He’s not delusional even though he sounds as if he is
by digby
I know that Bill O’Reilly sounds idiotic here:
Fox News’ Bernie Goldberg told Bill O’Reilly tonight he needs to understand that the liberal media may be biased, but so is Fox News, with many of its regular faces turning a blind eye to conservative problems.
“Liberal news organizations are going to play down liberal screw-ups,” he said, “but Fox News is gonna play down conservative screw-ups.”
O’Reilly objected to that, citing his show in particular. He touted all the fair, independent-minded people he brings onto The Factor, who are more than willing to criticize Republicans when they deserve it. Goldberg responded, “This program is not all of Fox News.”
They tussled a bit over other shows O’Reilly argued are fair, and Goldberg didn’t dispute that Bret Baier, Chris Wallace, and Megyn Kelly are great, but they’re not all of Fox. O’Reilly said, “That’s most of Fox.” Goldberg shot back, “No, not even close.”
I personally know some older white men who so not see themselves as the right wing hacks they are and insist they are “independent thinkers” who “see the world more clearly” that others. They watch O’Reilly religiously. They believe he too is somehow “independent” and doesn’t follow the party line. This is mostly because he says so every five minutes even as he’s spewing the most insane wingnut propaganda imaginable.
This is O’Reilly’s brand: an obnoxious conservative older white male who knows he’s superior to everyone else and isn’t afraid to admit it. That’s a big demographic and explains why he’s so darned successful.
*And Chris Wallace and Megyn Kelly are both hard core conservatives. Kelly has challenged the CW a couple of times. Wallace considers himself a serious newsman so he doesn’t engage in War on Christmas bullshit. But they are both very right wing. Baier is just a corporate robot without any discernable personality at all.
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