SteveYoungOnPolitics.com has acquired transcripts from Thursday evening's interview.
On Thursday evening, prior to John McCain's acceptance speech, Bill O'Reilly will air the first of a four part, recently agreed to, interview with Barack Obama. Next week, he will air the concluding three segments.
SteveYoungOnPolitics.com has acquired transcripts from Thursday evening's interview and has been advised that if we post them prior to the actual airing on Fox News's The O'Reilly Factor, we will be ambushed by crack producer, Jesse Waters, and asked a Catch 22 question. To Mstr. Waters and my loyal readers (who know I cannot be bullied),I will answer that question right now... "Yes, I have stopped beating my wife."
Here's the transcript...
Bill O'Reilly: Thank you for joining us tonight. We are happy to have with us the Democratic nominee for president of the United States, Senator Barack Obama. Good evening Senator.
Barack Obama: Pleased to be here, Bill.
O'Reilly: You do realize that this will be the toughest interview you'll ever go through.
Obama: I hope it's not tougher than that torture you put President Bush through.
O'Reilly: I make no promises. First of all, the Folks want to know... Have you read my latest book?
Obama: Yes...I mean, no. I mean. Damn it, Bill. First you break the Jeremiah Wright story only eight months after Sean Hannity broke it, and now you got me on the book thing. Why aren't you paid as much as Hannity?
O'Reilly: That was going to be my second question. But as long as you brought it up.. Why do guys like Wright and all you Democrats always attack Hannity by name, but never me? What am I, chopped Fox liver?
Obama: Bill. Bill. Bill. You're an Independent. We don't go after Independents. Hannity has pretty much admitted he's a conservative backing Senator McCain. You're straight arrow, right down the middle, have no dog in this race, only the facts, ma'am, type of guy.
O'Reilly: You did read my book.
Obama: And I know you would never said I "lied to your face," called me a "far-left idealogue," consider "lynching" my wife, claimed that I'm in the pocket of Moveon.org, that I "have some explaining to do" because Ludacris sung a song deriding John McCain. But most of all, in your extreme objectiveness, never stooped as low as to bring up the Jeremiah Wright story nearly every night.
O'Reilly: Well, of course I wouldn't ever....
Obama: Most important, you never race-baited the Folks™ into believing that electing me will cause "all hell breaking loose on the race front."
O'Reilly: Um. Nice suit
Still transcribing.
Award-winning TV writer, Steve Young, is author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful" (www.greatfailure.com) and blogs at the appropriately named steveyoungonpolitics.com