D Politicians, Pundits, and Stars 227
not coming on the show during the heat of the presidential election
of 2004. Senator Kerry might as well have added, “You believe me,
right?” because his raised brows and the lilt at the end of his
sentence indicated request for approval.
When talking about a sore point that he needed to address—in
response to a direct question about signing on with a colleague to
censure President Bush—he tilted his head. Discussing a move
similar to that would elicit a bit of emotion when done on the
conservative Fox network.
Bill O’Reilly, a master of both asking questions and suggesting
answers with his eyebrows, showed an important shortcoming in
probing an “unfriendly” (that is, liberal) guest such as Kerry. He
blockaded the possibility of reading body language—and really
putting Kerry on the spot—by driving on with his prescribed
agenda. In quizzing Kerry about the situation in Iraq, therefore,
O’Reilly followed the pattern of questions he had in mind to ask.
So where Senator Kerry asserted that certain things could be
done more effectively, O’Reilly should have read Kerry’s body
language, which indicated some uncertainty. The simple question,
“How?” could have proved very telling—but he didn’t ask it.
Instead, he plowed on and missed a prime opportunity to embarrass
Senator Kerry, or at least shake him visibly.
Senator Kerry remained on firm ground, and then delivered a
message: “I’ve never suggested pulling out too early,” with arro-
gance and disgust expressed through raising his chin while he looked
down his nose. To viewers, even many viewers who distrust him
and despise his politics, he would have projected confidence and
superiority.