Bill O'Reilly interviews Barack Obama
February 6, 2011 7:30 PM   Subscribe

FOX, Fox News, and The White House all used the ginormous television audience that comes with the Super Bowl to their advantage today when a 15 minute interview with the President by Bill O'Reilly was aired as part of the pre-game show. Full video here.
posted by hippybear (77 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I made it to 6:40 before O'Reilly turned my stomach all squicky. Sarcastic asides and blatant interruptions do not a good interview make. Not that I expected much else.
posted by vverse23 at 7:38 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


I was hoping that Obama would take O'Reilly to school on how tides work.
posted by birdherder at 7:40 PM on February 6, 2011 [20 favorites]


Not watching it for reasons that really require no explanation. I'm disappointed in the President. Never argue with an idiot. He'll bring you down to his level and beat you with experience.
posted by mullingitover at 7:41 PM on February 6, 2011 [20 favorites]


O'Reilly a classless ass. He kept interrupting Obama while he was answering questions.
posted by octothorpe at 7:42 PM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


And then the Blue State Fairy turned little Billy O'Reilly into a REAL journalist.
posted by Sparx at 7:43 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


O'Reilly's interview technique all boils down to, "So when did you stop beating your wife?" All.
posted by y6y6y6 at 7:45 PM on February 6, 2011 [6 favorites]


I was going to say that I can't wait to see the Daily Show cover how Fox and Friends takes everything Obama says out of context but then realized that the Daily Show is off next week.
posted by birdherder at 7:45 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


There's no way to win against demagogues like O'Reilly. If you engage them, it legitimizes their fabricated grievances (lesbian gangs roaming the streets!), if you refuse to engage them, it gives the appearance that you fear the rightness of their message.

All of this has already been played out in 1920's and 1930's Europe.
posted by Avenger at 7:45 PM on February 6, 2011 [10 favorites]


I wish PBS would air the Super Bowl so we can get a damn Charlie Rose interview out of Obama.
posted by geoff. at 7:45 PM on February 6, 2011 [16 favorites]


Charlie Rose: An Hour With Barak Obama

Oh wait. You mean while he's on office? Never mind.
posted by hippybear at 7:48 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


hal_c_on: Erin go bragh, O'Reilly & O'Bama!

related: There's No One as Irish as Barack Obama
posted by xthlc at 7:52 PM on February 6, 2011


I'm not sure why Obama feels the need to dignify O'Reilly with an interview. I don't have any interest in watching the interview, though I read the recap and it's what I would expect. I suppose it shows that Obama isn't afraid of Fox -- which is perhaps unsurprising, as he's the President of the United States -- but it also grants Fox legitimacy it doesn't warrant. I think if he's going to talk to Bill O'Reilly, he may as well sit down with Snooki or The Situation on "Jersey Shore" -- that might actually be more rewarding.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:54 PM on February 6, 2011 [5 favorites]


I wish, instead of conceding the proposition that healthcare reform is a 50:50 split in the popularity polls, Obama would say "but when you ask the same people if they want each of the six pillars of the reform -- children on the parents' insurance to age 26 and no being kicked off insurance with preexisting conditions &c -- that the favourability for the reforms is morelike 75% Bill, you wanker".
posted by peacay at 7:55 PM on February 6, 2011 [11 favorites]


"So Mr. President, what's it like being the liberal commie fag antichrist?"

Bill O'Reilly's troglodytic qualities aside, I don't blame Obama for talking to him. Why should the far-right echo chamber be the only ones who get to send a message out to the millions of viewers of the O'Reilly Factor? The questions were excruciating, but Obama handled them well and presented his own narrative as an alternative to Bill's. It's too late for a "legitimizing Bill O'Reilly" complaint; he is "legitimate" enough for his ~3 million viewers.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 7:57 PM on February 6, 2011 [8 favorites]


I'm not sure why Obama feels the need to dignify O'Reilly with an interview.

He has granted a pre-game interview to a journalist from the network broadcasting the Super Bowl for the past two years -- NBC's Matt Lauer in 2009 and CBS' Katie Couric last year.
posted by Sparx at 8:00 PM on February 6, 2011 [6 favorites]


Haha classic. Get those talking points in there Bill! "sure sure, but you know that you are a big government tax and spend liberal who just wants to seize control of health care and eliminate personal freedom.".

