I don’t think there’s any question that she came off a lot better than he did, despite his attempt to spin it otherwise. He’s a very dishonest person.
Well, now I’ve listened to the whole thing. The meltdown wasn’t as combustible as I thought it would be. Even so, O’Reilly obviously doesn’t lead the league in maturity.
My observation, beside that, is that Gross appears ill-suited to be a “hard” interviewer (I’ve heard her show probably two dozen times, and it’s always seemed quite conversational). Even keeping in mind how confrontational (and verbose) O’Reilly was near the end, she came across as very weak (especially when she began back-pedaling about her interview with Franken) and even perhaps nervous (at one point sounding like she had a lump in her throat). Also, when she wrapped up the discussion on the NY Times review, she should have kept it wrapped and not resubmitted as a topic twenty minutes later.
Still, O’Reilly’s a joke. His book is “educational”? And he’s got to get off the “defamation” kick and take a breath a moment. He acts as if everyone who doesn’t open the door for him and compliment his haircut is defaming him.
Gross very very carefully did not backpedal: she hesitated, but then she answered directly that her interview with Franken was indeed a “different interview.” She answered directly “No, I was not” when he asked if she’d been as “aggressive” with Franken as she was with O’Reilly.
She was deferential and respectful, and he was a whiny bully. He talked over her a great deal, and she never once talked over him. In fact, well into a long monologue of his, she asked permission to interrupt him before she did so. He continues to be his own worst enemy.
**
Fair enough. Maybe the hesitation is what made me react. She just didn’t sound . . . convincing, IMHO.
I agree with all of this. Which makes me think either that Gross is ill-suited to interview O’Reilly or O’Reilly is ill-suited to be on a civilized talk show.
In addition, this Franken-O’Reilly grudge-match is getting a little old. Which makes me wonder why “Fresh Air” would even bother with it.
Fresh Air is a program that is sold on the basis of how well it does in ratings, which it does by appealling to NPR’s (let’s face it) predominatly liberal listeners. Whoever has creative control of the show probably decided to make a ratings play with a controversial show.
Interrupting someone to ask permission to interrupt them is like calling them a fatass and then saying “no offense.” If he’s a blusterful Napoleon, she’s the disrespectful and smugly self-assured Talleyrand.
Actually, most NPR stations can’t afford to be tracked by rating services, nor do they need to to set advertising rates because, well, that’s obvious. The “rating” that works best is the amount of money collected at pledge time and for your theory to hold water she should have had him as a guest a few weeks ago during the summer pledge drive. Broadcasting the interview during early October served no financial purpose.
Poppycock. Television networks don’t only do outrageous things during sweeps. Furthermore, if I’m not mistaken NPR stations vary on when they hold their drives anyway.
It’s really quite simple. We know O’Reilly couldn’t be civil, but Gross has previously demonstrated herself to be able to kiss a lot of ass. She could have been a little less combative but that wouldn’t get her kudos from all her hippy friends and listeners for the way she took up O’Reilly’s gauntlet.
Combative? Did we listen to the same interview? Gross was about as combative as a euthanized tree sloth.
There were a number of instances wher O’Reilly was either dancing or outright lying in his answers to Gross’s questions and she didn’t challenge him on them (his mischaracterization of the Glick interview is the most notable example). his finger-in-the-chest bluster about how she didn’t challenge Franken is a littel bit specious. What should she have challenged him on? What tough questions does Franken need to be asked, exactly? Thus far, no one has found anything in his book that is false, including his chapter on O’Reilly.