Jon Stewart-Bill O'Reilly show: Who won the Great Poetry Debate?
Jon Stewart and Bill O鈥橰eilly debated poetry last night on 鈥淭he O鈥橰eilly Factor.鈥� Specifically, they argued over whether it was wrong for the Obama administration to invite the rapper Common to the White House for a poetry event last week.
Who won? Advertisers, most likely. Ratings go up whenever this pair is on screen together. They鈥檙e like Starsky and Hutch, Felix and Oscar, or Seals and Crofts 鈥� an odd-couple duo that somehow works. They actually address each other鈥檚 points and don鈥檛 shout or throw chairs. Maybe they should hold a big event on the Mall in D.C. in the name of civil discourse and ... oh, right.
Anyway, Mr. O鈥橰eilly pointed out that, 11 years ago, Common wrote a song that defended convicted cop killer Assata Shakur, and that the rapper has traveled abroad to meet with Ms. Shakur, who escaped from prison in 1979.
鈥淐ommon traveled to Cuba to meet with someone who was convicted of killing a New Jersey trooper,鈥� said O鈥橰eilly, referring to Shakur. 鈥淎 member of the Black Liberation Army. They found 16 live rounds in her purse.鈥�
Given that President Obama has already faced criticism for some past associations, such as his relationship with the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright, he should have known enough to keep Common at arm's length, said O鈥橰eilly.
White House guests need to be 鈥渁lmost unimpeachable,鈥� according to the conservative Fox News host.
Mr. Stewart responded by saying that Common was not celebrating Shakur, so much as honoring someone he believes or believed was wrongly convicted. And if you start excluding from the White House artists who have written songs defending convicted cop killers, then Bono, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan need to be kept outside the fence as well.
鈥淲hy are you drawing the line at Common? There is a selective outrage machine here at Fox that pettifogs only when it suits the narrative that suits them. This guy is in the cross hairs when he shouldn鈥檛 be,鈥� said Stewart.
Round 2 of the Stewart-O鈥橰eilly pillow fight is on tonight. They鈥檙e going to discuss Republican presidential candidates. Fun! We can鈥檛 wait to see their take on Newt Gingrich鈥檚 huge Tiffany jewelry bill. For now, we鈥檒l close with a poem 鈥� with apologies to Carl Sanburg. Or at least Carl Sanburg鈥檚 heirs and/or copyright inheritors. (Editor's note: Carl Sanburg's name was misspelled in the original.)
The pettifog comes/on little cat feet/It sits looking/over camera and show set/on scratching haunches/and then moves on/to The Colbert Report.
