Bill O’Reilly And Bill Maher Duke It Out Over Obama, Makeup Of American Politics

It was a much-anticipated clash of pundits on both sides of the political aisle when Bill O’Reilly had Real Time’s Bill Maher on the Factor tonight in the No Spin Zone. They disagreed on plenty (of course), but they managed to keep it (mostly) civil – and O’Reilly even laughed at a few of Maher’s lines.

O’Reilly teased the interview early in the program by saying Maher “doesn’t much like you if you’re conservative.” But Maher didn’t seem to have tons of love for the Democrats, either, saying they deserve the “lion’s share” of the blame for Obama’s mediocre poll numbers. (He did get in a “teabaggers” reference, though.)

The two disagreed on whether Barack Obama is the biggest-spending president ever, and whether there’s a racial element to vehement opposition to Obama. But of course, O’Reilly’s and Maher’s most fundamental difference is in personal political philosophy. Maher shared his idea on what’s become of both sides:

“At some point in the last 20 years, the left moved to the center, and the right moved into a mental institution.”

Maher also called the idea of extremism on both ends of political spectrum a “canard,” while O’Reilly said, “If you can’t see the extremism on both sides, I’m flabbergasted.” Maher then allowed there’s “some” extremism on the left, but it’s negligible.

Overall, not a bad discussion from two people with wildly opposing worldviews – something we see all too few of. Both O’Reilly and Maher know how to put on a show, and they made it clear tonight. Video of the segment below.