The President with the Glass Jaw
Reported by Marie Therese - July 19, 2004 -
Those of us who have watched "The O'Reilly Factor" for any length of time are familiar with his disdain for guests who are "afraid to come on the Factor" because they can't take "the heat".
As the self-proclaimed guardian of "the folks" (who apparently can't take care of themselves), O'Reilly endears himself to his core audience by making disparaging remarks about his latest target, usually someone he describes as "liberal", "bomb thrower", "pinhead", "left-wing", "elite", "anti-American", "unpatriotic", "anti-Christian", "traitor" or "secularist". Richard Clarke and Michael Moore come to mind, but there are many others.
This technique is very effective with O'Reilly's fans. It also reinforces the subtle, subliminal messages being projected to the FOX audience. "Action" is good; "thinking" is bad. Sticking to your guns is good; negotiation and compromise are bad. America is good; anyone who disagrees with America is bad. Action heroes are fearless in the face of a Factor grilling; liberals are cowards in the face of a Factor grilling.
A "real man" stands tall and proud in the face of overwhelming odds and faces down his enemies. Bolstered by his God and wrapped in the flag of courage, he is unafraid to take the battle right into the heart of the enemy's camp.
Unless, of course, the "hero" is George Bush and the "enemy camp" is the NAACP Convention!
Then, our stalwart President is suddenly M. I. A.
On Monday, July 12th, O'Reilly himself argued that it was OK for Bush to turn tail and run in the face of the prospect of a hostile audience. I found this most amusing and rather hypocritcal on O'Reilly's part. However, it was fun watching the Maestro of Macho twist slowly in the wind as he argued in favor of cowardice! Lest you not believe me, read the transcript below.
Ah, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and he gave me my Christmas present early this year!
Personally transcribed excerpts from "The O'Reilly Factor" of July 12, 2004, 8:40 PM to 8:43 PM EDT. Words in parentheses have been added for clarity. If you'd like to read the complete interview as transcribed by FOX, go to NAACP's Kweisi Mfume in the No Spin Zone.
O'REILLY: Look, you're different than Bond. Bond's a bomb thrower. I don't have any respect for him and I do have respect for you. But, put yourself in President Bush's position. He hears this kind of vitriolic rhetoric from Bond and he says "Ya' know, I might wanna go in and talk to Mfume - he's a reasonable guy - but I don't wanna go in there and be embarrassed, because, if I am, if I'm booed or heckled or something untoward happens, my opponent's gonna use this. He's gonna grab the tape, he's gonna play it on all the newscasts [claiming] the blacks hate Bush, the NAACP hates Bush."
And I wouldn't take the chance, if I'm the Chief Executive of this country, based upon Mr. Bond's irresponsible remarks. Now, if Mr. Bond apologized, because I trust you, I don't think you would put the President in a bad position, then I might rethink it. But at this point, after that diatribe, no way I go.
MFUME: Yeah, I know. And that's legitimate. And it's legitimate even from his part. And this is some of the conversation that Mr. [Ed] Gillespie [Chairman of the RNC] and I had, when he talked, and he pretty much put it the way you did. But, you know, I guess my real concern is - forget the conventions, whether they've been over the last four years or this one - it would've just helped just to be able to sit down.
I've written the President every year for four straight years, just for a meeting, just to say, "Here's our agenda. What do you think about it? Tell us yours." And every letter I got back from the White House said "The President would love to, but he doesn't have time" - for four years! So, the convention is the pinnacle, because we're focussing now, all of us, on the convention and whether or not he came.
But the larger issue is - it would have been great if we could have sat down long before this. I did that with his dad. I did it with Ronald Reagan. I just believe ya' gotta have dialogue and not distance, even when you disagree, but that didn't happen. So, if the decision is, "Well, you know, I didn't like what I heard and so I'm not going to put myself in that position" - that's fine. But the larger question becomes, well, what happened to the last four years when we missed opportunity after opportunity to talk?
O'REILLY: Well, listen, if I'm President Bush, I'd meet with you anytime you asked me to, because, again, you're welcome on this program anytime. I wanna hear what you have to say. But the guy's fightin' a war on terror, he's got - you know - I mean, these are extraordinary times.
I don't think that's an excuse. I do think he should have met with you. I do think the Republicans should reach out to the African-American community, because now they have something to offer. The Republican Party has a lot to offer blacks, I believe, and they should try to sell it, they should try to come on in, as you said, siphon off some votes, reasonably discuss the issues and differences.
But again, I mean, when you have a guy like Julian Bond, ya' know, taking that kind of swastika approach, the Taliban, ya' know, boy, it just demeans your whole organization, Mr. Mfume. It really does. It puts you into the defamation and that kind of a league, and you don't want to be there. I don't know why you can't tell Bond that. It doesn't do anybody any good. Ya' know what I'm talkin' about?
MFUME: Well, I work for the Board. The Board doesn't work for me. They hire and (garbled) they fire me, I'm sure, but, uh...
O'REILLY (overtalking): Yeah. I know. I know. But ya' gotta -- if you want the NAACP to have the power and recognition it deserves to have - you hafta' be fair. You are fair. He isn't. Bond isn't fair.
MFUME: Well, that's why I called you the other day, because I had made a characterization out of absolute frustration, because someone said, "Well, the Republican Party has said they're gonna..."
O'REILLY (overtalking): The prostitute remark, you mean?
MFUME: Yeah. They're gonna go out and court the black vote...
O'REILLY (overtalks): Yeah, but see, that didn't even offend me. I wasn't even offended by that. I knew what you were trying to say. I have it right in front of me. That wasn't a bomb throwin' remark. You were just sayin' "Hey, he's just not treatin' us with respect and we've gotta get this thing out in the open." Wasn't that what you were trying to say?
MFUME: That is what I was trying to say.
O'REILLY: Yes, all right.
MFUME: And Bill, you know, the question is, where do we even go from here? It's like this huge line is in the sand now, you know. We've dug in on our side, they've dug in on their side, and yet, the American public is not better served as a result of this, and even this convention, would be better served to hear from two candidates as opposed to one, even if it were by videotape.
O'REILLY: You should have invited me. I'll go next year and talk to your convention. I'll come in there, and I'll rock that whole world in there, and I'll tell you why certain people fear you...
MFUME: I'm sure.
O'REILLY: Look, it's all about fear, Mr. Mfume. They're afraid that they're gonna go in there, they're gonna be treated disrespectfully. He's the President of the United States, he's in the middle of a war. He doesn't need it. That's what they're saying.
