The Questions Bill O’Reilly Won’t Ask The President

My friends in journalism tell me that when a broadcaster or print journalist does a puff piece on someone, or goes particularly easy, or spins the positive and ignores the negative, the resulting article or broadcast is known as “a blow job.”  (Sorry, just reporting what they tell me.)

Tomorrow, just before the Super Bowl, Bill O’Reilly of the Fox network is going to go easy on His Orangeness, just to ease his tension after two weeks of hard work and unfair coverage, and to “do him a favor” as they say.

I think I’ll miss it.  It would only ruin the Super Bowl.

Students of journalism might find it interesting to watch the extremes to which someone posing as a wise elder will studiously avoid asking the obvious questions we’d all like answered of the most powerful man in the world (except for Steve Bannon).  And the President’s “base” may love it, because the show will reassure them that the non-factual pablum they’ve been digesting is still in good supply.  The Leader Still Believes, Still Repeats the Same Themes.  The Leader is Still Strong.  And see:  the TV guys still love him, and see how well The Leader handles those tough questions!  See conservative talk show host Charles Sykes’ explanation in this thoughtful piece:  http://nyti.ms/2l8iSzJ “Why Nobody Cares the President is Lying.”

Well, here’s a list of questions that Bill O’Reilly will surely forget to ask:

1. Mr. President:  I noticed you were very quick to condemn the man of Middle Eastern descent who wounded a Paris policeman outside the Louvre, but you said nothing about the right wing guy — a fan of yours actually — who murdered six Muslims in Quebec as they were praying, the day after you announced your immigration restrictions.  These two events were only days apart.  Don’t you think that a right wing murderer of six people praying is at least as awful as an extremist guy with a knife who wounds a cop?  Why won’t you speak out against the murders of six people worshiping in a mosque?
2. Mr. President, I noticed you signed an Executive Order reversing protections that former President Obama put in place, so that it is now legal for coal producers to dump their toxic slurry into streams and waters of the United States.  How is this good for the people in the area who rely on clean water for drinking and for recreation?
3. Mr. President, I see that you have signed an executive order that is going to undo the restrictions on financial firms put in place after the Financial Crisis of 2007-08, less than a decade ago.  It’s obvious how these will help Wall Street firms, but how exactly will these changes you’ve ordered help consumers and investors?
4. Mr. President, I noticed that when a federal judge appointed by George W. Bush found your Executive Order unconstitutional, you referred to him as a “so-called” federal judge.  Are you saying that he may not actually be a judge?  Or do you think he’s Mexican, like the last judge that ruled against you?
5. Mr. President, you listed seven countries in your immigration order as places from which we won’t accept immigrants for the time being.  I noticed that you left off Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the two countries that generated ALL of the 9/11 terrorists, and Pakistan and Afghanistan, where there are known terrorist cells.  Was that an oversight, or did you not include them because you have business interests there?
6. Speaking of business interests, Mr. President, it seems that a lot of diplomats are choosing to stay at your new hotel in D.C.   Is that because it’s the most convenient place for them (despite all the protests outside), or do you think they might be choosing it because you’re the President?
7. Mr. President, a lot of Americans are going through the tedious process now of preparing and filing their tax returns.  You said back in the debate that your paying no taxes “makes [you] smart.”  Would it be smart for the rest of us to think up some clever deductions and pay no tax?  If we did that, Mr. President, how would you pay for the big infradstructure projects you’re talking about?
8. Mr. President, in these first two weeks of your presidency,  can you point to a single decision that you’ve made that was contrary to the advice of your senior advisor Steve Bannon?  Are you aware that he has referred to himself as a “Leninist” who wants to “destroy the state”?
9. Mr. President, you’ve had phone calls with the presidents of Australia and Mexico that were described by people who witnessed the conversations as rude and insulting.  These are allies.  When you spoke to Vladimir Putin, did you express any displeasure at any of the policies of Russia or the behaviors of its intelligence agencies?
10. Mr. President, your company said it plans to focus on the U.S. in the near future, planning some 26 new hotels.  You recently said your “brand” has been enhanced by your becoming President.  Do you really think the American people believe that you’re not keeping your hand in the business?
11. Mr. President, at the Black History Month breakfast, your comments were extremely brief and focused mostly on yourself, rather than the topic of black history.  Is there anything more you’d like to say?  By the way, when you said that Frederick Douglass has “been doing a really great job,” what job was that, actually, that you were referring to?
12.  Mr. President, some people say we are a nation of immigrants and that any restrictions that aren’t narrowly tailored to legitimate concerns over terrorist threats are un-American.  Others, like MicroSoft, Amazon, Expedia, and Oxfam point out that they have valuable employees who can’t get into the U.S. for their jobs.  Some 50 university presidents have condemned your action, which impacts their students and their faculties.  With the benefit of hindsight, would you have done anything differently, or was creating chaos the point of it all?
13. Mr. President, I wonder if you are aware of how difficult it was for some people, including elderly and young children, to be unexpectedly detained at the airports for many hours, or sent back on return flights?   Is there anything you’d like to say to these people, many of whom had green cards?
14. Do you realize, Mr. President, that a lot of immigrants take jobs that the rest of us Americans don’t want or wouldn’t do no matter how much you paid us?   Like  Melania.  Poor woman — not a job many would sign up for.
15. Where’s she been lately, anyway?  Stuck at some airport?

Well, it’s fun to daydream.  But tomorrow I’ll just focus on football.