O'Reilly used Rumsfeld interview to stoke Letterman feud
Bill O'Reilly used his interview with Donald Rumsfeld to attack David Letterman, asking Rumsfeld, "Why does a guy like David Letterman think this whole Iraq thing is some kind of corrupt, ridiculous adventure?" and "[H]ave you ever analyzed why he thinks that way?" O'Reilly appeared on CBS' Late Show in January to discuss the so-called "war on Christmas," among other topics, and was told by Letterman: "I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap."
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly used his May 19 interview with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld as an opportunity to attack David Letterman, host of CBS' Late Show. O'Reilly offered Letterman as a representative of "the left in this country" that "is so anti-Iraq war" and asked Rumsfeld, "Why does a guy like David Letterman think this whole Iraq thing is some kind of corrupt, ridiculous adventure?" and "[H]ave you ever analyzed why he thinks that way?"
O'Reilly appeared on the January 3 broadcast of the Late Show to discuss the so-called "war on Christmas," among other topics, and was told by Letterman: "I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap."
From O'Reilly's interview with Rumsfeld on the May 19 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
O'REILLY: Why do you think the left in this country is so anti-Iraq war? Why? Is it just the hatred of the president? Or is -- do they see another pathway to fighting Al Qaeda?
RUMSFELD: This is not new. There has always been controversy.
O'REILLY: But why?
RUMSFELD: Wars are unpopular.
O'REILLY: Why?
RUMSFELD: They're bloody, horrible things. They're terrible things.
O'REILLY: But, these are Americans, too. I mean, David Letterman's an American.
RUMSFELD: Sure.
O'REILLY: OK? And he -- I go on to his program. And he goes, "What are we doing in Iraq anyway?"
RUMSFELD: Sure.
O'REILLY: OK? So why, in your opinion -- you're a smart guy. You see this stuff every day. You get a clip file. Why does a guy like David Letterman think this whole Iraq thing is some kind of corrupt, ridiculous adventure?
RUMSFELD: Yeah. Well, it isn't. And it is serious business. And the --
O'REILLY: But have you ever analyzed why he thinks that way?
RUMSFELD: Well, no. I don't know him as you do. But the fact of the matter is, we've got 300 million people in our country almost. And there has never been a war where there hasn't been controversy, where there haven't been a lot of people against it and a lot of people for it. It's -- there's nothing new about this. The shrillness of it is always unfortunate because it doesn't elevate the national dialogue on what is enormously important.
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RUMSFELD: Wars are unpopular.
O'REILLY: Why?
O'REILLY: Why do you think the left in this country is so anti-Iraq war? Why? Is it just the hatred of the president? Or is -- do they see another pathway to fighting Al Qaeda?
Is it "the left" that doesn't see the Iraq war as a "pathway to fighting Al Qaeda"? Let's not be confused - the Iraq war has NEVER been a pathway to fighting Al Qaeda. Even "the right" knows that. Another lie so obvious that refuting it is shooting fish in a barrel.
Brian
training new Al Queda recruits.
According to the Bush Administration's own findings, there are more terrorists in more countries today than there were before we invaded Iraq. Al Qaeda has lost many members, and gained even more than they have lost. We have missed countless opportunities to earn goodwill around the world in our President's blind ambition and foolish short term goals.
war is very unpopular for those who have to clean up body parts of streets but not those who sit behind the computers and press those high tech buttons.
Finally something even I can knock out of the park!
RUMSFELD: Wars are unpopular.
O'REILLY: Why?
RUMSFELD: They're bloody, horrible things. They're terrible things.
Does it sound like a parent educating his four year old child?
That was my thought when I read that part of the transcript.
Rummy must be used to talking down to the midgets he must tolerate. He's gotten a lot of practice with Shrub.
Let's get to the meat of the matter. As we all know, O'Really is an egomaniac of gargantuan proportions. When someone criticizes him he never can forgive nor can he ever let go. To this day he’s still obsessed with Al Franken who he recently trashed as an “assassin” on his radio show. Letterman - conservatively IMHO - spit-balled that 60% (if memory serves) of O’Really’s shtick was manure. O’Really will dog Letterman to the grave for that.
The irony, of course, is this asinine, childish bad behavior comes from a wear-religion-on-his sleeves Christian who defines sanctimony.
After all, he was in combat, right?
