Dick Morris Explains Palin’s Public Opinion Woes On O’Reilly Factor

Sarah Palin can’t seem to escape criticism lately, from Newt Gingrich to Stephen Colbert. Tonight, Bill O’Reilly brought pundit/consultant Dick Morris onto the Factor to discuss what Palin’s been doing wrong…and what she might do better.

O’Reilly cited numbers from two recent polls, one of which said 56 percent of Americans view Palin unfavorably, another which pegged that number at 53 percent. (Both polls gave her a 38 percent approval rating.) Morris argued that the left “plays Sarah Palin like a fiddle,” provoking her with “below-the-belt” attacks which she then engages with “colorful rhetoric.” O’Reilly cited New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as an example of someone who responds to criticism and is respected for it, and both he and Morris agreed Palin should have responded to criticism differently.

The conclusion: using “blood libel” was a misstep, she should have kept the focus of her post-shooting remarks on the victims, and, in O’Reilly’s words, vowing she was “not going to contribute to the circus,” and that familiar refrain: “She needs to be presidential.” Watch the video, via Fox News, below.

It should be noted, though, that Palin’s remarks haven’t turned all her supporters against her. O’Reilly proved this later on in his program by playing a clip from the “Sarah Palin Battle Hymn,” a song sung, apparently, by two of her more ardent fans. The song is…well, here’s the video.

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!