Is Bill O’Reilly Losing It?

BushCountry.org ^ | 09/22/02 | Steven Fantina

[PsyOp]

I really used to like his show. I read and liked his first book. But after 9/11 there seemed to be a big shift in his attitude that seemed to begin with the Red Cross scandal (he deserves credit for exposing that).

For me it came to a head during the height of the violence in Isreal and his inncessant criticism of Isreal which I couldn't stomach. He's been headed downhill from there and I rearely watch his show anymore. Don;t know what's up wiht him but he seems to have come a bit un-hinged.

I think part of it was the ripping he received from the hollywood crowd when he exposed the Red Cross. A few times he seems to have been genuinely hurt by that and some of his flip-flops almost seems like an attempt to make up with them. I could be way off base with that, but it's the impression I get. I think that the failure of his radio program was another big blow he is having a hard time dealing with.

[yendu bwam]

Adios, yebdu, don't let the door hit you anywhere on the way out! Go back to watching Donahue!

Neither one is honest.

[sinkspur]

Wasn't Rep. Burton in Saudi Arabia to meet with these women at the very time they were whisked off to England to meet O'Reilly? Wasn't he actively working on their situation when O'Reilly derailed it?

Burton was showboating, as he always does. He had no idea whether he would meet the women or not, as he hadn't done the preparation O'Rielly had.

Why didn't O'Reilly demand they truly be alone with him and able to speak freely?

He wouldn't have gotten the interview.

[profmike23]

Ever watch the Simpsons?

[Hatteras]

"...Go back to watching Donahue!"

Thought I WAS watching Donahue for a moment. Alas, just two peas on opposite sides of the pod....

[DeFault User]

Sure. One of the better shows around.

[profmike23]

"Rush has 20 million listeners. O'Reilly has 2 million."

Rush has 20 million listeners a WEEK. That's 4 million a day. O'Reilly has 2 million a day - and when it comes to TV there are far more choices of channels than radio.

O'Reilly does not provide the same amount of humor and parody as Rush and does not appeal to an ideological base - which translates into lower ratings.

[DeFault User]

Seems to me that the gist of the thread is that if O'Reilly doesn't tame his ego, his ratings will be down with Chung and Donahue. When he becomes more insufferable than gutsy, he'll be a joke just like Geraldo Rivera is.

[buffyt]

Yes, he is losing it. We rarely watch him anymore. His ego is way bigger than he is.

[Antoninus]

Bill O'Reilly does a few things that make him completely unpalatable for me. First, he is constantly apologizing for his conservative positions and citing his more liberal opinions to make himself seem "balanced." Instead, it makes him seem inconsistent and defensive.

Number two, he spent a lot of time bashing the Catholic Church over the pedophile priest scandal. That would be a fine and laudable thing if he took the trouble to actually learn something about his Catholic faith before blindly lashing out. He revealed himself (to me, anyway) to be just another poorly catechized Catholic with a big mouth -- totally ignorant of history or Catholic moral teaching.

[SolomonSemperFi]

As a conservative evangelical Christian....I was once an avid fan of Bill's.....but alas....no more. I think this is also the feeling of many of my peers. I no longer watch or listen to his broadcasts.

[Hamilton2]

Since when do people have to totally agree in order to be effective? The purpose of places like FR is to allow people to share opinions which is exactly what the O'Reilly factor is about. You might disagree with the packaging but remember...Bill Clinton had wonderful "packaging" and look how corrupt he is.

Bill O'Reilly has the courage to get the conversation going. I get very nervous if I totally agree with anyone...it shows a lack of individual thought processes. O'Reilly never said he was going to spew back to the American public what they want to hear.THAT'S what the other networks do. Bill gives his opinion and unlike others, he puts his influence where his mouth is.

God Bless the O'Reilly's and the Jim Robinson's of the world... and keep doing what you do......

[Neanderthal]

"1) His IQ is 45 points lower than he needs it to be to support his one-man-show."

It's only about 15 points too low. It was really painful to watch the crooks at one of the charities (United Way or Red Cross) put out illogical arguments/excuses regarding their misuse of the 911 money they raised, and get away with it on the show because O'Reilly wasn't smart enough to call them on obvious problems of fact/logic.

[chemainus]

Lets compare numbers sinkspur start with 1493 before the affirmative action addition...and that's just for starters

[E Rocc]

Gets old and have kinda had enough. I DO listen to Rush though. Oh yeahhhhh.... :)

O'Reilly's trying to distinguish himself from Rush and is doing it in the wrong ways. Rush is polite to people who disagree, so O'Reilly isn't. Rush steers clear of the "cultural" issues so O'Reilly embraces them with a Hillaryesque communitarianism.

-Eric

[AdA$tra]

Yeah, but what do you know, you are a Neanderthal!

[Hank Rearden]

I just got off the phone with my brother and we agreed that something had changed with O'Reilly. I believe it is because Sean Hannity is on the rise and O's radio syndication didn't make it.

KVI in Seattle dumped Michael Medved a few weeks back for Hannity (bad move, IMO). Question for those of you who've heard Hannity for a longer period of time: Does Sean Hannity EVER talk about anything but that damned book of his????

I'm sick of him already.

[Neanderthal]

"Yeah, but what do you know, you are a Neanderthal!"

You are being insensitive, and exhibiting spieciesism. Let's celebrate diversity.

[AdA$tra]

Actually I heard O'Reilly refer to himself as a Neanderthal yesterday on the radio factor. LOL

[HamiltonJay]

This article is complete hooey. O'Reilly has as you said always been O'Reilly. While he definately is more conservative in most of his views he is indeed an independent thinker, unlike dullards like Hannity, he's not just towing some party line.

I like and always have liked O'Reilly, he is pretty much a down to earth guy. I do agree his ego sometimes gets out of hand, but in general, he's more spot on than not.

This article just seems to be mad that he dare challenge the church, a church which he is a member and was educated by, to do the right thing. He may make some over the top comments, but it is not outrageous to suggest the vatican and the church heirarchy has been turning a blind eye to homosexuals and pedophiles in their midsts for years... its fact people... just as they, and much of the western world ignored the extermination of the Jews in WWII. PJPII has been a great Pope I don't deny that, but be real, he is a very old and ill man, his work on this earth will soon be done, and it is obvious that he does not exercise day to day influence over the church anymore, he can't the Cardinals and others are running the day to day.

I think O'Reilly did the right thing regarding those girls, and I don't view it as a ratings stunt. I think you can do better than 2 gals no one has heard of really in a time of war if you want a ratings boost.