Jon Stewart annihilates O'Reilly in live debate

[Creed of Heresy]

Moderated by former Fox News and CNN anchor ED Hill, Stewart and O'Reilly clashed over the role of government, President Obama's foreign policy, Social Security and Medicare, and the media industry, among other things.

Stewart's opening line was typical of the tenor of the exchanges: "My friend Bill O'Reilly is completely full of shit."

At another point, the two argued about whether or not America had become more of an "entitlement society" under President Obama.

"They advertise on the radio for food stamps!" O'Reilly said.

"Why is it that if you take advantage of a tax break and you're a corporation you're a smart businessman, but if you take advantage of something that you need to not be hungry, you're a moocher?" Stewart shot back.

[Autumnlicious]

The last exchange in the paragraph above illustrates precisely the disconnect between old Conservatives who have dominated the GOP and everyone else.

If were going to poo-poo welfare, we must poo-poo corporate welfare as well.

[TaraJo]

[Creed of Heresy]

Ultimately I think O'Reilly is probably one of the more moderate republicans out there; case in point he can actually debate and even when you disagree with him, you can at least understand where he's coming from and see his reasoning. He makes his points and cases fairly clearly and doesn't bullshit around. He might be wrong, yes, but he's wrong in a way you can approach him on, rather than being so hopelessly wrong that debating him is just not even possible [like we see so often on these forums].

I think these two are the best representations of the republican and democratic parties in the US currently. They're practically avatars of either party. Jon Stewart makes the case very clear and concise for the democratic party; that no, they're not a bunch of soldier-hating tree-hugging ultra-pacifists, that they're actually quite sensible about where we stand as a country in terms of culture and our global role as the primary military force, but that the government needs to be restructured and it needs to refocus itself to change with the times since it's been held back so long by the old crowd who for a while have outnumbered the younger generations far too long. That's the problem with the baby boom, biggest single-minded voting bloc in American history, they basically outvoted two entire generations combined that had followed them. Old ideas lead to stagnation and collapse and damn if we didn't barely manage to sidestep that bullet. It actually still hit us, just not as mortally as it would have been [or we think it is]. Stewart, like most progressives, wants to see the government made to work better, to provide for the people, to ensure equality and balance, where Bill, like most old conservatives, thinks people should be independently motivated, and fully responsible for themselves and the way their life takes them, for good or ill. A noble sentiment from Bill, but unfortunately, too extreme in its devotion to the idea of independence. The Founding Fathers did NOT found an anarchistic country, it founded a republic. As in, other people being responsible for other people. Rule by the people means the people must watch out for one another, because without one another, they are powerless. As Jon put it so finely; "We are only as strong as our weakest link." Bill got all pissy about it, and I can see why; because he realizes just how true it is and how much it spits in the face of his gung-ho ultracapitalism mindset by reminding him that his allegiance is to the US and not the free market.

O'Reilly argues his points well enough, but Jon is more sensible and talking much more sense, and he understands what the problems are and how to address them. Thankfully, both are sensible and reasonable enough to discuss this openly with one another without resorting to killing each other. In fact, the fact that they are well-known as being unusually good friends actually makes me smile; that's what America is really about: Unity, and the sharing of ideas openly without fear of reprisal.

This country may be having a hard time of it and I've got a lot to criticize it for...but never let it be said I hate it.

Also, I have to agree with Bill's advice. "Go out, find something you love to do, do it, and make money doing it." That is pretty solid advice, at least. XD