Bill O'Reilly: Kerry "demonstrated provable valor"

[quaoar]

http://www.billoreilly.com/currentarticle

I think the Swift Boat political advertisement calling Kerry a charlatan is in poor taste, and if this kind of thing continues it might well backfire on the Kerry haters. Most Americans are fair minded, and bitter personal attacks do not go down well with folks who are not driven by partisanship. Remember, General Wesley Clark was knocked out of the Presidential sweepstakes when he would not disown Michael Moore's insane remark that President Bush was a "deserter." Mr. Bush received an honorable discharge from the National Guard. Admiral Elmo Zumwalt pinned a medal on John Kerry's chest. The record is the record, unless rock solid proof refutes it.

[Dr Fate]

1. Screw "fairness"- give me the facts.

O'Really got it half right- but in the interest of "balance"- he left out the key facts concerning *'s record...

[goclark]

2. What was he smoking?

Tomorrow will be a different day for Bill O;Liely but we'll take it.

[bogey18]

3. I guess there are some things even a pig can't swallow,

It's like a good friend of mine keeps telling me - the only thing saving us from the Republicans is the fact that don't know when to stop. I think ol Bill is trying to warn them.

[quaoar]

4. This is just friggin' amazing

How do the Swift Boat Liars recover when they don't even have O'Reilly on their side?

[Eric J in MN]

5. What a ridiculous interpretation of Wesley Clark's campaign

and Bush's National Guard record.

Bush not only went AWOL, Bush was gone for 6 months. Over 1 month makes one a deserter.

[kiahzero]

6. Nevermind the fact that he never endorsed the statement (n/t)

[Protected]

13. Truth + O'Reilly = Not gunna happen

SHUT UP! SHUT UP! YOU HAD YOUR 35 MINUTES!

[Crunchy Frog]

14. All Clark said

was that Micheal Moore had the right of free speech. The RW controlled media then used that as the basis of a highly coordinated lynching.

Under the most technical definition of the term, Bush may not be a deserter, ie, he was never tried and convicted. But he still fits the definition pretty damned closely. It was hardly an outrageous statement for Moore to make.

[Eric J in MN]

18. a thief is a thief is he's never been convicted, and a deserter is

a deserter if he's never been convicted.

George W. Bush is a deserter.

[Dr Fate]

15. I agree- Clark failed because he has not learned the ropes yet...

Moore's comments are conventional wisdom- I dont believe it sunk Clark...

[ibegurpard]

20. Agreed.

What the fuck is he smoking? Was that even a FACTOR in Wes Clark's campaign not getting much traction? How ridiculous.

[Norquist Nemesis]

7. It's not all that amazing

O'Reilly sees the writing on the wall that they've dodged a bullet regarding Bush's record. If they don't stop firing at Kerry, guns will be blazing at Bush's record with a fury not yet seen.

[quaoar]

8. Exactly

The Swift Boat Liars are so discredited, they can't even keep O'Reilly on board. This is the beginning of the end for that cabal.

[Fridays Child]

9. He's simply trying to defuse the ticking time bomb that will blow...

...the lid off of the chimp's Guard service. O'Really is running interference on explicit orders from Rog and Rupe. They know what the research shows about B*sh's AWOL problem.

[stopbush]

10. "The record is the record, unless rock solid proof refutes it."

Ah, the set up.

You can rest assured that O'Leilly will produce that "rock solid proof" against Kerry's valour sometime before Nov. 2.

[Myrina]

23. Moveon should use that clip ...

"The record is the record, unless rock solid proof refutes it" ... juxtaposed w/Bush's 'record' of 940+ soldiers dead, spiking gas prices, skyrocketing health care costs, etc ...

Yup, America ... there's a record ... can ya' dance to it?

[quaoar]

11. I think O'Reilly

is actually repulsed by it:

First off, I believe Jim Rassmann when he says that Kerry saved his life by pulling him out of a Vietnam river while under fire. Rassmann is a former Green Beret, a former police officer and a long time registered Republican until earlier this year. If he says John Kerry is a hero, nobody should doubt it. Rassmann has earned the right to be trusted and insulting his testimony is way out of line.


Hard to see how O'Reilly could do a 180 on this later.

[malatesta1137]

12. that's a slick

way to make the attacks on Bush and Kerry seem unreasonable, which is bullshit. I'd rather have this scum O'Reilly just stand by the Swift Boat criminals' phony charges.

[Downtown Hound]

16. I guess the fact that THE RECORD showed Bush didn't show up

for more than thirty days is lost on O'Reilly. More than thirty days makes you a deserter. This is just O'Reilly trying to show he is in fact a moderate, when all it really does is to deflect the criticism away from Bush.

[Norquist Nemesis]

17. It's not lost on him.

He's just hoping it doesn't come up again.

[Eric J in MN]

19. The pay records the White House itself released show

that Bush is a deserter.

[fujiyama]

21. In all fairness to

bloward Reilly, he's always admired Kerry's war record. It's weird but I remember him praising him when he had Doug (I think that's his first name - the guy that wrote "Tour of Duty") Brinkley a long time ago. This was when Kerry didn't look like he would get the nomination.

He's dead wrong on the Bush serving honorably though...and that too it is from O'Reilly who is one of the most obnoxious fools on TV.

[quaoar]

22. Even Kerry

Has said recently that Bush served honorably, in his comment about the MoveOn ad, if I recall that correctly.

Of course, that's sort of like Antony's praise of Caesar during his eulogy.