Obama to appear on The O'Reilly Factor

[RunInRed 16,994]

According to Bill, Obama will be his guest this Thursday.

[TitanTiger 20,708]

Good for him. O'Reilly's an ass, but when as many people watch a show as they watch O'Reilly, you need to step up to the plate.

[RunInRed 16,994]

Yes, as much I think O'Reilly takes an unbalanced approach to many issues, I for some reason like the guy and find myself watching him quite a bit. I'm glad Obama decided to do this interview as well.

Of course the timing I find to be politically savvy - the night of McCain's acceptance speech. What better way to speak to conservative America and get your message out than on FNC that night? I'm looking forward to watching him and Bill go toe to toe - should be interesting.

Titan - Do you think O'Reilly will drill him on his abortion positions/votes?

[TitanTiger 20,708]

I'd be surprised if he didn't. Some of his answers need to be explored a bit deeper on that issue.

[jw 4 au 526]

Yes, as much I think O'Reilly takes an unbalanced approach to many issues, I for some reason like the guy and find myself watching him quite a bit. I'm glad Obama decided to do this interview as well.

Of course the timing I find to be politically savvy - the night of McCain's acceptance speech. What better way to speak to conservative America and get your message out than on FNC that night? I'm looking forward to watching him and Bill go toe to toe - should be interesting.

Titan - Do you think O'Reilly will drill him on his abortion positions/votes?

Geeze, for some reason RIR I saw you as a Keith Olberman type of guy!

I find the timing odd by O'Reilly as well. Isn't his set "in the building" so to speak for the convention? They would be right there in the middle of the whole thing! I like Bill too, but he cuts people off way to much. I do think he will grill him on abortion, but mostly on his liberal voting record and questionable past. Should be a good if true, is it confirmed?

[autigeremt 6,970]

Good for Obama. He needs to cover all the bases. I'm interested in what he has to say during the Q&A

[Ranger12 46]

I am surprised Obama agreed to do this. He tends to struggle with his answers when he has to talk from the hip. Good for him to do this.

I actually do not watch O'Reilly or any of the talks shows on Fox or CNN anymore. Mainly because I don't watch much of any TV at night anymore because of either schoolwork or because my son has some sort of ball practice/game. Even when I used to watch them, I was never an O'Reilly guy. I have seen him stick it to both republicans and democrats.

I don't care much for Sean Hannity either. I agree with Hannity about a lot of things and I even support some of the charities he does for soldiers. I loved it even when he was bashing Bush on immigration issues. My problem with Hannity is how he "debates" if you want to call it that. He asks for opposing views, but does not let them explain their views, but instead he talks over them and basically bullies them. At least O'Reilly lets opposing views get their opinion out. He may call them a name or go on a verbal assault after they are done, but at least they got to explain themselves, something that Hannity does not let those that disagree with him do.

I still like Limbaugh okay, but even he gets on my nerves sometimes. I think he shows more patience then Hannity and O'Reilly, even though he was not always like that. I don't actually remember the last time I listened to any of their radio shows either.

[RunInRed 16,994]

Well, Bill announced it on his show last night, so I assume it is confirmed. And no, I sincerely doubt the interview would take place in St. Paul. My guess is it will be taped some time this week, if it has not been recorded already. Thursday night is just the broadcast time.

I'm not sure why any one would be surpised Obama is doing this interview. He has constantly faced tough questions and never shyed away from these types of interviews. He was drilled by Russert on Meet the Press several times, went toe to toe with Chris Wallace right after all the Reverend Wright stuff, and has generally been willing to engage conservative audiences much more than any Democrat in recent history. This is all in addition to the longest primary vetting in history which included a record number of debates and Q&A.

As for questions, I would like Bill ask the following:

1) What does finishing the fight against al-queada in Afghanistan/Pakistan mean? You have said you will commit an additional two brigades...for how long, what is their mission? How specifically do you plan to go into Pakistan and go after Bin Laden and AQ leadership without cooperation from the Pakistanis?

2) We know you have stated you want to engage Iran diplomatically - but let's play out a hypothetical - assuming they remain defiant on Nuclear weapons despite sanctions, etc., will you as CIC allow Iran to have nukes? Yes or No? And if No, what exactly does that mean?

3) In a recent WSJ article, your economic advisors stated you would not raise capital gains taxes past 20% - is that accurate? Also, can you confirm that no Americans who make less than ~250k (jointly) or ~190k (individually) will see a tax increase?

4) You have said that under your plan, you will not be able to balance the budget the first year because of the mess the Bush adminstration has left - do you plan to and if so when do you predit we will be able to be able to return to fiscal responsibility?

5) Are all your spending initiatives paid for? Will you pledge to Veto any proposals that is not accounted for by a revenue stream?

6) In your Acceptance speech last week, you said you will go through the budget line by line and veto any program that is not working. Can you provide some examples of what some of those programs might be?

7) Can you give us an idea of what your cabinet would look like?

I'll add some more later...what are some of the questions you guys would like to see answered?

[autigeremt 6,970]

RR......the left wing isn't happy about Obama making this appearance, and that's why it's important to note. The Obama Campaign turned down the Factor for two plus months, but somehow changed their tune after the news of Palin. It's politics, but I'm interested to see how he fares.

[RunInRed 16,994]

Who cares what the "left wing" (whoever that is) isn't happy about. I love how you try to pigeon hole all Obama supporters into these categories, that the majority don't subscribe to. There are loons on both sides - why do you care what any of them think? I don't.

