The Blowhard Zone (BILL O'REILLY BEING BILL O'REILLY)

WALLSTREET OPINION JOURNAL ^ | SEPT. 9, 2002 | WILLIAM MCGURN

[hgro]

It's not every day that one finds oneself on a nationally televised talk show, two feet from a host who is completely unhinged and shrieking, "I want to tell the audience, this man is telling you a lie, a bold face lie." Then again, it's not every day one is on "The O'Reilly Factor."

[hgro]

O'Reilly is starting to believe his press notices.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

O'Reilly plays a modified triangulation game to capture as large an audience as possible. He picks extreme right positions on some issues (i.e. the Clintons), extreme left positions on other issues (i.e. the environment) and positions anywhere in between on a bunch more.

That way, everybody who watches him will agree wholeheartedly with him once in a while, and once they do they will continue to watch him for those rare times when he appears to be whole-heartedly on their side.

[Blue Screen of Death]

Bill thinks one who makes a sound argument is the one who makes the most sound.

Always remember he interviewed Geraldo after the "fog of war" incident and decided that lying to advance a career is reasonable journalism.

[jbstrick]

Here come the Bill Bashers!!!!

[syriacus]

O'Reilly is starting to believe his press notices.

There was a time that I liked to watch his show. No more.

[syriacus]

Here come the Bill Bashers!!!!

And here come the Truth Lovers (Sometimes they are the same folks).

[dennisw]

I like Bill O'Reilly but he is wrong on this Saudi mess with various Saudi men kidnapping their American citizen children, taking them to Saudi Arabia to live forever.

I saw the show with McGurn and was glad to see O'Reilly get called to task on this one. He was stupidly disrespectful of Pat Rousch. Bringing her two girls to London accomplished nothing except to boost the Saudi spin.

[Drammach]

Here come the Bill Bashers!!!!

Bill Bashers?
Hey, when he's wrong, he's wrong.

While I agree with Bill on many issues, there are others that I don't.
When Bill gets on his high moral horse, he can be extremely opinionated, and it is usually those cases where he is wrong.

A reasonable, POLITE discussion of issues provides a better forum and results in more information for the viewer.

Bill needs to learn some manners.

[tomakaze]

RE:Here come the Bill Bashers!!!!
 
a good bashing's justified in this case.

[Gunrunner2]

>>And we now have the promise of the U.S. ambassador that no American who seeks refuge will be turned away from the embassy -- a promise that Congress, State and the administration need to see enforced.<<

Now, this may sound good, but it is a hollow gesture and changes nothing. Why? Well, how many people realize that when you enter an American Embassy, the first person you meet and have to pass by is a foreign national security screener.

Yes, this is true.

The host nation provides their version of a security screener, and that screener will look through your bags and ask the purpose of your visit and who you are there to see. You have to get by that person first, convince them your visit is legitimate, before you are allowed entry into the embassy. US Marines are not present. (The Marines are behind a protective barrier, separated from the people that enter.)

This can be an intimidating and an awful experience if you are not prepared, do not have an appointment, do not know who you want to see and do not have an appointment. You are, in fact, alone and facing a foreign national.

Heck, we even do this in the London embassy.

And the State Dept personnel in the embassy encourage turn always. As a fairly high-ranking self-important State Dept bimbo told me during a social in Cairo, “We are not here to protect the American people, especially American businessmen.” (She also told me Hong Kong would be fine, “as long as we separate politics from economics.”

Nice.