Bill's bullshit about the tides is just to sucker people into a straight up debate. You say the moon causes tides, he just says "but who created the moon" ad infinitum.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:00 PM on February 6, 2011


I wish, instead of conceding the proposition that healthcare reform is a 50:50 split in the popularity polls, Obama would say "but when you ask the same people if they want each of the six pillars of the reform

Because Fox has already compared the six pillars of health care reform to the five pillars of Islam. Really.
posted by orthogonality at 8:00 PM on February 6, 2011 [3 favorites]


It's too late for a "legitimizing Bill O'Reilly" complaint; he is "legitimate" enough for his ~3 million viewers.

And that's 8.4 mill for the bestselling authors who star on "Jersey Shore." Who's more legitimate now, I ask you?
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:01 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


orthogonality: "Because Fox has already compared the six pillars of health care reform to the five pillars of Islam. Really."

I thought you were joking. Yeesh.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:10 PM on February 6, 2011 [3 favorites]


Man, I'm disappointed in Obama, just for giving this moron Bill O'Reilly the time of day. Bill O'Reilly is a moron, plain and simple, and he deserves nothng other than being ignored, which is the punishment Bill would deem the most undesirable, but which is, in fact, that which is most deserved.
posted by smcameron at 8:12 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


In a press conference early in his presidency, Reagan told some reporter to shut up; the guy had kept interrupting, he was rude, reporters were used to running roughshod over Carter, Reagan set him straight. Seems to me that it was the right thing for him to do, and it won him huge popularity points -- as pointed out in the Reagan thread earlier today, he was in the role of his life and he did pull it off.

First off, don't dignify this piece of garbage, this O'Reilly, at all. But if you do, just tell him to shut up when he acts like an ass, which he surely will, at least until he gets the message. Obama has all the weight, all of the authority of the presidency behind him but like Carter he just won't drop the hammer. Too bad.
posted by dancestoblue at 8:13 PM on February 6, 2011 [4 favorites]


O'Reilley was not there in any capacity as a journalist. He had no actual questions and got no new answers. He was there to demonstrate to his audience that he's not afraid to stand in front of Obama and do nothing for 15 minutes but whistle to dogs.

When you're an audience for the news who doesn't care about the truth, that's all you want to hear.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:15 PM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


hippybear: "Bill O'Reilly interviews Barak Obama"

hippybear: "Charlie Rose: An Hour With Barak Obama

Oh wait. You mean while he's on office? Never mind.
"

It's Barack, dude. I'm not usually one to nitpick spelling, but come on, this is the President of the United States we're talking about here. (Not that it's an uncommon mistake.)
posted by Rhaomi at 8:18 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


I'm not sure why Obama feels the need to dignify O'Reilly with an interview.

It's "President of the United States", not President of the Democratic Party.
posted by stbalbach at 8:21 PM on February 6, 2011 [8 favorites]


Gotta say this is way, way down on the list of ways in which President Obama has disappointed me.
posted by nanojath at 8:23 PM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


Oh, shit. Sorry about the misspellings. I've been spelling it wrong for years!
posted by hippybear at 8:25 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


What ever happens don't forget to interrupt the president of the United States as often as you can.
posted by nola at 8:27 PM on February 6, 2011 [3 favorites]


It's "President of the United States", not President of the Democratic Party.

It's not a real news organization, and I think we should stop pretending it is. If Obama has granted interviews to the networks hosting the Super Bowl in the past, okay, it is what it is, but Fox shouldn't have politicized it by sticking O'Reilly in that slot. I mean, did NBC have Bush interviewed by Olbermann?

PS: Seriously, I have to add "Obama" to your dictionary? Get with the program, Firefox.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:30 PM on February 6, 2011 [3 favorites]


Bill's bullshit about the tides is just to sucker people into a straight up debate. You say the moon causes tides, he just says "but who created the moon" ad infinitum.

