My father has, since I was in high school, considered Rush Limbaugh a form of comedy.  He listens to Rush in the car, listens to Rush at home, and listens to Rush pretty much any time that I’m not around to turn the radio off and find either the local Air America affiliate … OK, haven’t done that one in a while … or any station playing Terry Gross.

I had an assistant a few years back–Pakistani, Muslim, into the whole political studies thing–who thought that Bill O’Reilly was the bees knees for much the same reason.  “He’s such a blowhard,” he would tell me on a regular basis.  “It’s impossible to take him seriously.”  He also watched Hannity and Comes, and, well, Fox News on a alarming basis.  “I’m just keeping track of what the other side is up to,” he’d tell me, and I’d shake my head.

“They get me too riled up,” I said.
“C’mon, these guys aren’t being serious.  It’s an act.”
“Yeah, but their listeners and viewers are being dead serious.  That’s what bothers me,” I’d say.

And it’s true.  That is what bothers me.  If Stephen Colbert didn’t have a laugh track, I’d probably find him just as bad.  (OK, maybe not.  His audiobook didn’t have a laugh track and I thought it was hilarious).

And so, I think maybe this should be required viewing: It’s the O’Reilly Factor in a minute.

No spin zone, my ass…  Spin this.