Bill O'Reilly Defends Obama, Slams Smears

Bill O'Reilly led off tonight's episode of The Factor with a pointed critique of the latest small-minded content of the news cycle, criticizing the McCain campaign both in terms of character and tactics, slagging the media for pressing the story senselessly, and largely absolving Obama - though perhaps with faint praise: his "Obama doesn't like confrontation" statement seems out of joint with last week's insistence that the Illinois Senator was "tough" and "not a wimp."

Nevertheless, O'Reilly very clearly stipulated that there was no evidence that Obama intended to make any sort of sexist remark.

This being Bill O'Reilly, the content naturally managed to slag Daily Kos and NBC News.

[WATCH.]

In related news, The Corner's Ramesh Ponnuru isn't happy about the McCain campaign's tactics, either:

...there may have been good ways to take shots at Obama over the "lipstick on a pig" comment. But the Republicans are coming across as whiny grievance-mongers. Don't they realize that this harping on ambiguous slights is what people hate about political correctness? It was bad enough when liberals were trying to destroy Palin. Now Republicans are trashing her brand. They're undermining the basis of her appeal as a different, tougher kind of female politician. Today has been worse than wasted.

Comments

[IslandGyal]

Sarah Palin's texes; have you all seen this?
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2008/09/sarah-palins-ta.html

[christabor]

Another desperate attempt by the democrats who are going to definitely lose yet another bid for the White House. Maybe y'all should look into a real scandal.......Rezko and the property he bought at full price from the same people who the day before gave your candidate a $300,000 discount on a home which butted against the property Rezko purchased. Obviously it was due to Obama's great negotiating skills and Rezko had an off day considering he paid full price. This is understandable when one considers the fact that Rezko made a living buying and selling properties at a profit. The fact that he was convicted of bribing polititians to make many of his deals for distressed government owned properties. When you realize Obama assisted him with legal help to make some of those purchases doesn't raise any suspisions.

The man at the top of your ticket is a criminal. He has lined his pockets on the backs of the poor people who were defrauded by Rezko and you guys want us to DIG into the per diam charges Palin obvious never tried to hide. A governors job is not like a traveling sales person and I trust the judgment of Gov. Palin and the people of Alaska much more than I trust the Daley machine polititians who Obama ran with in Chicago.

[lydia]

Years of delving in Obama's past reveals he dealing with someone of questionable character. Your Palin has no character whatsoever. After but a couple weeks the Palin revelations keep on surfacing.

Before this mob invaded the WH and shredded the constitution, America had a standing on the World stage, Americans could hold their heads high. Move on 8 years and we are the laughing stock of the World. Our economy has tanked, Housing crisis, Banks collapsing, we are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan with Russia and Iran on the horizon.

We owe China $$$tril. Bush dragged us all down the gutter with lies, trickery and thievery. It will take as many years to regain our moral standing once again and the gun tooting, moose shooting war monger Palin is incapable of taking this Nation out of its predicament but instead represents a promise of four more years of the same.

[Shaddup]

Hahahahaha­hahahahaha­ahaahahaaa­a. whooowee! You had me going there for a minute!

[Carolab]

If that were true, the media would be all over it since they are clearly boosting McCain and Palin. If you were paying attention, you would have seen this issue discussed at length on the CNN special "Obama Exposed". It was made clear that Michelle found the house, not Barack, and there was actually another lot attached to the property. In fact, Rezko's wife purchased the lot adjacent to the house on which the Obamas had successfully bid, reportedly to meet the seller's demand that both properties be sold at once. The Times reported: People familiar with the transaction said that the sellers did not want to close until that June 15, and that the sale would go through only if someone bought the adjacent lot from them on the same date. Rita Rezko paid $625,000 to outbid others for the lot and later sold the Obamas one-sixth of that land, for $104,500. The Chicago-Sun Times reported on February 23 that Rita Rezko sold the remainder of the lot to a law firm owned by her husband's business attorney in late 2006. According to the Sun-Times, Rezko's profit from both sales totaled $54,500.

