David Letterman vs. Bill O'Reilly

[Coda]

x

[Doc Martin]

Here is a transcript:

Letterman: Our first guest is the host of Cable Television's number one news program - The O'Reilly Factor - it can be seen five nights a week on Fox News. Ladies and gentlemen, here's Bill O'Reilly. Bill come on out. Welcome back.


O'Reilly: Thank you.

Letterman: Happy New Year. Welcome back to the show. Tell me and people what you did before the O'Reilly, Factor, Foxnews thing.

O'Reilly: I was running the deli downstairs with that guy they have.

Letterman: Is that a fact?

O'Reilly: So, you can build on that career he's making.

Letterman: Yea, but seriously.

O'Reilly: I did a show called Inside Edition. Then, before that, I was a correspondent for ABC News, Peter Jennings, and before that CBS News.

Letterman: So, you're a life-long news journalist?

O'Reilly: Yea.

Letterman: How were your holidays? Good?

[laughter]

O'Reilly: I had a nice winter solstice, yea.

[long pause and laughter]

Letterman: Okay.

O'Reilly: You can't say - you can't say Christmas.

Letterman: You can't say Christmas?

O'Reilly: No.

Letterman: Why is that?

O'Reilly: Because it is politically incorrect and we did a lot of reporting on this and, uh, that was the big thing we were doing leading up to that. While you were in St. Barts, we were leading up to the Christmas holidays by saying 'Hey, how come we can't say Christmas?'

Letterman: I wasn't aware that you couldn't say Christmas. When did this happen?

O'Reilly: Sears, Kmart started it, said no more Christmas. It's all happy holidays or winter soltstice. I actually got a card from a friend of mine, it said 'Have a Blessed Winter.' I live in New York. You know what you can do with your blessed winter. You know what I'm talking about? Are you with me, Dave?

Letterman: I wasn't aware that this had happened.

O'Reilly: You weren't aware of the big giant controversy over Christmas?

Letterman: Well, I ignore stuff like that, it doesn't really affect me. I go ahead and do what I wanna do and you know I say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, Happy Hannukah.

O'Reilly: Here's why it matters. You with me on this?

Letterman: Yea.

O'Reilly: Okay. Ridgewood Elementary School in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. The song - Silent Night. [singing] Silent Night, you know? Knocked out the words and told the little kids to sing 'cold in the night, no one in sight, winter winds whine and bite, how I wish I was happy and warm, safe with my family, out of the storm.' They replaced the words to Silent Night with that. Now, with all due respect, I even think the baby Jesus would say 'gimme a break.' You know? You want another one ?

[Bill is lying, by the way]

Letterman: No, but let- I don't-

O'Reilly: Woah, Woah, Woah, when great tradition-

Letterman: But what does this prove? It proves that one community-

O'Reilly: It proves there are pinheads at the Ridgewell [sic] uh Elementary School in Wisconsin.

Letterman: Right.

O'Reilly: That's what it proves.

Letterman: Right.

O'Reilly: Here's another one, you want another one? Or are you bored with this?

Letterman: I'm kinda- think we should move on.

[talking over one another]

Letterman: I mean but isn't this the kind of thing uh uh once or twice every twenty years somebody gets outraged and says oh by god we gotta put diapers on horses isn't it just about, it's just so what, let it go, it'll take care of itself.

O'Reilly: No. There is a movement in this country by politcially correct people to erode traditions and the Christmas tradition is the most cherished in the country. Look. How absurd is it?

Letterman: But I don't -

[talking over one another]

Letterman: I don't feel threatened.

O'Reilly: It's not matter of you feel threatened.

Letterman: I don't this is an actual threat. I think this is something that happened here and it happened there and so people like you are trying to make us think that it's a threat.

O'Reilly: Wrong.

Letterman: Because nobody said happy holidays to me and then said Merry Christmas, oh I can't say Merry Christmas.

O'Reilly: Well, here's why it gets to be more than that, because it's in court. there are lawsuits. in plano texas, another grammer school, umm the kids were told not to bring in Christmas colors like napkins that are red and green. That's in court; that's being litigated. Now you can say 'Oh, that's just a little thing, it doesn't affect you,' but it isn't. The erosion of the culture and the protection of tradition is important in this country.

Letterman: Yea, but are we really describing an erosion here? It's two examples one in Wisconsin and one in texas.

O'Reilly: I got a million of them.

Letterman: Oh, you got a million of them? Okay. Fine.

