O'Reilly admitted to "pushing the goalposts further back" on Iraq
On the January 24 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, while defending President Bush's plan to send an additional force of 21,500 U.S. troops to Iraq, host Bill O'Reilly was accused by a guest of "pushing the goalposts further back" concerning Iraq, to which O'Reilly replied: "And I do. And I do push it back because it's that important."
O'Reilly declared that the Iraqis have "six months and that's it" to "stop killing each other." Newsday columnist Ellis Henican pointed out that O'Reilly "said that 18 months ago, and 12 months ago ... and six months ago," adding, "[Y]ou keep pushing the goalposts further back." Henican then concluded that O'Reilly would "have been better off if you'd listened to me," to which O'Reilly replied, "I would commit suicide if I listened to you. ... I'd be Jonestown!" Henican then noted that O'Reilly "would not be in the embarrassing position of sitting here and saying ... 'Please give me another chance. Please, another chance.' " In response, O'Reilly labeled Henican "a defeatist," adding that Henican "would give up, and I'm not willing to do that right now. ... You would surrender." Henican later stated: "No more goalpost-moving, Mr. O'Reilly. Six months, you're with me on this -- six months," and suggested that O'Reilly "save the tape. We'll play it."
From the January 24 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, which included O'Reilly, Henican, and Democratic strategist Laura Schwartz:
HENICAN: Let's take these things one war at a time, if you don't mind. The case of Iraq: this thing is getting worse, not better. There's no evidence --
O'REILLY: OK.
HENICAN: -- that this is going to work and the surge -- three previous surges have already failed --
O'REILLY: You may be right, Mr. Quaker --
HENICAN: I am right.
SCHWARTZ: You know what? Our troops are on their way over there.
O'REILLY: You might be right.
HENICAN: I am right.
O'REILLY: You may be right.
HENICAN: And you're going to say this --
O'REILLY: You don't know whether you're right or not. Give 'em the chance, and it's only a few months' window.
HENICAN: You know what, for such a tough guy --
SCHWARTZ: Just a few months?
O'REILLY: Be -- you give beyond a reasonable doubt.
HENICAN: For such a tough guy, you have an awful lot of patience when something keeps going wrong, my friend.
O'REILLY: I don't have that much patience.
HENICAN: A lot of patience.
O'REILLY: I'm a little discouraged --
HENICAN: Good.
O'REILLY: -- here, but you know why I'm saying what I said? And you both should understand this, because when I was over there, I asked more than 100 of our soldiers and Marines, do you believe in this cause? Should we be doing this? Is it worth one last try? And 90 percent of them said yes.
HENICAN: You know, the best thing --
SCHWARTZ: The problem is what that try is. Is it military only, or is it political and diplomatic, as well?
O'REILLY: Oh, look -- that's all BS.
SCHWARTZ: I think everybody wants to win and everybody wants another try --
O'REILLY: Iraqi's are going to be -- Iraq -- we can't afford --
SCHWARTZ: -- it's how they do that try.
O'REILLY: No, that's wrong. We can't force these people to stop killing each other.
HENICAN: You're right.
O'REILLY: We can't --
SCHWARTZ: Hmm-mm. Yeah.
HENICAN: You're right.
O'REILLY: -- so they're either going to do it, or they're not, but now, they know. Now, they know.
HENICAN: OK, but it --
SCHWARTZ: Or we can either be in the middle of it or not.
O'REILLY: They've got six months and that's it.
SCHWARTZ: Is that it? Six months -- done. And then we're done?
HENICAN: At every step of the way -- I mean, we've had this -- you and I have been down this, because you said that 18 months ago and 12 months ago --
O'REILLY: That's right.
HENICAN: -- and six months ago --
O'REILLY: And they haven't stepped up.
HENICAN: -- and you keep -- you keep pushing the goalposts further back.
O'REILLY: And I do. And I do push it back because it's that important.
SCHWARTZ: And six months from now --
HENICAN: And each and every --
O'REILLY: It's that important.
HENICAN: -- each and every time, Bill O'Reilly, you'd have been better off if you'd listened to me.
O'REILLY: No, I would --
HENICAN: You would've. You would've.
O'REILLY: I would commit suicide if I listened to you.
HENICAN: No, you wouldn't be in the embarrassing --
O'REILLY: I'd be Jonestown!
HENICAN: You would not be in the embarrassing position of sitting here and saying --
O'REILLY: Stop, embarrassing --
HENICAN: -- "Please give me another chance. Please, another chance."
O'REILLY: He's asking -- look, you're a defeatist.
HENICAN: No. No.
O'REILLY: You would give up, and I'm not willing to do that right now.
HENICAN: I don't want -- I don't want --
O'REILLY: You would surrender.
HENICAN: No, no, no. I never said surrender.
O'REILLY: You told on the radio you wouldn't fight Iran over nukes.
HENICAN: I never said surrender. What I said --
O'REILLY: C'mon.
HENICAN: -- is let's do this thing smart. You and the president keep doing it wrong.
O'REILLY: All right, let Laura have the last word here.
SCHWARTZ: Well, you know what, George Bush wants one last try and he's going to get it because there's not much more the --
O'REILLY: Of course, he's going to get it. Right.
SCHWARTZ: -- the Congress can do but let him, you know. But, at least, this way, they can do an up or down vote on whether they support the escalation or not. You're going to see some break within his own party as well as the Democrats voting against the escalation --
O'REILLY: But you would give him the chance -- you, Laura Schwartz.
SCHWARTZ: Yes, I would --
O'REILLY: So would I.
SCHWARTZ: -- because there's nothing else he can do.
O'REILLY: It's that important.