“You’re like St. Thomas Aquinas, in that your understanding of the world is also from the 13th century.”
posted by pecknpah at 8:31 PM on February 6, 2011


The calculations are simple. 15 minutes of TV time as the lead into a program watched by a 100 million Americans. It probably got higher ratings than the State of the Union. O'Reilly looked like an ass, and beyond his core of 3 million weekly viewers who were not voting Obama anyway, Obama gets to look awesome. In his he'd he was like go on Bill O call me another name, that's 2% more for me against the generic Republican who you are surrogating for. This was the first debate of the 2012 election and Obama crushed it.
posted by humanfont at 8:33 PM on February 6, 2011 [11 favorites]


Gotta say this is way, way down on the list of ways in which President Obama has disappointed me.

I'm more puzzled by this administration granting legitimacy to a propaganda outfit like Murdoch's. There seems little practical benefit, when nearly all FOX News watchers had made up their minds about him back when Palin was still guvernating Alaska.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:35 PM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


It's not a real news organization, and I think we should stop pretending it is.

Eh. They played that card a year or so back already. It didn't really bring home the pot.
posted by dhartung at 8:35 PM on February 6, 2011


Fox shouldn't have politicized it by sticking O'Reilly in that slot. I mean, did NBC have Bush interviewed by Olbermann?

Well, FOX doesn't have a weekday national newscast like the other networks. All they have is their local affiliates being "First At Ten". Who would you suggest they use as their national face of their network family for such an interview?
posted by hippybear at 8:35 PM on February 6, 2011


Oreilly asks, Where did the moon come from?

No point in debating this with him. He knows all this stuff and is just scoring points with people who think god placed the moon there.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:37 PM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


Well, FOX doesn't have a weekday national newscast like the other networks. All they have is their local affiliates being "First At Ten". Who would you suggest they use as their national face of their network family for such an interview?

Uh, not to put too fine a point on it, but if they don't even have a real newscaster, if all they have are these pundits, why is it even an issue to say they aren't really a news organization?
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:41 PM on February 6, 2011


What is it they say? "Don't wrestle with a pig; you'll get dirty, and the pig enjoys it."

Something like that.
posted by Afroblanco at 8:43 PM on February 6, 2011 [5 favorites]


Wow, I really disagree with all these people saying shit about how the president shouldn't "legitimize" Fox and O'Reilly by giving them an interview. That's exactly the kind on condescending bullshit that stops middle American whites from voting Democrat.

Obama didn't legitimize Fox. The millions of people who watch O'Reilly et al every day legitimized them, whether we like it or not. The president is supposed to be able to relate to and speak for everyone in his country. You don't do that by only talking to people that agree with you.

Obama should be doing shit like this every week. Like the time he took questions from the House Republicans. Sitting down with crazies doesn't legitimize them, it makes you look sane by comparison. Good for Obama for letting them use O'Reilly on him (sadly, the best that Fox can offer). I hope to see more of it leading up to 2012.
posted by auto-correct at 8:54 PM on February 6, 2011 [30 favorites]


auto-correct: "That's exactly the kind on condescending bullshit that stops middle American whites from voting Democrat. "

Who cares? If middle-class whites are all they have, the republican party is not long for this earth. The writing is on the demographic wall for them.
posted by mullingitover at 8:57 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


Well, FOX doesn't have a weekday national newscast like the other networks. All they have is their local affiliates being "First At Ten". Who would you suggest they use as their national face of their network family for such an interview?

Shepard Smith? He seems like a reasonable guy - compared to any of the other gasbags on FNC.

It was crass for Fox to send a political pundit rather than an actual reporter to interview Obama. this was a political move.
posted by SirOmega at 8:59 PM on February 6, 2011 [4 favorites]


What is it they say? "Don't wrestle with a pig; you'll get dirty, and the pig enjoys it."

The one that springs to my mind, apropos of Falafel O'Reilly, is: "Don't bother trying to teach a pig to sing - it wastes your time, and annoys the pig."
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 8:59 PM on February 6, 2011


Obama wants to be a uniter. He has from the start, which is why he appears to have caved on basically everything to half of the people that voted for him. His whole modus operandi has been charting a moderate course that everyone can agree on (presumably based on reason, which tends to skew liberal). This can't happen if half the country is foaming at the mouth, so he has to engage the other side a bit.
posted by ropeladder at 9:01 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


O'Reilly did what O'Reilly does -- Obama knew that going into it. What was really glaring was that we have nearly 20% real unemployment and O'Reilly didn't ask a single question about it. Obama either needs to lay out a solution, or say, "Sorry, I've got nothing". I was hoping O'Reilly had the balls to force Obama to be specific and straightfoward here.
posted by blargerz at 9:04 PM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]




If middle-class whites are all they have, the republican party is not long for this earth. The writing is on the demographic wall for them.

