It took Bill O'Reilly three months to come up with this response to Al Franken's ambush on him at the May 31st BookExpo in Los Angeles. It mirrors his on-air intervention last week when he invited a group of his allies to join him on his radio show and talk about how FOX News is being criticized by nasty people who don't like them. It was a shameless pity party - not much different than this, what seems like the 4th step of his 12-step program. He ought to make an appointment with Stuart Smalley.
Using liberal-leaning newspapers and publishing houses, the critics of Fox have unleashed defamatory personal attacks on me and other Fox news analysts and have attempted to denigrate the entire network. If Fox News crashed and burned tomorrow, these people would toast marshmallows in the flames.
Now Fox News is striking back by putting the demonizers on notice that they will be held responsible when they violate trademarks or launch defamatory personal attacks on Fox personnel.
It is simply a sorry joke to see a political activist like Al Franken labeled a satirist by The New York Times. Attempting to smear and destroy the reputations of those with whom you politically disagree is not satire. If that were the case, Richard Nixon's Watergate plumbers would all be writing for "Saturday Night Live."
Fox News has become the highest-rated news network on cable because we feature lively debate and all honest voices are welcome.
By all accounts, Joe Conason's a pretty honest guy. And he'd love to promote his book Big Lies on the O'Reilly Factor. But it would mean O'Reilly would have to be on the defensive again. That's why you won't see Joe on the Factor anytime soon.
