O’Reilly Talks Morals, Political Correctness

Americans and the American media must not be restrained by political correctness, cable TV news personality and author Bill O’Reilly told a full house at the Kennedy School of Government’s (KSG) ARCO Forum last night.

“I like people who are in the middle,” O’Reilly said. “They understand the world but don’t allow it to paralyze them.”

O’Reilly discussed the different attitudes toward political correctness exhibited by President George W. Bush and his predecessor Bill Clinton.

According to O’Reilly, Bush grew up within a prominent family with a strong sense of right and wrong, while Clinton made his own path.

“Nobody’s telling Billy Clinton what to do,” he said.

O’Reilly went on to link this independence with what he termed Clinton’s strong advocacy of “moral relativism” in the White House. But O’Reilly questioned this so-called “moral relativism”—contrasting it with the leadership style of President Bush.

“For me, it’s more comfortable with a guy like Bush,” he said.

In contrast to his critical view of the Clinton administration, O’Reilly lauded what he described as the tough stance the Bush administration has taken on issues of foreign policy.

O’Reilly said the leadership styles of individuals in power shape how such policies are implemented.

“There’s a difference between Madeline Albright and Colin Powell,” O’Reilly told the crowd. “Dick Cheney will blow your house up... It’s a different crew.”

O’Reilly nearly delivered on his promise of only fifteen minutes of lecture, devoting the remaining portion of the event, which he said would be broadcast, to a question and answer period.

O’Reilly was forced to field tough audience questions about himself, “The O’Reilly Factor”—his Fox News Channel television program—and his reporting style.

When a KSG student told O’Reilly he thought his TV show regularly misled viewers, O’Reilly pointed to the editorial nature of his program.

“It’s a news-analysis program,” he said. “I analyze the news.”

O’Reilly responded emphatically when questioned about controversial stories his show has broken, such as a show claiming the Red Cross was not efficiently distributing donations earmarked for families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“We got them to turn $350 million over to families because we pounded them,” he said, punching the air in front of him with a clenched fist.

O’Reilly also criticized the larger TV networks’ news agencies for being too timid in pursuing stories.

“There’s no reason that ‘The O’Reilly Factor,’ with a staff of ten...should break [these stories],” he said.

But O’Reilly said he recognized the potential liabilities of his aggressive reporting style.

“I’m a maverick,” he said. “If I’m wrong, I’m dead.”