Gaba gaba, ock ock shaaaa. Or put another way: I doubt things will be any better given a demographic shift. But hey, what the hell do I know. I pray I'm wrong, confused, scrum, and so on.
posted by nola at 9:07 PM on February 6, 2011


That's exactly the kind on condescending bullshit that stops middle American whites from voting Democrat.

Oh yes. It's that exactly. As demonstrated by ... what?

Middle class whites love being condescended to. They watch O'Reilley.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:07 PM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


I'm not sure why Obama feels the need to dignify O'Reilly with an interview.

He has granted a pre-game interview to a journalist from the network broadcasting the Super Bowl for the past two years -- NBC's Matt Lauer in 2009 and CBS' Katie Couric last year.


The key word here is "journalist." One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn't belong.
posted by caddis at 9:25 PM on February 6, 2011


I watched half of it before I got tired of O'Reilly using the and I have a last snarky remark before the next serious question thing.

Fuck him.

Why the fuck did Obama even give that piece of shit any kind of credence at all? I honestly do not understand it at all. You don't give this moron a break. You ignore him.

How far the great have fallen.
posted by Splunge at 9:36 PM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


Who cares? If middle-class whites are all they have, the republican party is not long for this earth. The writing is on the demographic wall for them.

You do realize that Republicans will just change their wedge issues if they start to lose all the time, right? Republicans can't be defeated demographically, liberals have to get off their asses and outhussle them. Every single election, for every single office, for every single vote.
posted by SirOmega at 9:44 PM on February 6, 2011 [4 favorites]


What better way for Obama to reach millions of viewers who would otherwise only see him indirectly through the filter of Fox News? Viewers, some of whom may now be thinking, "He's not the monster I thought he was." It's ingenious. O'Reilly is the best possible interviewer for this purpose (except maybe Glenn Beck, but that would raise the concern of feces flinging on live TV).

And O'Reilly was actually pretty civil, relative to his normal behavior. Gobama!
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 9:44 PM on February 6, 2011 [1 favorite]


"do you even know anything about football?!"

wtf. he already schooled you on the judicial system in this interview, do you really want him to show you up on cover 2 defenses as well?
posted by nadawi at 10:28 PM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]


Why the fuck did Obama even give that piece of shit any kind of credence at all? I honestly do not understand it at all.

I would link to stats that indicate which exact percentage of your fellow Americans derive their quote-unquote news from said source but I do not want to be held liable for your head exploding from rage and/or anything for that matter.

I know, it sucks. But then again, we are not up for reelection at the national level in a year and a half, give or take. Shit.
posted by joe lisboa at 10:49 PM on February 6, 2011


It's not a real news organization, and I think we should stop pretending it is.

Ok done (waves magic wand). In mean time: largest cable news show in the USA. Talking with OReally = campaigning for re-election = Obama in office another 4 years. Keep eyes on the long term and don't sweat the stupid stuff required to get elected.
posted by stbalbach at 12:12 AM on February 7, 2011 [2 favorites]


Let me ask the people who said that they don't know why Obama should have "dignified" O'Reilly with an interview.

You know that one far-right relative you have? Imagine if Bush had gone on Keith Olbermann's show during his administration. How would you respond if your relative said "I don't know why Bush even dignified that asshole, he's not even a real journalist"?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:30 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


Sorry, I can't imagine that. Believe me, I tried.
posted by trondant at 1:02 AM on February 7, 2011


^Rhaomi: Wtf, Glen Beck with the rabbit? Why is Beck now rocking the Bond supervillain persona on his show? It's a wonder that the animal didn't shit on his nice suit.

There's a reason why Blofeld had a cat...
posted by vhsiv at 1:15 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


I consider myself an independent. I have no love for Obama or the Democratic party. (or Republican, for that matter).

From this interview I came to the conclusion O'Reilly (who I know little about outside of soundbites) is a fucking loon.

Personally the interview gave me a net positive impression of Obama...with some concern about his ability to effectively deal with the "loon" elements running rampant in our society and world.

