The O'Reilly Rule

The O'Reilly Rule: If Bill O'Reilly criticizes someone for something, odds are favorable he's done that very thing but worse.

Case in point:

O'Reilly likes to say that the press is "in the tank" for Barack Obama; that the "S-P" media is biased for Democrats. That's coming from a guy who works for a network that is difficult to distinguish from the Republican Party, e.g. "Fox contributor" Karl Rove.

More directly, former Fox News employee turned White House press secretary turned regular Fox News Radio Factor guest host Tony Snow has lately been on O'Reilly's radio show making up shit about Obama.

Guest-hosting the March 28 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor, former White House press secretary Tony Snow distorted Sen. Barack Obama's voting record, falsely claiming that "since [Obama has] been in the United States Senate, he has voted present more often than any other member of the Senate." According to The Washington Post congressional vote database, Obama has never voted present during his time in the U.S. Senate, unlike other senators. Snow also claimed that Obama "has described" Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, who recently retired as pastor at Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ, "as one of his key political advisers, and he said that he didn't make any key political decision without consulting him"; in fact, Obama has specifically stated that Wright "has never been my political advisor; he's been my pastor."

This is in addition to the previous bullshit that Snow had made up about Obama on the Radio Factor. That being several weeks ago when Snow said that Obama believes if we pull our troops home and quit fighting [in Iraq] al Qaeda will leave us alone. The number of falsehoods contained in that are staggering:

1. Obama does not believe that al Qaeda will cease to a problem if we simply bring our troops home [from Iraq.]

2. One of the very specific reasons Obama wants to withdraw troops from Iraq is so that we actually have the resources necessary to concentrate fighting al Qaeda where they actually are.

3.The al Qaeda in Iraq is a franchise of the seperate and distinct al Qaeda that attacked us on 9/11. It is able function in Iraq because Iraq is a failed state. Obama believes that withdrawing troops from Iraq will facilitate the political process in Iraq that will stabilize the country. This is not the same thing as believing al Qaeda will lay down their weapons once the US leaves.

4. Snow acts as if the fighting in Iraq is the U.S.A. versus al Qaeda when in reality al Qaeda could completely cease to exist this very instant and the sectarian chaos in Iraq would continue on.

It really is amazing how members of the conservative movement leader cult like Snow seem to have a limitless ability to distort reality for ideological ends.

I have more examples of the O'Reilly Rule in action (in addition to several other posts I'd hope to finish) but I'm feeling a bit sick at the moment.