60% of what I say on this blog is crap...

...which apparently puts me in the strange company of right-wing gas bag Bill O'Reilly. No doubt you've heard about his Tuesday night appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, where Dave kicked his ass. Excerpt:

Letterman: How can you possibly take exception with the motivation and the position of someone like Cindy Sheehan?

O'Reilly: Because I think she's run by far-left elements in this country. I feel bad for the woman.

Letterman: Have you lost family members in armed conflict?

O'Reilly: No, I have not.

Letterman: Well, then you can hardly speak for her, can you?
...
O'Reilly: No way a terrorist who blows up women and children is going to be called a freedom fighter on my program.

Letterman: I'm not smart enough to debate you point to point on this, but I have the feeling, I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap.

O'Reilly: Sixty?

Letterman: Sixty percent. I'm just spit-balling here.

O'Reilly: Listen, I respect your opinion. You should respect mine. Our analysis is based on the best evidence we can get.

Letterman: Yeah, but I think there's something, this fair and balanced. I'm not sure that it's, I don't think that you represent an objective viewpoint.

Links: Read the full transcript; watch a two-minute video clip in Windows Media Player here, or in Quick Time here. Or, view the entire interview (12 minutes, WMP only). Note: broadband connection recommended for full segment, it takes a while to download.

Way to go Dave! What's been most interesting in the two days since this event, however, is that everyone in America has put their own spin on it. Overnight surveys showed that most viewers felt Dave came out on top in the verbal clash, but not surprisingly, Professional Wingnut Apologists such as Michelle Malkin are claiming "advantage O'Reilly", and calling Letterman a "Moonbat". O'Reilly himself whined and frothed at the mouth on his show Wednesday, referring to the exchange as a "culture war", and to Letterman as "a card-carrying member of the secular progressive movement", adding "David deals in humor, I deal in facts". To his credit, the normally apolitical Letterman was staying mum on the topic, showing a bit more class than Blustering Bill. In the end, the impromptu debate was more for entertainment than any serious political discourse, and I doubt any minds were changed as a result; you mostly agreed or disagreed based on the opinions you started with. That's what makes this such a great country: FACT or CRAP? It's your call!