Let me just start with a cliff notes version of what's been going on in the cable newsiverse.

Sen. Tom Coburn made a bad argument about Fox News.
Bill O'Reilly responded with a misguided answer
Time, Media Matters, and MSNBC responded, pointing out O'Reilly's mistake.
O'Reilly finally made the legit point that he should have made before but then tried to act like that made up for his earlier overstatement.

It all started when Sen. Coburn, making a very valid argument about the mean-spirited and misleading tone of news political discourse today, used Fox News arguing that people would go to jail if they didn't pay for health care as an example of Fox's mean-spiritedness. Now, that point doesn't really work because there was a time when it did seem like not buying healthy insurance could lead someone down a road (if they didn't pay their fine for not having health insurance) to jail. Fox yelled about it more than others but other news organizations discussed the issue.

Sadly, in a great example of how Fox News often gives misleading arguments, Bill O'Reilly made the outlandish claim that he had done research and found that NOBODY had EVER said those things on Fox News. This, of course, is ridiculous. People had not only said it on the network but they'd said it on O'Reilly's own show. But this is what cable news has devolved too. Too often, a network will get a fact and then, instead of making the good argument, will go overboard in defense of their agenda. It's why I find Olbermann had to watch. Half the time I agree with him but then he'll take the discussion into some weird tangent. (The go-to tangent right now for Dems is racism.)

Of course, MSNBC pounced all over O'Reilly's gaffe and reported it. But as is the way of modern media, they ignored that actual point being discussed. There was barely a mention of Coburn's main point about how we'd be better off if we toned down the rhetoric and name calling and got to honest discussions about policy and the role of government. In fact, not only did they ignore it but the host of The Ed Show immediately went down the wrong path. Almost directly after the O'Reilly bit, Ed threw to commercial by promising a story about "Caribou Barbie". I mean, c'mon. This is supposed to be a news station? I"m no fan of Sarah Palin and would actively campaign against her if she came any closer to the White House than she did before but the former Governor deserves more respect than "Caribou Barbie". And even if someone doesn't agree with that, I'd like to think that the TV show or network would have more respect for themselves than to resort to name calling.

Anyway, to make matters even worse, Bill O'Reilly responded to everyone who pointed out that he was wrong by saying... he wasn't wrong. Today, he finally brought up the somewhat legit response to Coburn (that when Fox was reporting jail for no health care, it was currently in the bill) but refused to admit that he had misspoken. He said that he was right and then said, "NOBODY at Fox News had reported INNACCURATELY". Sorry Bill, but there's a big difference between "EVER" and "INNACCURATELY" and it's hard to get on a pedestal and preach about dishonesty in media when you can't even admit your own mistakes. (And, as the Huffington Post pointed out, even this isn't entirely true since two of the comments were made after this provision had been removed.)

Sadly, lost in all of this is the discussion that NEEDS to be happening and that is about the current tone in American political discourse. Michelle Bachman has said she wants people "armed and dangerous" to "fight" against Obama's policies. Name calling is prevalent on both sides of the aisle. It's a sad day in American politics and it seems like nobody is willing to step up to the plate and take responsibility. Oh sure, they are ready to point out other people's mistakes but it's really time for someone to stand up, admit their own flaws, and make a pledge to work for solutions rather than elections.

Unfortunately, that seems like a time that will never come and it looks like the high road will be a lonely trail for years to come. But for my part, as little as it may be, I'm going to try to be more open-minded and less mean-spirited in my discussions of politics.