# Obama to appear on O'Reilly tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 4, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056 "2008-09-04T21:24:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/61 "2008-09-05T00:50:56Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > Haven’t seen the show before I take it? To be honest, nope. I’ve only heard about it second hand and seen some of his more outrageous moments on YouTube. His “interview” style is pathetic. Despite that, I think Obama sounded great. He had actual answers to questions, wouldn’t let O’Reilly put words in his mouth, and gave concrete answers to questions. The interview so far once again showed me that Obama, unlike O’Reilly or a vast majority of politicians, is willing to and does see the complexities of situations and not just make off the cuff decisions. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/62 "2008-09-05T00:51:28Z")
Well, that was a waste of time. Five minutes of O’Reilly being an ignorant blowhard and not letting Obama speak. I didn’t know they were going to stretch this out over multiple days. Now O’Reilly is going to hava “reaction” segment where he brings on two guests to tell him how great he was. What a giant, self-serving jerkoff this has been so far. Obama owned O’Reilly’s bitch ass whenever he could get a word in. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/63 "2008-09-05T00:51:35Z")
A few questions on Iran and a promise of more next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Obama is getting some free press out of this one. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/64 "2008-09-05T00:53:34Z")
Not reading any of this thread until I post this. As a true fence sitter I think Obama came across great. I wish he would have straight up said he was right then wrong. But that’s minor, my personal biggest things are national security and special needs children. I think this laid to rest some of my fears on national security, you need to be willing to flex your muscle and not just your cheek muscles. And he assuaged my hesitance on his feelings on the use of force if needed. It pissed me off though that the whole speech wasn’t shown at once, it is a ratings ploy I honestly wanted more. Sen. Obama raised my opinion on him in a neutral, maybe not friendly, spot. Great job Senator! ---
**Author:** ![JohnnieEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@JohnnieEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnieEnigma)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/65 "2008-09-05T00:53:41Z")
The thing is, O’Reilly brought up all the misjudgements people think about Obama, and this gave Obama a chance to set things straight. People can’t assume wrongly about him any longer… He straightened them out. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/66 "2008-09-05T00:57:33Z")
Ah…didn’t know there was a thread on this. A friend told me Obama was going to be on O’Reilly tonight so I tuned in. I disagree with DtC (go figure, ehe?)…I thought Obama did great and that he pulled it off very well. Thought it was a home run for Obama…and didn’t think O’Reilly came off like a complete idiot either. Different strokes I guess, but I think Obama definitely helped himself out with this interview. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/67 "2008-09-05T00:57:55Z")
> [@RyJae](#): > > Not reading any of this thread until I post this. As a true fence sitter I think Obama came across great. I wish he would have straight up said he was right then wrong. And that was the first thing O’Reilly said in his post-interview pump himself up segment. And it’s as misleading. Almost no one, including Obama, ever contested that the surge would decrease violence. It’s common sense. More troops, more authority, more force will, of course, decrease violence. But that’s doesn’t mean the surge “worked”. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnieEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@JohnnieEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnieEnigma)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/68 "2008-09-05T01:02:11Z")
> [@RyJae](#): > > Not reading any of this thread until I post this. As a true fence sitter I think Obama came across great. I wish he would have straight up said he was right then wrong. But that’s minor, my personal biggest things are national security and special needs children. I think this laid to rest some of my fears on national security, you need to be willing to flex your muscle and not just your cheek muscles. And he assuaged my hesitance on his feelings on the use of force if needed. It pissed me off though that the whole speech wasn’t shown at once, it is a ratings ploy I honestly wanted more. > > Sen. Obama raised my opinion on him in a neutral, maybe not friendly, spot. Great job Senator! When you think of it, I doubt O’Reilly would have treated McCain the same way. So yeah, he was grandstanding. Obama didn’t really deserve the scrutiny. It’s good, though, that Obama addressed all the objections the right have of him. This should shut their mouths. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/69 "2008-09-05T01:06:30Z")
