Bill O’Reilly’s Lynching Party

In what seemed to begin as a defense of Michelle Obama, Bill O’Reilly still manages to stick his foot in his fat racist mouth.

O'Reilly Lynching Party

A caller to his radio program started to offer some uncorroborated gossip about Ms. Obama’s personality. O’Reilly stopped her, saying that whatever she was about to say was unfair because it had not been checked out by, I suppose, him. He proceeded to detail the precise circumstances under which it would be acceptable to spread uncorroborated gossip. Then he let loose with this:

“I don’t want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there’s evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that’s how she really feels — that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever — then that’s legit. We’ll track it down.”

How is this not worse than what David Shuster said? O’Reilly is saying flatly that he wants to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama if he is satisfied with some vague notion of evidence of something or other. Of course, I don’t believe for a moment that he’s in his Long Island garage practicing tying nooses, but this comment is so repulsively insensitive that there is just no justification for it.

Will he be reprimanded by Fox News? Will he be suspended? Will Fox News even report on the remarks? I’m not holding my breath.

Update: O’Reilly smirked through a pseudo-apology last night. As usual, it was not an expression of regret for despicable remarks, but an excuse to placate those who were offended, as if it were their fault for being too sensitive.

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