# Letterman smacks down O'Reilly **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 4, 2006, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354 "2006-01-04T05:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/21 "2006-01-04T15:32:52Z")
Towards the very end there was a look on O’Railsalot face that was priceless. I would call it “Constipated Anger”. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/22 "2006-01-04T15:35:25Z")
> [@Simes](#): > > All in all, great to see someone _finally_ bringing this idiot into check. I guess I’m lucky coz whenever I flick on RepublicanTV (Foxnews) and see him being an ass I can simply dismiss it as “American shit, no affect on me” although there might be an aussie version of him pop up one of these days (heaven forbid) Of course, FOX News is part of Rupert Murdoch’s empire. And Murdoch is from Australia. And he’s not related to me. I saw Letterman sort of baiting BO before he came on, but I turned it off anyway when he came on. Now I wish I had stuck with it. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/23 "2006-01-04T15:36:29Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > And by now _somebody_ has to have told him that “Cold in the Night” lyric is from a [Christmas play](http://delrich.home.mindspring.com/tree.html) that is Christian enough to have been performed in Christian churches for the last twenty years without anyone accusing them of being less Christian. I had to look that one up, since I don’t watch Letterman, and the only time I see O’Rielly is when he’s getting mocked on The Daily Show or the Colbert Report (I have no idea if his show is even on a channel we get up here). The first hit on Google was [this one](http://abcnews.go.com/US/Beliefs/story?id=1387602), which suggests that this fact won’t really effect O’Reilly’s opinion - it certainly doesn’t change the opinion of the person who started the whole deal. > [@](#): > > Staver said the history of the play in Dodgeville does not matter. “The fact is, if they’ve performed it in the past, they’ve been wrong in the past and they need to correct it,” he said. “To take ‘Silent Night’ and to intentionally change the words as they do here is wrong. No matter if they’ve done it in the past, no matter if somebody else wrote the song, it’s the school’s actions [that are the problem].” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/45deac/32.png) [@Evil\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_One)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/24 "2006-01-04T15:38:32Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > The discussion went on a bit, and toward the end, Dave said, “I’m not smart enough to debate you point by point, but I have the feeling that about 60% of what you say is crap.” And feelings are all that’s important, of course. An uninformed opinion is every bit as valuable as an informed one. We don’t want to be “intellectualist”. People with strong, uninformed opinions irritate the crap out of me. I don’t want to rain on this parade or anything. I’m not really defending O’Reilly, alhough if you actually watch him with an open mind, you’ll find that he’s more moderate than legend gives him credit for. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/25 "2006-01-04T15:55:57Z")
I’ve only seen the online clip. The palpable tension of Letterman’s controlled anger radiated from that little two inch window on my monitor. I appreciate that emotional honesty. Wish I could see the whole interview. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/26 "2006-01-04T16:02:30Z")
> [@Evil One](#): > > People with strong, uninformed opinions irritate the crap out of me. Only when they disagree with yours, I’m assuming. I think that’s a good description of the human condition. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/27 "2006-01-04T16:13:24Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > Of course, FOX News is part of Rupert Murdoch’s empire. And Murdoch is from Australia. And he’s not related to me. > > I saw Letterman sort of baiting BO before he came on, but I turned it off anyway when he came on. Now I wish I had stuck with it. Ya know, that guy is around 75 years old. > **[Rupert Murdoch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdoch)** > > Keith Rupert Murdoch AC KCSG (/ˈmɜːrdɒk/ MUR-dok; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-American billionaire businessman, media tycoon, and investor. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including in the UK (The Sun and The Times), in Australia (The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun and The Australian), in the US (The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post), book publisher HarperCollins, and the tel... This madness may end, all on it’s own. How is the guy’s health? \*\*BTW–I am not wishing anything on anybody. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/45deac/32.png) [@Evil\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_One)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/28 "2006-01-04T16:14:46Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Only when they disagree with yours, I’m assuming. Actually, no. Scoff if you will, but it does not speak well of anyone to loudly spout an opinion without a knowledge base to back it up with logical analysis. I don’t discuss the latest brain surgery techniques with neurosurgeons. I don’t want someone trying to discuss middle east politics with me that can’t name three countries in the region, let alone discuss any of the recent history. ---
**Author:** ![light\_strand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@light\_strand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/light_strand)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/29 "2006-01-04T16:34:03Z")
> [@Evil One](#): > > And feelings are all that’s important, of course. An uninformed opinion is every bit as valuable as an informed one. We don’t want to be “intellectualist”. > > People with strong, uninformed opinions irritate the crap out of me. > > I don’t want to rain on this parade or anything. I’m not really defending O’Reilly, alhough if you actually watch him with an open mind, you’ll find that he’s more moderate than legend gives him credit for. He is by no means moderate, unless you say that anyone to the left of Limbaugh happens to be moderate, and I’m not even sure you can say that O’Reilly is to the left of Limbaugh. > [@Evil One](#): > > Actually, no. Scoff if you will, but it does not speak well of anyone to loudly spout an opinion without a knowledge base to back it up with logical analysis. > > I don’t discuss the latest brain surgery techniques with neurosurgeons. I don’t want someone trying to discuss middle east politics with me that can’t name three countries in the region, let alone discuss any of the recent history. I listen to O’Reilly semi-regularly, and as far as I can tell, he knowledgeable on nothing except reciting talking points for the current administration. I’ve been tempted to call in numerous times when he has recited falsehoods as fact, including misquotes, citing rumor as fact, and misrepresenting current law. For crying out loud, he can’t even get MI6 correct! ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/30 "2006-01-04T16:59:43Z")
