The O'Reilly Fracture

Bill O'Reilly has penned a column for the New York Daily News that evinces what we might call an O’Reilly Fracture, a condition that results when cranial pressure from unchecked swelling of the head fractures all strictures of logic and reason to produce morally and factually challenged assertions that, in a remarkable anatomical trick, serve to cover one’s rear end.

I propose that bloggers adapt the term “O’Reilly Fracture,” after the manner of “Fisking,” to describe such feats.

O’Reilly argues, at length and in vain, that smarmy books loaded with half-truths and outright lies, such as Kitty Kelly's tome on the Bush family, are the moral and ethical equivalent of what he calls "smears" against Dan Rather. We’re given to believe that those who first exposed CBS’s ploy to damage President Bush with forged documents – the Freepers, bloggers at Power Line, and others – were engaged in nothing more than a smear campaign against a wrongly maligned public person.

But Bill’s spun the story the wrong way. Being caught pushing forged documents that could prove highly damaging to a sitting president just before a hotly contested election, and then refusing to back away from the story after all evidence disproves it, is no different than creating evidence and stories ex nihilo after the manner of disreputable gossip columnists such as Kitty Kelly. The bedfellows here aren’t Rather’s critics and Kelly, but Rather and Kelly.

But for good measure, O’Reilly uses the occasion to smear the Swift Boat Vets for truth, about which he says:

While some of the Vietnam vets had valid points, more than a few of the accusations against Kerry were simply untrue. It didn't matter though - his war record became a negative.

He goes on to fulminate against "right-wing talk radio," which:

[I]n particular pounded Kerry and also bludgeoned Dan Rather for his role in another smear incident - the charges against President Bush about his National Guard service. Again, Rather was found guilty without a fair hearing. Charges that he intentionally approved bogus documents that made Bush look bad were leveled and widely believed. It was chilling.

From there, it's a short step to a dire warning: [Y]ou'll be seeing more of this kind of thing in the future. All famous and successful Americans are now targets. Unscrupulous people know that any accusation can be dumped on the Internet and within hours the mainstream media will pick it up. [emphasis added] It will be printed in the papers, discussed on radio and TV and become part of the unfortunate person's résumé whether he or she is guilty or not. A click of the Internet mouse can wipe out a lifetime of honor and hard work. Just the accusation or allegation can be ruinous.

Let me ask you something: In the future, do you think potential public servants and social crusaders are going to risk being brutally attacked within this insane system? I don't. I think many good people are simply going to walk away from the public arena.

And this melodramatic, hyperbolic ending: Dan Rather did not get what he deserved in this case. He made a mistake, as we all do, but he is not a dishonest man. Unfair freedom of speech did him in. [emphasis added] This is not your grandfather's country anymore.

Here we can see the disfiguring effects of an O’Reilly Fracture, which in this case takes the form of a tautology:

1. Public persons can be falsely accused.

2. Dan Rather is a public person.

3. Therefore, Dan Rather was falsely accused

This nicely confirms the innocence of anyone accused of misbehavior, whether in matters journalistic, military or, shall we say, more personal in nature. In fact, you may substitute for Rather’s name that of any other media personality who comes to mind and arrive at a similar conclusion, no deliberation needed.

So there you have it: The O’Reilly Fracture exposed for all to see. It isn’t pretty but, in the end, it’s best to let such things air out a little. Otherwise they can fester for years and, left unchecked, cause one’s head to explode.

Update: Captain Ed has a long, and delicious, rebuttal to O'Reilly.

Update II: Welcome readers from the Captain's Quarters! We hope you'll look around and, should you like what you see, bookmark us and visit often.

Update III: Further commentary on O'Reilly's petulance by Jeff Jarvis and Glenn Reynolds.