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Having it Both Ways: O’Reilly Backs Public Option While Declaring it Dead

by Tommy Christopher | 12:14 pm, September 18th, 2009

» 5 comments

fnc-20090817-oreillysoc When I saw this item at HuffPo, declaring that Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly backs the public health insurance option, I immediately thought “There has to be a catch.”

The clip at HuffPo was only about a minute long, so I figured there must have been a walkback later in the interview. I found the full interview at the Heritage Foundation’s website. There’s no walkback, but the clip has some great moments. Not only does O’Reilly nail why the public option is necessary, he also makes several comically half-assed stabs at pronouncing long lost Janeane Garofalo twin Nina Owcharenko’s name:

While O’Reilly doesn’t back off from his support for the public option, he does preface his remark by saying it’s not going to happen. Aside from my own reporting to the contrary, O’Reilly might take heart from this widely-circulating clip from yesterday:

While media accounts of the death of the public option may have created the impression that public support for it may have waned, perhaps repetitions of this scene, along with some actual facts, will help to turn that tide in favor of O’Reilly and “the folks.”

Bill O'Reilly, Bill O’Reilly, Daily Kos, fox news, Health Care, Huffington Post, Janeane Garofalo, Nina Owcharenko, Obama Care, Tommy Christopher

TruthPatrol

this headline is a typical distortion of what orielly said and the context in which his statements were taken. listen to what he said. he supports the creation of a basic health insurance policy that people can purchase in the exchange market as contemplated by the president’s plan. that is not a public option. requiring people to purchase basic health coverage through the exchange from affordable pvt health insurers is a good idea – its actually an idea that might work as it is the model that has been used in places like germany and the netherlands both of which have better systems than canada or the uk.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tommy-Christopher/1054638341 Tommy Christopher

“if the government can cobble together a cheaper insurance policy that gives the same benefits, I see that as a plus for the folks.”

How do you derive a private plan from that statement?
ImNotBlue

He talked about it tonight… do an update.
Moski

Guess YOU LIED.
sarainitaly

you better update your story. he does not support the public option.