[michael429]

Bill is the most qualified talking head on the tube to talk about Pigs.....after all......

[cordier]

The right wing talking-heads feigning support of Obama is a ruse. Notice how they say "Obama doesn't like confrontation" well, that's code for Obama's too weak to confront his accusers.

[Chaucea]

*blinks*

Well that was a surprising turn of events. ;)

[CaliBoy145]

See goes to show you after anyone meets Obama they like him, even Bill Orally.

[nonconformist2]

You know that the Mc Cain campaign has reached a new low when even the right wing pundits criticize them for being shallow.

[peachesmahoney]

Seems to me BIll smells a change coming and if he wants to remain employed, he had better change his tune! That being said, I'd rather watch 17 hours of Keeping up with the Kardashians than 17 seconds of Bill O'Reilly!

[realpolitic]

It is so funny to read many of the conservatives at this site are now saying O'Reilly is not a true conservative. How much further to the right can someone be than Billo? He occasionally makes an attempt at fairness, usually throwing backhanded compliments in the process. The nutty conservatives here now insist that Limbaugh and Hannity are now flying the conservative banner alone.

[realpolitic]

"It was bad enough when liberals were trying to destroy Palin." Democrats were never trying to destroy Palin, but questioning her record. It is encouraging that even Bill o'Reilly can occasionally rise above partisan, smar politics. I think the fact that Obama agreed to an interview with O'reilly served to humanize Obama for the notorious pundit. Obama then was no loner a political abstraction to O'Reilly.

[digitaltruth]

Obama was smart in making the pig comment because he knew McCain would attack it. Now Obama can say, "Let's get back to the issues!" Great move Obama!

If you want to see what sexist really looks like:
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/09/mccain-voted-against-biden-law.html

[rushbaby26]

if barack had any courage he would interview with hannity...O reilly isn't the best representative of conservatives.

[realpolitic]

Or Obama can just sit there for tn minutes or so while Hannity calls him names!

[nonconformist2]

Hannity! Are you in,sane?

When is Mc Cain going to interview with Olbermann? Doesn't Mc Cain have any courage?

[rushbaby26]

o reilly isn't a true conservati­ve...hanni­ty,rush,le­vin are....

O reilly leans conservative but he isn't as intillegent in terms of economics as say rush limbaugh

[ssgman]

Your satire is pretty amazing! Good Stuff!

[realpolitic]

Limbaugh does not know anything more of economics than to make change for a dollar. Limbaugh knows nothing about policy matters. He is a caricaturist and almost a satirist. His audience are the real losers. They are propably the least informed people in America.

[nonconformist2]

R.ush L.imbaugh intelligent? About the economy? LMAO.

[SayLessDoMore]

For the love of humanity, stop drinking the Kool-Aid. O'Reilly isn't as intelligent "in terms of economics" as, say, my Labrador Retriever . . . but he is LIGHT YEARS smarter than Rush Limbaugh in terms of pretty much everything.

And, truth be told, O'Reilly probably IS as intelligent as my Labrador Retriever. The comment above was just in fun. O'Reilly isn't so much stupid as he is reckless . . . and I believe he does have a sense of Obama's sincerity, intelligence, and strength of character. You right-wingnuts better hope O'Reilly doesn't have an epiphany late some night and realize that there's more honor in fighting mano-a-mano with Olbermann than agreeing with the likes of sycophants like Limbaugh or Hannity.

[PADebbie]

These Libs love to jump down peeps thraots that dont conform.....its alright you have friends here! DIDDOS!

[deeppeace]

Okay, I give up. I know what I mean when I say 'slag,' and it isn't a verb. ??

[S1m0n]

Bad mouthing. It's a very common UK/Irish term.

[deeppeace]

Thanks!

[riverhippie]

Yesterday, Neil Cavuto defended Obama as well.

[bibb]

A body snatcher has taken Bill O'Rielly. Do we have to have the real one back?!!!

[davibaby]

between the lines, he was still taking pot shots at Obama. O'Reily's still a rat.