“Daily Show” funnyman Jon Stewart and Fox News host Bill O’Reilly are facing off in a debate tonight at the Lisner Auditorium on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Viewers can watch the event. dubbed “O’Reilly v Stewart 2012: The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium” streaming on the web for $4.95 at therumble2012.com.
Starting at 8 p.m. ET, we’ll be live blogging every jab, joke, and smart-aleck remark with this live blog. Join the conversation and leave your thoughts in the comments.
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5:08 am
We'll be starting soon! As we proceed, please leave your thoughts about the night in the comments.
5:25 am
Logging in now....
5:28 am
The Rumble2012 website is giving me that "Connecting..." messages as well as informing me "Waiting for secure.therumble2012.com..."
5:28 am
Has anyone else out there sucessfully logged into the Rumble? Let us know in the comments.
5:29 am
It's now telling me "Your request is being processed...Estimated Time: 94 seconds." That was about 60 seconds ago.
5:30 am
We're getting comments from people saying that they can't get in either. I hope this doesn't turn out to be an epic fail. I left a screening of "Frankenweenie" early to do this..
5:31 am
I just got the dreaded "http/1.1 Service unavailable." Readers, what are you finding?
5:33 am
We're trying to log in again...How are you doing out there? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
5:36 am
This time I got a "problem loading page" error, followed by a http/1.1 service unavailable.
We'll keep trying for you folks.
5:41 am
The Rumble Facebook page is being flooded with folks calling the event an epic fail because they can't log on. What are you finding? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
5:43 am
People leaving messages on the Rumble facebook page are complaining that they had watch parties that have been ruined because they can't log on.
5:51 am
My request is supposedly being processed again.
5:54 am
I apologize for this live blog not being able to cover this event so far. We have already contacted the organizers of "The Rumble" to ask what's going on with their site, which appears to have crashed for lots of other users. Nobody from The Rumble has returned our message yet.
6:01 am
Roger Ebert just tweeted: "I promote Stewart vs. O'Reilly on ROKU on FB and Twitter and can't log in myself. Bad image for ROKU. #therumble2012"
6:07 am
We're on the case and covering the event!
6:10 amby Stephenie Krikorian
Stewart and O'Reilly are discussing the Middle East.
O'Reilly: Iran is not scared of us because of the signal he (Obama) sends to the world "let's have a conversation" in a soft voice. Stewart: "Oh so all the President has to do is raise his voice."
6:10 am
6:13 am
Earlier in the debate, Stewart called O'Reilly "mayor of Bulls---- Mountain," says our reporter Stephenie Krikorian.
6:15 amt
Stewart also joked about the Obama-Romney debate. "I can see why Obama did badly in the debate. The altitude really is bad up here," Stewart said from a riser that boosts his height, reports our Stephenie Krikorian.
6:16 amby SK
The strange thing about watching an online debate is the lack of pre-game chit-chat.
6:16 amby SK
Uh oh - they are moving onto media bias.
6:18 am
"I think that Fox News is an overreaction" Stewart says. He calls Fox News "the lupus of news."
6:19 am
O'Reilly says that Fox News makes money.
"You can't make money selling crap in this country that's for sure," Stewart says.
6:21 am
Stewart says that when more of a station's viewers believe (falsely) that the president is a Muslim than believe in evolution, that's a problem.
O'Reilly presses him on his source for that.
6:21 amby SK
We are going into the "lightning round"...what does the government owe us is the first question. Stewart refers to the constitution: unions and welfare.
6:22 amby SK
Stewart, winning or losing, is keeping this lively with jokes and wisecracks between the debating.
6:23 am
Stewart mentions that the Constitution mentions "unions and welfare" but not corporations. He says to blame the Founders if you have a problem with it.
6:23 amby SK
They are sometimes not answering E.D.'s questions because they are too busy taking shots at each other.
6:24 am
O'Reilly questions the notion that the country is only as strong as its "weakest link." "We're only as good as CNN?" O'Reilly cracks.
6:27 am
They begin talking about "a war on Christmas." Stewart says "Let me handle this." He says people have confused the idea of not being able to pray somewhere with not being able to pray anywhere.
6:27 amby SK
Stewart seems to be dominating just by talking more. O'Reilly seems a little bored with it or low key. Or not quick enough.
6:27 am
"We won the war on Christmas," O'Reilly says.
6:29 amby SK
Now they are just ripping through questions...immigration, Christmas, vets...and Stewart goes first each and every time. Feels rushed.
6:30 amby SK
They are leaving the podiums for living room style chairs and audience questions.
6:33 am
O'Reilly thinks the next Obama-Romney debate will be close and he mocks the town hall concept.
6:36 am
Stewart isn't a fan of the electoral concept, but O'Reilly disagrees. He doesn't think popular vote is the way to go. Then Stewart mocked his voice for cracking and called him Bobby Brady.
6:37 am
O'Reilly predicts that a third party will emerge in America.
6:37 amby SK
Ha - O'Reilly said if he could only save one person if the country were burning we should save Oprah because she is so wealthy. Stewart would save his family.
"Oprah's a great answer too," Stewart tells O'Reilly.
6:39 amby SK
Stewart gets big applause for his call for a single payer healthcare system.
6:41 amby SK
O'Reilly blames government healthcare for the fact that in England, "everyone's teeth are falling out."
6:41 amby SK
O'Reilly says the government should regulate, but not run healthcare...that got some applause.
6:44 am
Here's an image from the debate.
6:44 amby SK
This is the best part of this: a real debate on healthcare. They are both on fire and passionate about it.
6:45 am
Stewart asks O'Reilly why he trusts government to run wars, but not healthcare.
6:45 amby SK
Okay that was funny: Stewart sat on O'Reilly's lap and O'Reilly asked him what he would like for Christmas.
6:50 am
Another image from the debate...
6:50 amby SK
O'Reilly is funny, but in a less direct way. But he has a sense of humor.
6:51 amby SK
The question: who would you like to see elected President if you could elect anyone? O'Reilly said Clint Eastwood and then Stewart made an empty chair.
6:53 am
Stewart named Robert Kennedy as one of his heroes, and O'Reilly used the moment to plug his new book "Killing Kennedy." Then O'Reilly named Abraham Lincoln as a hero, and used that moment to plug another book "Killing Lincoln."
6:53 amby SK
It's strange that O'Reilly is still letting Stewart answer first every single time...question after question.
6:54 am
What do you think of "The Rumble" so far? Were you able to log on to watch? Share your thoughts in the comments.
6:55 am
O'Reilly picks Mike Wallace as the best journalist on TV ever.
6:56 am
Stewart says that Bill or Hillary Clinton could get elected president right now with a large majority of the vote.
6:58 am
Stewart says we're having the wrong conversation in this country. People don't want government gone--they want government better. Instead folks are debating whether or not one half of the country is flying the flag of freedom or not.
7:00 amby SK
An audience member asked what they respect most about each other. O'Reilly said they were getting really "new age." Before saying he is smart, Stewart said he liked the way O'Reilly dresses. O'Reilly never said anything serious that he respected.
7:03 am
"The Eye of Mordor is above the building" Stewart says about Fox News, after a viewers asks if he'd ever switch jobs with O'Reilly.
7:05 amby SK
It seems everybody gets a trophy. E.D. claimed them both winners. I guess it's over. No closing words.
7:05 amby SK
Stewart dominated in jokes and energy. Hard to say who won. It was interesting and amusing at least. Minus the horrible audio issue.
7:06 am
Thanks everyone for stopping by. Who do you think won the debate? What were the best lines? Leave your thoughts in the commments.
7:38 am
Just posted this. Good night!
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