Don't know how the right-wing blog community will spin this if CBS's 60 Minutes actually airs what
CNN.com is reporting they will:
NEW YORK (AP) -- Bill O'Reilly has revealed an unlikely factor in his career: Mike Wallace.
The host of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" says on this Sunday's "60 Minutes" that Wallace made a strong impression on him when he was growing up.
"You know, you're responsible for this O'Reilly deal," he told Wallace in an interview taped on Sept. 13 for the CBS news program.
O'Reilly explains that he was inspired by Wallace's tough questioning on "Night Beat" and "The Mike Wallace Interviews" in the late 1950s. He claims, "If you don't like me, you go to Wallace."
A surprised Wallace asks O'Reilly if he is serious. "No spin," replies O'Reilly, echoing his program's No Spin Zone. "I mean, I'm serious about everything."
O'Reilly, long a favorite of conservatives, surprised Wallace with some of his views on political issues.
He said he is pro-gun control, against the death penalty, for civil unions and for gay adoption (as a last resort instead of state custody). And O'Reilly said he's not necessarily voting for President Bush this November.
"I've known (Democratic presidential nominee John) Kerry for 25 years. He's a patriot. I'm listening to what he has to say," he tells Wallace.
The 37th season premiere of "60 Minutes" will air Sunday at 7 p.m. (ET) on CBS.