By giving this interview, he seems to be asserting that he trusts the common people to be able to determine who is the lunatic/demagogue/nitwit.

Bold move and pretty optimistic. Good for Obama. (Though he really should have been less accommodating to O'Reiily's rude interruptions.)
posted by The ____ of Justice at 2:29 AM on February 7, 2011 [5 favorites]


A quick search shows that this is not the first time Obama has been interviewed on that show, it's not even the second time. Obama was on O'Reilly before he even became president. So, how is giving this interview anything new?
posted by romanb at 2:33 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


he already schooled you on the judicial system in this interview, do you really want him to show you up on cover 2 defenses as well?

Green Bay already did that, right, Lovie?

(As a Bears fan: Props to GB -- they were just destroyed this season by injuries, fought back, made the playoffs on the last game, then rolled the table as a wild card.)

(To non-fans of football. Yes, the name of the Chicago Bears coach is Lovie Smith. He's "famous" for a variation of a cover 2 defense known as the Tampa 2.)
posted by eriko at 2:48 AM on February 7, 2011 [2 favorites]


Barack's strategy is brilliant if he's hiding an intention to lose the next election.

Otherwise it's fucking stupid.
posted by clarknova at 4:30 AM on February 7, 2011


Sorry, I can't imagine that. Believe me, I tried.

What stopped you? The thought that maybe you had a personal double-standard when it came to political pundits?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:43 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


The millions of people who watch O'Reilly et al every day legitimized them, whether we like it or not.

Not all opinions are legitimate or equal. Someone illegitimate cannot make something legitimate. The 3 million fucking retarded troglodytes that watch him don't make him legitimate they simply make him watched.

Word has lost all meaning.
posted by AndrewKemendo at 5:41 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


I have no problem with Obama agreeing to the interview. A president has to be accessible to the press and he shouldn't be showing favorites. Obama handled it fine and O'reilly looked petty and quarrelsome. The funny thing is that a good journalist could have been a lot tougher on the him and asked real questions about human rights, the wars, the economy and jobs but O'reilly just wanted to score cheap points with Fox dog whistle questions.
posted by octothorpe at 5:43 AM on February 7, 2011


Imagine if Bush had gone on Keith Olbermann's show during his administration. How would you respond if your relative said "I don't know why Bush even dignified that asshole, he's not even a real journalist"?

I would have said, yep I agree.

Olbermann was a SPORTSCASTER.

O'Reilly was a TABLOID reporter.

What do Sports or Tabloids have to do with anything resembling reality?

They are all terrible. Stewart is the closest to worthwhile (still not) because he is a comic - the modern era's version of the classical cynic.
posted by AndrewKemendo at 5:46 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


By giving this interview, he seems to be asserting that he trusts the common people to be able to determine who is the lunatic/demagogue/nitwit.

The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter
posted by AndrewKemendo at 5:49 AM on February 7, 2011 [3 favorites]


I'm pretty sure Obama could cure cancer at this point and people would scream at him for being the worst president ever.
posted by jnaps at 5:52 AM on February 7, 2011 [5 favorites]


Sure O'Reilly spent the whole interview asking loaded questions and being completely disinterested with the responses, but he also didn't address the President as 'pinhead', so there's that.
posted by mazola at 6:43 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


Wait, this was a real thing?
posted by malocchio at 7:00 AM on February 7, 2011


It was crass for Fox to send a political pundit rather than an actual reporter to interview Obama. this was a political move.

It's not like the White House didn't know O'Reilly was going to be the guy doing the interview, y'know.
These things are arranged long in advance. I would wager that there was even a bit of negotiation over who would actually do the interview, both between FOX and the White House, and within FOX itself. Old Bill is starting to find himself eclipsed by Becks fat shadow, and I would suspect he and his people lobbied hard within FOX to get the interview.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:15 AM on February 7, 2011


The funny thing is that a good journalist could have been a lot tougher on the him and asked real questions about human rights, the wars, the economy and jobs but O'reilly just wanted to score cheap points with Fox dog whistle questions.

octothorpe,
That, for me, was by far the strangest aspect of the interview.
I'm a huge Obama fan - and dislike everything about O'Reilly - but I found myself wishing I could slip the latter better questions!

Right from the start (after the opening flattery), O'Reilly fucked up with his first "attack" question by saying: "Mubarak -is he going to leave soon?"