I liked Obama’s answer when O’Reilly was trying to badger him about what specific military strategies he would use to deal with Iran, and Obama expained that it would be inappropriate for a potential CIC to reveal any military plans. The “surge” thing was stupid. Obama didn’t “make a mistake” voting against it. Getting the fuck out of Iraq was a better idea at the time, and it still is. Voting against the escalation was, and remains the right call. I wish Obama would do a little better job of explaining that it still has not succeeded in its actual _goal_, though, which was to create space so that the political factions in Iraq could coalesce. It created some space (well, the Anbar Awakening did), but the Kurds have walked away from the table and Iraq is no closer to being united than it ever was. I want to see how Obama handles the stupid “associations” questions that O’Reilly says are coming next week. It was interesting that O’Reilly said Obama wasn’t a pussy. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/70 "2008-09-05T01:07:06Z")
> [@JohnnieEnigma](#): > > When you think of it, I doubt O’Reilly would have treated McCain the same way. So yeah, he was grandstanding. Obama didn’t really deserve the scrutiny. It’s good, though, that Obama addressed all the objections the right have of him. This should shut their mouths. I agree, Senator Obama did a great job, and increased my respect for him and more importantly it answered some of my doubts on an issue that mattered to me. Now excuse me while I throw something at Lindsey Graham. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnieEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@JohnnieEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnieEnigma)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/71 "2008-09-05T01:19:51Z")
> [@RyJae](#): > > I agree, Senator Obama did a great job, and increased my respect for him and more importantly it answered some of my doubts on an issue that mattered to me. Now excuse me while I throw something at Lindsey Graham. I’m calling O’Reilly on this too… he’s getting an email from me. What about this Ridge guy. There’s something about his demeanor that screams douchebag. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/72 "2008-09-05T01:24:21Z")
> [@JohnnieEnigma](#): > > I’m calling O’Reilly on this too… he’s getting an email from me. > > What about this Ridge guy. There’s something about his demeanor that screams douchebag. Well I like Tom Ridge, a helluva lot more than I do McCain actually. He did a lot of good for my state of Pennsylvania, if he was the Republican nominee my vote would be his to lose. He is the Republican I was before it got skewered IMHO. I take it he is speaking now, sadly Lindsey Graham’s speech forced me to shut off the TV. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/73 "2008-09-05T01:30:26Z")
> [@JohnnieEnigma](#): > > Both my parents are republicans. My brother is a life-long heroin addict. Is your brother ashamed of them? ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/74 "2008-09-05T01:31:54Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > I’m not saying the attacks are happening or are worse than they would be because Sarah Palin is a woman. I’m saying I take great issue with Brooke’s pregnancy being called a “legitimate target.” I agree. I think that candidates’ kids should be entirely off limits. But could you imagine if Obama or even Biden had a 17 yr old daughter get pregnant? The right wing would go nuts with “family values” and how they can’t control their children. Here’s an apt preview: [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317577,00.html](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317577,00.html) \*On the pinhead front, 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. The sister of Britney says she is shocked. I bet. Now most teens are pinheads in some ways. But here the blame falls primarily on the parents of the girl, who obviously have little control over her or even over Britney Spears. Look at the way she behaves.\* ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/75 "2008-09-05T01:56:12Z")
Is there anywhere I can see this online? -FrL- ETA: Never mind ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/76 "2008-09-05T02:16:16Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The escalation (the correct military terminology is “escalation.” “Surge” is a political tard word which has no military meaning or significance) has failed in its political goals Well, Obama disagrees with you there, but hey. You’ll see what you want to see. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/77 "2008-09-05T02:38:28Z")
The only part I caught was the last few minutes, though I’ve seen him before. I think many would agree that, irrespective of your political views, Bill O’Reilly isn’t really a journalist. He shouts down and cuts off people who don’t give him his soundbite, posing like he’s “asking the tough questions.” Actually I thought the idea was to ask a question and let the person answer. It’s like he’s saying, “Do you agree with me? Do you agree with me? You’re not willing to unilaterally agree? Well enough with you…let’s turn the camera on someone who _does_ agree with me.” He’s a dick. Journalists are supposed to report the news, not shape it. Spin-free zone, my ass. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/78 "2008-09-05T02:50:04Z")
I missed it, will it repeat? ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/79 "2008-09-05T03:05:11Z")
I don’t like O’Reilly, but if Obama wants to get his message to conservatives this is the best way to do it. If he stays away from FOX then conservatives will hear about him through FOX. Hearing from Obama himself is better than the alternative. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056/80 "2008-09-05T04:00:27Z")
Oh, I agree with you there-it was a damned good move on his part to appear on O’Reilly, of all people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-to-appear-on-oreilly-tonight/462056.md?page=5)