The premise of this at times humorous segment on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" was that since conservatives labeled media members hoping George W. Bush would fail as unpatriotic, the same standard should exist for Obama.
To make his point, Stewart aired an "O'Reilly Factor" clip from March 29, 2007 (video embedded below the fold, file photo):
BILL O'REILLY, HOST: But this hate stuff, this rooting for the administration to fail in Iraq and other areas is un-American, unbecoming, and unacceptable. Like him or not, Mr. Bush is the elected leader of this country...
Stewart then played a clip of Sean Hannity's interview with Limbaugh from last week:
RUSH LIMBAUGH: I am hearing many Republicans say that very thing - "Well, we want him to succeed." And prominent Republicans, "Yes, we wanted." They have laid down. They have totally - they're drinking the Kool-Aid, too. So I shamelessly say, no, I want him to fail.
Stewart responded:
Two things: One, is Rush Limbaugh molting? (Laughter) Two: Does Bill O'Reilly think Rush Limbaugh hates America? And in case you think Limbaugh's arguably treasonous talk couldn't get any grosser, enjoy.
Well, let me answer the second question in O'Reilly's absence: "No." After all, the subject of his March 29, 2007, show was America-haters like Rosie O'Donnell. Here's how it began:
BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST: THE O'REILLY FACTOR is on.
Tonight:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSIE O'DONNELL, "THE VIEW": You want to know why we go into Iran? For the money!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Critical mass has now been reached with Rosie O'Donnell. She is sympathizing with Iran and continues to accuse the Bush administration of killing Americans on 9/11.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'DONNELL: It is impossible for a building to fall the way it fell without explosives being involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: What will ABC do with this woman?
And, the little snippet Stewart cherry-picked followed a video clip of O'Reilly interviewing Bush:
O'REILLY: You are getting pounded day after day. Pounded, pounded, pounded. How do you process that?
BUSH: I believe in what I'm doing. If I didn't believe in what I was doing I guess the pounding would end up affecting me. But when you believe in your soul, in the very fiber of your system that taking on these extremists and radicals in the Middle East is necessary to have peace in the long run for our children, then you move on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Now every American, including media people should evaluate the president and form conclusions. That is our duty as citizens. But this hate stuff, this rooting for the administration to fail in Iraq and other areas is un-American, unbecoming and unacceptable. Like him or not President Bush is the elected leader of this country. He deserves a fair hearing. That's the "Memo."
Now for the "Top Story" tonight. One of the biggest Bush haters in the media is Rosie O'Donnell, a fanatical leftist who has been given a daily platform by the American Broadcasting Company.
Ms. O'Donnell is now actively supporting Iran against her own country and Britain.
I guess this routine wouldn't have been funny with the context.
That said, O'Reilly's point almost two years ago was that media members like O'Donnell who appeared to be rooting for America to lose in Iraq while also claiming the Bush administration was responsible for bringing down the World Trade Center on 9/11 were "un-American, unbecoming and unacceptable."
By contrast, Limbaugh isn't hoping Obama fails in Iraq OR in Afghanistan OR in the war on terror. Limbaugh instead is hoping Obama doesn't succeed at advancing socialism in our nation.
For the record, as the father of two children, I feel the same way as I don't want my kids and grandkids sentenced to the low standard of living that comes under such a political structure.
As such, I hope with all my heart and all my soul that Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid fail miserably at turning America into the Soviet Union.
Regardless of what liberals in the media think, I doubt our Founding Fathers would consider my point of view unpatriotic.
