David Shuster: 'Bill O'Reilly is a jerk ... a buffoon'

David Edwards and Muriel Kane Published: Monday January 7, 2008  del.icio.us |
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In the middle of a discussion of the Democratic primaries on MSNBC's Morning Joe, correspondent David Shuster burst out, "I don't know if this is the time to talk about Bill O'Reilly, but I've got a lot of things I want to say."

When encouraged to "get it out," Shuster stated emphatically, "Bill O'Reilly is a jerk."

"There's Bill O'Reilly at a Barack Obama event," Shuster explained. "Bill O'Reilly shoved a guy -- shoved a guy who was working for Barack Obama, because the guy happened to be standing in a certain spot. And there's Bill O'Reilly saying, 'Nobody gets in the way of the Factor's cameras.' ... Obama comes up, and what does Bill O'Reilly do? Does he ask some tough penetrating question? ... No. 'Will you come on my show?'"

"Give me a break," said Shuster. "What a jerk. What a jerk. Fox News ought to be so embarrassed with this guy."

"He's a cartoon character," agreed Mika Brzezinski.

"He's a buffoon," amplified Shuster. "He's such a buffoon, and everybody knows it."

"It is unfortunate," commented Scarborough, "that that's the way he's got to get glimpses of presidential candidates."

"I'll tell you what," Scarborough concluded. "A guy that we don't have to push to get on, Mike Huckabee. ... But guess what? his security guy? Bill O'Reilly ain't going to be pushing him: Chuck Norris."

A detailed discussion of the O'Reilly incident can be found at Media Matters.

This video is from MSNBC's Morning Joe, broadcast January 7, 2008.