# Big Bad Terry Gross vs. Poor Defenseless Bill o'Reilly **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 8, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379 "2003-10-08T23:47:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/1 "2003-10-08T23:47:33Z")
[Terry Gross interviews Bill o’Reilly, Bill walks out](http://freshair.npr.org) I’m listening right now. Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/2 "2003-10-08T23:54:40Z")
As a Registered Republican, just let me say this: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/3 "2003-10-08T23:58:08Z")
I heard it this afternoon on my way home from school. It just confirms O’Reilly’s MO, which is that if it’s positive, the reviewer liked the book, if it’s negative, the reviewer hates him personally. And that he’s always right, and no one should ever question him, because he’s always right. Oh, and Bill: Walking out after you attack your interviewer is kinda immature, dontcha think? Fuckhead. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/4 "2003-10-09T00:24:43Z")
does anyone have a transcript or audio file. the webpage is slow so i can’t look around and im having trouble finding one. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/5 "2003-10-09T00:30:22Z")
The important queston: Will Bill have some sort of cowboy fantasy about plugging Gross right between the eyes? ---
**Author:** ![emulsified](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emulsified/32/2915_2.png) [@emulsified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emulsified)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/6 "2003-10-09T00:42:32Z")
I listened to this and it was a travesty. It was so ridiculous, I almost think O’Reilly planned it to go this way so he could have a segment on his show where he could complain about NPR and all the evil people who don’t like him. (Which he subsequently did.) Bleah, Terry will need to hose down her studio to get out the stink of this interview. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/7 "2003-10-09T00:50:18Z")
Jesus, what a miserable, paranoid, hypocritical piece of shit this guy is. It’s amazing how he whined about being “defamed” by Al Franken in one breath and then defended his absurd, over the top attack on Janet Maslin for daring to write a positive review of Al Franken’s book. His claims that he doesn’t yell at people or tell them to shut up are almost as ridiculous as his claim that he doesn’t practice “spin” on his show. He actually tried to use Pascal’s Wager as a reason to believe in God. This shows that he is an intellectual midget. His behavior at the end of the interview was completely paranoid, posturing, hyperbolic and gutless. God what a unhinged asshole this guy is. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/8 "2003-10-09T00:53:52Z")
I heard just the end of it in the car today… Good Lord, I wish I could have punched him through the radio. Yeah, Terry Gross was definitely doing a “hatchet job” on him (his words). He shouldn’t have to answer to a single question relating to him in a negative manner. Poor, poor wittle Willy O’Weilly. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/9 "2003-10-09T00:56:33Z")
Oh, and **emulsified** : I think he was being interviewed over ISDN, not in studio. At least, the audio quality of his connection didn’t seem that good, and from what she was saying it didn’t seem like she saw him walk out. So yeah, lucky for her she didn’t need to clean the studio. But if I were in Boston I’d drop off a can of Lysol for her phone at WBUR. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/10 "2003-10-09T00:57:26Z")
I got the distinct impression that he staged that, knowing he was going to do it in advance. Terry didn’t even give him a hard time and conducted her standard, “Who is the person behind the persona?” interview. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/11 "2003-10-09T00:59:22Z")
Oops! She’s out of WHYY in Philly, not WBUR in Boston. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/12 "2003-10-09T01:05:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wesley Clark \* > \*\*does anyone have a transcript or audio file. the webpage is slow so i can’t look around and im having trouble finding one. \*\* There’s a link to the audio file right on the page. Click where it says “Listen to current show” in the top left hand corner. **Tom** , I agree with you. I got that impression too. it seemed like he had practiced that self-righteous little speech at the end and it came off as very weird since Gross really wasn’t that aggressive. She didn’t follow up in a number of different instance where she could have. (Does anyone buy his story about him “not knowing” he was a registered Republican, btw?) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/13 "2003-10-09T01:21:14Z")
Ohmigod! You mean you can suffer from Republicanism and not even know it?! Scary. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/14 "2003-10-09T01:31:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Does anyone buy his story about him “not knowing” he was a registered Republican, btw? I dunno. Either he had no clue that he actually _registered_ as a Republican even though he claims (frequently) that he has never had a political affiliation or he is lying. No clue? Lying? No clue? Lying? hmmmmm Of course, I could be missing the point that both options are true. ---
**Author:** ![ReuvenB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@ReuvenB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReuvenB)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/15 "2003-10-09T01:31:59Z")
I also got the distinct impression that he staged it, too. The thing that seemed to put him over the top was Gross trying to quote the People article. The excerpt wasn’t enough to get upset over, IMO, and I think he was just trying to get the hell out of there. ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/16 "2003-10-09T01:35:42Z")
_finishes listening to interview_ That was fun. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/17 "2003-10-09T01:41:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tomndebb \* > \*\*I dunno. Either he had no clue that he actually _registered_ as a Republican even though he claims (frequently) that he has never had a political affiliation or he is lying. > \*\* there is actually another potential option. If he’d registered as a Republican 20/30 years ago, and since then had little to do w/the party, I could see how some one could forget. I don’t think it’s really like, oh say, Catholocism, where one would **really** know if you were no longer an official member. I get crap from both major parties, doesn’t seem to matter to them if/what I’m registered as. ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/18 "2003-10-09T01:54:03Z")
He really hates those secularists. But I don’t think he understands their position… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/19 "2003-10-09T02:07:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wring \* > \*\*there is actually another potential option. If he’d registered as a Republican 20/30 years ago, and since then had little to do w/the party, I could see how some one could forget. > > I don’t think it’s really like, oh say, Catholocism, where one would **really** know if you were no longer an official member. I get crap from both major parties, doesn’t seem to matter to them if/what I’m registered as. \*\* It wasn’t 30 years ago, it was 1994. That was only a year or two before he started claiming to be a registered independent on his show. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379/20 "2003-10-09T02:11:33Z")
that got so funny near the end. He was so paranoid with a messiah complex, god that was better than the Al Franken debate. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bad-terry-gross-vs-poor-defenseless-bill-oreilly/206379.md?page=2)