Bill O’Reilly Debates Obama’s Anger, Still Doesn’t Understand ‘Angry Black Man’ Stigma

Bill O’Reilly has already admitted that he doesn’t understand the racial overtones of a Drudge Report headline saying “Obama Goes Street” in relation to his strong words against BP, but to explore the topic further, he had Democratic strategist Tara Dowdell and Tea Party activist Rev. C.L. Bryant last night for a second try at convincing him that there is a racial danger to the President expressing anger.

O’Reilly reiterated to both guests that “I don’t think Drudge said ‘Gee, let me use the word ‘street’ so we can get everybody upset racially,'” which Dowdell disagreed with. She cited comments by Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart, which O’Reilly criticized, that there is “a stigma attached to being considered an angry black man,” and there is a legitimate concern among the black community, even when the white community does not see it, that they will be stereotyped when expressing certain emotions.

O’Reilly replied that the point was “a non-sequiter,” because no white people were deliberately stimagitizing them. “When Obama said ‘I want to kick some butt’ I didn’t say ‘ooh, there’s a black guy who wants to kick some butt’ I said ‘Good! Do something!'” Rev. Bryant, a self-described “angry black man,” agreed and thought there was nothing wrong with Barack Obama‘s “kicking ass” comment. “All we’re looking for is leadership,” he argued, “and that has nothing to do with race.”

Video of the discussion below:

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!