Color me shocked!!!!!!!!

[dissention]

Pundit O'Reilly Now Skeptical About Bush

WASHINGTON (Feb. 10) - Conservative television news anchor Bill O'Reilly said on Tuesday he was now skeptical about the Bush administration and apologized to viewers for supporting prewar claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

The anchor of his own show on Fox News said he was sorry he gave the U.S. government the benefit of the doubt that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's weapons program poised an imminent threat, the main reason cited for going to war.

"I was wrong. I am not pleased about it at all and I think all Americans should be concerned about this," O'Reilly said in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America."

"What do you want me to do, go over and kiss the camera?" asked O'Reilly, who had promised rival ABC last year he would publicly apologize if weapons were not found.

O'Reilly said he was "much more skeptical about the Bush administration now" since former weapons inspector David Kay said he did not think Saddam had any weapons of mass destruction.

While critical of President Bush, O'Reilly said he did not think the president intentionally lied. Rather, O'Reilly blamed CIA Director George Tenet, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton.

"I don't know why Tenet still has his job."

He added: "I think every American should be very concerned for themselves that our intelligence is not as good as it should be."

O'Reilly anticipated the presidential election would be a close race, adding he thought Democratic front-runner Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts would be a formidable opponent against Bush.

"It will be a very close race. The nation is divided," he said.

02/10/04 09:25 ET
__________________________________________________

We finally got our apology.

[strandinthewind]

I know I saw that. He also gave Hillary C kudos for selling more books than he did!!!!!

I always said that while I do not often agree with Biily O., he is a stand up guy in this regard - he does what he says.

[DeeGeMe]

Did you see the interview on Good Morning American today? He was doing pretty well until he came out with some loony claim that John Kerry's wife would be the one to pick his running mate and then Hillary Clinton would have to greenlight the nomination after that. And Charles Gibson sat there and let this bs fly out of O'Reilly's lips without the first question. I guess the strategy was--yeah, yeah, yeah, I've got to eat crow here, but I'll throw out enough **** that maybe someone will focus on that instead of my apology. And he went from saying he'd have zero trust in the Bush government to saying he's much less trustful than he was-not a ringing apology in my book.

[dissention]

To be honest, Kerry's wife Teresa could be running for office. I'd vote for her.

[gldstwmn]

Originally posted by dissention
Pundit O'Reilly Now Skeptical About Bush

Hehe. The tides are turning. Time to make nicey with the incoming regime.

[strandinthewind]

They are turning for W. Rush, Billy O. (an independant), and others have not come out against W, but privately, I hear the real conservatives and the far right are outraged at him for the spending and for dancing aroung the screw fags' right to marry amendment. They know W is not really willing to commit to that amendment because it has a slim chance of passing and will make him look horrible on a states' right issue. I wonder if Kerry gets the nomination if any hard core R's will abandon W and vote D? Stranger things could happen.

[GypsySorcerer]

Originally posted by strandinthewind
They are turning for W. Rush, Billy O. (an independant), and others have not come out against W, but privately, I hear the real conservatives and the far right are outraged at him for the spending and for dancing aroung the screw fags' right to marry amendment. They know W is not really willing to commit to that amendment because it has a slim chance of passing and will make him look horrible on a states' right issue. I wonder if Kerry gets the nomination if any hard core R's will abandon W and vote D? Stranger things could happen.

I know very few conservatives who actually like W. I think he's managed to p1ss off just about every wing of the Republican party. I'm voting 3rd party this election.

[strandinthewind]

Okay - Billy O. has now indicated

( http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111095,00.html ):

No Spin Coverage of the Presidential Race

Wednesday, February 11, 2004
By Bill O'Reilly

We're going to try something new and bold here on "The Factor." We're going to try and take ideology out of the upcoming election coverage.

Now this is risky because many of you are used to seeing guests root for your guy: either President Bush or John Kerry. But ask yourself this question. Where does that get you?