... I've had with some of my middle school students. Maybe this interview was one where BO was "looking out for the kids" and wanted to roleplay the part of a "kid" to Rummy's parent?
This one makes my brain hurt... Okay, a lot of them do. But why is it that Letterman thinks it's a "corrupt, ridiculous adventure"? Umm... Because it IS! Any war instigated on (numerous) false pretenses is, or at least should be, by definition, CORRUPT! Talk about the inanity! (And I'm not talking about Sean Inanity, at least not for the moment.) And instead of just discussing the issue, Bill O'Really?! (thanks, FAIR) shows his nose is still out of joint after appearing on Letterman.
I have to go squeeze my head in a vice. See you soon...
It's becoming all to obvious Bill is responding to the fact that people are tuning him out. The only way he can get attention is by interviewing a liar. Bill must have felt very comfortable interviewing such a famous liar.
These men operate the same, ask them what they said two months ago and they'll both lie about it.
--"Wars are unpopular"---RUMSFELD
Gee, but isn't Rumsfeld 'aiding the terrorists'?!? Doesn't Rumsfeld want to con the terrorists into believing that the Iraq fiasco is actually popular?
Billy boy loves to talk about how liberals never accept his "open invitation". Let's see if Billy would ever have the guts to show up on Letterman again. He's already proven he can tuck tail and trash talk when no one can respond.
I mean who wouldn't love to see Dave rip him apart...again?
Lets see....Janurary to May. 5 months. He's been eating on this for 5 months??? I also like this most people have never been to war remark by Rumsfield. Like him and his cronies in the Admin. know what war is like? Please.
That holding grudges is all he ever does.
Without them, he'd turn to a foul-smelling vapor and drift off to join the rest of the greenhouse gasses.
How self-absorbed. This sounds like Bill crying to his Daddy: “David Letterman picked on me. Why did he pick on me? Why is he so mean? What’s wrong with him? Why doesn’t he like me?” Why would Rumsfeld analyze how David Letterman thinks? Bill has an opportunity to talk with a high level official in the White House Administration about a number of important topics and all he really cares about is getting reassurance that he was the “victim” of a verbal attack by a “leftist” celebrity – boo #@%! hoo. Way to keep the subject of the interview focused on you Bill.
Uh...because it is one...
Letterman is a charitable guy. Only 60 percent of what O'Reilly says is crap? We could pinpoint the percentage, and it would surely be much higher, but why waste the time?
This also brings back fond memories of a Rush appearance in which Dave asked Rush something to the effect of whether he ever woke up in the middle of the night with severe fears that what he was doing was just a bunch of boloney.
It's bad enough reading the transcript, but just listen to the way he asks these idiotic questions. He's putting on this disingenuous, faux-naif "What could anyone possibly have against the Iraq war" act. It's sickening. There's no way that he's unaware of the part he's playing here.
by not even acknowleging Bill's attempt to drag him into the gutter of name calling, deceiving, diseased and insulting world of right-wing propoganda TV. He knows the most insulting thing you can do to pathetic attention seekers like Bill is ignore them!
I simply think this is another attempt by BO to link himself, in any way, to Letterman. He's flattering Letterman by holding him up as an opposing, yet intelligent voice, and he's flattering himself by further hyping his tenuous connection with Letterman. Notice Rumsfeld's line, "I don't know him as you do." That's exactly the sort of thing that O'Reilly and his mammoth ego was fishing for. Yes, BO's being disingenuous to the extreme, but he's simply trying to keep his tete-a-tete with Letterman in the public conscience. He's hinted more than once that the Letterman interview will be featured in his upcoming book as an example of O'Reilly's valiant effort to bring the "culture war" to the mainstream. He's deluded himself into thinking that the Letterman appearance was the shot heard round the world. We have to remember that 99% of what O'Reilly does is done out of either self-promotion or revenge. I think this Letterman reference falls under the self-promotion category, not revenge.
I understand that, in his next interview, O'Reilly plans to ask Condoleeza Rice whether Leonardo DiCaprio is aiding the terrorists by driving a Toyota Prius.
Letterman says: "I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap."
He was being charitable, Bill. 100% of what you say is crap."
Why do you think the left in this country is so anti-Iraq war? Why? Is it just the hatred of the president? Or is -- do they see another pathway to fighting Al Qaeda?
