Stewart and O'Reilly Talk It Out

For the most part, I enjoyed Bill O'Reilly's interview of Jon Stewart. There's just something reassuring about having people with differing views sit down and talk civilly. We need more of this.

Whatever you do, make sure you watch the uncut version of the interview. It's worth the 45 minutes to do so.

I'm sure fans on both sides were hollering at the TV, wishing their guy could hear the sweet comebacks they had to offer. I myself found one section in particular where I wish I could have jumped into the conversation - that was with the whole discussion about Palin and Real America.

To summarize: Stewart explains that he's not comfortable with Palin implying that different parts of the country are more American or less American. O'Reilly explains that clearly parts of the country differ - just compare San Fransisco versus Charleston, SC. Stewart effectively responds that communities are more diverse than that, and you can't write off locations as being any one way or another.

I think they both missed the boat on this one.

O'Reilly is right - San Fransisco is different than Charleston. Go ahead, call one liberal and one conservative. But, here's the thing - one isn't more or less American. People in San Fran love the country as much as those in Charleston. People in Charleston want a good job, just like people in San Fran do. People in San Fran want their children to be safe, just like people in Charleston do. Different parts of the country may have different ideas of what will be best for the country and society - but that's what makes this country great, not flawed.

Enough armchair quarterbacking - here's the interview. Enjoy!