[CCTAU 3,369]

Who cares what the "left wing" (whoever that is) isn't happy about. I love how you try to pigeon hole all Obama supporters into these categories, that the majority don't subscribe to. There are loons on both sides - why do you care what any of them think? I don't.

Unfortunately for you, your loons are in control of the money. You got the number 1 and number 3 most librul dims on the ticket. That equals LEFT WING TICKET. So I guess you are one of the left wingers they refer to. (whoever that is)

[RunInRed 16,994]

Obama Met With Fox News Executives

By Howard Kurtz

Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, September 3, 2008; Page A22

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 2 -- At a secret meeting with Barack Obama three months ago, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes says, he tried to clear the air with the Democratic senator by saying that his organization was determined to be fair but would not be "in the tank" for Obama's campaign.

During the sit-down in a Waldorf-Astoria hotel suite in Manhattan that included Rupert Murdoch, the network's owner, Obama expressed concern about the way Fox was covering him. "I just wanted to know if I'm going to get a fair shake from Fox News Channel," Ailes recalled him saying.

"Senator, you're the one who boycotted us," Ailes says he replied. "We're not the ones who boycotted you. Nor did we retaliate for your boycott."

The meeting appears to have eased tensions between the two camps, which began when all the Democratic candidates, complaining that the network favors Republicans, refused to hold any primary-season debates on Fox. After resisting invitations for months, Obama now plans to appear on Bill O'Reilly's prime-time Fox program on Thursday, the night that John McCain delivers his acceptance speech at the Republican convention here.

Ailes said in an interview Tuesday that he would never have discussed the matter publicly had Vanity Fair not published an account of the earlier portion of the meeting, in which Murdoch sat on one side and Obama and advisers David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs on the other. The article, based on a forthcoming book about Murdoch by Michael Wolff, says Obama told the Australian-born mogul that he didn't want to waste time talking to Ailes if Fox was going to keep attacking the senator and his wife and portraying him as suspicious and foreign.

Asked for comment about the meeting, Murdoch adviser Gary Ginsberg said both Ailes and Murdoch "had a really cordial and constructive conversation" with Obama.

"They had a frank discussion, aired concerns on our side, and we're happy we were able to air our concerns," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.

Ailes, who joined the meeting in progress and spoke to Obama for 20 to 25 minutes, disputed the article's assertion that the candidate had "lit into" him. He called Obama "a very charming guy" who is "very smart" and was "gracious" throughout themeeting.

Underneath all the politeness, each side clearly wanted something. Ailes was interested in smoothing relations and having Obama appear on his network, and the senator from Illinois hoped to neutralize a potential adversary and improve his treatment on the nation's top-rated cable news channel.

Upon joining the meeting, Ailes shook Obama's hand and sat down next to him. As Ailes recalls it, he responded to Obama's concern about fairness by saying that "there are opinion shows and there are news shows." Some of the criticism, Ailes told him, has come from conservative commentator and co-host Sean Hannity -- whom he likened to MSNBC's more liberal pundits Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews.

Hannity has led the media pack in repeatedly playing videos of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's controversial former pastor, and questioning his association with William Ayers, a member of the violent Weather Underground in the 1960s. In a recent interview with Glamour magazine, Obama said Fox News and others went after his wife, Michelle, "in a pretty systematic way. . . . If you start being subjected to rants by Sean Hannity and the like, day in and day out, that'll drive up your negatives."

"If you're asking me if we're going to be in the tank for you, like MSNBC and CNN, the answer is no," Ailes recalls saying. Executives at the rival cable networks say it is Fox's political coverage that has been unfair.

According to Ailes, a onetime adviser to Republican presidential candidates, when Obama asked what issues Ailes was concerned about, he replied, "The sovereignty and security of the United States of America, period." Obama, he said, responded by talking about his love of country and his plans to end the Iraq war.

The talk turned to "The O'Reilly Factor," and Obama said he would appear on the show before the election. Ailes says he told the senator that there would be no "embarrassing or underhanded stuff" in the interview and that if he had any overall concerns about Fox's treatment in the future, he should call Ailes directly.

Murdoch has a history of mending fences with political adversaries whom his news outlets have strongly criticized, from former British prime minister Tony Blair to Sen. Hillary Clinton. An executive familiar with Murdoch's thinking, who declined to be identified discussing private conversations, said Murdoch sought the meeting because he is fascinated by Obama but that the two still have serious policy disagreements.

Asked to assess the sit-down, Ailes said: "I wanted him to understand that we're a real journalism organization and we're going to cover what's there. We're not out to get him. . . . Neither of us was overly aggressive but neither of us blinked."

Howard Kurtz hosts CNN's weekly media program, "Reliable Sources."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8090202730.html

[RunInRed 16,994]

1st part of the interview aired tonight on foreign policy:

Billo's summary line:

O'Reilly's Question: Is Obama a terror warrior?

O'Reilly's Answer: "I looked at him eye to eye, he's a tough guy"

[AUBURNTIGERFAN 0]

Who cares what the "left wing" (whoever that is) isn't happy about. I love how you try to pigeon hole all Obama supporters into these categories, that the majority don't subscribe to. There are loons on both sides - why do you care what any of them think? I don't.

Unfortunately for you, your loons are in control of the money. You got the number 1 and number 3 most librul dims on the ticket. That equals LEFT WING TICKET. So I guess you are one of the left wingers they refer to. (whoever that is)

and yall got the number 4 most "librul" dim