Geraldo Rivera was a bit more like his old Benghazi self on his radio show today and a lot less like the Geraldo Rivera on Fox News since he was reportedly admonished by Roger Ailes (which Rivera has denied) for his fiery opposition to the politicization of the scandal. Today, Rivera nicely smacked down Bolling on the claim that the military could have rushed in and saved Americans under attack in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012. Then, for good measure, Rivera smacked down Bolling for his smarmy politicization of President Obama’s daughters.

It’s worth noting that Rivera is now somewhat in line with his Fox News colleagues on Benghazi. He made sure to note that he agreed that the emails characterizing the attack are a serious issue and that it’s “a fair question” to question whether we should have tried to rescue the Americans “even though we wouldn’t have succeeded.” However, I won't quibble given his evisceration of Bolling’s ridiculous allegation that an army rescue could have succeeded:

RIVERA: In terms of the military, you have to remember, we have never, ever – I had Bill Cowan, a colonel… very critical of the Obama administration. Have we ever, in the history of the United States, ever, has the military ever mounted a rescue mission in the time parameters that you suggest (7 hours)? Never! It’s never happened.

But Armchair Bolling disagreed – even though he has never spent time actually serving. “There are countless stories,” he insisted.

But when Rivera challenged him, Bolling couldn’t cite a single example. “You can’t name one because it never happened,” Rivera said. “B.S.” As Bolling tried to say that SEALs and Marines have rescued Americans, Rivera pointed out, “We were at war, in a theater where one of our people goes down and we have other assets in theater. This is not the same thing.” Then, Rivera added:

The military’s not a SWAT team. They’re not a fire department. They don’t sit there with their clothes on, waiting to slide down the pole. It doesn’t happen in real life. It happens in Rambo movies.

…You’re giving false information to the families of these people and it is so egregious, that they called the President of the United States a murderer.

Bolling backed off, “Let’s just say you’re right, which you are not.”

After a stint on “common ground” about the “cover up” (i.e. changes in talking points), Rivera confronted Bolling about his comments suggesting that if Malia and Sasha Obama had been killed or injured in Benghazi, “we’d be asking different questions.” Rivera called Bolling’s remarks a “slanderous angle that helps nobody. …I get tears in my eyes ‘cause I love you.”

It's really a shame that so few Democrats ever have the cojones to confront Fox tactics so directly and unequivocally when they go on Fox. 

Video available at Mediaite.