perdue-- who had not a thing to do with it.

Bill, whose daughter will no doubt go to an upper class all-white school, asserted that the white kids had no right to set up their own prom.

I believe the all white prom was a mean-spirited act and undoubtedly hurt the feelings of their African American peers, but they had the right to do it. It was a private (wrongheaded) affair, and Sonny Perdue didn't have anything to do with it.

I think the story highlighted the tendency of liberal whites -who live in lily white neighborhoods and inculcate their kids in blue blood private school- to demand that poor Southern whites forcibly integrate. I think this is unfair- if you have implicitly (and often explicitly) chosen segregation in your life, you can't force others to do what you go out of your way to avoid.

I think what the kids in Georgia have done is wrong and hurtful, but I think in the interest of a full debate, the liberal accusers should prove their integration bona fides.

It's like Teddy Kennedy calling Charles Pickering a racist (Pickering sent his son Chip to Afr. Amer. majority schools in Mississippi, and Pickering also fought the Klan long before it was popular (and safe) to do so), while he , no doubt, sent his coke-head children to all-white boarding schools. Hypocrisy.

The kids were wrong and many probably harbor racist feelings, but their accusers in the mainstream media practice segregation every day. These kids do attend a majority Afr. Amer. High School.

All in all, I predict, if the economy stagnates, O'Reilly (who has never come off as a big Bush fan) will endorse Kerry!

[tuna_battle_slight_return]

Not a chance. O'Reilly appears to be satisfied with Bush.

[MatthewViti]

Yes, all that matter is allegiance to Bush. /sarcasm

[faithincowboys]

Bill just said that Al Gore would have reacted to 9-11 the same way as Dubya has-- tonight the guy is making my point!

[GoldnGate]

I share your views ... and might add that Mr.O'Reilly" does warrant being deemed the "PinHead Poster Child"

[faithincowboys]

Never said that-- but he is often unfair in his criticism.

What does Sonny Perdue have to do with the all-white prom?

What did Jeb Bush have to do with the Rilya Wilson case-- that was a screw-up in Broward County that the Gov had no control over.

Now his obsession with WMD-- is it likely that the regime that gassed the kurds, gassed the Iranians and thwarted the inspectors at every turn woul not have weapons?

You don't get the name Dr. Germ and Chemical Ali for nothing!

[seenenuf]

Clean out your ears - he greatly qualified the Gore remark.
But you are right about him wanting to look Independent, helps the ratings, doncha know.. and he would love John French Kerry to be candidate- that will make for great TV before the election. They have the book ready to throw at Kerry.

[OldFriend]

Heard O'Reilly bashing John Ashcroft unmercifully and praising Robert Kennedy.

IMHO O'Reilly has lost all objectivity and is on a personal vendetta against President Bush and those in his administration.

[faithincowboys]

Good-- you'll get some of the heat too.

: )

We should have known when he used Limbaugh's deafness as a way to get his own 12-3pm radio show.

Classless!

[MHT]

No way. He basically endorsed Bush over Gore in 2000 and has been kind to Bush on some issues and hard on him on others. I think that O'Reilly is an independent (probably brought up Democrat but through life experience and education has learned how the economy and real world really work) with conservative personal values (Catholic who married and had kids relatively late).

All in all, O'Reilly is pretty fair and balanced, with a tilt to the right.

[MadIvan]

Based on my reading of Mr. O'Reilly, he'll endorse no one. I doubt any of the candidates are doing things entirely in a manner of which he approves.

Regards, Ivan

[faithincowboys]

O'Reilly also hangs out in Boston a lot. Boston?

Eventually, just being aroung the Big Dig turns your brain to liberal mush.

[Constitution Day]

O'Reilly is a populist and a showman.
He'll wait to see which way the wind is blowing before he endorses anyone (IMO).

CD

[Wphile]

O'Reilly for Kerry? Wouldn't surprise me a bit. He has always spoken quite well of Kerry, saying he isn't as liberal as most people think, that he knows him from when he lived in Mass, etc.

Could O'Reilly support Kerry? Yep, and it would be totally hypocritical of him as he claims to want the no spin zone. Kerry is the epitome of spin but for some reason, O'Reilly often turns a blind eye to it.

[tuna_battle_slight_return]

"You don't get the name Dr. Germ and Chemical Ali for nothing!"