SCHWARTZ: Hands are tied -- with money, with troops.
O'REILLY: And if we fail in Iraq, OK, then we should have exhausted all measures and I think this will be it. I think everybody --
SCHWARTZ: It's just sad that another soldier's probably going to die.
HENICAN: No more goalpost-moving, Mr. O'Reilly. Six months, you're with me on this -- six months.
SCHWARTZ: End date.
HENICAN: Six months.
O'REILLY: Can I hire someone to just -- no I can't --
HENICAN: Save the tape --
O'REILLY: All right. Next on the rundown --
HENICAN: -- save the tape. We'll play it --
O'REILLY: Laura Ingraham -- that's who I'm going to get -- I'm going to put Laura Ingraham on you!
More of O'Lielly and his Lying Lies
Defeatist? Surrender? When does it stop? Pulling out of Iraq is NOT THE SAME THING AS SURRENDERING. And didn't Bush say "victory will not look like other wars?" If that's true, then how do Bush and O'Really know we haven't already won in Iraq, but they just don't realize it.
Once again, strung up by their own eldritch logic.
IMO, the use of those terms perpetually by these clowns does our military... the slain and wounded, active soldiers... a great disservice. They accomplished the 'mission'. They should be allowed to come home as victors.
The War Is OverThere is no one to surrender to, no defeat possible. We just have a complicated political and diplomatic mess to clean up.
Something tells me the left won't say "We Won" after we withdraw. Just a hunch.
Can you honestly say that we have?
Think hard.
It's clear we have not won.
but you're buying into the "win" rhetoric. win what?
So? The right doesn't give a rat's behind what the left says or thinks anyway.
I was just questioning Fantagors logic a little bit.
"I'm not willing to do that now."
According to Bill, anyone who wants to bring the troops home is a defeatist. Anyone who disagrees with O'Reilly is in favor of surrender.
He on the other hand requires that our young men and women satisfy his bloodlust. I wish he and the others had gotten this out of their system as young men.
They chose to pursue other options rather than serve their county. Now they want others to fight and die for their beliefs.
This sorry excuse for a man is absolutely disgusting. Is there no end to his megalomania?
"I wish he and the others had gotten this out of their system as young men. "
Kind of like the dad who wants his son to be the pro ballplayer that he never was.
I think you're on to something, Rick.
Except he's the dad who never played and he wants your kids and mine to play for him.
Your kid or mine to die instead of his.
Yes, you hear that Iraqis?! You're in big trouble now! You've got six months to put 30 years of brutal oppression and 800 years of religious hatred behind you or incur the wrath of Bill O'Reilly! He's serious you know, don't make him come over there. You thought Saddam's torturers were bad? Bill is much worse. He will accuse you of not getting along on purpose, because you're fronting for the far left in a smear campagin to embarrass President Bush. If that doesn't work, he'll do the most horrible thing imaginable; he make you read one of his books. or worse ALL OF THEM!
Oh the humanity!
He may put you on his watchlist. There's a new sheriff in town!
Bill O'Reilly or should we call him Bill Oh Really? We are watching the propoganda machine fall apart; between him and the rest of the lot that hangs on the hope of false supremacy, it's about time. Maybe we need to do updates on his crashing ratings and hopefully in 6 months he'll be gone. Now there's a goalpost I would like to see reached.
I really believe that Fox "News" days are numbered. Their credability is now lower than their ratings, which has always been lower than their IQ.
I wonder if they can still make money with no viewers?
Ask Olbermann. He has no viewers, he should know.
You have absolutely no evidence to support your statement. None. Zip. Nothing.
So in response, here is my assertion, for which I have an equal amount of evidence (but I'm going to say it anyway, just like you did):
Leather, you're an idiot.
Not that ratings mean jack-dick to me, but Fox's have been on a steady decline, and Olbermann's have been on a steady rise. That's a fact you can look up.
I'll accept your apology when you have done your research.
Savage: "Civil rights is just a racket designed to steal white male birthright".
You're hero is a bigot and hate-monger. And if you agree with him, then that makes you one as well.
Troll, no content
"SCHWARTZ: It's just sad that another soldier's probably going to die."
Many more than "another" soldiers are going to die. And for what! What a joke O'Reilly is. He talked to 100 soldiers and 90% said they support what they are doing. Why do you think that is. Do you think that the soldiers who think that Iraq is a mistake and a quagmire would get within 10 feet of Mr. Loofah! I don't think so. They preach to the choir and then say "see - I'm right, everyone agrees with me". Of course they do. They are idiots just like you Billo.
face it o'reilly, he made you look like the pompous fool you are. he could take you and laura ingraham with one hand behind his back.
Bill O'Reilly - Good Morning America - 3-18-03 -- "And I said on my program, if -- if -- the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again."
Anyone remember this? Mr. Bill is a complete phony.
I remember, I remember it every time an O'falafel Iraq thread comes up.
Well, what is there to say about Bill. Wait, here's something to say, he should change his name to Bill Oh-really! because everything spewing out of his mouth is garbage.
I watched the Wizard of Oz last night. Bill...two words...Cowardly Lion.
O'REILLY: And I do. And I do push it back because it's that important.
By God, it's so important that we shouldn't hold ourselves to our own standards! It's so important we should do whatever it takes or our entire civilization will be destroyed by the summer of 2005! I mean, January, 2006. I mean sometime in the summer of 2006...uhhh, maybe next July?
And it's so important we have to tell the Americans that failure isn't an option and we can't possibly give up, but we have to tell the Iraqi government that we're going to give up and pull out if they don't cooperate.
It's that important.
Did Bill Orally just end the segment by implying that Laura Ingraham is the new Fox Security?