Posted on 06/02/2003 11:41:27 AM PDT by jmstein7
June 2, 2003 -- TEMPERS flared over the weekend in a face- to-face, TV showdown between Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly and political humorist Al Franken.
A visibly shaken O'Reilly appeared to have been caught off guard by a blistering attack by Franken in the midst of a usually sedate booksellers' luncheon in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Franken, author of the forthcoming book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them," accused O'Reilly - at length - of puffing up his credentials as the former host of the TV news magazine "Inside Edition."
O'Reilly sat stone-faced during a detailed attack on his credibility - then exploded into a verbal free-for-all with Franken that was as surprising as it was intense.
"This guy accuses me of being a liar, ladies and gentlemen, on national television," O'Reilly told the audience.
"He's a vicious - and that's with a capital V - a person who's blinded by ideology.
"All he's got in six-and-a-half years is that I misspoke, that I labeled a Polk Award a Peabody," said O'Reilly, referring to evidence that he had claimed "Inside Edition" has won two Peabody Awards, TV journalism's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.
In fact, it was the slightly-less prestigious Polk the show had won.
When Franken tried to interrupt, O'Reilly went ballistic.
"Hey, shut up! You had your 35 minutes - shut up!" he shouted, visibly furious.
"We're supposed to be on here for 15 minutes - this idiot goes 35."
"This isn't your show, Bill," Franken shot back.
Both men were pitching their upcoming books to booksellers at their annual convention. The panel was broadcast live on C-SPAN2, the public-affairs channel.
The subtitle of Franken's new book, due out this fall, is "A Fair and Balanced View of the Right" - an obvious dig at Fox News Channel's slogan.
The dustjacket of Franken's book features a photo of O'Reilly between the words "Lies" and "Lying."
According to co-panelist Molly Ivins, during a C-SPAN2 call-in show, "It was the first time [O'Reilly] had seen the cover and he was teed off to the max."
[More in the story...]
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Gee one would think his book would be all about the CLINTOONS, LOL
Al Franken's guide to making money: 1) Find a successful high-profile right-wing person in the media who really annoys the hell out of liberals. 2) Write book demonizing said person. 3) Watch as liberals line up to buy copies of the book so they can feel better about themselves. 4) Count the money.
He's the epitome of a successful capitalist pig--find a niche market and make a mint. Of course I doubt he'd be pleased to be described that way.
Such would only increase his appeal with his audience.
While I don't practice defamation law, I seem to remember from my law school days that this could be considered "being painted in a false light." I seem to remember a case about a teenager who had his picture in the paper for winning a rodeo. Unfortunately, the headline said something to the effect of "Pedophiliac caught". While funny (I know I would have photocopied that and pasted it through the school), I know newspapers and publishers tend to be careful about this exposure. O'Reilly may have a heckuva lawsuit here.
Hey, O'Reilly, if you're out there.....LAUGH AT THEM. Make fun of them. It's the only way you're going to fight it effectively. Your ratings prove the public wants to back you. Give them an honest defense and a reason to scoff at the unfair accusations. That's my advice.
Ivins is ineffective because she's mean. Franken, although a liar, will win some people with humor. Everyone loves to laugh. So fight laughter with laughter -- add honesty and people will readily recognize the difference.
Seek professional help immediately ;-)
Franken goes after Coulter. Anne I guess referred often to her footnotes when she was on the tour, Franken corrected her that they are end notes, not footnotes.
Brian Kilmeade really thinks that Franken has either lost his mind or is drugged up.
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