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“Everyone else on the thread: Why doesn’t Cruz go on O’Reilly’s show?

Politics today is a communication game. Politicians gravitate to friendly media outlets, and commentators. Many interviews are contrived with the interviewer and politician agreeing on questions up front and the politician delivering scripted responses to which the interviewer offers no meaningful challenge. After the interview, the media outlet puts the agreed to spin on the reporting of the event. Obama and Bill Clinton are masters of the lapdog media manipulation. On the GOP side McCain and Graham are Republicans who play the media to their advantage.

Sarah Palin is a prime example of a naive politician who exposed herself to open, no rules interviews with the media and was crucified for it.

Cruz won’t go to media settings where he can’t control the outcome. Hillary, Obama, and others behave in the same way. The time Obama appeared on O’Reilly he did not receive a grilling, indicating O’Reilly agreed to certain questions and behavior to get the interview.

At this point we can conclude O’Reilly isn’t willing to interview Cruz under the conditions Cruz is requesting. Cruz doesn’t perceive any advantage to appearing on O’Reilly’s show under the conditions O’Reilly is offering. Hence, there is a stalemate. Cruz has alternatives to O’Reilly for communicating his message.

O’Reilly’s complaint about Cruz not coming on his show says more about the declining influence of Fox News and O’Reilly in this election cycle than it does about the candidate. Fox and its commentators have become selective shills and story makers. Fox is no more “fair and balanced” today than CNN, MSNBC or the other networks. Its agenda is anti-Cruz. Therefore to Cruz there is no advantage to being on O’Reilly.