I recently got into a somewhat heated argument with a conservative friend of mine about Fox News and whether it was more or less misleading than the other mainstream media outlets. I pointed to the two or three Pew polls that show that Fox News viewers on average were the least likely of all the major news outlets to have a clear understanding of the facts. I argued that MSNBC may on the whole be liberal, but at least they “deal in facts” (i.e. they cite their sources and don’t just make stuff up as they go along, like Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity do). The following video is a great example. Bill O’Reilly attempts to debunk Obama’s assertion that Winston Churchill was anti-torture, even when he was under the most dire of circumstances. Notice how O’Reilly makes statements as if they were fact, with no supporting documentation, and how he distracts his audience by going on tangents that have nothing to do with the torture question. Then watch as Olbermann counters Bill O’s argument with facts and actually cites his sources.

It’s amazing to me that anyone still believes that Fox News is “fair and balanced.” What’s even more amazing is that the same conservative friend watched the documentary “Outfoxed” on my suggestion and agreed with much of what it had to say. Three or four years later, now that Obama is in the White House, that objectivity has vanished.

Don’t bother reconciling the two…it’s impossible.

Bill O’Reilly is entertaining as hell, mostly because of his ability to contradict himself on a consistent basis. For example, he repeatedly says he supports the right to privacy in the constitution, yet he also says he wants conservative judges. He doen’t seem to understand that conservative judicial philosophy looks at the right to privacy as one of the worst examples of liberals expanding the rights under the constitution.

Jon Stewart has fun with O’Reilly in the clip blow, as O’Reilly attacks the paparazzi who stalk celebrities, but then encourages his own producers to stalk anyone who has the audacity to disagree with him on an issue. What a putz.

23/6 compiled Keith Olbermann’s special comments in one crazy and hilarious minute.

I’m a fan of Olbermann’s show, but I can see why some don’t like him much, and this clip shows him at his self-righteous worst. That said, he was one of the first in the media to call out the Bush administration for their more outrageous acts, so much of the bluster was more than warranted.

Also, there’s one big difference between Keith and other blowhards like Bill O’Reilly – he has a sense of humor and can laugh at himself. I first saw this clip on Keith’s show. He also showed the over-the-top SNL skit about him last week.

O’Reilly, on the other hand, would probably have put 23/6 on his enemies list, calling them left-wing radicals for questioning him in any way.