Now I tried to read the editorial page in The New York Times Tuesday, but I couldn't. Left-wing propaganda guy Paul Krugman at his usual anti-Bush bash.

I think this guy has written three columns in his entire life. And he just changes the paragraphs around. Bush is always the fool. Blah. Blah. Blah. Never mind that Krugman was completely wrong about the economic rebound. Never let the facts get in the way of pushing your ideology.

And I can't listen to right-wing radio very much either. Here, Republican talking points are pounded over and over and over. Liberals are always the devil. Conservatives are always good.

Of course, it's a fairy tale. The truth is that some conservative positions are good for the country, and some are not. For example, strict vehicle fuel standards would help all of us dramatically. That's a liberal position.

On the left side, the embrace of secularism has been a disaster for the nation's children. And the lack of discipline many liberals espouse will lead to disaster for you both professionally and personally.

So the best way to cover this upcoming presidential race, I think, is to avoid the predictable pundits pushing a tired view of the world and hold each candidate accountable for what they do and say each day.

A no spin daily profile of these guys will help you decide who is the better man without all the propaganda. President Bush will be treated fairly here. And so will Senator Kerry.

We're going to try that approach. God help us.
______________________________________

Isn't this what I do here on The Ledge

Actually, Billy O. had some conservative lady on last night that essentially said without actually saying that this will not fly with the ratings. I think this means Billy O. is fed up with W., likes Kerry (he has said so many times), wants them both on his show (Kerry has agreed as of now), and genuinely thinks this is the fair way to cover this. I say more power to him if he can pull it off.

[dissention]

Originally posted by strandinthewind
Isn't this what I do here on The Ledge

Actually, Billy O. had some conservative lady on last night that essentially said without actually saying that this will not fly with the ratings. I think this means Billy O. is fed up with W., likes Kerry (he has said so many times), wants them both on his show (Kerry has agreed as of now), and genuinely thinks this is the fair way to cover this. I say more power to him if he can pull it off.

I saw the show last night and she annoyed me. I think there is hope for O'Reilly yet. We won't even tackle that f*cker Scarborough; he's beyond salvaging.

[strandinthewind]

Oh No - I can take Joe, even though he grates on me, because he at least will concede a point when completely forced on it. I cannot take at all ever Sean Hannity - he will spin and lie to get his point.

[dissention]

Originally posted by strandinthewind
Oh No - I can take Joe, even though he grates on me, because he at least will concede a point when completely forced on it. I cannot take at all ever Sean Hannity - he will spin and lie to get his point.

The two of them are the cockiest bastards ever to grace the TV airwaves. They're not only obnoxious, they are obvioulsy the mouthpieces of the GOP schmucks that run our country. After all, Joe Scarborough was investigated for murder (in a case where the murder remains unsolved) and is a highly suspicious character, so I wouldn't give him the time of day. Plus, he thinks McCarthy is one of the great heroes of our country. WTF??!! Hannity? Someone who makes hot, sweaty monkey love with Coultergeist can't be trusted.

[strandinthewind]

From aol.com and the ny times.

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/elections...11105509990015

Some Noted Conservatives Bash Bush

By JIM RUTENBERG

WASHINGTON (Feb. 9)- For most of his presidency, George W. Bush has counted on a chorus of conservative newspaper columnists, radio hosts and television commentators to give powerful punctuation to his initiatives, proposals and defenses.

But in recent days, there has been an uptick in criticism of Mr. Bush from those quarters, underscoring strains between him and the Republican base that has so faithfully defended him in the past.

For example, Peggy Noonan, the Reagan speechwriter, had this to say on Sunday in opinionjournal.com about Mr. Bush's "Meet the Press" interview: "The president seemed tired, unsure and often bumbling. His answers were repetitive, and when he tried to clarify them he tended to make them worse."

George Will, the conservative columnist, wrote in his syndicated column on Sunday, "It is surreal for a Republican president to submit a budget to a Republican-controlled Congress and have Republican legislators vow to remove the 'waste' that he has included and that they have hitherto funded."

