BillO, the eternal class act, ridicules Helen Thomas by calling her the "wicked witch of the east" and imitating her voice in a very, um, unflattering way.
O'Reilly: The White House press corps looked intimidated to me... Except for that, what's her name? The old lady, Helen Thomas. [squawking sound]
Colmes: Is that your Helen Thomas impression?
O'Reilly: Yea! [squawking sound]
Colmes: I didn't know you did impersonations.
O'Reilly: It's like the wicked witch of the east! If I were Obama, I would've poured water on her, and she would dissolve!
Colmes: It's not nice to make fun of an old woman, Bill.
O'Reilly: It doesn't matter.
It must be tough for a hack like Bill O'Reilly to to appreciate -- let alone respect -- a journalistic legend like Helen Thomas. While BIllO was crapping his pants as a child, Thomas was holding JFK's feet to the fire. Perhaps he's just jealous that he will never get near a WH briefing room?
As Amato was quick to remind me, BillO can't even insult someone correctly. He meant to say wicked witch of the west, not east. What a tool.
Bonnie Erbe of US News & World Report unloads:
Bill O'Reilly mocks everyone—all right, I get it. He's a venom-spitting curmudgeon and works hard to build that image and protect his niche. But calling veteran journalist Helen Thomas a "wicked witch" after her question to President Obama at his news conference last night was not only ugly, it was petty.
O'Reilly is living proof there are a lot of hateful TV viewers out there because they must get a rise out of watching an angry homunculus who's outlived his useful life span. What else would prompt someone to watch his show? Quite frankly I'd have a better time parking on a freeway in rush hour and dealing with all the angry motorists, than watching Venom Boy spew. Can't somebody recommend to O'Reilly a competent psychotherapist? But then where would angry TV news viewers go to watch highly-paid cobras?