O'Reilly: Umm, and they're funny ones. Memphis, Tennessee, Bible Belt, library. They have a little display where you can, say you are in a duck hunting club you can bring in a dead duck and put it there and advertise you duck hunting club. We kill ducks. Show up at 9 o'cloCk and we'll blow some ducks out of the air. Okay. There was a church that wanted to advertise a Christmas pageant so they brought in the manger scene and the library said you can the manger scene in Memphis Tennessee, but you can't have the baby Jesus, Joseph, or Mary or the wise men. We're not sure about the shephards. That was a big debate. Now, how stupid and crazy is this?

Letterman: I don't believe you.

O'Reilly: It's true.

Letterman: I don't believe you. I don't...I don't believe you.

O'Reilly: You think I'm making this up?

Letterman: I do.

O'Reilly: Then I could write for your show. [reaching for cup on Letterman's desk] This mine?

Letterman: Yes. let's talk about your firinds in the bush admin, things seem to be darker now.

O'Reilly: They don't like me.

Letterman: Then they mgith ave been a year before how do things look to you?

O'Reilly: It's pretty rough, but they're not my friends in the bush admin. they're not kicking the door down to be on my show, in fact you have an easier time getting pres bush to come on here than I have getting him to come on the factor. But I think that the Iraq thing has been full of unintended consequences and it's a vital thing for the country and it's brutal, it's absolutely brutal. We should all take it very seriously. This simplistic stuff about hating Bush or he lied and all this stuff, does the country no good at all. We've got to win this thing. You have to win it. And even though it's a screw-up, giant, massive, all right, right now, for everybody's protection, it's best for the world to have a democracy in that country functioning and friendly to the West, is it not?

Letterman: Yes, absolutely.

O'Reilly: Okay, so let's stop with the lying and the this and the that and the undermining and let's get him. That is putting us all in danger. So our philosophy is we call it as we see it. Sometimes you agree, sometimes you don't. Robust debate is good. But we believe that the United States, particularly the military, are doing a noble thing, a noble thing. The soldiers and Marines are noble. They're not terrorists. And when people call them that, like Cindy Sheehan called the insurgents 'freedom fighters,' we don't like that. It is a vitally important time in American history. And we should all take it very seriously. Be very careful with what we say.

Letterman: Well, and you should be very careful with what you say also.

[audience applause]

O'Reilly: Give me an example.

Letterman: How can you possibly take exception with the motivation and the position of someone like Cindy Sheehan?

O'Reilly: Because I think she's run by far-left elements in this country. I feel bad for the woman.

Letterman: Have you lost family members in armed conflict?

O'Reilly: No, I have not.

Letterman: Well, then you can hardly speak for her, can you?

[applause]

O'Reilly: I'm not speaking for her. Let me ask you this question.

Letterman: [referring back to O'Reilly's phony "War on Christmas"] Let's go back to your little red and green stories.

O'Reilly: This is important, this is important. Cindy Sheehan lost a son, a professional soldier in Iraq, correct? She has a right to grieve any way she wants, she has a right to say whatever she wants. When she says to the public that the insurgents and terrorists are 'freedom fighters' how do you think, David Letterman, that makes people who lost loved ones, by these people blowing the Hell out of them, how do you think they feel, waht about their feelings, sir?

Letterman: What about, why are we there in the first place? [applause] The President himself, less than a month ago said we are there because of a mistake made in intelligence. Well, whose intelligence? It was just somebody just get off a bus and handed it to him?

O'Reilly: No.

Letterman: No, it was the intelligence gathered by his administration.

O'Reilly: By the CIA.

Letterman: Yeah, so why are we there in the first place? I agree to you, with you that we have to support the troops. They are there, they are the best and the brightest of this country. [audience applause] There's no doubt about that. And I also agree that now we're in it it's going to take a long, long time. People who expect it's going to be solved and wrapped up in a couple of years, unrealistic, it's not going to happen. However, however, that does not eliminate the legitimate speculation and concern and questioning of Why the Hell are we there to begin with?

O'Reilly: If you want to question that, and then revamp an intelligence agency that's obviously flawed, the CIA, okay. But remember, MI-6 in Britain said the same thing. Putin's people in Russia said the same thing, and so did Mubarak's intelligence agency in Egypt.

Letterman: Well then that makes it all right?

O'Reilly: No it doesn't make it right.

Letterman: That intelligence agencies across the board makes it alright that we're there?

O'Reilly: It doesn't make it right.

Letterman: See, I'm very concerned about people like yourself who don't have nothing but endless sympathy for a woman like Cindy Sheehan. Honest to Christ.

[audience applause]

O'Reilly: No, I'm sorry.

Letterman: Honest to Christ.

O'Reilly: No way. [waits for applause to die down] No way you're going to get me, no way that a terrorist who blows up women and children.

Letterman: Do you have children?

O'Reilly: Yes I do. I have a son the same age as yours. No way a terrorist who blows up women and children is going to be called a freedom fighter on my program.

