Franklin vs O'Reilly, get ready to rumble!

[Rokenn]

Bill O'Reilly calling someone a "propagandist" is pure comedy! [img]graemlins/laugh2.gif[/img]


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Insults thrown, left and right
Mon Jun 2, 7:45 AM ET

Bob Minzesheimer USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES -- Bill O'Reilly, the conservative talk show host, first decried political commentators who "call people names." Then he called Al Franken, the liberal humorist, an "idiot."

Both were on a panel Saturday to discuss their new books at Book-Expo America, an annual convention for booksellers and publishers where authors are not known for shouting insults at each other.

But when the convention ended Sunday, the buzz was less about the hottest novels of the fall than the raucous debate between O'Reilly of Fox News, who has written Who's Looking Out for You?, and Franken, author of Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.

Both will be published in September.

Unlike Ernest Hemingway's encounter with poet Wallace Stevens, no punches were thrown, but both men walked away without a handshake after Franken questioned O'Reilly's veracity and O'Reilly dismissed Franken as a "propagandist." During the shouting, the moderator, former congresswoman Pat Schroeder, asked whether anyone had a referee's whistle.

Franken's book cover pictures him in front of TV monitors showing President Bush (news - web sites), Vice President Cheney, commentator Ann Coulter and O'Reilly.

Schroeder said that, backstage, O'Reilly said his photo was used without permission. Franken said it was in the public domain. Later, O'Reilly said, "Fox lawyers will handle this."

Before the shouting, O'Reilly, who has written two best sellers, said his new book "takes on the powerful in a non-ideological way."

He said he's trying to "elevate the discourse" about politics. "I don't call anyone a liar or fat," which Franken did in his best seller, Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations.

When Franken exceeded his 15-minute limit, challenging O'Reilly's claims about a journalism award he said he'd won, tempers flared.

"This idiot has been going on for 35 minutes," O'Reilly said.

"Bill, this isn't your show," Franken replied.

O'Reilly called Franken "vicious" and said he was "blinded by ideology." The third member of the panel, Molly Ivins, author of Bushwacked, just shook her head.

One bookseller praised O'Reilly and Franken for "good entertainment" but warned that such debates were divisive.

"I can't bring people together," O'Reilly said. "My job is to rattle the cages. It's to put the bad guys on alert."

Franken said it's time for liberals "to stop taking it" and to call conservatives on their lack of civility.

That set off O'Reilly. "You write a book called Liar, Liar and you talk about civility. Unbelievable."

"That's not the title," Franken said, "but it's close."

As for calling Franken an idiot, O'Reilly told a reporter, "If I said it, I misspoke." Then he said, "I stand by my description."

C-SPAN2 plans to air the panel on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.

[Memnoch]

Handbags at five paces!!

[quietman1920]

Take a Listen:

http://www.cosmicseed.net/assets/Sou...icseed.net.mp3

I was at an HP (Hewlett Packard) function once...they had Al Franken as the entertainment...Im still wondering what boob thought Al Franken would be suitable entertainment for a convention room full of Conservative Republicans [img]smile.gif[/img] I know it must have been rather Painful for Al [img]smile.gif[/img] I found him entertaining, but he didn't get very many smiles let alone laughs from the assembled Corporate Bigwigs

[ 06-03-2003, 11:40 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]