Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly Debate!
Un-common debate between Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly over Common White House guest makes great TV but potentially sparks political unrest?
[May 17]
No common debate when intelligence meets obstinacy as liberal media journalist, late night talk show host, actor and comedian Jon Stewart takes on Republican stalwart talk show guru Bill O’Reilly! Debate on Fox channel program The O’Reilly Factor heated up when Comedy Central Generation X hero Jon Stewart verbally attacked Bill O’Reilly on his own show. Why was Jon Stewart so hot-tempered challenging the conservative? Over Bill O’Reilly voicing what logically boils down to nothing more than racist objections towards rapper Common’s visit to the White House. O’Reilly has used the fact that Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama has the rapper perfrom live at a White House poetry slam to claim that the black president was out of line as president to welcome the black rapper with open arms. While the politically correct phrasing of African-American was used, O’Reilly claimed that because the rap music star wrote a song about a woman who killed a NJ state trooper that he should not have been allowed in the White House as a guest, let alone given audience with the president of the United States or shown any respect. Obviously, to ban a musician for writing challenging lyrics about tough and disturbing social issues smacks of the ugly underbelly of communist censorship and subjugated free speech that is prevalently accepted in pop culture and beyond government control. In the celebrity interview, a very rational Jon Stewart tells Bill O’Reilly that even Bono wrote a song about Leonard Peltier, convicted of killing two FBI agents, mentioned Bob Dylan, Bruce Springstein and other white music greats — and clearly pointed out that using Bill O’Reilly’s logic that those artists should have been banned from the White House as hell.
Here is a video clip of the O’Reilly Factor featuring Jon Stewart and Bill O Reilly going head to head over Common visiting the White House.
While Bill O’Reilly never conceded that his glib point he was using to attack the Obama family was illogical at best and surely ethnocentric (rooted in a deep xenophobia about the skin color of the first African American president’s White House guest), the pair agreed that even though the political debate was fruitless, that it made for some great TV.
While we agree, it would have been nice to see Bill O’Reilly take a moment to re-think his position on national TV and help educate his flock of Republican followers about the real history of White House house guests.
Why?
Because if he had, he could have helped bridge the gap between the uneducated masses and real history known by intellects like Jon Stewart who might use humor and satire to talk politics but who really know come voting time that healing the racial divides in this country are what will help ensure the country’s 21st century success.
Are all republicans and tea party members racist?
No.
But they certainly do seem to be reading from revisionist history books and basing all their political judgements on rumor mills trending topics started by men like Bill O’Reilly, who are working hard to make sure the white Christian males stay firmly in control of the government and financial power.
So how did the debate really end, besides making for great television?
Leaving this writer feeling like if Bill O’Reilly came to my house, I should probably hide my white sheet set lest they disappear or end up borrowed and returned with eye holes cut as insets.
That’s why it is not clear whether or not this was really great television or something else — like a public debate that should have been held in a more fromal setting that on some cheesy talk show.