Late-Night Comedians Scorch Obama, but Is It Fair?

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," December 14, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Factor Follow-up" segment tonight: Last spring we did a segment on how the late-night comedians were going easy on Barack Obama, and a former writer for "Jay Leno," Buddy Winston, predicted that would not last, that the comedians would soon begin mocking the president. Well, Mr. Winston was correct.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Category tonight, Top 10 Signs Barack Obama Is Getting Nervous. And who — who could blame him? Top 10 Signs of Getting Nervous. Here we go. No. 10, new slogan: Yes we can, or maybe not, it's hard to say.

JAY LENO, HOST, "THE JAY LENO SHOW": Trying to sum up Barack Obama's first 11 months in office: He gave billions to Wall Street, cracked down on illegal immigrants getting health care, sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. You know something? He may go down in history as our greatest Republican president ever.

SETH MYERS, CAST MEMBER, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Police in Texas seized a shipment of ecstasy pills this week. They were shaped like President Obama's face. The drug is characterized by a brief, powerful high followed by a long, slow comedown.

BILL MAHER, HOST, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": Obama says today he will attend the ceremony in Oslo if he's not too busy with the two wars he's conducting. So...

Remember, he's not your boyfriend. He's the president. Yes.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform.

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": Did you hear that, dude? It's — wait a second, what did you just say?

OBAMA: The public option, whether we have it or we don't have it...

STEWART: No public option? We still get to kill old people though, right?

Mr. President, I can't tell if you are a Jedi, ten steps ahead of everything, or if this whole health care thing is kicking your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) just a little bit. Why is this so hard?

CRAIG FERGUSON, HOST, "THE LATE LATE SHOW": He's sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Right now in the Scandinavia the Nobel committee is really rethinking the whole Peace Prize. Is it too late to give it to Bono, because I'm thinking...

LETTERMAN: The No. 1 sign Obama is getting nervous: He demanded a recount. Can you believe that?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'REILLY: Joining us now from Los Angeles is the aforementioned Buddy Winston.

What is the difference between — and again, you were correct in predicting what would happen. What is the difference between...

BUDDY WINSTON, FORMER WRITER FOR "JAY LENO": Thank you, Bill.

O'REILLY: ...what Barack Obama is getting now and what George W. Bush got all through the second term? All through the second term?

WINSTON: Well, first, I'd like to thank you for having me back on the show and also say that's a little unsettling, how happy you guys are at Fox that a liberal guy like me was correct. You're probably showing that Obama mockery loop in the lobby.

O'REILLY: Where — wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait. We like people who are smart. We don't care if they're a far-left guy like you or just a regular human being. Go ahead.

WINSTON: I will take that as a compliment, Bill. Well, the difference is — the difference is with Bush and Obama, is that I think they were — Bush got — was ridiculed, and Obama is being taken to task right now. You know, there is not a lot of things that are running gags with Obama. I mean, backpedaling on the public option. I mean, say what you want about health care in America, but where else in the world can you get free antibiotics by drinking the milk and eating the chicken? I mean, come on. I mean, we've got it.

O'REILLY: All right, so that's an interesting point. So the comedians, late night, when they targeted President Bush, were targeting him to ridicule and demean him, whereas with Obama, they're kind of disappointed in what he's doing, so they're sticking him like Maher. You know, they're sticking him...

WINSTON: You've got to remember, Bill, the flood gates aren't open yet.

O'REILLY: No. That's true.

WINSTON: You know, I mean, this is just at the beginning, you know. And now sort of the veil has been lifted. Now people are making fun of him, which is the beginning of it all. But you know, like the whole Nobel Peace Prize thing, that was more ironic than shocking. Sarah Palin winning the Pulitzer Prize. Now, that would be shocking. I think that would get a little bit more mileage, you know?

O'REILLY: OK.

WINSTON: You know, people think that Obama kind of comprehends the gravity of his decisions more than Bush. For instance, you know, when Obama...

O'REILLY: Well, they think he's smarter than George. But, look, would you say — and I don't know how many of these guys you know personally, but let's run them down.

WINSTON: OK.

O'REILLY: David letterman, left-winger. Jay Leno, leans left, but more of a centrist. O'Brien, you know, leans left, not too bad.

WINSTON: Yes.

O'REILLY: Kimmel, Ferguson, all these guys, they all kind of lean left. The one that's really, really a left-winger is Maher and then Stewart. Maher and Stewart probably the most out there on the left.

WINSTON: Right.

O'REILLY: But you don't have any conservative right comedians at all. You don't have anybody who might get a little indignant about...

WINSTON: Yes, but you know what?

O'REILLY: ...a $12 trillion deficit, you know?

WINSTON: Yes, but you know what? We discussed that. The whole idea of the late-night comedy is not to take people to task. It's comic relief. You know, I mean, and the landscape has changed. I mean, Jay has gone through Lenopause right now, where he's got the lower ratings. I mean, all he has to say right now is Obama was on top and now he's got low ratings. Welcome to the club.

O'REILLY: Yes, but I've got to tell you. You're right about Leno, but you're wrong about Letterman and Stewart. I mean, these guys are on a mission. I've been on Letterman a number of times, and he brings in the heavy artillery. I mean, he wants to make political points. He's not doing it just for jokes.

WINSTON: Yes, but you know what? Just for instance, Letterman made fun of those people that crashed the state dinner, you know, and tell me, Bill, isn't it true when you talk about people that can't keep — don't have good security for White House dinner, aren't you also saying that maybe the country isn't secure? Maybe they can't secure the country? I mean, it's breaking down a little, Bill. But I will say that those — that couple probably still has an easier time getting past White House security than you do, Bill.

O'REILLY: Well, we'll see. I'm going down there tomorrow. Mr. Winston, thanks very much.

WINSTON: Are you really?

O'REILLY: I am indeed. We'll have a big report on it on Wednesday.

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