Conservative columnist and best-selling author Ann Coulter gave Bill O’Reilly no quarter last night on his show, the O’Reilly Factor, as she promoted her book, Guilty: Liberal “Victims” and Their Assault on America. After her contentious interview earlier in the day with Matt Lauer on the Today show (which had been “rescheduled” after Matt Drudge indicated that Coulter had been cancelled and had been “banned for life”*), she was in no mood to be lectured by O’Reilly. After asking her if she were an intentional bomb thrower and saying that she was sometimes shrill, Coulter countered, “You are…overbearing, chauvinistic, humorless.” O’Reilly drily replied, “I agree with all of those things.”
At the end of the interview, O’Reilly riled Coulter further when he said, “Bernie Goldberg has some advice for you.” Coulter laughed and sniped, “My general policy is to take advice from people who sell more books than I do not fewer books than I do.” O’Reilly cockily riposted, “Then you would take advice from me then?” Coulter quickly answered, “No, no. I said more books.” O’Reilly declared, “Yeah, I sell more books than you.” Uncowed, Coulter responded, “No, you don’t.” Then in almost a school playground exchange, O’Reilly said, “Yes, I do” and Coulter retorted, “No, you don’t.”
As O’Reilly concluded the segment, he said that he liked her book but that he thought that she had made it provocative on purpose to sell books. When he closed the show, he remarked, “No mail this evening because we gave Ann Coulter a little extra time. Do you think that she appreciates that?”
Reciprocal respect, maybe: mutual fondness, perhaps, not.
*http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/nbc/coulter_on_nbc_i_am_very_happy_to_be_here_105081.asp
Tags: Ann Coulter, Bernard Goldberg, Bernie Goldberg, Bill O'Reilly, Drudge Report, Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America, Matt Drudge, Matt Lauer, O'Reilly Factor, Today Show
January 9, 2009 at 12:45 am
I like Ann Coulter. She’s refreshingly brash and no more of a “flame thrower” than Moore, Matthews, or Maher. I may disagree with her on some issues, but when I honestly consider the words she actually uses (instead of what others claim she says) she usually makes a valid point. What she said about the 9/11 widows, for example, is not something I’d ever want to say but… well, she makes a fair argument. Hard to believe she once worked for mild-mannered Senator Spence Abraham.
It is pretty much the same for O’Reilly except she’s smarter than he is. I think he knows this and hasn’t quite figured out how to interview of her.
January 9, 2009 at 1:28 am
Good points, Al. I too like Ann Coulter. I believe she is smarter than O’Reilly. For that matter, almost any conservative who appears on his show is smarter than O’Reilly. I enjoy watching his show, but it’s not because of Bill.
January 9, 2009 at 6:26 am
She is very smart, but she is also purposely provocative. That’s her gimmick for getting attention, she has to say more and more outrageous things in order to keep offending the left and getting booked on TV and radio, in order to sell her books.
January 9, 2009 at 9:06 am
Coulter has every right to be as provocative as she wants. That’s what she does…I’m okay with that and respect her position on lots of issues. Not all of them, but on most. If the left can say the horrific things they’ve said about conservatives, then let Coulter out of her box to say what she thinks. BTW, I too think she’s smarter than O’Reilly!
January 9, 2009 at 9:10 am
Of course Coulter has the right to be as provocative as she wishes, but we also retain the right to be turned off and stop buying her books when she crosses certain lines.
January 9, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Taking her precise words in context, I don’t think she’s actually “crossed the line”. She knows what she’s saying and is one who would use the word “niggardly”, for example, just to get some of the not-so-brights who can’t stand her in an uproar. “B. Hussein Obama” may get some in a tizzy but it is even close to the line.
January 9, 2009 at 2:25 pm
We really (really, really, REALLY) do not wish to get into political and religious debates here, but we are educated and well-read enough to know when something has crossed a line for us. We’re not expecting or even asking anyone else to join us, just stating that some things she has said in the last few years went too far for us.
We were offended by some things she has said, and don’t need lessons in Interpreting Coulter.
January 9, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Not a political debate, BW, nor do I care to argue where your line should be. By “not over the line” I am simply pointing out that her carefully chosen words, whether we agree with them or not (and I often do not), are usually factually accurate… sort of an underscore to your 6:26am post. Eh?
January 9, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.
But neither of us is quite sure just what is so “factually accurate” about telling Jews to accept Christ in order to be “perfected.” Although only one of us was born Jewish, both of us were offended and repulsed by that. It’s an opinion, not a fact.
January 9, 2009 at 5:07 pm
The first Christians were Jews and they followed Christ to become, in their minds and at least in part, more “perfected”. That would be the factual aspect of her assertion. I, too, have both Christians and Jews in my immediate family and was also offended by what she inferred.
January 9, 2009 at 5:09 pm
That “perfection” is an opinion, not a fact.
But at least we do agree that what she said was offensive.
January 9, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Thank you for the civilised debate regarding Ann Coulter. There – I used “civilised” and “Ann Coulter” in the same sentence. I crack myself up.
January 9, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Thank you, as well!
AC is actually very gracious and nice in person (one of us spent some time chatting with her at a party a few years back), which is why we truly believe that her TV persona is something of an act in order to sell books and keep herself in the news.
January 21, 2009 at 5:36 pm
whatever happened to Ann Coulter? she seems to make a fewer public appearances nowadays
February 24, 2009 at 2:22 am
When I first heard about Ann Coulter I thought she was created by The ONION.