O'Reilly  claimed Edwards is "actually lying" about Fox News' 
 
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:38:03 -0400



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<p><b>O'Reilly  claimed Edwards is "actually lying" about Fox News'  treatment 
of Democrats </b></p>
<p><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200708100006?src=item200708100006">http://mediamatters.org/items/200708100006</a></p>

<p>During the August 7 
edition of Fox News&#39; <i>The O&#39;Reilly 
Factor</i>, after playing a clip of Democratic presidential candidate 
John Edwards asserting that "Fox News 
... has a clear and long history of bias against Democrats," host Bill O&#39;Reilly 
responded that "John Edwards has been on the Fox News 
Channel 33 times," and that, in reviewing those interviews, "[n]ot once could I 
find anything insulting, demeaning, or disrespectful to the senator." O&#39;Reilly 
then asked Fox News contributor Kirsten Powers, "So he&#39;s actually lying, is he 
not?" When Powers responded that Edwards was "making a broader claim against 
Fox," O&#39;Reilly repeated that "he was on 33 times and treated with complete 
respect." Similarly, on the August 9 edition of <i>The O&#39;Reilly Factor</i>, discussing how "some 
of the Democratic candidates have been attacking Fox News," O&#39;Reilly questioned 
why they "want to make enemies -- particularly a guy like John Edwards, who is 
treated very well here, 33 times he was on." O&#39;Reilly continued: "We pored over 
the transcripts. There was never one time that this guy was unfairly treated 
while he was on this network." O&#39;Reilly went on to assert that the Democrats&#39; 
attacks on Fox News "might come back to bite them in the 
you-know-where."</p>

<p>But beyond the 
question of how Edwards was "treated" during his various appearances on Fox 
News, O&#39;Reilly himself and numerous other Fox News personalities have repeatedly 
made "insulting, demeaning, or disrespectful" statements about Edwards and other 
Democrats. </p>

<p>Additionally, during 
the August 9 program, O&#39;Reilly referred to Fox News as "far and away the 
highest-rated cable news outfit," and asserted, "[W]e&#39;re growing while the 
others are disintegrating." In fact, a recent <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200708100006&http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/original/june07vs06.pdf" title="http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/original/june07vs06.pdf">comparison</a> by the blog TVNewser of the 
three cable news channels&#39; ratings in June 2006 and June 2007 found that CNN and 
MSNBC&#39;s audience grew at a greater rate over that period than that of Fox News. 
According to TVNewser&#39;s analysis, CNN&#39;s prime-time viewership increased (across 
all age groups) by 17 percent and its all-day audience by 10 percent. MSNBC&#39;s 
prime-time viewership increased by 38 percent and its all-day audience by 34 
percent. Meanwhile, Fox News&#39; prime-time viewership increased by 10 percent and 
its all-day audience by 8 percent.</p>

<p><i>Media 
Matters for America</i> has documented 
numerous instances of O&#39;Reilly and other Fox News hosts, correspondents, or 
guests making "insulting, demeaning, 
or disrespectful" statements about Edwards and other Democrats. 
</p>

<p><b>O&#39;Reilly 
on Edwards</b></p>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On the June 8 edition 
of Fox News&#39; <i>Your World</i>, in response to host Neil Cavuto&#39;s <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/search/200706100001?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/search/200706100001">false claim</a> that 
Edwards used the <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200708100006&http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/08/us/08cnd-paris.html?ex=1338955200&amp;en=17d505d026c16380&amp;ei=5090&amp;partner=rssuserland&amp;emc=rss" target="_blank" title="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/08/us/08cnd-paris.html?ex=1338955200&amp;en=17d505d026c16380&amp;ei=5090&amp;partner=rssuserland&amp;emc=rss">controversy</a> surrounding celebrity heiress 
Paris Hilton&#39;s recent jail sentence to accentuate his "Two Americas" campaign 
theme, O&#39;Reilly referred to him as "the biggest phony in 
the world." O&#39;Reilly later asserted: "[H]e doesn&#39;t really want to chase down the 
bad guys in Iraq, but he wants to put Paris 
Hilton in jail." </li></ul>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On the June 4 edition 
of <i>The O&#39;Reilly Factor</i>, O&#39;Reilly 
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/search/200706060003?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/search/200706060003">asserted</a> that "John Edwards looks dopey" 
for his statement during the June 3 Democratic presidential debate: "What this 
global war on terror bumper sticker -- a political slogan, that&#39;s all it is, all 
it&#39;s ever been -- was intended to do was for George Bush to use it to justify 
everything he does." O&#39;Reilly commented: "The good news here is that most 
Americans in both parties understand that Muslim extremists want to kill us and 
will if they get the chance." In fact, just before making that statement, 
Edwards stressed the threat of terrorism and discussed his strategy for 
preventing it.</li></ul>

