O'REILLY VS. FOX NEWS

Bill O'Reilly, last thursday:

The main point here is that trying to hurt a business or a person because you disagree with what they say is simply unacceptable in America. And that message has been sent by FOX. There's a principle in play. Vigorous debate is embraced by us, but smear campaigns will be confronted. It is simply a joke for The New York Times to editorialize that fabricated personal attacks are acceptable under the banner of satire.

I wonder if The Times thought that Donald Sagretti was funny when he manufactured dirt to hurt Richard Nixon's political opponents. I guess The Times editorial board would be yucking it up if their pictures appeared on a book cover accompanied by the word "liar." Satire, my butt. (emphases mine)

O'Reilly seems to doubt the characterization of Al Franken's work as "satire".

On the other hand, maybe ol' Bill should talk to the unnamed reporter who put together this piece on Franken apologizing to Ashcroft for some reason or other:

WASHINGTON — Comedian and liberal activist Al Franken has written an apology letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft after asking him for his personal story about remaining abstinent before marriage.

Franken, a satirist and former writer for "Saturday Night Live," admitted in a letter last month that he deliberately tried to mislead Ashcroft when he sought personal information from him. (again, emphases mine)

And the book in which Franken intended to use Ashcroft's response? It's a satire! Good to see that O'Reilly is just as connected to his own network's news department as the Washington Post editorial page is to theirs!