Andrew Sullivan: Bill O'Reilly Is A Dishonest Propagandist

Blogger Andrew Sullivan tore into Bill O'Reilly Thursday, calling his criticisms of President Obama ridiculous and asking to go on his show to debate him.

Sullivan's blog post was inspired by Mark Leibovich's profile of Glenn Beck in the New York Times Magazine. In it, Leibovich wrote that "several Fox News journalists have complained that Beck's antics are embarrassing Fox, that his inflammatory rhetoric makes it difficult for the network to present itself as a legitimate news outlet."

Sullivan pronounced himself baffled by this, since, in his opinion, Beck wasn't nearly as embarrassing for Fox as Sean Hannity or, especially, Bill O'Reilly.

Sullivan had harsh words for Hannity, saying that, compared to him, "Beck seems to me to be a relative innocent. Hannity is a cynical liar and cool propagandist...shameless does not even begin to describe the man's public character."

But he reserved most of his criticism for O'Reilly. Writing that he had watched Wednesday's "Talking Points Memo," Sullivan wrote that it was "so full of meaningless cliches about 'big government' and 'progressives,' so divorced from any coherent engagement with the reality of Obama's record and stated views, that it beggared belief "(video below).

Sullivan then responded to several of the points O'Reilly made in his segment--including one about foreign policy:

He says first that in foreign policy, progressives believe that America is a "bully" and "too aggressive." Obama, however, has retained most of Bush's executive powers against al Qaeda (except, critically, torture), has poured more troops into Afghanistan than was ever the case under Bush, has ramped up the drone campaign in Pakistan, retained Bush's defense secretary, stuck to Bush's withdrawal timetable in Iraq, and embraced targeted killings of al Qaeda operatives, even US citizens...there is no other description of this than a travesty of the truth.

Ultimately, Sullivan said, Beck is "a clown," but a genuine one. O'Reilly, though, did not get off so gently. Sullivan called him a "a propagandist - not as bad as Hannity - but dishonest and wrong." He concluded by asking O'Reilly to debate him:

Mr O'Reilly, I know Fox has long had a blanket ban on having me on as a guest, but here's a challenge: allow me to debate this Talking Points Memo with you, and reveal what a completely half-baked piece of nonsense it was.

Watch Wednesday's "Talking Points Memo":

Comments

[loeska]

03:02 PM on 10/05/2010

It is unbelievable what some men, Beck among them, will do to gain power that would
otherwise elude them. Hopefully, spreading hate and confusion will not catch on.

[319]

11:38 PM on 10/04/2010

For the literate impaired, a picture of O'Reilly next the the word, "bully" is all that is needed. Billo epitomizes the entire concept.

[dax49]

12:16 PM on 10/04/2010

beck, hannity, and o'reilly are way too cowardly to have an informed, strong opponent on their so-called shows!

[BrunoChopps]

07:50 PM on 10/04/2010

These people should be forced into hard labor.

[barrada nicto]

04:59 AM on 10/04/2010

Andrew Sullivan: Bill O'Reilly Is A Dishonest Propagandist

Why haven't more people been saying that?

[OregonMigrant]

06:21 AM on 10/04/2010

Plenty have said it, few have listened.

[Imzadi]

06:49 AM on 10/04/2010

Sadly, that is quite true.

[wkb2texans]

10:06 AM on 10/04/2010

Because most progressives are ignored ..

[Tim Fuller]

03:37 AM on 10/04/2010

Bill O lost his last shred of credibility with me early on in the WMD fiasco. Said he's bail on Bush if none were found.
Enjoy.

[SonyaInTx]

12:18 AM on 10/04/2010

Andrew isn't telling us anything we don't know about Loofa O'Reilly........

[OregonMigrant]

06:22 AM on 10/04/2010

Falafel!

[zootalors]

11:12 AM on 10/04/2010

ew! gee, thanks for reminding me about that(shudder)

[mapmaker515]

11:50 PM on 10/03/2010

Beck is different from the other two because he clearly is neurologically flaccid. Hannity and O'Reilly are professional liars whose job is to sell crap to the the hillbilly part of this country.and painting it as USDA.

[Farzan]

11:42 PM on 10/03/2010

Oh all negative adjectives apply.

[booker52]

10:33 PM on 10/03/2010

Beck is a shameless opportunist, same for Hannity. O'reilly is just full of it.

[verizon]

10:03 PM on 10/03/2010

Mr. Sullivan you are absolutely right, about Billo the Clown It would be most watch debate in the net. congrats Mr. Sullivan.

[Dave Kravitz]

08:43 PM on 10/03/2010

Sullivan looks like another lefty starving for attention.

[Robert Cantor]

09:16 PM on 10/03/2010

Ha! cynical and wrong

[wulidncr]

06:52 AM on 10/04/2010

time for new glasses then if thats what you saw.

[Red45]

03:40 PM on 10/03/2010

Something tells me that O'Reilly isn't going to bite. My greatest hope is that Americans will discover how they're been had by the neocon thugs and tea baggers and get them out of government, no matter what it takes.

[barrada nicto]

05:04 AM on 10/04/2010

The conservative lie machine is incredibly effective.

Republican followers still don't know Bush's tax cuts for the rich cost us trillions. They're just so happy they got their couple dollars.

[TomInJax]

12:52 PM on 10/04/2010

Have you ever seen how he treats guests with contrary views. First he cuts them off. If that doesn't work he yells at them. Nest he calls them names. I think pin head is his favorite derogatory term. Finally if need be, he cuts off the mike or just ends the interview. I have a feeling he was one of the kids that took his ball and ran home crying if he was getting beat playing (pick your sport) as a kid.

[duhtruth]

02:53 PM on 10/03/2010

FOX and its propagandists get away unchallenged for the most part, since they shout down any dissenting voice. Sullivan is on target but if I were he I wouldn't be quick to want to go on FOX. They may slip him the mute serum as they rake him over the coals with lies he is unable to respond to. There is nothing that I would put past FOX after seeing fake videos of crowds and edited statements. Be careful, Mr. Sullivan.

[guveqzero]

02:24 PM on 10/03/2010

Debate is not in Fox's vocabulary, they are an opinion factory in an entertainment business. Not worth watching. They should have been canceled but they have created a form of yellow journalism that makes its own self propelling truth. Just like Hearst, they have proved that news can be transformed into anything, for good or bad.

[alreadyfamous]

02:09 PM on 10/03/2010

There is absolutely nothing 'legitimate" about fox news. I don't even consider it news.

it is not even journalism. there has never been any real objectivity.

the fox channel spews hate through their demented, vile rhetoric that continues to divide and poison America. not because of a difference in opinion. that's healthy. it's their lies and disdain for equality and in their only acknowledging 2% of the population. the hugely rich along with corporations which all comes down to "greed"

it's hateful.

anyone have a different way to describe this so called network?

[Red45]

03:41 PM on 10/03/2010

I think you did it just fine. F+F