Bill O’Reilly Embarrasses Himself With Another Petty Attack on Stephen Colbert

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Bill O’Reilly has demonstrated how afraid he is of Stephen Colbert with yet another petty attack on the future CBS host on Fox News.

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O’Reilly said, “Lately most of the media angst has been about Stephen Colbert, who will replace David Letterman on the CBS Late Show. Because I have labeled Colbert ‘a left wing mouthpiece,’ the liberal press is very upset, and I really don’t understand why. While Jon Stewart mocks both sides, even though he is a communist sympathizer, sure he is, his favorite color is red, come on, Colbert has made a living exclusively satirizing the right, and he has plenty of material, but that won’t be enough to beat Fallon and Kimmel, who are sharp and well produced. Colbert will have to be better than those guys to compete well in the ratings, and remember, he has already alienated forty percent of the country who define themselves as conservative. In the end, Colbert may prevail, but my analysis of him has been to the point and honest. And as you know, that drives zealots on both sides completely crazy.”

Bill-O seems to be struggling to come to grips with the fact that Colbert will be retiring the character based on O’Reilly and his show when he moves to CBS next year. O’Reilly’s analysis of Colbert has been anything but honest and to the point. O’Reilly has no idea about the composition of Colbert’s current audience. The Fox News host seems to harbor the delusion that conservatives don’t watch Colbert. This point is nearly as incorrect as his view that Colbert only makes fun of Republicans. What O’Reilly can’t seem to handle is that Colbert’s character has been making fun of him.

O’Reilly just doesn’t get it. This conservative America that he was talking about doesn’t really exist. It is a creation of Fox News, and the right-wing media mythmakers. There isn’t going to be some huge backlash that doom Colbert’s new show. Colbert will have more of the young viewers that Fox News is hemorrhaging.

These attacks by Bill O’Reilly are a pathetic cry for attention from a dinosaur who is facing extinction. O’Reilly would love to see Colbert fail, but that probably isn’t going to happen. The kind of change that is happening to late night television is exactly what Fox News dreads most. Fox News is the oldest network on television. The changes in late night are a sign that younger people are taking over, and the youth (in FNC terms anyone under 65) hates Fox News.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association