Hillary Clinton is following in the futile steps of Barack Obama after his appearance on Fox News Sunday. My analysis of that affair applies in spades to Clinton’s announcement that she will fraternize with the noxious Bill O’Reilly this Wednesday. This is what I said about Obama’s lapse in judgment:
“A strong performance will net him nothing because the audience is limited in both size and ideological diversity. It will end right there. But the slightest misstep will be magnified a hundred fold throughout the Murdoch empire.”
It’s even worse for Clinton. The number one priority for O’Reilly is to applaud his own magnificence. The boundaries of his ego are approaching a state that is becoming an imminent danger to Earth’s orbit. The number two priority for O’Reilly is to bash Democrats. In pursuit of that he will have an ally in Sen. Clinton. She is likely to use this opportunity to assail Obama on tangents like Rev. Wright. And if she doesn’t volunteer to do so, O’Reilly will provide her with the opening. O’Reilly’s obsession with Wright is a near fetish. He has featured the ex-pastor in 19 of his 26 Talking Points Memos since the story broke last month.
Clinton’s friendliness with right-wing media is nothing new, of course. She attended a fundraiser thrown for her by Rupert Murdoch, then was endorsed by his New York Post. She sat down with Richard Mellon Scaife, who had accused her of murder when she was still First Lady, then was endorsed by his Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Her campaign’s General Chairman, Terry McAuliffe, appears in Fox News promos lauding their fairness and balance. And now she will sit across the table from the 21st century’s Father Coughlin.
As I’ve said many times before, no good can come of this. In Clinton’s case it is even more foreboding because she has demonstrated a willingness to collude with conservative opponents for her political gain. Obama promised to “take Fox on” prior to meeting with Wallace. He didn’t. If Clinton gives O’Reilly a hard time, he will hit back, but not until after she has left the stage, and for days after that. But he will come close to endorsing her if she throws him enough red meat about Obama.
There is just no upside. Fox only exists to defeat Democrats. When will these people learn?
What’s wrong with facing tough questions? Republicans go on far left shows all the time (Matthews, Olby, Couric, Blitzer, Cafferty, Abrams, Williams, etc.)! Why are Democrats so scared to go on a station that has a differing editorial point of view?
Many independents and, yes, even Democrats watch Fox and O’Reilly gets by far the largest audience. Clinton will is asking for their votes too. Democrats need to do what Republicans always do and always have done, face questions from someone with an alternate point of view.
First of all, it’s nonsense that Couric, Blitzer, Williams, etc., are “far-left.” Please try to stick with reality.
Secondly, My position is not that Dems avoid tough questions. It is that they avoid stupid questions. They should not treat Fox News as if it were a legitimate news organization. They would not sit for interviews with the National Inquirer, would they?
Finally, I’ve repeatedly shown that the Fox News audience is overtly hostile to Dems. They are not open-minded or persuadable. Why waste their time?
Wow, this is mind boggling to me….You actually think that there is no good that comes out of appearing on Fox. Let me explain something…Fox rating are blowing the heck out of CNN and MSNBC and if someone wants to be president they need to get as much exposure as possible. For you to say Bill Oreilly will hit back only after she leaves the stage is crazy. Obviously you dont watch Oreilly? Am i right? He is tough. If the person he is interviewing doesnt answer the question, he asks again and again, until its answered. Now let me ask you, why can CNN and MSNBC be completely biased, yet Fox news is generally pretty fair, yet you have to hate on them..All i can say is…RATINGS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES!!! I gotta tell you, i hated Hillary Clinton a few months ago…Now, not so much! I’d prefer her over Obama, we need some experience to get us out of this mess were in!!!! Clinton or McCain!
1) It doesn’t matter how many people watch Fox if the vast majority of them are predisposed against Democrats.
2) I do watch O’Reilly, so you are wrong about that.
3) CNN, MSNBC, and Fox are ALL biased.
4) Ratings only measure popularity. Just because more people eat at McDonald’s doesn’t mean they have the best food.
Oh and Mark….You really need to maybe educate yourself….The reason why its good for a Dem to go on Fox is to at worst gain some independent voters…… Secondly, you really think fox is like the inquirer? HaHa..Did you know Sean Hannity broke the Obama/Wright story MONTHS before the mainstream media even brought it up….. Again, people obviously take Fox News seriously since there ratings are absolutely destroying CNN and MSNBC…. If they had shows as good as hannity and colmes, and the reilly factor id be wathcing them also… I really suggest actually watching the Oreilly factor for a week. You still may hate Bill, but then you stories can actually have some substance and sound like you know what your talking about…
Sean Hannity broke the Obama/Wright story? That’s proof they are like the Inquirer. That is the tabloid story of the year.
And stop being patronizing. I probably watch Fox more than you do. And you shouldn’t criticize someone for lack of substance when all you’ve written is pure opinion. I publish both facts and opinion and I back up everything I write.
Mark,
I largely agree with your blog post. Where I differ a bit is I see a distinct difference between Obama on “Fox News Sunday” and Hillary on “The O’Reilly Factor.”
“Fox News Sunday” follows the network tradition of producing a political analysis show on Sunday morning. It originally broadcasts on parent Fox entertainment channel which has local network affiliates (like CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS), including the city I live in. Point being, it targets a broader audience than just the typical conservative Fox News watcher. Though, of course, it does re-broadcast on Fox News at 6 pm.
I’m not saying “Fox News Sunday” is free of bias. Just that it’s not the typical Fox News pro-right spin.
OTOH, Hillary’s going into heart of the lion’s den over at Fox News. It’s not entirely clear her intent.
One could suppose she realized the obvious that hopeless Obama-basher Bill would obsess over Rev. Wright enough for her to get some knocks in while blaming it on Bill. But she really didn’t take Bill’s huge pile of bait on that.
One could suppose she knew it’d get more attention. Naturally, Hillary’s desperate to up-stage Obama. This has some merit.
One could suppose she’s trying to prove her chops. Obama goes for the wimpy Chris Wallace while she goes after the most notorious right-wing bad boy on cable. This has a small bit of merit.
One could suppose she’s stiff-arming the liberal so-called “netroots” who are very much in favor of the boycott. Hillary would appear more moderate. This has some merit.
One could suppose – this is the Fox News pitch – that Fox News has a huge, diverse audience with tons of potential voters itching to cross over to her. The problem with this theory is, even if true, why go the Bill O’Reilly route? Why not do “Fox News Sunday” with less hostility and an audience crossing 2 networks, Fox and Fox News?
I think this hurts them both. Sure, they get attention but the Fox News audience isn’t going to be persuaded to their cause. There’s no indication sister Fox entertainment channel has an untapped political demographic. Meanwhile, they’ve cheesed off many liberal supporters and energized conservative Fox News, right-wing talk radio, and the red blogs.
That’s a fair analysis. Not that I agree with all of it, but still…
Fox News Sunday is produced by Fox News and syndicated on Fox Broadcasting. So as far as I’m concerned it’s still FNC and should not be granted credibility it does not deserve. It also airs more on FNC than on Fox Broadcasting.
Note also that the program is branded as “Fox News” Sunday. The other network programs are “Face the Nation,” “Meet the Press,” and “This Week.” Only Fox is network branded.
You know, for someone who seems to dislike Fox News, it seems that this has become the “Fox News Bash Site of Choice!”
You seem to come off like the people who protest Marylin Manson concerts. They too have a purpose and cause, but with their actions they are actually accomplishing the opposite result than what they want.
My 2 cents,
Asmodeus
…the “Fox News Bash Site of Choice!â€
Thanks for the compliment. And I love Marilyn Manson.