The Fonz Gets Off Easy In A Democratic O’Reilly ‘Pinheads And Patriots’

video

by Frances Martel | 10:40 pm, May 11th, 2010

» 11 comments

The O’Reilly Factor’s “Pinheads and Patriots” segment is usually a lighthearted cherry on top of an hour of heated, often tiring debate. It serves as a thoughtless cool-down exercise after an hour of serious thought. Tonight was no different, except there was serious a lack of “Patriot”ism, with Bill O’Reilly leaving the pinhead or patriot denomination for actor Henry Winkler, who had criticized Sarah Palin, up to “the folks,” as he would say.

Winkler, who O’Reilly repeated referred to as “The Fonz” from Happy Days but to a younger generation is probably better known as attorney Barry Zuckercorn from Arrested Development, had called Palin “the most articulate person in her family” and expressed fascination with the fact that someone of, has he put it, “such little knowledge” could have such a following. Rather than call him an all-out pinhead, O’Reilly noted that, to liberals, he’s a patriot, but to him, he’s just “boring”– which, compared with the way O’Reilly treats other celebrities like Sean Penn or Bruce Springsteen, it’s a pretty positive review! Giving him even less grief is the fact that his appearance was followed by a full pinhead nomination for a BBC affiliate.

This isn’t the first time O’Reilly leaves a question mark behind “pinhead or patriot,” but it’s one of the few times he actually leads the segment with an open-ended event, and he has been giving out the titles himself less and less in the past few months. There is no poll attached to the segment– it seems like an unsustainable event for a daily minute-long segment– but there is the indication that O’Reilly merely directs you to make a choice, rather than keeping the power of ridicule to himself, perhaps yet another facet to the long-term softening of O’Reilly’s on-air personality.

Video below:

Bill O'Reilly, fox news, Henry Winkler, O'Reilly Factor, pinheads and patriots, Sarah Palin, Sean Penn, The Fonz

Jelperman

Fonzie>>>>>>>>Falafel O’Reilly
stoogedudes

Ok, I’d have to say he’s a pinhead for going after Mrs. Palin’s family, but a Patriot for the rest of it…

Still cool after all these years…by the way, Frances, he’s probably more known as his role as the coach in The Waterboy than Arrested Development…but you know….
ImNotBlue

At this point, the Palin “jokes” are just worthy of a shrug and “whatever.” It’s almost like a rite of passage for left. Like they’re compelled to make a stupid comment about Palin whenever a camera is trained on them. It’s the “in” thing to do. Reminds me a lot of the Bush years… when anytime a celebrity wanted to get some quick publicity, or had a microphone thrust into their face, the kneejerk reaction was, “Bush is sooooo stupid…” and so on. Everyone apparently wants to be a comedian… but they’re all telling the same joke.

I agree with O’Reilly… it’s just boring.

Oh well… whatever.
Teabagger

I agree, Palin is getting boring. I really wish she had more depth.
Sunnyr

Henry Winkler is a putz! AND a pinhead!
The Real Royal King

I have to agree the Drop Out Governor of Alaska is not much fun anymore. She seems to have the shelf life of a Cracker Jack toy. I understand that polling in Alaska now indicates she couldn’t even carry her home state in a national election any longer.
timzank

TRRK, “She seems to have the shelf life of a Cracker Jack toy.”

Jesus, you sure change your mind often.
TylerDurden

The Fonz is an idiot.
writer

And yet this boring Cracker Jack toy keeps getting attacked and ridiculed by the left. Awful lot of anger and attention directed at someone deemed so insignificant.
http://none pyrope

Winkler is a has been and is trying his best to fight it by playing to the liberal idiots who would give him the time of day.

Poor old Winkler can’t get a job so he’s taking his rage out on someone and something he knows nothing about. In the world of psychoanalysis, I believe this is called free floating hostility.
Big Dumb Ape

Actually, Winkler probably is STILL best known as the Fonz, simply because an older generation grew up watching him in the role…meanwhile a new and younger generation now watches HAPPY DAYS on Nick at Night.

As for his comment, he is a pinhead, not to mention Winkler fails to see the laughable irony here.

Here’s Winkler saying he’s bewildered over Palin’s followers…that her intellect is suspect to the point of breaking all credibility…and yet this comment is coming from the very guy who not only tried to milk HAPPY DAYS for a paycheck to it’s bitter end, but who AS the Fonz starred in one of TV’s most infamous episodes, which actually DID create the pop culture phrase “Jumping the Shark.” So if anyone would know about breaking all credible logic or believability to pimp yourself out for a paycheck, it would be him.