Jon Stewart debates Bill O'Reilly: Who won?
鈥�Daily Show鈥� comedian Jon Stewart debated Fox News host Bill O鈥橰eilly on a national webcast Saturday night. Who won their 鈥� in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium鈥�?
The audience, for one. (Particularly the members of the live audience in George Washington University鈥檚 Lisner Auditorium, since they didn鈥檛 have to suffer from slow or frozen Internet connections due to servers overloaded by viewer demand.) Messrs. Stewart and O鈥橰eilly delivered a pretty good clash of ideologies, in which each addressed the other鈥檚 points, spiced up with humor and leavened by the fact that the two men appear to be friends.
That鈥檚 more than you could say about last week鈥檚 presidential debate.
As for Saturday night, take the issue of Mitt Romney鈥檚 鈥�47 percent鈥� comments about the percentage of Americans who consider themselves victims entitled to government support. O鈥橰eilly defended Mr. Romney鈥檚 general point. The Fox host acknowledged that the Americans who belong to what he called the 鈥渆ntitlement society鈥� add up to far less than 47 percent of the nation 鈥� but, he said, it鈥檚 a growing problem that鈥檚 driving big government and much of the deficit.
鈥淎bout 20 percent of us are slackers, and it鈥檚 a growing industry,鈥� O鈥橰eilly said.
Stewart blew his top, or pretended to. He noted that the United States was founded by immigrants who came to a country already settled by natives and decided they wanted it for themselves.
鈥淲e are an entitlement nation,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淗ave you ever seen 'Oprah鈥檚 Favorite Things' episode? We are a people that wants free things.鈥�
The issue for 2012, Stewart said, was whether President Obama has fundamentally changed citizens鈥� relationship to the government in this regard. O鈥橰eilly responded that Mr. Obama had, given the increase in food stamps and other social spending, including a doubling of government disability payments.
鈥淭he mind-set is, if I can gin the system, I鈥檒l do it because it鈥檚 easy,鈥� O鈥橰eilly said.
Stewart said Obama hadn鈥檛 changed that relationship. The bad economy drove up food-stamp spending, he said. Then he pointed out that O鈥橰eilly鈥檚 own father claimed disability, albeit from a private firm.
鈥淚f you take advantage of a tax break, you鈥檙e a smart businessman. If you take advantage of something you need to not be hungry, you鈥檙e a moocher,鈥� Stewart said.
On the issue of the deficit, Stewart argued that Republicans are exaggerating the short-term threat to the US economy, without proposing any real solutions.
鈥淲e are merely weeks from being a failed state, or even worse, Greece,鈥� said Stewart, hyperbolizing the GOP view of the situation. 鈥淭o solve it, kill Big Bird.鈥�
Of course, ending federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as Romney proposed during last week鈥檚 debate, saves a pittance. That鈥檚 what Stewart pointed out. But O鈥橰eilly got him in response, asserting that Obama鈥檚 proposal to increase taxes on wealthy individuals by itself doesn鈥檛 do much to close the deficit, either.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter what [President] Bush did. The job of the president now is to get the deficit under control, and you got to cut stuff,鈥� O鈥橰eilly said.
As for the funny bits, O鈥橰eilly mostly served as the amused straight man to the professional comedian. Thus the 6-foot, 4-inch Fox News personality watched as the comedian, short enough to be called 鈥淗obbit-like鈥� by moderator E.D. Hill, rose on a motorized platform to surpass his opponent鈥檚 height.
鈥淚 can see how Obama did badly in the debate. The air is really rough up here,鈥� Stewart said at one point.
Prodded by the moderator as to whether US politics should feature more cross-partisan dialogue, Stewart got up and sat in O鈥橰eilly鈥檚 lap.
鈥淲hat would you like for Christmas, little boy?鈥� O鈥橰eilly responded, before telling Stewart to vamoose.
(See, that鈥檚 extra-humorous because Stewart is Jewish, and they鈥檇 already argued as to whether there鈥檚 a war on Christmas in America.)
As to which participant may have bested the other, we鈥檒l take the safe route and say they both won, particularly because both were getting paid, which is really the point, right?
And in that regard, O鈥橰eilly may have won a little more. He鈥檚 got a new book out, 鈥淜illing Kennedy,鈥� a narrative of the events surrounding JFK鈥檚 assassination. So the debate has given him a burst of publicity at a time that鈥檚 good for his pocketbook.
As O鈥橰eilly said during the debate, 鈥淵ou gotta let the free market run away a little bit. You gotta unleash the machine.鈥�
鈥淩ight,鈥� riposted Stewart. 鈥淏ecause what could go wrong?鈥�
