Barack Obama On "The O'Reilly Factor": Surge Has "Succeeded Beyond Our Wildest Dreams"

Barack Obama made his long-anticipated debut on Fox News' "O'Reilly Factor" Thursday night, where he talked about the Iraq war and national security.

"I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated," Obama told O'Reilly in an interview taped Thursday in York, PA. "It's succeeded beyond our wildest dreams."

In the excerpt shown Thursday night, Obama also listed the United States' enemies for O'Reilly: "Al Qaeda, the Taliban, a whole host of networks that are bent on attacking America who have a distorted ideology who have perverted the faith of Islam and so we have to go after them."

In regards to a nuclear Iran, Obama said it would be "unacceptable for Iran to possess a nuclear weapon; it would be a game changer" and he assured both O'Reilly and the Fox News audience that he "would never take military action off the table."

Watch:

More excerpts from O'Reilly's interview with Obama will air next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday on "The O'Reilly Factor."

Comments

[Totto]

Having gone toe to toe with Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes, and now Bill O', Obama has shown guts. Try to get McCain on Olberman.

[Maka]

Exactly. I can't stand Bill O' and think he's a complete blowhard hack of a pundit and I'm slightly disappointed Obama chose to go on his show simply because it lends legitimacy to a man who doesn't deserve legitimacy BUT, I respect Obama's guts in facing down one of the most offensively incorrect right-wing pundits out there. And I think Obama was quite excellent in this bit.

[Marilynleigh34]

McCain would do just fine with Olbermann, but I would hate to see McCain lower himself to appear on a second rate station, with a second rate host.

[zippywpinhead]

you mean like FOX?

[TheProverbialMan]

Ha! Good one.

Obama's balls are bigger than McCain's head.

[ldillworth]

I'd rather see McCain with Campbell Brown.

[DaveDial]

Could Billo be more disrespectful to a candidate for President of the United States? I'm all for asking the tough questions, but O'Reilly was so disrespectful and rude it was an embarrassment. You know he would NEVER treat a Republican candidate that way.

Senator Obama did a great job. Absolutely solid.

Billo is a horrible, ill tempered blowhard. He matches well with McCain, who is a erratic, bad tempered danger to our Country.

[TheProverbialMan]

Yeah as bad as Billo was, Obama was right on target. He refused to fall for his B.S.

Do you remember Billo's interview of W. Bush? It was the most sycophantic P.O.S interview of all time. He could barely keep his eyes from glistening in joy.

[Countdown09]

Sen. O has just the RIGHT temperament for Commander and Chief, that's what I notice when he's under fire. Never loses his cool, thinks before he speaks. This may not seem a big deal unless you consider the temperament of McHot head and Bush, always talking tough, making threats, that only our military could back up.

[ViVS]

I take strong exception to the point of view that the surge has worked.

1) US essentially bribed the enemy "Sunni awakening guys" not to fight with us. What happens when the bribes stop?
2) The violence is down in big part because many millions of Shia and Sunni have already been forced to leave their home and go to places where their community is in majority. This huge internal migrations has naturally reduced violence.
3) 3 Million+ Iraqis have left the country. Both internal and external migrations are very hard on people who are forced to migrate leaving their lives and belongings behind.
4) The most violent city, Baghdad is now essentially a "walled city" with every neighborhood putting up a wall to restrict movement. That is no way to live and severely limits peoples movements and economic opportunities.
5) Large part of southern Iraq is now essentially governed by Shia militias that impose brutish, autocratic/theocratic rule and especially treat women horribly.
6) Iraqi government has put several restrictions on journalists to follow and report on violent incidents. No reporting does not mean it dis not happen.
7) Both Iraqi government and US Army have changed the rules on reporting casualties, reducing their number.

You call this success? It is fleeting and marginal improvement at best, pure smoke an mirrors at worst.

I hope democrats discover their spine, open their eyes and stop falling for this "Surge is working" narrative developed by Bush administration and neo-cons.

ViVS

[dbeden]

Petraeus is also recommending a stall in troop withdrawals...seems like he doesn't believe the surge is working either.

[dukeman]

Not to mention the rounding up and jailing of ten thousand "suspicious-looking" young Iraqi men.

[XME]

That was not Obama's full comment. He had a huge BUT after he said that, mention many if the reasons it wasn't completely successful.

[rwe]

so then you think Obama had no clue about the surge and you will vote for the best candidate John McCain.... country first

[ObamanextPresident]

Exactly, most americans know this...so does Obama. However, consider the circumstances; Billo wouldn't have let Obama finish point number one, let alone 9 and 10.

For months the faux, republicult, shrill cry has been, "Why won't Obama admit the surge has worked?"

They have worked up alot of foaming at the mouth emotion from the right over this just like they did over their ridiculous,"Why doesn't Obama wear a flag pin?"

So Obama in his intellectual brilliance put a squelch to the rant by wearing a flag pin every day and now he has keenly put a stop to the surge question. They will no longer be able to rally their base with this baseless bs for the next 60 days.

[LonesomeThunderbolt]

I have contributed money to Obama and done volunteer work in his campaign. But I am mystified why he would tell O'Reilly that the surge has "succeeded beyond our wildest dreams" and not repeat his conclusion that the Iraq war was "a strategic blunder."

Last spring, Obama had deftly maneuvered McCain to the losing side of the "experience" vs. "judgment" argument on Iraq. Obama had shown "judgment" in knowing Iraq would be a sinkhole, while McCain's "experience" helped push the country into a war with disastrous consequences. McCain seems to have turned the tables on Obama, arguing that Obama "lacks judgment" for not supporting the surge and thus is "too inexperienced" to be commander-in-chief.

With the stock market dropping 345 points and the jobless rate reaching record highs, why didn't Obama remind O'Reilly of the $10-$12 billion being thrown away every month on a misbegotten war? If the economy is the issue most on voters' minds, Obama needs to spend the remaining weeks until Nov. 4 hammering home the message that Iraq was not only a military and foreign policy disaster, but an economic one as well.

[Dailyfare]

You should actually listen to what he's saying:

1. The surge has worked to reduce violence
2. The goal of the surge was to create an environment in which the Iraqi government takes responsiblity; in this respect, surge has not been successful; and usually "success" means that the goal has been accomplished.

This is what he's been saying all along. It makes sense.

[zippywpinhead]

it's the difference between tactical and strategic success- something the mindless sheep just can't seem to grasp...

[leahsmommy]

I agree. He has been saying this all along.

I think we are the only ones that noticed that. I was listening to my favorite morning show this morning and a journalist that he has on there regularly stated that "Obama finallly admited that the "surge" worked. As if he has said anything different before.

[MaynardGK]

"Beyond our wildest dreams"
Its a political retreat akin to the wearing of the flag lapel, ok drill some, ... The republican echo chamber wishes to find some clearly defined difference and hammer on it as if its a great wedge issue. The logic is irrelevant, as long as you can pounce with it loudly enough. Backtracking on the nuanced position you were attempting to defend is a mild flip that allows conversation to proceed.

[amamomofsons]

Was this an interview or a debate?

[londonrainbow]

Thats Obama's best interview. O'reilly couldn't bully O as he wanted to. LOL

[realpolitic]

O'Reilly looked like a sore loser who could not get his way.

[dare 2 tryObama]

I thought he did a good myself. I don't like how Bill cuts people off and yells because they don't say what he wants them to say but he held his own and did a good job.

[WatchmanD]

The Headline is misleading. Please listen to the interview

[Wanjiru]

...HUGE, HUGE, HUGE mistake for Sen. Obama to say that the surge has worked beyond our expectations, without elaborating on ALL of the factors that contributed to it...

...this will MOST DEFINITELY be used as fodder by McCain/Palin, it WILL come back to bite him...

...I was very disappointed about his overlooking that SERIOUS detail...

:((
.

[StillIRise]

Did you LISTEN to the interview?

[realpolitic]

Obama can not ignore that violence is down. However, political goals have not been met. The Maliki government is starting to arrest those who laid down their arms to take part in the Sunni awakening. I would not be surprised if violence breaks out again.

[eden4barack08]

"...without elaborating on ALL of the factors that contributed to it..." WHAT?

Listen to it again please! He elaborated the Anbar, the locals etc...

[AnthonyVolpe]

It already WAS used by Sarah Palin as fodder, it was used out of context, and if you watch the whole interview, you'll know what Obama really meant.

[johnfv]

No one should be afraid of the truth. Even if it goes agst your own opinion. How else do we recognize faults/grow/learn/etc...?

[Garretto]

WHY? What was the point of going on that show if you can't shut O'Reilly down?
I thought it was painful to watch Obama try and convince O'Reilly that he'd be tough on terror and admitting the surge was a success. Open minded people don't watch this clown, or his news network. We know Fox's agenda, what was Obama's? What is the point?
He should have gone on The Colbert Report; Colbert delivers the same laughable approach and is as much a journalist as BillO any day of the week. It may be singing to the choir, but that's better than being pummeled by a biased "journalist" who will come out on top of this either by bluster, or editing.
Of course I'll watch the remainder of the interview---via this site, or Youtube, but I do it with dread.

[BoardsOfCanada]

Actually the 30% of democrats that watch his show periodically such as myself, are typically open minded, which is why close minded people who pander to the left or right only listen to what they wan't to hear. Just listen to how many liberals call Rush everyday. They can make you cringe till your face hurts, but it's good to sort out the nonsense to find where they have legit arguments. Keith is almost exactly the same. He's twisted a lot facts in some instances to make the point he want's to make, so I'm not sure if he's really that different. And Colbert? That's entertainment, comedy, and not really news. I love it, but you would get nothing informative from Obama out of those 10 minutes, which of course isn't the point.