<p><b>O&#39;Reilly 
on other Democrats</b></p>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
In an August 1 
interview with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Chris Dodd (CT), which 
aired on his August 2 radio and cable television shows, O&#39;Reilly <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200708030008?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200708030008">called</a> Dodd a "propagandist" 
and stated, "I don&#39;t 
have any respect for you," after Dodd noted that 
O&#39;Reilly <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200511100008?src=item200708100006" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200511100008">previously</a> "talk[ed] about 
Al Qaeda attacking San Francisco and blowing up San Francisco."</li></ul>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On the May 7 edition 
of <i>The O&#39;Reilly Factor</i>, O&#39;Reilly 
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200705160001?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200705160001">cited</a> a flawed poll to assert that "35 
percent of Democratic voters believe that President Bush stood by and allowed 
3,000 Americans to die on the streets." O&#39;Reilly repeatedly referred to this as 
"madness," and claimed, "Sane people do not make that kind of leap." 
</li></ul>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On the January 30 
edition of <i>The O&#39;Reilly Factor</i>, 
O&#39;Reilly <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200701310004?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200701310004">stated</a> that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 
(D-NY) "just look[ed] like a zombie" during part of 
President Bush&#39;s 2007 State of the Union address.</li></ul>

<p><b>Fox 
News on Edwards</b></p>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On the August 3 
edition of Fox News Radio&#39;s <i>The John Gibson Show</i>, the program&#39;s executive 
producer, known on air as "Angry Rich," <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200708060008?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200708060008">claimed</a> that Edwards "whored his wife&#39;s 
cancer as a fundraising gimmick." He also went on to call him "a fraud" and "a 
pansy." Host John Gibson referred to Edwards as "the Breck Girl," "Silky," and 
"the biggest fraud running for president." On the August 7 edition of the 
program, "Angry Rich" <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200708080004?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200708080004">described</a> the statement as "a poor choice 
of words," although he did not apologize for the remark and went on to say of 
Edwards: "That doesn&#39;t mean he&#39;s not duplicitous, which he is." 
</li></ul>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On the May 24 
broadcast of <i>Hannity &amp; 
Colmes</i>, co-host Sean Hannity <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200705250008?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200705250008">asserted</a> that Edwards -- whom he referred 
to as the "$400 haircut man" -- is "not really viewed as somebody that is up to 
the task of understanding the nature in the battle in the war that&#39;s being waged 
against us." As evidence, Hannity pointed to a video of Edwards fixing his hair 
prior to a televised interview and the fact that Edwards recently spent $400 on 
a haircut. </li></ul>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
<i>Hannity 
&amp; Colmes</i> <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200703060016?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200703060016">hosted</a> right-wing pundit Ann Coulter on 
March 5 to explain her reference to Edwards as a "faggot" during her speech at 
the Conservative Political Action Conference. On that program, Coulter claimed 
that the word "isn&#39;t offensive to gays. It has nothing to do with gays. It&#39;s a 
schoolyard taunt, meaning wuss. And unless you&#39;re telling me that John Edwards 
is gay, it was not applied to a gay person."</li></ul>

