Classy with a “K”
Posted in: Media
Occasionally, watching Bill O’Reilly react to one thing or another – badly – it has become rather common to have a macabre thought of how it will all end for Bill-O.
Will he have a public meltdown…no, not like he’s already had, I mean a gigantic, awe-inspiring, jaw dropping meltdown on the air so big that FoxNews pulls the plug during the show because O’Reilly is waving his pants in the air and has his necktie around his head like a bandanna?
Will he take a hostage?
Will he climb a tower?
What is he doing with that loofah?
Those sort of things.
Well, apparently that moment is drawing ever nearer.
Several weeks ago, during a ‘Countdown’ segment, Keith Olbermann mentioned that O’Reilly was going after NBC and the international business of its parent corporation, GE, because of him. I thought, well that’s possible, it is O’Reilly, but I doubt he and Roger Ailes would be so dumb as to be explicit about it.
How I could have doubted that, is a mystery to me:
Bill O’Reilly, the Fox News star, is mounting an extraordinary televised assault on the chief executive of General Electric, calling him a "pinhead" and a "despicable human being" who bears responsibility for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq…The high-level appeals failed, and O’Reilly has escalated his criticism of GE in recent weeks, declaring, "If my child were killed in Iraq, I would blame the likes of Jeffrey Immelt."
Yeah, because the Bush Administration and its enabler, Bill O’Reilly, have absolutely no responsibility of any kind for deaths in Iraq. Heck, Bush even promised Pat Robertson there would be no casualties. And we all know, Bush is never wrong … in Bizarro World.
But O’Reilly’s usual level of disconnect is being exceeded in this case because he has the thinnest skin in the world. Though Roger Ailes, his GOP-loyal boss is a close second. However, Ailes has a good excuse, his skin is stretched taut through years of dedicated eating.
Early last year, the sources say, Capus called Ailes to say that O’Reilly had gone over the line with reckless attacks on Engel. But, the sources recounted, Ailes said he agreed that NBC was against the war and had aligned itself with Olbermann’s mockery. Capus, he said, had the power to shut down the situation by telling Olbermann to back off.
The conversation grew tense as Capus asked whether Ailes was threatening him with retaliation by O’Reilly and News Corp. if Olbermann kept up his criticism. Ailes kept returning to highly personal comments by Olbermann, whom he referred to with an expletive, and the impasse remained. The sources declined to be identified furnishing details of private conversations.
Poor, besieged Roger Ailes.
– the onetime Republican consultant asked whether NBC still cared about the truth. Olbermann had inaccurately called Ailes "the lead political consultant for Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign." Ailes worked for Giuliani’s New York mayoral campaign in 1989, but no evidence has surfaced that he played a role in the presidential bid.
Zucker did nothing as a result of the call. "I have never asked Keith Olbermann to tone anything down," he said in a brief interview.
Olbermann said in an interview that his sources say Ailes was offering the campaign advice, which he did not explain or detail in his commentary. It would be a major breach of journalistic ethics for the head of a news channel to advise a politician, especially one his reporters are covering.
I’m sure Roger Ailes really acted with journalistic integrity when he had "imaginary" conversations with Sean Hannity to stop explicit endorsements of Rudy Giuliani every night from last Summer until memories of 9/11 forced Giuliani to drop out in February this year — because it was only seven months until 9/11.
This article comes from Howie Kurtz so naturally it lacks the depth that could have actually explained the detail of O’Reilly’s bizarre behavior better. For example, we all know the relationship he claims he has with Ailes that can be counted on, in a pinch:
If you cross Fox News Channel, it’s not just me, it’s Roger Ailes who will go after you. I’m the street guy out front making loud noises about the issues, but Ailes operates behind the scenes, strategizes and makes things happen so that one day BAM! The person gets what’s coming to them but never sees it coming. Look at Al Franken, one day he’s going to get a knock on his door and life as he’s known it will change forever. That day will happen, trust me.
When O’Reilly’s biggest meltdown finally comes, someone please remember to overlay the viral video on YouTube with "Sting" playing O’Reilly out, as Bill utters his final words, "We’ll do it live!".
(pic from Comandante Agi)
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