[ObamanextPresident]

"He's twisted a lot facts in some instances to make the point he want's to make, so I'm not sure if he's really that different."

Keith doesn't twist a lot of facts....

Keith actually UN twists the Lies that have been touted out there as "facts."

[bellenoir55]

My sentiments exactly!
And I did not appreciate being exposed to the likes of Newt Gingritch,
among others,bashing Obama and the Democrats!
WTF????
I changed channels, but checked back until the interview started,45 MINUTES INTO THE HOUR!!!

I doubt many Obama supporters wil put up with that. And how sneaky of Fox to milk the ratings by dragging the interview out over the first three days of next week!

Thank God for YouTube and other outlets!

[johnfv]

Yeah, Fox is the only network that cares about ratings. Where have you been living?

[eden4barack08]

Murdoch's been begging behind the scenes for months and had the Kennedy's set up a meeting with O, relentlessly until he got him to accept an interview.
Obama made his point loud and clear about the FNC, but as potential future Pres, ignoring one of the most watched networks in the country (according to ratings), forever would not have been advisable.
He did GREAT!

[viewfromuphere]

to me the point is...that Obama went on the show at all....that's the win. And I'd bet Biden would too

McCain and Palin....hope to see you on Olberman soon....don't go hiding out behind the handlers looking afraid of a tough question.

[JustAThought56]

I admire Obama for engaging with O'Reilly. Millions of Americans who watch Fox News and think its all that would never otherwise hear Obama speak or come to any understanding of his views.

It is not easy to debate with political extremists who have already decided that you are the worst thing to come along since FDR, and I thought Obama did a fine job.

- He made the point that the violence was down but that the window of opportunity the surge gave us is not being exploited - that's the failure, since that was the purpose of the surge.

- He also ID'ed the real enemies, the Taliban, who the Republicans have ignored since the invasion of Afghanistan.

- He even got O'Reilly agreeing with him on these main points.

I think that is huge and I congratulate him for reaching out over the artificial divide Gingrich started and the Republicans expanded to include all Americans in the debate. THAT'S leadership!

[faust2001]

OK, so Obama has to pander to our lawless military establishment and their deranged groupies on FOX News. A strange definition of change, Senator.

[mexamerican]

there was no pandering. it's called reaching an audience. good god.

[BoardsOfCanada]

Thank you. I was tempted to leave a more insulting response to faust, but it's not worth wasting on an idiotic post.

[TheProverbialMan]

Did you even listen to the tape? Obama stood up to him and has iterated all his talking points of the last 9 months. He just recognized that putting a crap load of troops in a country will reduce violence, but refused to concede that they accomplished everything that the "surge" was supposed to accomplish.

[johnfv]

You have to admit that it wasnt just more troops!

More troops doing the wrong thing doesnt help. The strategy changed drastically, combined with using locals that turned on the terrorists destroying their country and killing the Iraqi citizens.

This all allowed the Iraqi gvt to start meeeting the milestones the Dems were saying were not met. The reason the Dems dont mention Milestones any more is because they are almost all achieved per time estimates.

We should have given inspectors more time before we tried to push the UN to do anything, but now that we are there (Yes, Bush jumped the gun!) we can admit that the surge worked and the first strategy to quell the violence was wrong.

[mlweaver]

Who was being interviewed here? Obama or O'Reilly? Sounded like Bill was more interested in asking himself the questions. Don't invite a guest on your show if you don't want to talk to them.
I am an avid supporter of Senator Obama but I believe he needs to point out that this kind of irresponsible media outlet has acted as an enabler for 8 years of failed policy and thousands of dead Americans (Fox News is by far the worst but blame needs to be spread around). Media reform is a huge issue missing from this campaign. The media used to hold pliticians accountable but have become more concerned with flag pins, teenage pregnancy, and missing white toddlers/teenagers. Obama has no business talking to these kinds of people and I am dissapointed in him for giving in to O'Reilly's nagging for him to come on the "high spin zone". They want nothing but to tear him down and promote their own self-interested policies. Just wait until "Papa Bear" interviews one of his own.

[IanC]

IRONY ALERT!

BillO took Obama to school, man. Remember, BillO was a mature student at the Kennedy School of Government, so he's not going to let some elite Harvard Law grad tell him what's what about the world.

I predict BillO will be "lost at sea", similar to Robert Maxwell, soon after Obama takes office. And the world will be a better place.

[realpolitic]

O'Reilly was his typical thuggish, brutish self. He attempted to interrupt Obama at every turn, limit him to one-word answers, and dismiss his responses. An O'Reilly interview is just an attempt to embarrass and humiliate his ideological opponents and has otherwise little news value. The interview, given the hostility to Obama that O'Reilly showed, differed so much from O'Reilly's fawning, preening interviews to our idiot-in-chief Bush.