Sarah Palin dropped her boycott of The O’Reilly Factor last night for not just one but two segments in which both she and Bill O’Reilly were (uncharacteristically) on their best behavior with each other. In fact, they each must have been so consumed by their new Era of Good Feelings, that the two past masters of hate mongering developed a sudden case of amnesia and repeatedly agreed with the other that they don’t like personal attacks.

In O’Reilly’s talking points commentary that preceded the first segment with Palin, he spoke about the importance of unity among Republicans. Although he was clearly referring – and even later cited – the divisiveness caused in the party by Palin, he didn’t seem to mind that she first said she agreed with O’Reilly about the need for unity – and then later said she would continue to call out Republicans who act like RINOs.

Then, at about 6:30 in the video below, O’Reilly brought up Martin Bashir. Bashir resigned the day before from MSNBC after making disparaging comments about her on the air. Palin had already taken her victory lap on Fox & Friends yesterday morning. But, apparently, you just can’t attack MSNBC enough on Fox.

And maybe you can’t be too hypocritical, either. With straight faces, both Palin and O’Reilly suddenly became champions of the high road in political discourse:

O’REILLY: Why do they have to go after you personally? …Why?

PALIN: I think it’s an immature and kind of petty way of trying to destroy someone. That certainly is the Saul Alinsky politics of personal destruction antic that they certainly participate in. But it’s not an intelligent way of trying to debate and…

She never finished the sentence.

Asked if she would have fired Bashir for his comments, Palin insisted, “I would never have allowed a corporate culture to have such low standards that that kind of vile talk was accepted.”

Really? Then Palin might want to immediately quit Fox News (again). As I wrote in an earlier post when O’Reilly couldn’t think of anyone on Fox making personal attacks, what about Fox fave Ann Coulter who wrote a post, picked up by Fox Nation, “joking” about murdering Meghan McCain (just one of many of Coulter’s personal attacks)? Or Fox host Andrea Tantaros asking people to “do me a favor” and punch an Obama supporter “in the face?”

The reality is that both Palin and O’Reilly make it a habit of engaging in personal attacks. Remember Palin accusing then-candidate Barack Obama of “palling around with terrorists?” Or how about her more recent statement, made on Fox News, “When I hear Barack Obama speak at this point… it’s nauseating to me.” Also, as our Priscilla pointed out, Palin defended Rush Limbaugh when he made his personal attacks on Sandra Fluke.

Speaking of Sandra Fluke, O’Reilly has repeatedly suggested she’s a slut because she supports mandatory coverage of contraception in health insurance. But nothing O’Reilly has said comes close to the smears he made on abortion provider Dr. George Tiller - who was subsequently assassinated. Don’t tell me that repeatedly referring to him as “Tiller the baby killer” was just a disagreement of policy.

Palin opined to O’Reilly, “The public doesn’t stand for (personal attacks), I want to believe, and in this case with Bashir, thankfully – refreshingly – people in the media were also saying enough is enough of that kind of rhetoric."

O’Reilly did acknowledge – without owning up to any of his own behavior – that “some vicious personal attacks” are made on right-wing talk radio. He asked Palin, “Do you condemn those as well?”

“Certainly,” Palin said amicably. “There’s no need to dip so low as to personally try to destroy someone based on anything except policy. If their policy is hurting the American public –

“Go after ‘em policy-wise,” O’Reilly concurred.