Or "Mrs. Anthrax".

[MHT]

The show has been such a dismal failure that I wonder if he's going to keep it going. Rush is a superior radio host, but it sure is nice to have an alternative in the car when Rush is pre-empted by baseball!

[mathluv]

Many times he takes the more liberal view. More and more, I find myself muting the sound, or just turning off the tv.

When he said tonight that he thought algore would have done a good job after 9/11, I really could not believe it!

[Brilliant]

O'Reilly has always said he had no allegience to either side. This is not news.

[arielb]

i'd be surprised if he endorsed anyone. that would pretty much destroy his claim that he is independent

[Octar]

I agree with your conclusion. It would be a mistake to wish that our favorite news guy would always toe the consertative line.

[jagrmeister]

O'Reilly is a populist, first and foremost. He is an independent thinker and rather bright (degrees from Boston University and Harvard University). He confounds critics with his divergent viewpoints (ie: tough on crime but opposes death penalty). I find he is at his worst when he is bullying his guests, but at his best with a equivocating bureaucrat (ie: United Nations type) or politician- forcing them to either answer the question or look ridiculous. I highly doubt he will endorse Kerry. But I don't see him being an unquestioning lackey for Bush either.

[faithincowboys]

O'Reilly is a Capitalist -- which separates him from most in the Democrat field.


I think he was an A Current Affair guy who saw Limbaugh and said, "I could do that."

Let's face it, he knew he didn't have a shot at getting the Brokaw, Jennings or Rather chair-- after all, he is doesn't hang out with Ramsey Clark.

[Numbers Guy]

Go back and read some of the accounts of Freak-nik here in Atlanta.

You are arguing that the behavior of extremely drunk college kids reflects on the behavior of high school kids of a similar racial background.

Well, let's see, in recent months we've seen riotous behavior by predominantly white groups of college students after sporting events at the University of Minnesota, the University of Maine, Ohio State University, and Michigan State University. By your logic, black kids should be boycotting proms that include white kids in Minneapolis, Orono, Columbus, and Lansing, out of fear of misbehavior.

[faithincowboys]

I like O'Reilly when he trashes the Europeans--lately that is all he has been good at.

No one bashes Chirac and Chretien ( A European- Canuck) as well as Bill.

[jackbill]

O'Reilly also hangs out in Boston a lot. Boston?

O'Reilly is a typical Liberal Boston Irish DemocRAT. He'll castigate the Kennedys and then go into the voting booth and vote for them.

Frankly, to me he is very similar to a Jim Hightower.

[alnick]

Bill O'Reilly is a pompous jackass who rarely does his homework. I no longer watch his show.

[faithincowboys]

One thing that is troubling is the rate of AIDS among blacks in the rural South-- it is at levels like those seen in the early days of the plague in Africa).

It is also spread heterosexually. I think that is troubling. That is unusual to see such levels in rural areas-- in gay and urban communities it is typical, but in rural, heterosexual populations it is odd.

I think the white kids hurt their friends, and I also see your point that the Afr. Amer. communities in these areas have terrible social problems. But then again, rural whites in middle america are now using crank and heroin at Amsterdam numbers.

The Heartland is in decline and there is simply no place to go to avoid the ills of city life.

[Recovering_Democrat]

I'd like him to side with the President, but in the end, I couldn't care less who O'Reilly endorses. His opinion won't affect mine. Now, if he goes off the deep end, I'll find something else on my sat dish to watch. But I don't think he'll do that.

Bill Kristol lauded McLame in the primaries, but I still read The Weekly Standard.

[jaycee]

You took the words from my mouth. O'Reilly is getting so hateful~~~~~~~~~he will not let anyone speak on his show.
I do not know what his problem is but I hope he does not let his popularity blow up his brain........

[Wild Irish Rogue]

I started listening to O'Reilly when he used to have Col Hunt on and enjoyed the show. I have continued to listen to him and can stay tuned for about 50% of the time.O'Reilly takes a position ,but, does not always argue with facts or logic. Two weeks ago,he said that Rick Santorum had said that " gays should be treated like criminals and they should be prosecuted." O'Reilly made it sound like a direct quote,which was unfair and misleading.Now his crusade is WMD. The fact that they have not "turned up" means that Bush has a credibility problem and that SF/Intel have misled the Administration. O'Reilly wants heads to roll and said he will give the Administration until the end of the month to find them. That's when I turn him off.

