O'Reilly promotes more guilt by association: Pfleger -> Farrakhan -> Wright -> Obama
Reported by Chrish - April 7, 2008 -
Bill O'Reilly devoted his Talking Points Memo 4/3/08 and the Top Story to discussing Father Michael Pfleger, a white Catholic priest who has come out in defense of Obama's former pastor Jeremiah Wright and Louis Farrakhan. FOX lives by the doctrine "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," and conversely, the friend of their enemy is also their enemy. Guests Flavia Colgan and Dr. Larry Chapp held opposing views.
With video.
O'Reilly was looking for support for his contention that Pfleger should be "sanctioned" by the Catholic Church. Harvard Divinity School graduate Colgan rejected that idea, noting that there are much bigger problems facing the church today and saying he's not worth the time. She objected more to his "showboating" and use of the word "damned" than to his defense of the two black preachers (whom FOX is doggedly tying to Obama).
Colgan made clear she was not defending the hateful things Farrakhan and Wright have said but insisted, per her religion (Catholicism), that they may still be good people. (Hate the sin, not the sinner.) O'Reilly, also allegedly Catholic (as far as I know), was skeptical of this line of thought, labeling it liberal, and Colgan responded "Well, do you think Jesus is (sic) a liberal? Because I think he would believe that."
O'Reilly went to like-minded Chapp, a theologian, who said he disagreed but gave evidence to the contrary: Jesus accepted prostitutes but not prostitution. Chapp spun it a step further and said for the Church to provide a platform for Farrakhan was disgusting. Ironically, he focused on the Catholic Church's opposition to what he called "the politics of racial resentment."
O'Reilly softened his stance against Wright, calling him an eccentric who doesn't like his country (as Pfleger told O'Reilly's producer, Wright is a former Marine, who gave up his college deferment to enlist in 1963). Noting that a lot of Catholic priests and "other clerics" in other religions sympathize with Wright, O'Reilly again mischaracterized Pfleger's defense of Farrakhan as an endorsement, a promotion, and said that damages the Church.
Colgan said she agreed with 99% of what Dr. Chapp said, but her place was to defend Pfleger. She appreciated the time to talk about the issue (as O'Reilly overtalked her dismissively) and said the Catholic Church, with all its history and tradition, would not be brought down by one man.
Colgan defended Pfleger in a sense, saying he should not be sanctioned by his bishop, while she strongly condemned Farrakhan and Wright (moreso the former). O'Reilly and Chapp condemned the black preachers and thought Pfleger should be sanctioned for his defense of them. So fair and balanced was at best 2:1.
TPM:
Top Story discussion:
