Two nights ago I mentioned that Barack Obama was going to meet face-to-face with Fox News bad guy, Bill O'Reilly; I watched the interview, at least part 1 of it, and this is what I think: I think Barack Obama is eminently likable; as I have said before, I find him delightful in many ways. I don't agree with him on many issues, and I think he has hurt his campaign by his soaring grandiosity and by aiming too high. But I like him, at least the "him" he presents in public. I also think that Bill O'Reilly is truly far more bark than bite; I imagine that he, too, is a very decent fellow. But these thoughts do not matter, really. What matters is what I thought of the interview.Bill O'Reilly was tough, not pulling punches. In fact, he may have been too tough; I often squirm when I watch him do his thing. And by "too tough" I am not necessarily referring to the actual questions; it's his interruptions, sighs, sneers (though slight) and turnings of the head, and his little incredulous, impatient, skeptical snickers and gestures that come across as too belligerent. But O'Reilly put forward legitimately challenging questions on this segment's theme of national security, and while I loathe his manner (at times) and his presumptuous interruptions in his "I-got-it!" anticipation of his guest's explications, he did his job better than I expected.
And Barack Obama did far better than I expected, too. Perhaps this is success for both men via my low expectations, but I don't think so. I was struck by Sen. Obama's confidence, decency and command. He seemed more amused than flustered. He sounded convinced and convincing.
Yet, he also had his share of unnecessary hand gestures, reaching toward Mr. O'Reilly like a supplicant reaching for alms. But Sen. Obama need not reach out in "listen-to-me-Bill" supplication. And Sen. Obama is a powerfully interesting figure without playing a challenged Bill Clinton to another skeptical Fox journalist, Chris Wallace; those of us familiar with that infamous "Wipe that smirk off your face" interview remember Mr. Clinton's finger wagging and leg-poking as he denied culpability for playing politics with Osama bin Laden, politics that proved fatal. Mr. Obama might not want even to get into Bill O'Reilly's habit† of leaning too far forward, invading people's space in a show of conviction and machismo.
But really it was a great show, and Sen. Obama was very much the star, in a good way. Yes, he did seem to squirm a bit about the effects of the so-called Iraq "surge;" I don't think he'd hurt himself if he would sincerely admit his fallibility about that issue. In fact, I think a direct admission that he was wrong would actually help him. Nevertheless, he was a compelling and composed figure.
I wish, maybe, that Mr. O'Reilly had not done two things. First, I wish he had not backed off so easily on one or two points; he abbreviated a conversation that I thought could have been more fully developed had he edited his own opinions a bit. Second, I believe he was foolish to preface a question about Iraq with the insanity that he thinks -- who cares, Bill? -- that "history" will show the military action of the last 5 years was taken against the "wrong country." This effort to find "common ground" with his guest came across as sycophancy. The preface was also a bit leading, giving Sen. Obama some room to wiggle more comfortably into his "Factor" hot seat. There is no need here to explore Mr. O'Reilly's confidence in history's benevolent verdict on both men's prescience. Suffice it to say the preface seemed gratuitous, precious and very self-adoring.
All in all, both men did very well. I think this episode (the rest of the interview will air over three nights starting Monday) showed that Barack Obama remains a formidable threat to Republican aspirations this fall. I am eager to see how both men fare in subsequent installments.
†Readers familiar with Mr. O'Reilly's show know that he often brings in a "body-language" specialist to help analyze various celebrities' and politicans' postures and gestures. If you click on the image above, you'll see Sen. Obama raising his right hand, which is not necessarily interesting; what IS interesting is Mr. O'Reilly's posture and countenance. Does he look like someone who believes the senator is interesting, or does he look like he believes the senator is full of crap? I think the latter; it was this that made me uncomfortable. And if it makes me, a viewer, uncomfortable, what does it do to a guest? I admit I am no body-language expert, but O'Reilly's posture clearly evokes in me the sense he thinks Sen. Obama is a lightweight. Moreover, we all know that Sen. Obama was prepped by his handlers before appearing with O'Reilly. Surely they knew Mr. O'Reilly loves to analyze body language. Is it reasonable to assume then that Sen. Obama's body movements are not at all native to him; is he leaning forward in a coached manner solely to do well under the body language microscope? "What say you?"
Peace.
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