[mild audience applause]

Letterman: I'm not smart enough to debate you point to point on this, but I have the feeling, I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap. [audience laughter] But I don't know that for a fact.

[more audience applause]

Paul Shafer: Sixty percent.

Letterman: Sixty percent. I'm just spit-balling here.

O'Reilly: Listen, I respect your opinion. You should respect mine.

Letterman: Well, ah, I, okay. But I think you're-

O'Reilly: Our analysis is based on the best evidence we can get.

Letterman: Yeah, but I think there's something, this fair and balanced. I'm not sure that it's, I don't think that you represent an objective viewpoint.

O'Reilly: Well, you're going to have to give me an example if you're going to make those claims.

Letterman: Well I don't watch your show so that would be impossible.

O'Reilly: Then why would you come to that conclusion if you don't watch the program?

Letterman: Because of things that I've read, things that I know.

O'Reilly: Oh come on, you're going to take things that you've read. You know what say about you? Come on. Watch it for a couple, look, watch it for a half hour. You'll get addicted. You'll be a Factor fan, we'll send you a hat.

Letterman: You'll send me a hat. Well, send Cindy Sheehan a hat.

O'Reilly: I'll be happy to.

Letterman: Uh, Bill, it's always a pleasure.

[laughter]

O'Reilly: Thank you very much. Happy New Year.

Letterman: Same to you.

[Gordon B]

I haven't had a chance to read the transcript yet but I thought that Letterman voted for Bush in 2000 and Leno voted for Gore.

[rollhead]

Originally Posted by Coda

This interview was like the perfect petry dish example of a well-thought conservative principle versus a typical liberal, emotional point of view. One deals in fact; the other has no grasp of the facts.

Coda, did you forget something this morning?

[Darryl G. Thomas]

Coda,

You crack me up. Really. Two rich entertainers get into a pissing contest on TV and they come to represent conservative vs. liberal dialog?

I give up. You're right. All conservatives are logical and right about every issue and all liberals are excitable and wrong.

And to think it's taken me this long to figure it out.

[tristano's ghost]

Actually, reading that transcript, I thought Letterman got the better of him--and Letterman's a freakin' entertainment-show host, not the self-styled political pundit O'Reilly fancies himself to be.

O'Reilly is certainly one to be tossing around the term "pinhead." He's been steadily losing it ever since the sexual-harassment lawsuit. His insane "war on Christmas" trip is one of the biggest non-issues I've ever seen the wacko right come up with.

[Chris D]

Show me one person in America denied the right to celebrate Christmas.

[Jon Abbey]

I'd like to see a war on Christians, though. every 10 you kill, free frappuccino. WHO'S WITH ME?

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

I'd like to see a war on Christians, though. every 10 you kill, free frappuccino. WHO'S WITH ME?

Be careful what you say. There are many people who are with you, except they would substitute Jews for Christians in your sentence above.

[bluenoter]

Originally Posted by Chris D

Show me one person in America denied the right to celebrate Christmas.

Chris, I'm on your side, but that's a dubious tack, whether it's taken by conservatives (which is usually the case) or not.

It's like an old joke--

Mother: Eat! Think of the children starving in Ethiopia!
Kid: Name one.

[groover]

Originally Posted by Gordon B

Be careful what you say. There are many people who are with you, except they would substitute Jews for Christians in your sentence above.

And there are some people who would add Jews to the list along with Christians. Does the name Osama Bin Laden ring a bell? Of course, he might be dead already, for all we know.

[rollhead]

There is a shit storm happening in conservativedom.

They are getting people killed in Iraq... their fundraisers are being thrown in jail ... their "hammers" are being forced out of power.

So, they have to concoct false crises to rally the true believers.

Count on the right for pumping up the most inconsequentional/non-existant things to apocalyptic levels.

If it isn't the "end of Christmas," it is Janet Jackson's nipple ring, or Jar-Jar Binks.

Don't bend over in the shower, Coda, a teletubby might be watching.

[stonemonkts]

I watched the show when it aired. Anyone who walked away thinking O'Reilly came off the 'winner' must be seriously challenged upstairs.

But like my dad used to say, "there's always one".

[Darryl G. Thomas]

Wasn't this more of a controversy in Punditville? I can't remember hearing anything about this except when someone was discussing Fox New's campaign on this issue.

Seems kind of silly. The reason a company like Target would use Happy Holidays is because multiple hoidays occur during the season. It's just good business sense.

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by groover

And there are some people who would add Jews to the list along with Christians. Does the name Osama Bin Laden ring a bell? Of course, he might be dead already, for all we know.

Right. I said "Jews" because Jon is Jewish, and presumably aware that whereas he hates Christians there are millions who hate Jews.

