Clinton Sinks to O'Reilly's Level

Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films at 10:55 AM on May 1, 2008.

Hillary Clinton appeared on the O'Reilly Factor last night and will again tonight. FOX has already begun releasing highlights like this one, in which Clinton criticizes Jeremiah Wright and his speech at the National Press Club on Monday. And while we'll have ample time to dissect Clinton's appearance and why on earth she agreed to go on O'Reilly in the first place, what needs to be addressed now is the possibility that an ardent Clinton supporter arranged Rev. Wright's press club speech.

According to the NY Daily News and the LA Times blog Top of the Ticket, Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds organized the press club event. Reynolds has praised Clinton in the past, writing on her own blog: "My vote for Hillary in the Maryland primary was my way of saying thank you." She has also been unduly critical of Obama: "It is a sad testimony that to protect his credentials as a unifier above the fray, [Obama] is fueling the media characterization that Rev. Dr. Wright is some retiring old uncle in the church basement."

So to recap, a Clinton supporter arranges to give Wright a national spotlight to make incendiary remarks, forcing Obama to once again denounce his former pastor. Then, Clinton goes on FOX News to criticize Wright (and by extension, Obama) and the controversy that one of her supporters helped create. O'Reilly and his FOX pals, in turn, will use this as an excuse to rehash a stale news story that Obama has already distanced himself from. And then, to top it all off, the rest of the mainstream press will continue to play excerpts from this interview for days on end. When will this faux news cycle end?

Tagged as: bill o'reilly, hillary clinton

ZP Heller is the editorial director of Brave New Films. He has written for The American Prospect, AlterNet, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post, covering everything from politics to pop culture.