TALK RADIO ATTACKS ITS OWN

by Steve Young

Oh, Wednesday was a sweet, sweet day.

The morning began with Bill O'Reilly ripping into Right wing talk show hosts...ALL OF THEM, saving a special condemnation for Rush Limbaugh: "They're rich, these guys -- big cigars, all of that." "Yeah. Oh yeah, my private jet."

To be fair (and balanced), he also ripped in those of the Left, saving his most pungent attacks for Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd: "I swear to God, if they were in this room right now, I would hit them. Dodd and Frank -- the House Finance and Senate Finance. They knew. Don't point a finger at anybody, I'll break that finger off."

But acknowledging just how tough Bill is and his overt willingness to go Charles-Bronson on the Left is old news. The new news is that this past week he pasted the Right. Keep in mind that he didn't name names. He (very) rarely does, usually glossing over the Right's blame with a "the far-Right does the same thing" in the middle of a Left "naming ALL the names" lambast. But you knew who he meant: Everyone in conservative talk.

This time it was clear that Bill had a bug up his butt over his radio talk show brethren. Perhaps it's that Sean Hannity gets paid about a hundred million more than he. Maybe it's that the bible of Talk Radio (Talkers Magazine) put Sean with lithe, lovely and liberal, Stephanie Miller, on their big summer cover and not Bill. Then again, it might be that according to Talkers, Bill doesn't even make the Talk Show Host Top Ten -- even liberal Ed Schultz made it. Not Bill. Maybe the reporting of Bill's self-import mislead of his so-called success made him want to "DO IT LIVE!" No matter what caused the implosion, let it be known that the irate O'Reilly took no prisoners.

Some of his comments about the conservative talk show host included:

"Kool-aid drinking idiots"

"Right wing liars."

"They don't care if you suffer."

"Walk away from these liars -- these right-wing liars. Walk away from them. They're not looking out for you.

There was more, but that wasn't the best. That came later the same day when Mark Levin, perhaps the loudest of the Lords of Loud, took on Big Bad Bully Bill. Keith Olbermann could not have done it better.

Some of Dr. Levin's choice "what he thinks of Bill" included, but were not limited to:

"Paid to be arrogant and stupid."

"A non-Factor."

"A moron"

"He is Ted Baxter."

"A phony journalist.

"A non-Factor who doesn't know crapola about economics, history or law."

"Jealous of Rush Limbaugh."

"Your ratings suck."

"A jerk."

"An idiot."

But the best...

"You paid more in hush money for your little phone sex than I've ever earned."

For this I can only one thing that I never thought I would ever say: Thank you, Dr. Levin. I owe you one. Listen to the early Christmas gift to us all right here.