<p><b>Fox 
News on other Democrats</b></p>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On the July 22 edition 
of <i>Hannity&#39;s America</i>, teasing a 
segment on "the mysterious death of [former deputy White House counsel] Vince 
Foster," host Sean Hannity <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200707230007?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200707230007">asked</a>: "Did a close friend of Hillary 
Clinton commit suicide, or was it a massive coverup?" During the segment, 
Hannity asserted that on July 20, 1993: "Vince Foster got in his car and drove 
to Fort Marcy Park in Virginia. And he supposedly walked through the 
woods, and depending on which version of the story you believe, he took his own 
life." He also claimed that "[i]n the minds of some," questions regarding the 
contents of Foster&#39;s files following his suicide "may have provided a motive for 
foul play." In fact, Foster&#39;s death has been conclusively determined by several 
investigations to have been a suicide.</li></ul>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On the July 2 edition 
of <i>The Big Story</i>, Kellyanne 
Conway -- the CEO and president of the polling company inc., who, according to 
the biography posted on her company&#39;s website, "has provided commentary on over 
1,000 ... television shows" -- <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200707030007?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200707030007">suggested</a> that Clinton would take 
"revenge" against the more than <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200708100006&http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3325002" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200708100006&http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3325002
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3325002">250,000 people</a> who have donated to Sen. 
Barack Obama&#39;s (D-IL) presidential campaign. Conway said: "[T]hese are 250,000-plus people who are 
willing to publicly go against the Clintons. That&#39;s remarkable to me because, you 
know, Hillary Clinton ... puts a lot of energy into revenge."</li></ul>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On the 
January 17 edition of <i>The Big 
Story</i>, host John Gibson <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200701200003?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200701200003">addressed</a> an InsightMag.com article which 
asserted that Sen. Clinton was responsible for spreading information that Obama "spent at least four years in a so-called Madrassa or 
Muslim seminary, in Indonesia." After claiming that 
Clinton "has 
reportedly outed Obama&#39;s madrassa past," Gibson told Republican strategist Terry 
Holt: "Now, we have heard about dirty politics before. Republicans aren&#39;t 
involved in this one." Holt responded: "This was either a despicable act by an 
absolutely ruthless Clinton political machine -- we know that they 
are capable of doing this. But I also thought, you know, it wasn&#39;t directly 
linked to Hillary Clinton." Holt then speculated that Obama himself could have 
been behind the story, saying that "if you took a page out of the Clinton book and you are 
really shrewd and you were Barack Obama, you might want to put this out yourself 
so that you could deal with it early in the political campaign and get it over 
with."</li></ul>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On the October 31, 2006, 
edition of <i>Hannity &amp; Colmes</i>, 
Republican pollster Frank Luntz smeared House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi 
(CA), <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/search/200611010007?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/search/200611010007">saying</a>, "I always use the line for Nancy 
Pelosi, &#39;You get one shot at a facelift. If it doesn&#39;t work the first time, let 
it go.&#39; "</li></ul>

<ul class="unIndentedList"><li> 
On October 1, 2004, 
chief political correspondent Carl Cameron <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/search/200410040006?src=item200708100006" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/search/200410040006">posted</a> a <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200708100006&http://www.masstort.org/fox/FOXNews_com%20-%20You%20Decide%202004%20-%20Trail%20Tales%20-%20BTrail%20Tales-B%20What%27s%20That%20Face.htm" target="_blank" title="http://www.masstort.org/fox/FOXNews_com - You Decide 2004 - Trail Tales - BTrail Tales-B What&#39;s That Face.htm">fake news story</a> on FoxNews.com which 
falsely attributed quotes to 2004 Democratic presidential nominee and Sen. John 
Kerry (MA) in an attempt to ridicule him over a manicure, which Cameron reported 
he received the day before. The quotes included statements from Kerry asserting 
that "Women should like me! I do manicures," and referring to himself as a 
"metrosexual." Later that day, Fox News issued a <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200708100006&http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,134166,00.html" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200708100006&http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,134166,00.html">retraction and an apology</a>, and the fake 
story was removed from the website.</li></ul>

<p>From the August 7 
edition of Fox News&#39;s <i>The O&#39;Reilly 
Factor</i>:</p><blockquote>

<p>O&#39;REILLY: Now for the top story 
tonight: attacking Fox News as 
a political strategy -- smart or dumb? Listen 
to this.</p>

<p><a name="ORIGHIT_4" title="ORIGHIT_4"></a><a name="HIT_4" title="HIT_4"></a>EDWARDS [video 
clip]: <b>Fox News, I think, has a clear and long history of 
bias against Democrats. We have to stand up to them. I mean, hey, it&#39;s time to 
put a stop to this.</b></p>

<p>RETIRED 
GEN. WESLEY CLARK [video clip]: According to <a name="ORIGHIT_5" title="ORIGHIT_5"></a><a name="HIT_5" title="HIT_5"></a>O&#39;Reilly, diplomacy is like having a chat. 
But of course, then, he&#39;s never done diplomacy. </p>

<p>DODD 
[video clip]: It means standing up, by the way, when things get tough. Standing 
up to Bill <a name="ORIGHIT_6" title="ORIGHIT_6"></a><a name="HIT_6" title="HIT_6"></a>O&#39;Reilly, by the way, when he comes after Daily 
Kos.</p>

<p><a name="ORIGHIT_7" title="ORIGHIT_7"></a><a name="HIT_7" title="HIT_7"></a>O&#39;REILLY: Joining us now from 
Chicago, Laura 
Schwartz, and here in the studio, 
Kirsten Powers. Both are Fox News analysts. You know look at --- this is so 
hollow, I have to laugh. [Slurred Dodd imitation] You stand up to me every week. 
You&#39;re not that tough, are you?</p>

<p>POWERS: I 
know, I know, it&#39;s -- It is kind of -- that&#39;s kind of silly. You&#39;re not that 
important, Bill. Why would anyone care 
about you?</p>

