Avenue G

Hill meets another Bill -- Picture courtesy of Fox

by blogSpotter
I actually watched Bill O'Reilly's No-Spin Zone last night. For the first time, it wasn't because my treadmill at 24 Hour Fitness was positioned under a TV airing the show. No, I actually watched it at home. Now Mr. O'Reilly has been cited by others as one of the vocal minority who gives conservatives a bad name (eg, Anne Coulter and Rush Limbaugh). For whatever reason, I've never been entranced by him in any way. His main distinguishing trait is that he's a little bit "scrappier" with some of his liberal guests than other hosts might be. He's otherwise known for a sexual harassment suit of a few years back.

My reason for watching was, of course, to see m'lady Hillary as the guest. It's probably no coincidence that she decided to come on No-Spin Zone just as Obama's campaign is getting torpedo strikes from Obama's ex-pastor Jeremiah Wright. According to some insiders, Wright was hurt when Obama removed him from the 2007 campaign announcement ceremony. Insult was added to injury when Obama disavowed some of Wright's words and politely distanced himself back in March. It was only a matter of time until Wright could no longer bear these wrongs and let the world know that Obama was only speaking "as a politician". Truer words were never said.

O'Reilly immediately asked Hillary about the Wright controversy, and she used it as an ample opportunity to express her disapproval of Wright's ideas, as well as to express relief for Obama that he finally resolved that issue. This interview was part 1 of 4, and fairly short. Other topics discussed were the Bush tax cuts and fuel prices. They basically "agreed to disagree" on about every topic without any trace of vitriol or raised voices. Overall, the interview was very civil -- even at some points convivial. O'Reilly and Clinton are close in age and have both been cultural lightening rods. It almost looked like a very odd form of friendship or connection at work. Imagine a conservative liking a liberal or vice versa! Of course, there is lefty policy wonk James Carville married to right-wing wonkette Mary Matalin. And actually -- quite a few other examples besides that. Not to imply that this is a budding romance or anything... people can just be friends! :-)

Hillary wore a bright pink ensemble which varies somewhat from her usual navy pinstripes and gray tweeds. This may have been to boost her image with the FOX News audience. It looked pretty good and maybe she should also run it by the folks at CNN and MSNBC. Following the interview were FOX talking heads (Dennis Miller, Dick Morris) giving their spins on the spin. Miller thought O'Reilly was too nice, that he used kid gloves. Morris cynically suggested that Hillary knows she's lost -- she's just beating up on Obama so she can run again in 2012. BS to both. O'Reilly respectfully disagreed with Hillary on just about everything. And Hillary wouldn't waste that much time, energy and money on someone else's demise.

So, let's tune in for the follow-up interviews. Will the gloves come off? Will Hill become friends with a new Bill? We'll have to see on Fox News.

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