> [@Evil One](#): > > And feelings are all that’s important, of course. An uninformed opinion is every bit as valuable as an informed one. We don’t want to be “intellectualist”. > > People with strong, uninformed opinions irritate the crap out of me. Me too. That’s why it was good to see Letterman take O’Reilly down a peg. The Factor is made almost entirely out of uninformed opinions. I’ve watched the show a few times, and I could care less about O’Reilly and his political views. What gets me is his inability to listen or to admit being wrong, and the whole “common sense/everyman” schtick he tries so hard to pull off. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/31 "2006-01-04T17:30:30Z")
> [@Simes](#): > > All in all, great to see someone _finally_ bringing this idiot into check. I guess I’m lucky coz whenever I flick on RepublicanTV (Foxnews) and see him being an ass I can simply dismiss it as “American shit, no affect on me” although there might be an aussie version of him pop up one of these days (heaven forbid) Okay, wait a minute. You don’t have a Murdoch-owned right-wing nutjob network over there? How the hell is that fair? He belongs to you. I really think you guys need to take him back. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/32 "2006-01-04T17:34:45Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > [You can see a clip of it on _The Late Show_ site.](http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/#) Wonder what made Dave decide to go after O’Reilly? Maybe because O’Reilly blows. And I mean that in the worst way. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/33 "2006-01-04T17:44:07Z")
All publicity is good publicity. They’re both TV pros, and they both know this episode is good for them both. Damn lib’rul media again … ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/34 "2006-01-04T17:48:40Z")
> [@light strand](#): > > He is by no means moderate, unless you say that anyone to the left of Limbaugh happens to be moderate, and I’m not even sure you can say that O’Reilly is to the left of Limbaugh. > I listen to O’Reilly semi-regularly, and as far as I can tell, he knowledgeable on nothing except reciting talking points for the current administration. I’ve been tempted to call in numerous times when he has recited falsehoods as fact, including misquotes, citing rumor as fact, and misrepresenting current law. For crying out loud, he can’t even get MI6 correct! I am by no means an O’Reily fan, I have hardly ever seen the show. But I don’t think you can say that someone who has made very clear statements against the war in Iraq is just reciting talking points. He came out and apologized for his earlier support for the war when it was revealed that the intel was wrong. I think he is a blowhard but he isn’t a shill. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/35 "2006-01-04T17:51:05Z")
Some links to more video and transcripts, thanks to FARK. [http://hammeroftruth.com/2006/01/04/letterman-to-oreilly-60-of-what-you-say-is-crap/](http://hammeroftruth.com/2006/01/04/letterman-to-oreilly-60-of-what-you-say-is-crap/) [http://newsbusters.org/node/3454](http://newsbusters.org/node/3454) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/36 "2006-01-04T17:54:38Z")
> [@Evil One](#): > > And feelings are all that’s important, of course. An uninformed opinion is every bit as valuable as an informed one. We don’t want to be “intellectualist”. > > People with strong, uninformed opinions irritate the crap out of me. > > I don’t want to rain on this parade or anything. I’m not really defending O’Reilly, alhough if you actually watch him with an open mind, you’ll find that he’s more moderate than legend gives him credit for. I think you missed the point. Just because Letterman calls himself dumb and uninformed doesn’t mean he is either. Putting himself down has been his schtick for as long as he has been on TV. I bet he looks into the issues as much as O’Reilly or you do. I have watched him for a long time and his big dummy from Indiana act is just that, an act. He just knows a good line when he sees one and that was a good line. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/37 "2006-01-04T18:40:56Z")
Daym. Just… Daym. Leno would _never_ have done that. That reminded me of Johnny Carson, and in the good way. Dave may not show it all the time, but he can still throw a heater when he wants to. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/38 "2006-01-04T19:04:53Z")
For those Brits who want to see this programme, it’s being broadcast tonight on ITV4 at five-past-midnight. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/39 "2006-01-04T19:49:12Z")
One of the best things about the show was that at the end of the interview, Dave said, “Well, Bill, it was a pleasure to have you here, as always.” Then at the very end of the show, he said, “I’d like to thank _some_ of the following people for being here tonight: Bill O’Reilly and Eric Bana.” I’ve been watching Dave for 20 years and have _never_ heard him say that before. I’m just dying to see what Olbermann does with this, or Jon Stewart. Unfortunately, I don’t think _The Daily Show_ is doing new shows until next week. It may be too far down the news cycle for them. I might even watch _The O’Reilly Farter_ to see if he has anything to say about the experience. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354/40 "2006-01-04T20:31:43Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > All publicity is good publicity. They’re both TV pros, and they both know this episode is good for them both. > > Damn lib’rul media again … Probably true in this case, though I don’t think Jon Stewart’s appearance on Crossfire turned out to be “good” publicity for the Crossfire group. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-smacks-down-oreilly/338354.md?page=3)