Zachriel's Blog: November 2006

Oprah had Bill O'Reilly on to promote his version of the culture war. O'Reilly often makes misstatements of fact on his cable news show. Nothing new about that. But now O'Reilly's lied to Oprah — on her own show. That is going too far!

Oprah is presenting a Town Hall style of show. Man #2 is a member of the audience.

Man #2: And, you know, I watched your show where you lumped Bob Woodward in with the anti-Bush media, Woodward who wrote a book that portrayed Bush as a strong leader. Now he writes a book that shows that his view, and the view of the sources he had, which no one has disputed the veracity of his sources, that Bush has lost his way. So now all of a sudden he's anti-Bush. You know, what's...
Mr. O'REILLY: I didn't say he was anti--I told--you should read the book.
Man #2: You lumped him in with the anti-Bush media, that's what you said.
Mr. O'REILLY: Absolutely not.
Man #2: The anti-Bush media including Bob Woodward in your interview with the president.

Anyway, from Foxnews, O'REILLY expounding to the President during the interview:

Mr. O'REILLY: There's one other reason they've turned against the war in Iraq. The anti-Bush press pounds day in and day out - in the newspapers, on the network news, in books like Bob Woodward's - that you don't know what you're doing there, that you have no strategy and don't listen to dissent.

Most of us, given the opportunity to interview the President of the United States, would remember every word, even every stutter of such an encounter. It is hard to believe that O'Reilly would not remember something so specific.

An important aspect of the encounter is that Man #2 has no way within the confines of the forum to rebut O'Reilly's flat denial. It leaves the truthful Man #2 gasping for air, maybe even wondering if he is the one who misremembered. O'Reilly then proceeds to accuse Man #2 of "hiding behind freedom" and of being a "Fox hater". Alas, this happens everyday on the O'Reilly factor.

Just for fun, Bill O'Reilly misremembers about his use of personal attacks, from Media Matters.