How did Joan Walsh perform on O'Reilly?

First, I want to say that O'Reilly's performance was formula. He doesn't really have time to do anything but formula. His grin at the end indicated that the formula worked accordingly. It did. I had to grin too. It is almost impossible for a guest to overcome the tremendous advantage a host has on one of these shows. O’Reilly is particularly practiced.

The comments, except for the cheerleaders who cheer even for fumbles, are generally negative toward Joan, even from those who support her. Joan, to me, looked like a typical talking head—a hired gun-- albeit one with a bit of insecurity about her position. She argued her position like any extremist would. You could put Tiller’s killer, or the Holocaust Museum murderer on O’Reilly and get similar results—a proud defense of a defenseless position spoken by someone with an ax to grind- lacking knowledge of the facts -- never a “you know, you could be right.”

Her lack of familiarity with the material presented by O’Reilly accentuated her stubbornness, and it highlighted the fact that her position is derived from ignorance. Overall, Joan came across as an ideologue that, for reasons unknown, wants to sound like Marilyn Monroe or Jackie O. Maybe if she used her at home with the children guttural voice—you know, the voice one would expect from a late term abortionist, she would have been more convincing. She wouldn’t have convinced me, but she would have convinced some of the 13 year olds that have been knocked up by late-night talk entertainers and others who frequent underage prostitutes.