<p><a name="ORIGHIT_8" title="ORIGHIT_8"></a><a name="HIT_8" title="HIT_8"></a>O&#39;REILLY: Of course, I&#39;m not 
that important. <b>John <a name="ORIGHIT_9" title="ORIGHIT_9"></a><a name="HIT_9" title="HIT_9"></a>Edwards has been on the Fox News Channel 
33 times</b> -- 33, all right? -- before he became Mr. Far Left Guy. He 
used to be Mr. Moderate Guy, but now he&#39;s Mr. Far Left Guy. 
<b>Thirty-three 
times. Not once could I find anything insulting, demeaning, or disrespectful to 
the senator. So he&#39;s actually lying, is he not?</b></p>

<p>POWERS: 
Well, I think he&#39;s making a broader claim against Fox --</p>

<p><a name="ORIGHIT_10" title="ORIGHIT_10"></a><a name="HIT_10" title="HIT_10"></a>O&#39;REILLY: But he was on 33 
times --</p>

<p>POWERS: I 
know.</p>

<p>O&#39;REILLY: 
-- and treated with 
complete respect.</p></blockquote>

<p>From the August 9 
edition of <i>The O&#39;Reilly Factor</i>: 
</p><blockquote>

<p>O&#39;REILLY: In the 
"Campaign 2008" segment tonight, as we reported earlier this week, <b>some of the Democratic candidates have been attacking 
Fox News.</b> </p>

<p>[begin video clip] 
</p><blockquote>

<p>EDWARDS: Fox News, I 
think, has a clear and long history of bias against Democrats. 
</p>

<p>DODD: It means 
standing up, by the way, when things get tough, standing up to Bill O&#39;Reilly, by 
the way, when he comes after Daily Kos.</p>

<p>CLINTON: Now, I was very 
proud of my campaign, standing up and really calling O&#39;Reilly out. 
</p></blockquote>

<p>[end video 
clip]</p>

<p>O&#39;REILLY: Yeah. Now, 
the question is: Is all of that a wise thing to do? Here now, a wise man, Dick 
Morris, the author of the best-selling book <i>Outrage</i>, doing very well. OK, now 
--</p>

<p>MORRIS: If she wanted 
to call you out, she could show up on your show. </p>

<p>O&#39;REILLY: Sure. She 
could do a whole bunch of stuff --</p>

<p>MORRIS: This chair is 
available.</p>

<p>O&#39;REILLY: -- rather 
than pandering to those people. But we&#39;re going to remember all that. You know, 
I understand what they&#39;re doing, trying to get the far-left people to like them 
and vote for them in the primaries. I mean, it&#39;s obvious. But you know what&#39;s 
interesting? The only one who didn&#39;t do it -- Obama. Obama has not trashed Fox 
News. </p>

<p>MORRIS: Obama is kind 
of more of a class act. The big problem that Hillary has got right now is that 
she has to go after special interests, because she is awash in their campaign 
contributions. And she&#39;s getting flayed for that by Edwards and Obama. So she 
can&#39;t attack drug money, because she&#39;s taking it. She can&#39;t attack insurance 
money, because she&#39;s taking it, but she can attack you and Fox News. 
</p>

<p>O&#39;REILLY: But where 
does that get her? I mean, this is by far and away the highest-rated cable news 
outfit. OK? And we&#39;re growing while the others are disintegrating. 
</p>

<p><b>Why 
do they want to make enemies -- particularly a guy like John Edwards, who is 
treated very well here? Thirty-three times he was on. We pored over the 
transcripts. There was never one time that this guy was unfairly treated while 
he was on this network.</b> </p>

<p><b>Why 
do they want to do that? Don&#39;t they understand that that might not -- that might 
come back to bite them in the you-know-where?</b> </p></blockquote><table width="100%" style="background: #e8e8e8; 
border: 1px solid  #ffffff; font-size: 80%" cellpadding="1">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px solid  #ffffff;" 
width="40%">
</b> Contact: <br />
<b>Bill O'Reilly</b></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="mailto:oreilly@foxnews.com">oreilly@foxnews.com</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="100%" style="background: #e8e8e8; 
border: 1px solid  #ffffff; font-size: 80%" cellpadding="1">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px solid  #ffffff;" 
width="40%">
</b> Contact: <br />
<b>Fox News Channel</b></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,77538,00.html">FOX News Channel</a><br />1-888-369-4762<br /><a href="mailto:Comments@foxnews.com">Comments@foxnews.com</a><br />1211 Avenue of the Americas<br />New York, NY 10036</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="100%" style="background: #e8e8e8; 
border: 1px solid  #ffffff; font-size: 80%" cellpadding="1">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px solid  #ffffff;" 
width="40%">
</b> Contact: <br />
<b>The O'Reilly Factor</b></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="mailto:oreilly@foxnews.com">The O'Reilly Factor</a></td>
</tr>
</table>



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