The war in Iraq has NEVER been a pathway to fighting Al Qaeda. Sheesh, we have to do something about education in this country if a lie as obvious as this can be believed.
Rumsfield said: The shrillness of [discusing war] is always unfortunate because it doesn't elevate the national dialogue on what is enormously important.
That's amazing coming from a guy and an administration that has perfected the art of shrillness to keep us from discusing what is important.
The problem is that the administration won't discuss this. This excerpt of the interview proves that point. Instead of talking about why we are in Iraq and whether or not we are there for the reasons originally outlined by this administration, we have the right complaining that the left is complaining and the left complaining that the right won't let them complain.
I would add that Bill just needs to grow up, but it's more fun to watch a grown man crash and burn.
Forget about the ideologically biased aspect, for a minute, and this is even more ridiculous.
A thoughtful right-wing idealogue (if there are any left) could have asked Rumsfeld any of a number of questions about any of a number of aspects of our involvement in Iraq. But O'Reilly has to focus on himself.
The poster who described him as acting like a four-year-old is on the right track, but this is even more self-centered. It's like perceiving the 9/11 attacks as a problem solely because you left your sunglasses at Windows on the World.
As they say in car racing, O'Reilly could use a 55-gallon drum for a helmet and it would still be tight.
"It's like perceiving the 9/11 attacks as a problem solely because you left your sunglasses at Windows on the World."
Please don't copyright this line! Or if you do, let me know where to send the royalties, I'll gladly pay. My mind is racing with applications for this one!
Rumsfeld: 5' 7 1/2" Napoleon: 5' 6 1/2"
Any questions?
I apologize for the hyperbolic title. But I confess that Bill O'Reilly's hystrionics have become so bizarre that he looks to me like someone who is mentally unraveling.
I recently heard O'Reilly buttress his false claim that his boycott of French goods had the desired effect by citing the Paris Business Review - a publication that exists only in his mind.
Since I'm a bit of a movie buff, screen characters often pop into my head when someone triggers such memories.
Lately, when I watch Bill O'Reilly, I see images of Citizen Kane, Captian Queeg, or Jim Carrey as the Riddler.
Someone needs to help this man.
I thought that happened a long time ago. You're saying he's done it recently too?
RUMSFELD: “it doesn't elevate the national dialogue on what is enormously important.”
Oh the irony of it all. “It” being these useless, softball, ass kissing, self involved dribble interviews by Fox News and Bill O’ Reily?
ME: Jenny Fife said she was a friend, but one time, after biology class, I overheard her and Heather talking about, like, how they didn't like me and stuff. RUMSFELD: Well, sometimes your allies have to respond to changes in political -- ME: But why? Why would she be, like, all nice to my face and then, like, bash me with my supposed other friend? I mean, what do you make of someone who would do that? RUMSFELD: I ... I don't know. I've never met your friend Jenny. ME: Oh, and if you did she'd be all, "Oh Mr. Rumsfeld what's it like working with the president?" And then when you left, she'd be like, "Ewww, did you see his teeth?" This is what I'm saying, in your position as the Secretary of Defense, what do you make of someone like Jenny Fife, who, by the way, totally got a nose job for her 16th birthday?"
Anyone else notice how Rummy showed a lot of tact to not attack Letterman and other anti-iraq people when prompted to by O'reilly? Bill was obviously prompting him into saying something like "Letterman is stupid" but rather responded with the rather non-inflammatory "war is always controversial" claim. True, he also dodged answering any real reason why someone might be opposed to the war, but its kinda funny to see him not wanna stoop to Bill's level.
I'm no fan of Rummy's but he must seriously be hard-up if the best he can do is O'Reilly; they don't come much lower than Bill (Hannity and Colmes, notwithstanding).
Also, I haven't seen the full interview, but in this clip, they don't ever appear together in the same frame.
Tell me FOX stitched this one together... which would be par for the course
How about 2,400+ dead Americans? How about tens of thousands Americans maimed? How about tens of thousands innocent Iraqi people killed? How about the lies that misled us into this quaqmire? How about the billions of wasted dollars that the next generation will be paying for? How about the loss of our civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism?
Why? How many damned reasons do you want?
OK, so it isn't my prejudice against BO, He really is a lousy interviewer, and I'm not talking about the obvious Rummy friendly softballs. Even Rumsfield had to walk away thinking this guys an idiot.