# O'Reilly vs Wallace: 60 Minutes Ultimate Smackdown **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746 "2007-02-26T18:07:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/1 "2007-02-26T18:07:02Z")
I’m not sure what forum this belongs in, as it could be equally comfortable in CS, GD, IMHO, and the Pit. Since it concerns a TV show, I’ll start it off here in CS. So who watched 60 Minutes last night? Mike Wallace interviewed Bill O’Reilly. What was entertaining was that Wallace was able to hold his own against the Big Bully, and called him on his BS without ever caving. What surprised me was that O’Reilly claimed to have a number of liberal beliefs. This was news to me. Gun control, gay civil unions, the environment, and more. An astonishing number, actually. But he still came off as a jerk. What was surreal was that he told the viewing audience that if they didn’t like him, Wallace was to blame. When growing up, it never occurred to him to be a journalist (yeah, yeah), but Wallace inspired him to do so. It was a sort of odd admiration couched as genuine contempt and blind hatred. Anyone else see this? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/2 "2007-02-26T19:17:21Z")
I wish I had. I normally don’t miss “60 Minutes” but last night wife and I had a commitment. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/3 "2007-02-26T19:23:39Z")
I haven’t seen it yet, but you should be able to catch it [here](http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?channel=60Sunday), on CBS’s site. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/4 "2007-02-26T19:27:21Z")
[QUOTE=SkipMagic] I haven’t seen it yet, but you should be able to catch it [here](http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?channel=60Sunday), on CBS’s site. [/QUOTE] Indeed, it is there. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2007, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/5 "2007-02-26T21:05:30Z")
I liked the way O’Reilly dissed Rush Limbaugh as just an “entertainer” who was putting on a show. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/6 "2007-02-26T21:14:08Z")
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. You could just _feel_ the crazy. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/7 "2007-02-26T21:45:20Z")
I enjoyed the interview. I have always found Bill’s show to be very interesting and entertaining – there is nothing else quite like it on television! I know that a lot of people like to demonize him and make him out to be some horrible, nasty ogre just because he does not share their political views. He angers both Democrats and Republicans because he does not feel the need to toe any particular party’s line! ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/8 "2007-02-26T22:24:51Z")
Bill is not totally evil. But wasn’t this clips from a 2004 interview? ---
**Author:** ![Skipper\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Skipper\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skipper_Too)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/9 "2007-02-27T00:48:14Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] Bill is not totally evil. But wasn’t this clips from a 2004 interview? [/QUOTE] I believe this segment was repeat because 1. Mike Wallace Retired at the end of Last Season as the last original 60 minutes corespondant. 2. O’reilly mentioned not knowing who he was going to vote for in the comming presidental election, Bush or Kerry, and referred to Kerry as a friend. 3. Hi Opal ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/10 "2007-02-27T03:17:33Z")
I’ve never watched O’Reilly before. I did watch this whole clip though. I was strangely entertained. He kinda reminds me of Q from TNG. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/11 "2007-02-27T03:39:34Z")
> [@](#): > > What was surreal was that he told the viewing audience that if they didn’t like him, Wallace was to blame. When growing up, it never occurred to him to be a journalist (yeah, yeah), but Wallace inspired him to do so. So even if we don’t like O’Reilly it’s still the liberal media’s fault? ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/12 "2007-02-27T22:56:34Z")
I didn’t think it was very hard hitting. Wallace acted the part of a tough interviewer in rhetoric, but never delivered any actual goods. > [@](#): > > I know that a lot of people like to demonize him and make him out to be some horrible, nasty ogre just because he does not share their political views. Nonsense. What people don’t like about him is that he is in every respect a demagogue. He doesn’t let facts or reason intrude on what always comes back to a bullying emotionalisms. He’s just the biggest and most bloated of right wing pundits and a few token positions that he never really advocates for and always negates the underlying reasons for doesn’t change that. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/13 "2007-02-27T23:00:27Z")
It was a pretty softball interview. Wallace didn’t confront him on the various lies exposed in Franken’s book. He didn’t ask him about the salacious phone calls to the woman he was trying to set up a sexual liasion with or his revisionist WW II history were he made the Nazis the heroes. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/14 "2007-02-27T23:36:42Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] his revisionist WW II history were he made the Nazis the heroes. [/QUOTE] I’ve never heard of this aspect of his weirdness. Could you give me a capsule summary of this? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/15 "2007-02-28T00:59:50Z")
[QUOTE=zagloba] I’ve never heard of this aspect of his weirdness. Could you give me a capsule summary of this? [/QUOTE] I’m wondering if **randwill** is confusing O’Reilly and Pat Buchanan. I always have a visual recognition problem with those two… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/16 "2007-02-28T01:07:56Z")
[Documents | The Smoking Gun](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1013043mackris1.html) No confusion. He is an ill mannered bully. He yells over people he disagrees with and shouts them down patting himself on the back for another fine debate. A classless act. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/17 "2007-03-02T20:35:42Z")
[QUOTE=gytalf2000] He angers both Democrats and Republicans because he does not feel the need to toe any particular party’s line! [/QUOTE] This is a joke, right? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/18 "2007-03-02T21:29:11Z")
Nice article about the recent biography of O’Reilly. [http://www.newshounds.us/2007/03/02/oreilly\_blocks\_publicity\_on\_book\_about\_him.php](http://www.newshounds.us/2007/03/02/oreilly_blocks_publicity_on_book_about_him.php) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/19 "2007-03-02T21:51:05Z")
[QUOTE=zagloba] I’ve never heard of this aspect of his weirdness. Could you give me a capsule summary of this? [/QUOTE] [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AyF7_oN9kk)’s Keith Olbermann breaking down O’Reilly’s historical flub and his unwillingness to admit his mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746/20 "2007-03-02T21:55:30Z")
> [@](#): > > What surprised me was that O’Reilly claimed to have a number of liberal beliefs. This was news to me. Gun control, gay civil unions, the environment, and more. The one I heard was about gay couples and adoption. He’s supposedly a supporter but I caught one of his shows on this issue and it turned out that he places adoption by a gay couple as a last resort option just above keeping the kid as a ward of the state. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-vs-wallace-60-minutes-ultimate-smackdown/393746.md?page=2)