O'Reilly's enjoyable night out on Letterman

Maybe one reason liberals are so afraid of Bill O'Reilly is that he genuinely enjoys them. Liberals, meanwhile, can't stand the fact that O'Reilly confounds their stereotypes and is (among other things) outspoken against the death penalty - or makes it clear that while abortion should be safe and legal, it is moral murder.

Liberals will make a lot of hay about Letterman's passive-aggressive crack: "I have the feeling that about 60 percent of what you say is crap." (video here.) But they won't say a word about Letterman's earlier admission regarding O'Reilly's desire to talk about the war on terror: "I'm not smart enough to debate you point to point on this."

Indeed. On the other hand, this is what O'Reilly said about Letterman all the way back in 2001:

The late-night program hosted by David Letterman is the toughest interview show on television. That's because Mr. Letterman is a smart guy who can spot a phony with telescopic accuracy and expects his guests to bring something to the table. If a guest begins to sink on this show, the bottom is a long way down.

Nothing passive-aggressive about that. Or O'Reilly's most recent appearance on The Late Show. Here's how Newsmax called it:

Letterman seemed to turn downright hostile, however, after O'Reilly defended U.S. soldiers and attacked Cindy Sheehan. "The United States, particularly the military, is doing a noble thing - the soldiers and Marines are noble," the Fox host insisted. "They're not terrorists. And when people call them that, like Cindy Sheehan called the insurgents 'freedom fighters,' we don't like that. It is a vitally important time in American history and we should be very careful of what we say." The comment prompted Letterman to admonish O'Reilly, "Then you should be very careful about what you say, also . . . I'm very concerned about people like yourself who don't have endless sympathy for a woman like Cindy Sheehan. Honest to Christ, honest to Christ."

The fear, as they say, is palpable. Not to worry Letterman, I'd be happy to debate "point to point" with you about the war on terror. Have your people call my people.