Rocky Anderson must have been crazy to go on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News Channel show.
But maybe he was crazy like a fox.
Let's leave aside the merits of what the two were supposedly talking about on Tuesday — Anderson's call for the impeachment of the president and vice president. The show was so full of sound and fury that nothing of substance was discussed anyway. (Before you start e-mailing me, I'm not expressing an opinion on politics, just TV.)
While the Salt Lake mayor's appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor" didn't accomplish much in the way of advancing arguments for or against impeachment, it did provide a public service. It clearly demonstrated just exactly what Bill O'Reilly is.
He's a childish bully who is interested only in hearing himself talk. Or, rather, yell.
If the man has any shame — which is not apparent — he should be deeply embarrassed by his performance with Anderson. It was a textbook example of what's wrong with 24-hour cable news in general and with O'Reilly in particular.
He called Anderson names — repeatedly. He interrupted him — repeatedly. He yelled at him — repeatedly.
Anderson, on the other hand, maintained his composure. He calmly tried to get his point across despite the constant interruptions and blustering from the host, who repeatedly called the mayor "a kook."
And the mayor scored a major point when he said, "Classic Bill O'Reilly. You invite people on your show and call them names."
After moving on to another segment, O'Reilly mocked the mayor, slipping into a falsetto to say, "Don't call me names."
That was beyond the pale. What is he, a 6-year-old?
I have not been a big fan of Salt Lake's mayor. But it's hard to argue with him when he's right.
Can you imagine inviting someone into your place of business and then berating, belittling, mocking and yelling at him? At the very least, O'Reilly is guilty of horrifically bad manners.
But it goes far beyond that. That one rather brief segment is a textbook example of the worst of cable "news." And let's be clear about this — what O'Reilly did has nothing to do with news.
He didn't originate the format. CNN's late, unlamented "Crossfire" was like something out of the movie "Network" — almost a Roman coliseum with people of different political persuasions doing a whole lot of loud talking and almost no listening.
It was entertainment, not news. As is "The O'Reilly Factor."
O'Reilly seemed to realize that he had exceeded even his own normal level of histrionics and that video of his performance would be making the rounds.
"He'll use it on the far left Web sites all day long. Who cares?" he said.
O'Reilly must. He was the one who mentioned it.
None of this will affect O'Reilly's true believers, who accept the notion of a "no-spin zone" from a host who's spinning constantly. But, hopefully, it will open a few people's eyes as to what O'Reilly really is.
He's a childish bully who is interested only in hearing himself talk.
Or rather, yell.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com