For those who don’t regularly watch Fox News:
The first segment of Obama’s appearance on the O’Reilly Factor
I have two points about this. One, Obama comes off looking pretty good. O’Reilly even said: “Obama’s a tough guy… I looked at him eye to eye. He’s not a wimp.” The interview came about after Obama sat down with Roger Ailes several months ago to discuss Fox’s coverage of the campaign.
Two, I can’t help but wish a liberal pundit or an independent pundit or a neutral pundit had the balls to push a presidential candidate in this way. Interviewers too often let candidates get away with lines like “I’ll take Osama out if we have him in our sights.” I may not agree with his ideology, but sometimes I do admire Bill O’Reilly for speaking (his) truth to (potential) power.
I’m surprised how nicely Bill “plays” in this first segment. He compliments Obama on his convention speech and even concedes that history will not look kindly on the War in Iraq. On top of all that, he actually let Obama get words in edgewise!