Okay. He was also asked directly by a caller to his radio program, which of the two, Kerry or Bush, would be a better president. O'Reilly said "Neither. Neither will look out for the interests of the little guy."
O'Reilly's appearance on CBS was also revealing about his philosophy and leaning ...
Some folks would expect this reception for O'Reilly, a favorite of conservatives. But what you don't expect are his views, which sound more like they're coming from a Democrat. OReilly says hes pro gun control, against the death penalty, and supports civil unions, not just for homosexuals, but "for everybody."He says he's for gay adoptions as a last resort: "I'd rather have nice, responsible gay home than the system for kids. What else?"
And about the environment? "Governments gotta be proactive on environment," says O'Reilly. "Global warming is here. All these idiots that run around and say it isn't here. That's ridiculous."
But there's more. He supported President Bush on the war in Iraq, but declared that he would never trust the Bush administration again if no weapons of mass destruction were found.
With none yet found, O'Reilly grilled the president on Saddam Hussein's chemical arsenal in an interview last week that hasn't aired yet.
And Iraq is why the O'Reilly finger is increasingly being pointed at the Bush White House. "A huge mistake was made in underestimating the aftermath of Saddam," says O'Reilly.
"I think Rumsfeld has to take the responsibility there, because he's the defense secretary and it looks like he didn't have a clue that this was gonna happen. But, just like a baseball manager, I think he should take one for the team."
As for the president, O'Reilly says he hasnt made up his mind yet.
"You're going to vote for George W. Bush," asks Wallace. "Oh, yeah," says O'Reilly.
"You think he's a great president, right," says Wallace. "Wrong," says OReilly. "I'm one of those Independent, man. I'm open to be persuaded right away. I've known Kerry for 25 years. He's a patriot. I'm listening to what he has to say."
What does he think about the men from the swift boats who have been bad-mouthing Kerry?
"Awful. It's terrible," says O'Reilly. "It makes me sad that this happens." And one more surprise. He doesn't consider himself part of what he calls "right-wing radio."
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."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/23/60minutes/main645202.shtml <-- 27 Sep 2004
I never said he was a conservative on all issues. But he is firm on terroism and socialism. Few others are speaking up. As for the WMD, he went out on a BIG limb with Bush on that one and it was cut off. Sure, he was upset. He was one of the few. However, in the last couple of weeks whenever it is mentioned on his show, he basically agrees that there weren't any, everyone knows that and moves on.
He could be raving like a fanatic about no WMD but he is not.
However, the left will use every attempt to portray O's problems as Fox's problems as problems for Bush and the passionate conservaties. They make their link in the complaint.