O'Reilly, Colmes, and Fox News

Watch this video and then read Jonathan Chait's comments below:



If you have never seen Fox News before, here is a four-minute clip that captures the essence of the network so perfectly that you need never watch anything on it again. It’s all here. At the center, you have an old conservative white guy who is enraged about a fact that exists only in his addled brain. At his side, there’s a blonde sidekick who nods along with him but doesn't get in the way. And ready to absorb his anger is the network’s Emmanuel Goldstein figure, feebly attempting a rebuttal that quickly devolves into a sniveling plea for civility: 

The subject of the debate is Bill O’Reilly’s belief, widely shared within the conservative bubble, that President Obama has offered no concessions on long-term spending cuts. This is factually untrue — Obama has offered a plan including more than a trillion dollars in reduced spending to a variety of programs, including Medicare and Social Security, as well as the reduced spending on interest payments. Obama’s budget also details his proposed cuts to scores of programs in an extensive 205-page document. 

But the lack of Obama spending cuts is a Fox News Fact, and as such, O’Reilly believes in it with unswerving devotion. He loudly and belligerently insists Obama “hasn’t even submitted any proposals” and “he just says, we want to raise taxes.” When Alan Colmes manages to interject that Obama has offered a proposal that has more spending cuts than tax increases, O’Reilly insists Obama’s offer is vague and begins insisting Obama has not mentioned any specific programs he wants to cut.