Download QT later...

Matt Lauer of the Today Show looked at Billo's comments about the Harlem restaurant yesterday. I had to watch the video a few times to really put my finger on why it bothered me so much. And what it boiled down to is my big bugaboo: framing. While Jon Larson's report is neutral and gives the proper context for the discussion, Matt Lauer is all but blaming Media Matters for even having the gall to bring the event up.

Paul Waldman of Media Matters did very well. Kudos for this line: I think if Bill O'Reilly got caught robbing a bank, he'd say he was taken out of context. I'll be using that one quite a bit. The choice of bringing on a Republican strategist to defend Falafel Boy was another telltale. When did this become a Republican vs. Democrat issue? Just because Bill calls MM a "liberal smear site"? Lame, NBC.

After spending the entire segment defending O'Reilly, Lauer does finally admit that he thinks Bill would probably like to take it back. Small comfort there, Matt.