# Bill O'Reilly slowly going off the deep end?(very mild rant) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 6, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739 "2003-11-06T18:17:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/41 "2003-11-07T18:00:59Z")
I’m so confused. I linked out to look at **jinwicked** ’s cartoon (good), and when I came back O’Lielly had been hijacked by Ventura. My reax to the OP: Most interviewers _do_ do a piss-poor job of following up interviewees’ statements. I often suspect the recent history of the republic would be quite different if only Jim Lehrer had asked the obvious follow-up to Clinton’s infamous “There _is_ no relationship. . .” His reaction to the Madeleine Albright/Halfbright joke makes no sense at all, unless someone has recently slipped a dose of civility in his salt peter (or does Bill have the hots for Madeleine?). Heck, it’s not even original. Harry Truman found cause to refer to Sen. William Fulbright as “Sen. Halfbright.” Will he self-destruct? Probably. I won’t be watching, though, having been taught not to gawk at the misfortunes of others. Also, I find I no longer have the stomach for the whole Shouting Heads genre. Hadn’t even heard of _Hannity and Colmes_ (er, sorry: _Hannity and Colmes_) until I read Franken’s book. Watched 'em for a few minutes one day. Only lingering perception: they looked like a couple of badly-cosmetized corpses. . . ---
**Author:** ![Short](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Short](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/42 "2003-11-07T18:19:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Harry Truman found cause to refer to Sen. William Fulbright as “Sen. Halfbright.” I propose the “Halfbright” scholarship, for students who achieve mediocrity and preserve the status quo. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/43 "2003-11-07T18:21:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > **knoz** [ul] **WTF?** is that supposed to be cute or what? [/ul] ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/44 "2003-11-07T18:23:34Z")
**Coldfire** hit the nail on the fucking head. I mean, read that transcript… I think we are needlessly caught up in the question: “Does Bill O’ Reilly lie?”. Sure, there is some documentation for that, but he can always call them “honest mistakes” and there ends the matter. The bigger problem with O’ Reilly is the mindless mis-interpretation of facts, the non-sequiturs, the logical fallacies and the meaningless generalizations, name-calling what-have-you. He is neither sincere nor thoughtful with his news analysis. I too wonder why he is successful and though I realize his audience isn’t as big as it seems, it does bother me. Does it genuinely qualify as entertainment? Do people watch it for sheer entertainment value? I don’t know. (A while back, someone on this board was asking people to prove Rush Limbaugh lies… again, I think it is about lies as much as it is about wilful distortion of facts to suit a pre-determined ideology-based conclusion) The only good thing about BOR, as **John Mace** pointed out, is he does not back away from something a guest might have said during the interview. But, that has ended up like a “garland in a monkey’s hand” (as a proverb goes)… misused and abused. I like Chris Mathews too. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/45 "2003-11-07T19:52:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kniz \* > \*\*[ul] **WTF?** is that supposed to be cute or what? [/ul] \*\* No, just a typo. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/46 "2003-11-07T21:54:47Z")
Is knoz offensive? Enquiring minds… ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/47 "2003-11-07T22:05:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by litost \* > Sure, there is some documentation for that, but he can always call them “honest mistakes” and there ends the matter. Don’t forget the “corrections” that (a) don’t correct the error and (b) are still wrong, as [demonstrated here](http://www.spinsanity.org/columns/20031023.html) by Ann Coulter. anwhile, the dittoheads keep squawking that there’s a “liberal media” that’s trying to feed them bullshit… :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > Does it genuinely qualify as entertainment? Do people watch it for sheer entertainment value? I don’t know. Not to put a fine point on it, but they watch because they’re idiots. O’Reilly _et al_ are dispensing political porn – simple-minded answers that reinforce the feel-good their audience. America good, non-Christians evil, yadda yadda yadda. Hey, people have every right to watch whatever political porn they like; just don’t let them _vote_ on those arguments. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/48 "2003-11-08T01:55:09Z")
Dale Earnhardt? OK, as outside the box as I think – sometimes outside the wrapping paper or ribbons even – it’s hard for me to get mad at the NYT for whatever coverage they gave Dale Earnhardt’s death. Maybe someone more NASCAR savvy than myself – I live 30 miles from Daytona – can clue me in. Ann Coulter in a domanatrix outfit, that’s what we all really imagine isn’t it? Anyway… I get mad at the recent BS claims by the NYT that defending the truth in the Duranty case is, itself, Stalinism. First of all, that creates an enless Stalinist loop. Nature and logic cannot permit that. Second, their guy Duranty was a lying commie bastard that defended a mass murderer. CNN kissed Saddam’s ass. There, I feel better now. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/49 "2003-11-08T04:12:39Z")
