When Fox News Channel was developing Sean Hannity’s TV show, it was known as Hannity & Liberal To Be Determined. That liberal turned out to be Alan Colmes, who would eventually leave the gig after doing his part by playing the Washington Generals to Hannity’s Harlem Globetrotters. It hardly mattered who sat in the “left” chair–they were there to get roughed up by the home team.
Until recently, professor Jane Hall was a regular guest on the O’Reilly Factor, debating conservative Bernie Goldberg. She’s left Fox, and as she explained to CNN‘s Howard Kurtz (10/25/09), she never considered herself a liberal anyway:
KURTZ: When you appeared regularly on O’Reilly, were you there as a token from the dreaded MSM?
HALL: Well, I was there as a defender of the MSM. And you wouldn’t believe how many famous journalists I talked to, who said better you than me. Let me tell you my side of the story. They didn’t want to come on. It is hard to do, because it was like, when did you quit beating your wife? That was usually the question. But I felt it was worth doing.
KURTZ: Do you consider yourself a liberal?
HALL: No.
KURTZ: You were paired with Bernie Goldberg, the conservative point of view, who wrote a book about the media’s slobbering love affair with Barack Obama?
HALL: Right.
KURTZ: So was that a fair pairing, to have someone who has that point of view, and you? You consider yourself a journalist.
HALL: I consider myself a journalist. I’m now able to say opinions because I’m a professor. I consider myself a moderate. In that universe, I was probably considered a wacky professor by O’Reilly. He would sort of pat me on the head and say, now, Jane, I know you liberals feel this way. And I’d say, I’m not really a liberal. So, yes, there’s not necessarily a left/right comparison on there.
Still, self-identified labels are basically meaningless.
So labels from others are always right, especially if they come from Fox News? Give me and the rest of the world a break.
MAYBE A PHONY DEBATE IS WORTH MORE THAN NO DEBATE AT ALL…Don’t recall seeing any debates on that weird Keith Olberman Show…or that even stranger Rachel Maddow show. Maybe I have never seen anything near a debate on either show…. because I can’t stand to watch them more than 2.5 minutes…and how about that ED Show person? MSNBC Fair and Balanced? NO!
Maddow regularly has very, very contentious debates with people who are totally opposed to her. She also invites people she disagrees with on her show. Many turn down the invitation. She fights hard and fair. Conservatives in the know – who take time to listen to those they disagree with – are more than happy to go on her show because they know she will give them a fair debate.
I would LOVE to talk with Barb above – Oct, 30 th about why she thinks that Rachel Maddow’s show is strange. I really would. Can you put us in touch??
Too bad Bernie missed that “slobbering love affair” with Republicans starting with Reagan and withdrawn for Clinton then reinstated for Bush. But then if he was even handed and not a fanatical partisan he would have.