Andrea Tantaros is an idiot who can't even keep her right wing talking points straight about Obama. This two and a half minute segment is so illustrative of how stupid she is that I even transcribed it for posterity.
It begins this way:
O'Reilly: But right now, what is the President's biggest problem in your opinion?
Tantaros: The biggest part, I think, is ISIS. Because it's all over the headlines.
Translation: Whatever is all over the headlines is the President's biggest problem. That pesky little habit ISIS has of beheading journalists for attention isn't as big a problem as it being all over the headlines.
Tantaros: And we're coming up on the anniversary of 9-11 and there's a belief, I believe in the electorate right now, that we have a President that does not fundamentally want to act in such a big threat to protect the United States of America and you ask, "What is the President thinking?"
He had, and Brian Williams is right. I think the President has been very clear, Bill. He's given mixed messages, but he has a world view that is very anti-American.
So wait. He's given mixed messages, but he's been clear? And that clarity is anti-American? Gosh, I'm old enough to remember when Michele Bachmann was shredded for saying those things. Now it's mainstream Fox News.
O'Reilly: Wait, that's not what Brian Williams is saying.
Tantaros: But I think he's been clear. If you read his book, which many in the media didn't do and most people haven't, read the Cairo speech, read the book. Everything that you need to know about how he feels about the West and about how downright oppressive --
O'Reilly: Let me ask you this. You buy into the hard right belief that President Obama wants to harm America. Is that what you're saying?
Oh, that's precious. O'Reilly playing the moderate to Tantaros, giving her a chance to clean up that little mudhole she was making.
O'Reilly: Ok, so you're not saying that. So. He's timid on confronting ISIS, he should be bombing in Syria right now, I think most people agree with that. He isn't. Why is he timid? Why?
Maybe he's smarter than both of you and the rest of the Fox News crew put together, Bill. But here comes Andrea with a big platter of argle-bargle:
Tantaros: Because he believes, that the West specifically has been downright oppressive in its foreign policy. (crosstalk)
O'Reilly: But he can't believe that ISIS is doing things justifiably. He knows that they're evil. Why doesn't he attack the evil?
Tantaros: (leaning in, now) Bill, he has basically apologized for the West to the Muslim community in Cairo. He believes we've been an oppressor. And this is why he is fundamentally not able to protect the US. Because he has disdain for the West and the history and the traditions and it's out of step with most Americans watching this.
Again with the apologizing nonsense. Because he reset the direction of our foreign policy to stop invading sovereign countries.
O'Reilly: But what I'm hearing you saying is that he's going to let ISIS and other terrorists run wild because he doesn't like the West?
Tantaros: It's like a weed problem on the lawn. He's just going to manage it like he said. That was an answer from his heart. I do believe there is something. I feel he's allowing them to get this caliphate. He knows the history of Islam. He knows --
O'Reilly: If that were true, that would be so dangerous.
Tantaros: Why? It's happened. He hasn't brought the killers in Benghazi to justice. When it comes to terrorism, he doesn't act because he believes we have been oppressive --
So. He's "allowing" them to get this caliphate, because Magic Obama didn't wave his wand and obliterate all of them with a smart bomb that only targets Muslim extremists while leaving civilians alone.
He doesn't act on terrorism, which of course explains why the drone strike on Al Shabaab just killed one of their top officials. As I write, there are reports of explosions in one of the ISIS strongholds in Syria.
President Obama and Secretary Kerry have now announced a coalition of countries to combat ISIS.
Andrea Tantaros is the epitome of what Roger Ailes sees as an educated woman. She's mean-spirited, never has any facts, but plays a mean girl on TV just as well as she probably does in real life. Just don't expect facts. She's not there for facts. She's there to spread a few rumors around while pretending she knows what she's talking about.
James Carville's reaction is the best to all of this nonsense. He sums it up in one line at the very end:
Carville: I'm not going to respond to that. That's too idiotic for a response.
And there you have it.
[h/t Media Matters]
