MB reader Nick B. writes in to comment on the Letterman vs. O’Reilly fiasco:
I realize that David Letterman isn’t exactly the “media”, but his acidic exchanges with Bill O’Reilly last night were painful to watch. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth checking out.
I’m not exactly a huge O’Reilly fan — he suffers a bit from the intellectual laziness — but Letterman’s quips about Cindy Sheehan are pathetic and more than a littler unfair. Witness moral vanity at its worst.
I actually think O’Reilly looks more dignified than Dave in this clip. He never loses his cool, he tries to make jokes, and he refrains for retaliating with personal attacks. I just Dave could have done the same.
Right on. I’m with you in not being a huge fan of O’Reilly — he really lost me late last year with the “big oil” populist shtick and the war on Christmas stuff — but watching Letterman go after him, I just kept picturing a short, quixotic knight waving a rubber sword at a firebreathing minotaur. Bill clearly, clearly got the better of Dave. Even the liberal TPM Cafe, which normally stays above such frays, handed the decision to O’Reilly. What was Dave thinking?