O'Reilly Factor - Left-wing "reporters" met with John Kerry in Al Franken's apartment

03.22.04

[kcvl]

In an effort to galvanize the message Kerry wants to deliver in the time remaining, he convened a powerful roster of journalists and columnists in the New York City apartment of Al Franken last Thursday. The gathering could not properly be called a meeting or a luncheon. It was a trial. The journalists served as prosecuting attorneys, jury and judge. The crowd I joined in Franken’s living room was comprised of:

Al Franken and his wife Franni;
Rick Hertzberg, senior editor for the New Yorker;
David Remnick, editor for the New Yorker;
Jim Kelly, managing editor for Time Magazine;
Howard Fineman, chief political correspondent for Newsweek;
Jeff Greenfield, senior correspondent and analyst for CNN;
Frank Rich, columnist for the New York Times;
Eric Alterman, author and columnist for MSNBC and the Nation;
Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist/author of ‘Maus’;
Richard Cohen, columnist for the Washington Post;
Fred Kaplan, columnist for Slate;
Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate and author;
Jonathan Alter, senior editor and columnist for Newsweek;
Philip Gourevitch, columnist for the New Yorker;
Calvin Trillin, freelance writer and author;
Edward Jay Epstein, investigative reporter and author;
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., who needs no introduction.

We sat in a circle around Kerry and grilled him for two long hours. In an age of retail politicians who avoid substance the way vampires avoid sunlight, in an age when the sitting President flounders like a gaffed fish whenever he must speak to reporters without a script, Kerry’s decision to open himself to the slings and arrows of this group was bold and impressive. He was fresh from two remarkable speeches – one lambasting the PATRIOT Act, another outlining his foreign policy ideals while eviscerating the Bush record – and had his game face on. He needed it, because Eric Alterman lit into him immediately on the all-important issue of his vote for the Iraq War Resolution. The prosecution had begun.

[kcvl]

This is what Bill O'Reilly was talking about tonight on his show, The O'Reilly Factor. It seems that John Kerry met with these "journalist" at Al Franken's apartment to "grill" him. It was sort of like the CBS "reporter" giving him a second chance at filming Kerry for her "news" cast one night.

As O'Reilly said, I wonder what others would say if George Bush met with Roger Ailes and the reporters for The Wall Street Journal in someone's apartment? Would that be acceptable to the other "news" organizations?

[kcvl]

The Trial of John Kerry
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective
Wednesday 10 December 2003

[kcvl]

bttt

[DoctorMichael]

Big Friggin' Bttt.

[fabriclady]

Considering how his week went, is didn't help him. He stuck his golden shoe in his mouth all week.

[Peach]

A trial! Bah. More like a strategy party.

[js1138]

the shadow DNC.

[My Favorite Headache]

Bill needs to blow this story wide open.

[Green Knight]

Check this out. And they say there's no media bias...

[AlexW]

What else would one expect with Demotrash?
Scum with scum

[oprahstheantichrist]

"Al Franken and his wife Franni;"

Franni Frankin???? Seriously?

[mylife]

Oh Pleeeze involve franken in this race!!

I hear he is on hillarys speech writing team now too LOL!

Bring It On!!

[Uncle Hal]

O'Reilly has been harping on the fact the liberal media is out to destroy America as we know it. He is absolutely right on this. My hat off to O'Reilly on this. He is dead right on this.

[Mo1]

Wow .. Interesting list of journalist there

[cyncooper]

Who is the author who refers to himself as "I" and "we"?

I see this was last Thursday.

This person found Kerry's inane speeches "impressive"?

God, help us.

[lowbridge]

bump

[Will_Zurmacht]

They weren't there for interviews....it's for a new CBS show.

Queer Journalist Eye for The Boring Liberal Guy.

They redecorated his house.
Fineman does wonders with wall treatments.

The were gonna call it

Left Wing Extremist Home Make-Over,

but that was too wordy for the average viewer to comprehend

[nopardons]

Holy cow! This stinks like year old dead fish.

[edwin hubble]

This wasn't a trial.

It was a workshop or seminar.

[sinkspur]

William Rivers Pitt is the author. He's a regular reader of Free Republic, and did have the guts to post here, a year or so ago.