While most conservatives remain squarely behind Mr. Bush, the united front has not been quite as united.

AP

· Conservative: George Will
· Commentary: "It is surreal for a Republican president to submit a budget to a Republican-controlled Congress and have Republican legislators vow to remove the 'waste' that he has included..."
· Vote: Do You Agree?


KRT

· Conservative: Joe Scarborough
· Commentary: "There's been no fiscal restraint and that's hurting the party and it's hurting the conservative cause."
· Vote: Do You Agree?


Getty Images

· Conservative: Bob Novak
· Commentary: On the impact of his criticism of Bush: "The problem is not whether [conservatives] vote for Kerry. The problem is whether they stay at home."
· Vote: Do You Agree?


Sources: Reuters, The New York Times



Columnists like Robert Novak, conservative television hosts like Joe Scarborough of MSNBC and others on local radio and the Internet have raised questions about Mr. Bush.

"It's a critical departure," said J. David Hoeveler, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, who said last week that he believed that his local conservative radio host, Charlie Sykes, had begun sounding less exuberant about Mr. Bush. "Generally it's been whole-heartedly Republican," Mr. Hoeveler said of the tenor of the conservative media. "It would suggest that those who would call themselves Republicans are quite possibly breaking ranks."

Bush campaign officials say the frustration stems from an eagerness among his supporters to take on the Democrats aggressively, which they say he will begin to do soon. And some columnists and commentators who have voiced criticism of the president insisted on Monday that they were not breaking ranks and that he remained their standard-bearer.

Still, several conservative columnists and commentators said their pronouncements of disappointment resulted from growing frustration with what they saw as unbridled federal spending, Mr. Bush's mixed signals on gay marriage and his caution in meeting fierce critiques from a newly emboldened opposition.

Republicans who gave him poor grades for his performance on "Meet the Press," for instance, said they were concerned that he was not in fighting form when the possible Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, is.

Many critiques go beyond politics. For instance, until recently Mr. Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, was as energetic a booster of Mr. Bush as anyone. He said he began speaking out against the Bush fiscal policy about two months ago, as he grew alarmed by the growing deficit and what he said were needlessly expensive proposals, like a manned Mars expedition and an increase in financing for the National Endowment of the Arts.

"When I first started doing it, I had Republicans calling me up and saying `Hey, why are you knocking a guy who's from your party?' " he said. "Two months later, everybody seems to be saying it. There's been no fiscal restraint and that's hurting the party and it's hurting the conservative cause."

In one column last week, Mr. Novak criticized Mr. Bush for giving "the most ineffective State of the Union address in recent years." And, he wrote, the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the admission that the president's plan to expand Medicare would cost more than initially estimated were "a double blow to his credibility."


More From the Times


· What Killed Dr. Atkins?
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Mr. Novak pointed out in an interview that despite his criticism, most Republicans are not likely to vote for the Democratic nominee. But, he said: "The problem is not whether they vote for Kerry. The problem is whether they stay at home."

Terry Holt, the president's campaign spokesman, said he expected it all to quiet down as soon as Mr. Bush went up against Mr. Kerry directly, should the senator capture the nomination. "When the campaign enters a new period where Kerry will stand in direct comparison to the president, there will be a more intense focus on Kerry's record," Mr. Holt said, "And I think what we're seeing from these folks is a sense that they are ready for that period to begin."


02/10/04 15:39 ET

Copyright © 2004 The New York Times Company.

[gldstwmn]

Novak published the identity of CIA agent of Valerie Plame. He's a traitor and should be prosecuted. I would definitely consider the source with that guy.

[strandinthewind]

Originally posted by gldstwmn
Novak published the identity of CIA agent of Valerie Plame. He's a traitor and should be prosecuted. I would definitely consider the source with that guy.

even though I believe in freedom of the press, etc. I think that when the press becomes the propaganda mouthpeice for any party, they lose some of their freedoms, etc.

[darklinensuit]

To this day I've never seen O'Reilly's show.

- Jake