[LADY J]

"When he said tonight that he thought algore would have done a good job after 9/11, I really could not believe it!"

Once I had respect for O'Reilly - but I'm beginning to doubt his common sense.

He is starting to lose me as a viewer. Anyone who thinks algore would have done what GW has done has to be smoking something!!

[cwb]

I think O'reilly's a closet conservative who tries to "look" independent by attacking conservatives on occasion. Unfortunately, he attacks Republicans over the silliest issues which just makes him look stupid.

[John Lenin]

Bill just said that Al Gore would have reacted to 9-11 the same way as Dubya has

No way in hell Gore would taken out Afganistan and Iraq. Gore would have signed onto the war crimes court and would have used that as an excuse to do whatever the UN would have told him to do.

[GOPlibertarian]

Exactly - and he is a rather nonideological populist at that. He is a tough interviewer with an obviously pro-American slant with lots of rhetoric about responsibilty, but that doesn't make him a conservative. I don't see what the big deal is about him.

The experts that appear on Fox are much better than the ones on the majors (John Stossel's program excepted). They even have libertarians on there!

Tom Walls

[faithincowboys]

If Al Gore had won, our national posture would be grab your ankles.

[faithincowboys]

O'Reilly was an idiot during the Iraq war, when he talked to the brilliant Col. David Hunt, he kept talking about 100, 000 Iraqi casualties.

Fox is carried in the middle east, reports of huge enemey casulaties plays well domestically (in Red States) but in a region where Al Jazeera's propaganda is King, American media reports of 100,000 iraqi KIAs is not good!

[yooper]

The bottom line on O'Reilly: he is not for or against any party. He flames democrats and Pubbies on an even keel, and he won't tolerate ANYONE who starts to sling the bullshit on his show. I acknowlege that and accept it.

If the US press emulated Bill's example we would be a whole lot better off.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Today Tail gunner Joe's records were made public.

Now I wonder, if all were made public? NOT!!

RFK was a top hit man lawyer on Joe's staff. Joe once remarked that RFK was ruthless in persecuting those accused of being commies.

[microgood]

I agree with your position. I've always thought of O'Reilly as a populist, not a conservative. He takes the position he thinks most of his audience support or what he thinks will be provocative. That is why he is always all over the map.

[BigLittle]

Bill O'Reilly is a pompous jackass who rarely does his homework. I no longer watch his show.

I agree, we won't watch him anymore in our house. Wait for Sean and Greta, though sometimes must turn her off.

[StriperSniper]

O'Reilly is a populist and a showman.

Can't argue with those descriptions.

I've been thinking of him as a frugal liberal(in the modern leftist sense), he wants the BIGFEDGOV to solve all problems, but on the cheap. ;-)

[faithincowboys]

It is pretty darn weird that Camelot's vigorous anti-Communism has never been scorned by the Left. Papa Kennedy can be Pro-Nazi and the sons can be Pro-McCarthy, and the Left worships them anyway. Weird!

[RandallFlagg]

“I thought Jumpin' Jim Jeffords was a moderate, an independent. What's he doing giving the Democrat response as an independent? This just proves that there are no such things as independents.” --Rush Limbaugh

[meenie]

O'reilly feels that GW mislead him on the war. He was very supportive until the WMD's failed to show up. This is his version of the no spin zone.

[faithincowboys]

yeah but we sure as hell want the self proclaimed Independents to vote R in 2004!

[ErnBatavia]

he won't tolerate ANYONE who starts to sling the bullshit on his show. I acknowlege that and accept it.

I beg to differ on this point...O'Reilly is putty in the hands of wimmins; even Susan Estrogen, with that fetching smile of hers, got him tonight.

Pretty much shoots his credibility, and takes him back to his Inside Edition tabloid roots.

[Cedric]

I just don't think O'Reilly has staying power. Conservative? Liberal? If you're "too much of both and not enough of neither" you end up with nothin'!

[alnick]

Wait for Sean and Greta, though sometimes must turn her off.

I switch over to MSNBC when Greta comes on in order to watch Joe Scarborough.

[capt. norm]

To maintain his popularity B.O. has to say whatever he needs to say to maintain ratings.

It's a "bottom line" thing.