My bad. Stock car racing was dealt a major blow when Maureen Dowd invoked “Wal-Mart.” There is some dispute over the actual date of publication. If that ever makes sense to me, I’m shooting myself. I prefer to watch Formula 1 on Speedvision. :eek: I swear, I’m not with the terrorists! She likes liberals to “dumbly blink” before she puts little clips on their naughty bits. ---
**Author:** ![ammo52](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@ammo52](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ammo52)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/50 "2003-11-08T15:40:57Z")
A couple weeks back, one of the birthday presents I bought my wife was O’Reilly’s new book, _" Who’s Looking Out for You?"_ She likes the guy, and watches the Factor all the time, while I don’t care much for him. She read the book, liked it, and, as I feared, asked me to read it. Hoo boy. My first disappointment was that the book seems literally written at about the 7th grade level. I wasn’t expecting it to draw comparisons to the writings of George Will, but for Christ’s sake, it is sophmoric in its approach. I would’ve expected someone actually writing a book instead of a more “disposable” newspaper column to take the time to formulate more compelling and eloquent arguments, but not Ol’ Bill. The second bummer is the absolutely arrogant tone that fairly leaks off the pages, from cover to cover. I’ve never seen a writer more proud of less insightful analysis than O’Reilly shows in this book. Time and time again he makes it clear that everyone in America is blind to the “problem” except himself. His “conclusions” are among the most unsupported I’ve ever seen an author attempt. He leaps to them at every turn, offering little or no roadmap to lead us to a similar conclusion. His arguments don’t run much deeper than, “On such and such a date, an illegal Mexican immigrant killed a man in Arizona. This proves conclusively that our borders are a porous sieve through which an endless stream of vicious murderers stroll, while lawmakers look the other way. Are THEY looking out for you? Doesn’t sound like it to THIS humble reporter.” As soon as I picked it up, I wondered if it would turn out that (gasp!) NO ONE is “Looking out for us.” I’ll be god-damned if that didn’t turn out to be precisely the case. I rather appreciate the way he refuses to let guests on his show dodge a question-- too many interviewers just move on to the next one and give a free pass-- but he shouldn’t be allowed to fucking write books. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/51 "2003-11-08T16:18:34Z")
No. No. No. You have it ALL wrong. People _should not buy his books._ If O’Reilly is persuasive to many people due to his mere abrasive intrusiveness, too many journalists are kissing accessass or really do have another agenda. IMO, not a journalist, just argue the opposite of whatever your guest thinks until they make a good case or cry like babies. Is that so hard? Ask tough questions. Bring in different consultants and experts. Stop rotating the same people like a baseball lineup. There are other parties that could be allowed to speak occasionally (Green, Libertarian, whatever) Stop covering the celebrity news. Cover Afghanistan and Iraq in detail, every day. By the way, mass US TV media, you mostly suck. Fire: Begala and Carville. Please. The nervous applause for Begala in the prebiased crowds are _embarrassing_. They are lauging _at_ you. OK, if you fire Begala, you can keep Carville. ---
**Author:** ![NothingMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b77776/32.png) [@NothingMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NothingMan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/52 "2003-11-08T16:26:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > **However, I noticed that, just like DR. Laura, his, I’ll be tough when I have to, approach became more and more of a, I’m going to be tough on just about everybody, approach.** This sentence makes my head hurt. Ow. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/53 "2003-11-08T16:55:45Z")
“prebiased crowds”? I think that requires a bit more explication. What, precisely, is a “prebiased crowd”? ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/54 "2003-11-08T23:34:01Z")
It’s probably like pre-boarding. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/55 "2003-11-09T03:36:59Z")
Ever been to CNN Center? Groups of public school teachers might tend to clap for Ds. Then you have the “away games” at colleges. Don’t get me wrong, a conservative can slip through security – as tight as it is. 😉 Fire Begala, please. Hire Hitchens and give him a bottle of booze. Let him ramble for two hours. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/56 "2003-11-09T08:27:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ammo52 \* > A couple weeks back, one of the birthday presents I bought my wife was O’Reilly’s new book, _" Who’s Looking Out for You?"_ She likes the guy, and watches the Factor all the time, while I don’t care much for him. She read the book, liked it, and, as I feared, asked me to read it. You can always get even by buying Al Franken’s new book and asking her to read it. Of course, you’d probably have to start the paperwork for the divorce proceedings two weeks later, but IMO she started it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739/57 "2003-11-10T19:41:55Z")
The guy must have some sort of messianic complex to entitle a book _Who’s Looking Out for You?_ How patronizing. And then there was this: > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Beagle** :_ > Ann Coulter in a domanatrix outfit, that’s what we all really imagine isn’t it? I usually picture her in a full-length straightjacket. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-oreilly-slowly-going-off-the-deep-end-very-mild-rant/211739.md?page=2)