Last night Bill O’Reilly was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  I’m not sure why because: Bill O’Reilly?  On The Tonight Show?  Alright, whatever.  Anyway, everything that annoyed me whenever I watched The O’Reilly Factor on FoxNews came into sharp relief when he was a guest on another show.  This is not a political commentary, in fact I generally agree with his opinions.  It’s a commentary on his personality and his interactions with other people.

First off, he’s arrogant.  He just knows he’s right about everything, and he absolutely loves to explain to other people how they’re wrong.  His is the highest rated cable news show or whatever, and he doesn’t let anyone forget it.  I’ve seen many a guest on his show shoot WTF? looks at the camera while he insists that they acknowledge his awesomeness.  He asked one woman on his show if she remembered some obscure prediction he had made a while ago.  Her response: “Um, no? I don’t keep a Bill Journal, you arrogant jerk.”  (the “arrogant jerk” part was implied)  Give that woman her own show!

I think what really annoys me though are his mannerisms.  He thinks he is so charismatic, and it comes off just like Tom Cruise.  He uses people’s first names because he thinks it’s more personable, but it just seems patronizing.  And here’s my number one pet peeve: the way he uses the word “okay.”  He peppers it throughout his statements, and the implied meaning is “Try to understand what I’m saying, because it’s so important, and if you don’t agree then you’re an idiot.”  Do you guys know what I mean?  It’s like, the word was originally meant as a question to ask someone if they are alright with something, but some people (Tom Cruise, Bill O’Reilly) have contorted it into this incredibly sanctimonious punctuation.  I hate it.  Don’t do it in front of me, or I might jack you in the face to take you down a peg or two.

My last complaint is his sense of humor.  Normally, it’s not an issue on Fox because the tone of his show is serious and political.  However, he comes on Jay Leno and thinks he needs to be funny to win over the audience, so he tries to use sarcasm.  Instead of being funny, it’s just sort of awkward and falls flat.  Some people are just naturally witty and sarcastic.  Bill O’Reilly is not.  It’s not something you can force.  If you try to, it comes off mean-spirited and obvious, like you went for the easy target.  Plus, O’Reilly has no capacity for self-deprecating humor.  He may try, but everyone knows it’s false humility and he really thinks the exact opposite.

Sorry, Bill.  I think FoxNews is ready for new blood.