Bill O'Reilly Goes (Against) Between Two Ferns

For those of you who are familiar with the internet, you may know that Zach Galifianakis, star of "The Hangover," has his own web-series entitled "Between Two Ferns," in which he interviews celebrities in a deadpan comedic style. I became of this show last year after I saw Galifianakis' hilarious interview with Justin Bieber, in which he makes such jabs as, "You've had three hair styles. What's next for your career?" However, this show was recently brought to my attention when I found out that President Obama actually appeared on the show. I was surprised, to the say the very least, when I found out that the President actually sat down with Zach Galifianakis for an interview, and I wasn't sure what to expect going in. The clip nearly brought me to tears. If you have not had the acute pleasure of viewing it, I strongly urge you to do so right now.

The video really surprised me for a couple of reasons, with the first being that I never thought our president could crack me up like that! I was also really impressed that he was able to navigate through the humour and still plug his new Healthcare initiative (while skillfully dodging insults from Galifianakis like, "Why would you get the guy who created the 'Zune' to make your website?") Finally, I was mostly just amazed that Obama would even participate in the creation of the show. But after I thought about it, it made some sense. One of the main facets of the Affordable Care Act is to get younger people health care, and Between Two Ferns most certainly appeals to a younger crowd. So I say, well done Obama.

Not surprisingly, not everyone shared my opinion on Obama's appearance on Between Two Ferns, most notably Bill O'Reilly (what a shocker.) In a section of his show entitled "Talking Points," O'Reilly made many desperate attempts to criticize the President's appearance, including saying that "Lincoln would not have done it." I would say this made me lose all respect for Fox News, but that happened a long time ago. This is an outlandish claim not only because no one can predict what a president would have done centuries ago, but because Lincoln was one of our funnier, warmer presidents, and would have quite possibly done something like this! O'Reilly's feeble attempt to criticize Obama only cements my opinion on his participation on the show; it was a smart, personable move.