Fox news is not allowed to be birther friendly. O’reilly probably gets a large bonus if he disparages birthers.
Kind of curious why Fox has taken this direction. “Fair and Balanced” sometimes, I guess.
It's a "business decision" that Foxie honcho Rupert Murdoch has made and has made perfectly clear to his minions: don't mention the "birther" issue over the air in any way but painting the "birthers" negatively, or else you will lose your job or even worse. Murdoch is fearful that his networks will be kicked off the air by O's FCC if his personnel gave credibility to the "birther" movement.
This isn't my original theory; it's been expounded by Joe Farrah of WND for more than a year now.
O'Reilly probably gets a large bonus if he disparages birthers.
Yesterday was not not the first time he's disparaged "birthers." It's not so much he gets a large bonus as a quid pro quo, it's that more generally he's playing a game of kissing his employer's ass, which in the long run is better for his bank account - and perhaps his physical safety as well.