I am ethnically but not religiously Jewish myself. If I were to be offended if somebody said "I hate Jews", which I certainly am, but not offended if somebody said "I hate Christians," what would that say about me?

[Root Doctor]

Is there a bigger whiner than O'Reilly? The guy's the very definition of a pussy, someone who can dish it out but never take it when it comes his way.

[John P. Cooper]

I saw a good portion of that interview and enough to know that I was not going to see or hear anything new.

The most off-putting thing to mne was the way Letterman sat there as if he had a royal shaft up his butt; very prim and defensive, going for the pc applause lines. BO'R seemed his fairly usual self.

Letterman remarked to Paul Schaefer's question of Letterman's assessment of the interview after the commercial break and DL said something like "It made for lively television".

[John P. Cooper]

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

I'd like to see a war on Christians, though. every 10 you kill, free frappuccino. WHO'S WITH ME?

That's a very odd comment. Is there some context in which we can read that and find it 'amusing'?

[Scott Dolan]

I just watched the interview.


Snoozefest. Neither had anything to say. Though there were some funny moments.

[rollhead]

Originally Posted by John P. Cooper

That's a very odd comment. Is there some context in which we can read that and find it 'amusing'?

Yes, and can we make substitutions for the frappuccino? I think I would prefer something like a triple espresso.

[Paul B]

Don't bend over in the shower, Coda, a teletubby might be watching.

Truly LOL.

[John P. Cooper]

Originally Posted by rollhead

Yes, and can we make substitutions for the frappuccino? I think I would prefer something like a triple espresso.

I see he has not replied. Too busy selling his wares, no doubt.

[Jon Abbey]

seriously, you're not only a noxious blight on this site, you also seem to be quite a pitiful little man.

anyway, is my comment so hard to understand? this country is increasingly run by the religious right. my original idea to attempt to reclaim it for the rest of the people was to put some kind of explosive device in every copy of the Passion of the Christ DVD, but sadly, that one didn't pan out.

and I'm an equal opportunity hater of religions, by the way, they're all roughly equally divisive and pointless in my book. but the Christians are the one currently pissing me off the most.

yep, triple espressos are good too, that'll get you pumped for the next round...

[John P. Cooper]

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

seriously, you're not only a noxious blight on this site, you also seem to be quite a pitiful little man.

anyway, is my comment so hard to understand? this country is increasingly run by the religious right. my original idea to attempt to reclaim it for the rest of the people was to put some kind of explosive device in every copy of the Passion of the Christ DVD, but sadly, that one didn't pan out.

and I'm an equal opportunity hater of religions, by the way, they're all roughly equally divisive and pointless in my book. but the Christians are the one currently pissing me off the most.

yep, triple espressos are good too, that'll get you pumped for the next round...

I am always pleased to be detested by the detestable. Your agony amuses me. If I can piss you off in any other manner, please let me know. I feel like an honorary Jew. The very fact that I exist causes you no end of suffering and consternation. Eat it raw.

[frankiepop]

coda, maybe you could cite a line out of the exchange where it shows whatever youre saying oreilly did over letterman...or if you did something with your time besides stay up late and watch lame people like letterman and oreilly , then you could be in control of the facts and well thought out...

[al j]

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

seriously, you're not only a noxious blight on this site, you also seem to be quite a pitiful little man.

anyway, is my comment so hard to understand? this country is increasingly run by the religious right. my original idea to attempt to reclaim it for the rest of the people was to put some kind of explosive device in every copy of the Passion of the Christ DVD, but sadly, that one didn't pan out.

and I'm an equal opportunity hater of religions, by the way, they're all roughly equally divisive and pointless in my book. but the Christians are the one currently pissing me off the most.

yep, triple espressos are good too, that'll get you pumped for the next round...

Jon, I'll only say that there is a huge difference between the terms "Christian" and "religious right". Certainly the Muslims aren't currently pissing you off because of all the suicide bombings?

[bluenoter]

al j
feh.



Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Waikele, HI
Posts: 1,653

Al! What happened to Joe Christmas?

It's the end of an era!

[Jon Abbey]

Originally Posted by al j

Jon, I'll only say that there is a huge difference between the terms "Christian" and "religious right".

sure. the ones I'm talking about are the ones who insist on voting for Republicans for President regardless of their actual actions because they believe them to be "good Christians" (if that's true, I'd hate to see "bad Christians"). last I read, that was about 37% of the US voters. anyone that applies to I'd be happy to have wished into the cornfield.

Certainly the Muslims aren't currently pissing you off because of all the suicide bombings?

they're not the ones in the midst of a self-acknowledged Crusade, are they?

[Scott Dolan]

Do you hate the partyline voters from the other side of the fence as well?