Billary2: Fox News Inches Toward Credibilty
Last night on Fox News a new partnership was born: Billary2 or Bill O’Reilly and Hillary Clinton.
Maybe it’s the "L" factor. That’s a lot of "L"s.
O’Reilly was cordial, even self-effacing. His interview with Hillary was (mostly) a dialog, not a diatribe - a marked departure from his strident, domineering style. Bill was, dare I say, journalistic.
I watched last night’s show in its entirety, breaking my previous record of thirty seconds.
Hillary for her part was downright presidential. She was knowledgeable and firm, relaxed, confident and clear-eyed - even funny at times. She pointed out fallacies in Bill’s arguments.
When he reverted to his favorite technique of rude interruption (apparently Bill skipped "Manners Can Be Fun" as a kid) Hillary one-upped. She simply raised her voice a little and kept on going until Bill backed off.
The complaint about Hillary - aside from the scorched earth campaign she’s been running against Obama - is that she’s inauthentic. But last night, she revealed an uncontrived self.
Fox News has a well-deserved rep for bias, so the moniker "fair and balanced" is the butt of a lot of jokes. (See below for The Daily Show’s John Oliver’s astute two-part dismantling of the network.)
However, Fox News was the first to call the Pennsylvania primary for Hillary, followed closely by NBC, while CNN lagged by ten minutes and coverage degenerated into a free-for-all. (See my live blogging of the evening’s coverage.)
Fox News needs to clean up their unseemly, vociferous attacks on Obama. The network has obsessed over Obama’s pastor - the self-promoting dunderheaded, Reverend Wright - while mostly looking the other way as McCain pandered to the apocalyptic televangelist John Hagee.
(As Clyde Haberman observed in today’s NY Times, the candidates by now must be tempted to invite these religious hotheads to dinner over bowls of strozzapreti. Says Haberman: "Strozzapreti is a type of pasta. In Italy, where anti-clerical sentiments can run high, it means ‘priest strangler.’")
However, Chris Wallace made respectable headway with his business-like interview with Obama last Sunday, giving Fox News a much needed shot in the arm of credibility.
Vid of Hillary below:
John Oliver Parts One and Two
Lance commented:
Mary, thanks for responding....
Im an Orthodox Jew...
I can assure you if my Rabbi spewed such vile and hatred during his sermon.....week after week...I would take my family and leave.
Also....Obama is not your ordinary church goer...He is running for high office...and I need to be reassured that he doesn't share these views.
With his intimate personal relationship I have to assume he agrees with much of Rev. Wright's views.
If McCain had a similar relationship with a "John Bircher" or something similar, liberals would be making similar arguments....and I would agree with them!!
However, in this topsy turvy world we live in when liberals spout racist remarks they tut-tut and make excuses.
When Conservatives make these remarks Liberals want to grab pitchforks and gas cans.
You can't tell me with a straight face this isnt true.
Lastly, this anti Fox hatred is just rediculous. Who said liberals are the gatekeepers for all things news??
When Olbermann gets a big interview you fawn....When O'reilly, lands a big one, he lurches towards credibility.
What hogwash!!
Mary, you do yourself a disserrvice when you stoop this low.
I have a feeling you are capable of better.
Mary McNamara commented:
Hi Lance - thanks for commenting. I'm fully aware of the "years in the pew" argument. It's being repeated like a mantra on some blogs and by conservative pundits. I'm not swayed. When McCain stood on the podium and accepted Hagee's endorsement he knew full well who he was dealing with - or his handlers should have. It wasn't a matter of faith, it was a matter of political expedience. I also have sat in the pew and listened to my local Catholic priest say things I totally do not agree with and absolutely don't support. I don't know if you're a religious person but definitely Catholics don't necessarily stop going to church even when they vehemently disagree with their pastors and/or the Pope. Leaving the church is unthinkable for some. Often, they buck up, take a deep breath, and try to scoot out after communion. But a church is more than a church. It's also a community. And it's a faith. So those of us raised in religious traditions can actually understand where Obama is coming from.
Lance commented:
Mary,
You have been drinking too much from the San Fran kool-aid.
I know you must have a crush on the likes of Olbermann and you obviously believe that only the skewed view of the NY Times is the unvarnished truth.
Mary, let me spell it out for you, if you will put down the kool-aid for a moment.
The difference between Wright and Hagee is that Obama was sitting in the pews for years and has a personal relationship with Wright.
For McCain, Hagee is a conduit to the right of the Republican party.
I know the facts are hard for you to swallow.
But, you would improve your credibiility if you paid attention to them.
