It takes a lot of self control when you come face to face with as big a jerk as Fox News' Big Giant Head, but former Kerry "Chief of Stuff" and current Obama aide, Marvin Nicholson, kept his cool yesterday after being accosted by Bill O'Reilly.
I love that picture, by the way. I took it last year at the Take Back America conference after Sen. Obama's speech. When Marvin saw me and my 'John Kerry for Senate' button, I got the big smile and thumbs up.
Lynn Sweet reports O'Reilly's attack:
"O'Reilly was yelling at him, yelling at his face," a photographer shooting the scene said.O'Reilly grabbed Nicholson's arm and shoved him, another eyewitness said. Nicholson, who is 6'8, said O'Reilly called him "low class."
"He grabbed me with both his hands here," Nicholson said, gesturing to his left arm and O'Reilly "started shoving me." Nicholson said, " He was pretty upset. He was yelling at me."
Secret Service agents who were nearby flanked O 'Reilly after he pushed Nicholson. They told O'Reilly he needed to calm down and get behind the fence-like barricade that contained the press.
Marvin further explains:
“I told him, 'Sir, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't shove me anymore." ... “I've never seen a member of the press lay hands on a staffer before,” he said.
Video Credit: CNN/Yahoo Video
First, it should be noted that Marvin is big. Not just your average big, but the kind of big that makes Senator Kerry (at a fairly imposing 6'4") look short. Marvin is 6'8", and when you're that size and some knucklehead shoves you and acts like an ass, you might be tempted to take a swing. But Marvin isn't only big, he's smart. Much too smart to let some name-calling neanderthal push his buttons.
It's also important to know that Marvin (and I know this, having met him several times), is a really nice guy. I've heard others who know him much better call him a 'cool dude', a 'gentleman' and a 'sweetheart'. Truthfully, I've never heard an unkind word uttered about Marvin Nicholson, and when your hobby is politics, you hear a lot of unkind words. Now, I don't doubt that he's someone who could do some damage if he were so inclined, but he's also someone who knows how to keep his head when confronted by a nutjob with a history of abusive behavior.
So, kudos to Marvin for being who he is. A lesser man might have been tempted to squash O'Reilly like a bug, but Marvin displayed the characteristic coolness of a former surfer dude, and the professionalism of a top rate staffer. Obama's lucky to have him on his team.
Of course, 'Bill-O' has attempted some damage control, but I think he's just digging the hole deeper. In a call to Fox News, O'Reilly declared:
"We're sorry we had to have that little confrontation, but no one on this earth is going to block a shot on "The O'Reilly Factor." It is not going to happen."
"No one on this earth." So, if you're at an event with your grandma and someone pushes her and calls her a SOB, make sure you have your camera handy, I'm sure Olbermann would love the photos.
I haven't seen any video of the altercation yet, so I'm afraid, not having the same level of decorum as Mr. Nicholson, I have to post this. It's the least Mr. O'Reilly deserves.
UPDATE: jhutson has a post and some great photos of the Obama event at BlueMassGroup (h/t to IanDB1 at DU), and there are photos of Sen. Obama calming an agitated O'Reilly from Reuters via Yahoo.
UPDATE 2: More and video links at Huffington Post.
UPDATE 3: I have to link to the Dem Daily on this, too. They came in very early with this story, and Pamela wrote a fine post with some good new links.
Comments (4)
Posted by fedup | January 6, 2008 12:13 PM
First off "We love you Marv" and you did a great impression of Bill-O.
As we all know anyone who has ever met Marvin knows what a great guy he is, Senator Kerry saw that in him when he asked Marv to join his staff.
I hope KO is all over this on Countdown. Faith that O'Lielly video cracked me up.
Posted by Faith | January 6, 2008 12:29 PM
fedup, I agree. The bright side of this is that we get to see Marvin. I hope KO gets an interview with him, I'd love to see more of his O'Reilly impression.
What's most disturbing to me about this whole thing is what Mr. O'Reilly said afterward, that "no one on this earth" would block a shot for his stupid TV show. So, if your kid or your mom were in his way, would he shove them, too? The guy's arrogance is beyond belief.
Posted by fedup | January 6, 2008 1:01 PM
Faith, that is very disturbing. It reminds me of this administration and they think they can do and say and not obey and break laws when ever they want. Marvin is right this never happened before and to my knowledge there is a place for photographers and interviewers set up by the campaign. Of course Bill-O proved again that he is not a professional, just an arrogant bastid.
Posted by Emily | January 8, 2008 4:00 PM
I heard of this story but didn't pay too much attention at first on who it was who O'Reilly pushed. I didn't know Marvin was now working for Obama. Marvin handled it with true class and I loved his impression of O'Reilly lol. I'm glad nothing serious happened like he hurt himself or something. :)