Obama barely had to pause to think - before shooting back with the self-evident, truthful response, that - more or less - he personally wasn't in a position to read Mubarak's mind!

Then - having totally neutered O'Reilly's attack - he was able to segue into exactly what he wanted to say about Egypt!

O'Reilly should have asked: "Mr President - when do you think Mubarak should leave?".

And it wasn't much later when O'Reilly - for some insane reason - quoted a WSJ editorial swipe at Obama. Another gift for Obama! Who only had to joke back - as he did - well, gee, Bill - consider your source there!

Also, O'Reilly seemed (even if he wasn't) getting into making up desperate shit territory when he started claiming that certain anonymous "close friends of the president's" were saying they had noticed he'd changed since being in office!

(I'd caught Fox's earlier puff interview with O'Reilly. When Bill was bragging about how brilliant his interrogation was going to be. Obviously, I didn't believe he'd have Obama on the ropes - but I honestly never suspected the questions would be so amateur & feeble.)
posted by Jody Tresidder at 7:19 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


What stopped you? The thought that maybe you had a personal double-standard when it came to political pundits?

I think it more has to do with the sheer improbability of Bush coming out of his bubble far enough to watch Olbermann, much less appear on his show. That would be like Palin talking to... anybody.
posted by fungible at 8:12 AM on February 7, 2011


Honestly I think Obama should be on these guys shows every day. I have no illusions that he would rip them to shreds or go on the offensive on Beck's show but he should be out there making his case anywhere he can. This is like a cesspool that has been allowed to fester, he should go on fox and friends and make them look him in the eye when they say he is a racist.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:22 AM on February 7, 2011 [2 favorites]


Also, O'Reilly seemed (even if he wasn't) getting into making up desperate shit territory when he started claiming that certain anonymous "close friends of the president's" were saying they had noticed he'd changed since being in office!

This has been the case the few times I watched O'Reilly. That's the problem with demagogues; they just can't think like their opponents for a second, making them particularly weak when it comes to intellectual jousting. Which is also why O'Reilly does that interruption shit; he knows he has nothing on him other than that crap.

Which is also why I wouldn't be particularly concerned about Obama's performance here; he has that Zen-humour thing that he's perfected specifically for television.

Most of the anger towards him is irrational, and he knows it; while stuff like this won't necessarily change his ratings overnight, fact is it can sort of introduce the idea to, say, the sheltered wife in a Republican household that, may be the kid is _alright_ somehow. At least, I know of a North Dakotan housemaker who voted for Gore because of a similar TV performance. I'm thinking Obama is perhaps significantly better at this than Gore.
posted by the cydonian at 8:24 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


The answer to who should Fox have sent to do the interview is Shepard Smith. He's the only journalist they got (and a damn fine one at that).
posted by Mick at 9:18 AM on February 7, 2011


kittens for breakfast: And that's 8.4 mill for the bestselling authors who star on "Jersey Shore." Who's more legitimate now, I ask you?

Jersey Shore is like a slow motion train wreck, with dramatic 20-somethings. Who would not watch that? And the best part? IT KEEPS ON GOING. Good gods, it has been scheduled for FOUR SEASONS.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:31 AM on February 7, 2011


Barack's strategy is brilliant if he's hiding an intention to lose the next election.

Otherwise it's fucking stupid.
posted by clarknova at 7:30 AM

care to expand on this. Are you a joker? how is it brillant, what are his intention, who is "fucking stupid" huh_HUH!
posted by clavdivs at 9:47 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]


This was the first debate of the 2012 election and Obama crushed it.

Yeah, I'm not an Obama voter, but the dude can campaign like nobody's business.

I'm more puzzled by this administration granting legitimacy to a propaganda outfit like Murdoch's. There seems little practical benefit, when nearly all FOX News watchers had made up their minds about him back when Palin was still guvernating Alaska.

Fox News is the #1 cable news network in the US. I expect there are millions of Fox News viewers who voted for Obama.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:30 PM on February 7, 2011


Well, at least Obama wasn't asked the really tough questions that were asked of Sarah Palin before the election (and which she whined about interminably that the "lame stream" media was looking for a "gotcha moment")--such as, "What do you read?"
posted by leftcoastbob at 7:03 AM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


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