CAN WE STOP THE BILL-O BASHING?

by Steve Young

Okay, so in upcoming Michael Wolff biography of Rupert Murdoch, "The Man Who Owns The News," we discover that the Fox Corp head honcho "despises" Bill O'Reilly and FN's chief executive, Roger Ailes "loathes" the No-spinster. It's not really a big deal in the larger realm of pinheads and patriots, but gee whiz, did they have to go Bill O'Reilly all over Bill O'Reilly?

I know bosses are supposed to hate their employees. It's in the blood; part of what drive them. You hate your boss, you don't think they hate you? It's as natural as Brit Hume's furled brow.

But in this case it's hitting below the belt, It's been bad enough that liberal talk show hosts (both of them) have had it in for O'Reilly, but when the gentile, right-wing talker, Mark Levin said that Bill was, among other things, "a moron," "a phony journalist, "a non-Factor who doesn't know crapola about economics, history or law," an idiot," and wrapped it all up with, "you paid more in hush money for your little phone sex than I've ever earned," you had to have a twinge of empathy for Bill.

Ouch.

But now comes the revelation that O'Reilly is abhorred by almost the entire Fox News organization -- which probably includes every blonde Bill likes to place himself between on his show, and who have to force out a giggle at his pitiable attempts at humor -- makes for rather conflicted feelings by at least one usual O'Reilly-Sucks suspect. Moi. Sure, Bill has built a sold basis for universal disdain. I certainly don't need to list the inexhaustible list of violations against common decency, but if I did, it would include:

Saying kidnapped teen, Shawn Hornbeck, liked his captivity by an adult sexual predator ("The situation here for this kid looks to me to be a lot more fun than what he had under his old parents... And I think when it all comes down, what's going to happen is, there was an element here that this kid liked about his circumstances.) he was only saying it in the context of discussing "child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome"

Berating and belittling his co-host Lise Weihl on the air for telling the truth.

And I definitely don't have to repeat that little phone sex anecdote the Levin brought up. But if I was to, I would write that the author of "Looking Out For You" and "The O'Reilly Factor For Kids: A Survival Guide for America's Families," sexually-harassed his producer, Andrea Mackris, over twenty years his junior.

That's all bad enough, but then we have to read that the company for who he makes millions for can't stand him. That is just piling on. Enough already. I think it's time that the entire hate-Bill O'Reilly crew take a breath. The man, after all, is a father of young children. How do you think it feels for his kids or his wife for that matter, hearing those nasty rumors of Bill whoring around in France while his wife was pregnant? Spreading that type of trash, no matter how true it might be, is at best, uncouth and I refuse to be one of those who trafficks in such tactics.

So it is that I demand that Rupert Murdoch, Roget Ailes and everyone else at Fox News, stop treating Bill O'Reilly like the dick so many people say he is. After all, sometimes a dick deserves a break. Even a dick who never gives anyone else one.