Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Donahue hit O'Reilly at a vulnerable point.  O'Reilly, predictably enough among those who watch him and know his tactical approach, sought to shout his way out of a corner.  The level of desperation revealed combined with factual deficiency left O'Reilly looking more vulnerable than before his tactical shout fest.

The area where Donahue struck hard was to tell O'Reilly that he and other putative "tough guys" who want to continue a tragic war fought in contravention of the U.S. Constitution and international law seek to send the children of others to fight while they will not send their own.

Donahue was clearly calling O'Reilly out as a "chicken hawk" and the program host knew it.  O'Reilly rumbled about how his nephew had just signed up to join the Army and Donahue did not know what he was talking about.

The veteran Donahue knew that he had O'Reilly at a vulnerable point and never let up.  Seeking to shift ground tactically, a shouting O'Reilly threatened to "boot" Donahue off of his show for failing to show respect to a family member, namely his nephew, and others like him serving in the military.

Donahue coolly pointed out that a nephew is not a son, and attacking O'Reilly's family was not the point being raised.  He also noted that he was not Jeremy Glick and was not about to be bullied, referring to the son of a 9/11 first responder death victim that O'Reilly angrily dismissed from his program, falsely claiming that his guest had blamed Bush for launching the tragedies.  

Donahue noted that O'Reilly's 9/11 charge against Glick is not borne out by the records.  As one who has seen a tape of that interview, Donahue's position is factual while O'Reilly's is not.

Another area where Donahue scored impressively was, after O'Reilly had delivered another emotional fourth of July comment about the necessity of supplanting Saddam Hussein, the host was stunned when his guest pointed out that the Iraqi dictator was "our bastard" and that we had seen the pictures of Rumsfeld sitting amiably in Saddam's office.

As veteran pro Donahue knows, there is nothing like a good closer to enhance an interview effort and he had a zinger that left O'Reilly helplessly delivering his standard line of "You are wrong, we must fight terrorism" that has been punctured regularly.

The point Donahue made in conclusion was that Halliburton stock had risen from $33 to $66 since the Iraq War was launched, which resulted in O'Reilly responding that he is not concerned about the price of the international conglomerate's stock.  It was either that or say nothing, an option O'Reilly has never been known to exercise, at least on the air.

If you have not seen this revealing interview, visit You Tube and watch it.  Donahue did a masterful job of countering blustery right wing propaganda with fact.