If there is one thing I have to hand credit to Bill O'Reilly on, it is his undying belief that he thinks he is right no matter what. Even if the truth is slapping him continually in the face, the man does not waver. Bill believes he is still a middle class guy who is fighting for people like him. Apparently there are millions out there since they flock to his show every week, ratings don't lie even if he does.
Mike Wallace did a one-on-one with Bill for 60 Minutes this week and tried to expose the guy that lives inside the ego-laden fortress. From what I saw, nothing is going to penetrate what O'Reilly thinks about himself. His father beat him up as a kid and now he beats up others on his show, figuratively that is. Whether it is a WTC victim, a boy scout or a child abducted from his home it makes no difference. Bill does whatever it takes to make himself look good (in his own mind) and won't take a second look at the wreckage he leaves in his path.
The interview a la Crooks and Liars:
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Some highlights from the transcript at CBS.com:
What does he think of talk show host Rush Limbaugh?
"I respect Limbaugh for basically making a success out of himself and putting on an entertaining program. But he's not a primary source of information, or shouldn't be," says O'Reilly. "He's an entertainer. … I'm a journalist who provides a program that is entertaining."
[…]
"I'll never win any awards for stuff I'm doing now," says O'Reilly. "Because the intelligentsia who distributes the awards thinks that I'm misguided. I'm a barbarian. I am a Hun."
Does it bother him?
"No, I love it," says O’Reilly. "I love to be the outsider."
For a guy that hangs out with Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott, that certainly makes him an outsider. His vitriolic approach to the political left in this country has done nothing but made him powerful friends on the right and a ton of money in his pocketbook via Fox News and his books that spew the same garbage in print that can be found on TV or radio on a daily basis.
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