O'Reilly says of Michelle Obama: “She looks like an angry woman”

On Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly said that Sen. Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama, "looks like an angry woman."

During the “Obama Chronicles” segment of the September 16 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly stated of Michelle Obama: “Now I have a lot of people who call me on the radio and say she looks angry. And I have to say there's some validity to that. She looks like an angry woman.”

During the segment, O'Reilly asked Vogue magazine contributing editor Rebecca Johnson: “The perception is that she's angry in some quarters. Valid?” Johnson began her response by stating: “Well -- they say she looks angry because of maybe of the cast of her eyebrows or something like that. But, no, I don't find her to be angry. I think what happens is that we expect women to be cheerful and happy all the time in that kind of television personality kind of way. And she's not like that. She's a thoughtful person.” He later asked Human Events columnist Michelle Oddis: “Now, did you find out about the angry woman thing, Rebecca? I'm sorry, Michelle? Did you -- is there any validity to that? Or is that an urban myth?” Oddis responded: “I wouldn't say it's an urban myth. I think we all can tell just by appearances and speeches and the way that Michelle has personified herself that she's not warm and fuzzy. We know that about her.”

O'Reilly has described the “Obama Chronicles” as an “extensive 25-part series” on Sen. Barack Obama. The September 16 segment constituted part two of the series.

From the September 16 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: In the “Obama Chronicles” segment tonight: the controversial wife of the Democratic candidate, Michelle Obama. “Chronicle” facts: Mrs. Obama was born on January 17th, 1964, in Chicago. Her father worked for the city. He died from MS in 1991. Her mother worked as a secretary. She still lives on the south side of Chicago. She has one sibling, her brother, who coaches the Oregon State University basketball team. She graduated from Princeton and has a law degree from Harvard. She married Barack Obama in 1992. They have two young girls.

Joining us now from Washington, Michelle Oddis, a columnist for HumanEvents.com, and here in the studio, Rebecca Johnson, who wrote a profile of Mrs. Obama for Vogue magazine.

You spent some time with her. How much time?

REBECCA JOHNSON (Vogue magazine contributing editor): A few hours.

O'REILLY: Just a few hours with her?

JOHNSON: Hmm-mm. Half a day.

O'REILLY: How did you find her in person? Was she engaging?

JOHNSON: I found her lovely, actually, very bright, very thoughtful and, you know, an impressive person, intelligent. She was great. I was impressed.

O'REILLY: Now, I have a lot of people who call me on the radio and say she looks angry. And I have to say there's some validity to that. She looks like an angry woman. Did you ask her about that?

JOHNSON: Don't they say that about you, too?

O'REILLY: Yeah, but I'm not running for -- I'm not going to be the first lady.

JOHNSON: But she's --

O'REILLY: I hope not, anyway. The perception is that she's angry in some quarters. Valid?

JOHNSON: Well -- they say she looks angry because of maybe of the cast of her eyebrows or something like that. But, no, I don't find her to be angry. I think what happens is that we expect women to be cheerful and happy all the time in that kind of television personality kind of way. And she's not like that. She's a thoughtful person. She's not going to --

O'REILLY: Warm and fuzzy?

JOHNSON: No.

O'REILLY: Not warm and fuzzy?

JOHNSON: No.

O'REILLY: Even to you, who she's trying to win over as an author of the piece?

JOHNSON: You know, she was not trying to win me over in any way.

O'REILLY: Really?

JOHNSON: No, not at all.

O'REILLY: Because it's interesting, because most people -- talking to somebody who's going to write about them -- want to win you over. She didn't want to win you over?

JOHNSON: No, not at all.

O'REILLY: Why not?

JOHNSON: And it's interesting, because I actually -- I've also interviewed Sarah Palin, and she was very friendly and very --

O'REILLY: Tried to win you over.

JOHNSON: Yeah. But Michelle wasn't trying to win me over with a kind of a false chumminess. She is somebody who speaks her mind, and stands on her own. And whether I liked her or not, I don't think was particularly important to her, no.

O'REILLY: OK, interesting.

[...]

O'REILLY: Now, did you find out about the angry woman thing, Rebecca? I'm sorry, Michelle? Did you -- is there any validity to that? Or is that an urban myth?

ODDIS: I wouldn't say it's an urban myth. I think we all can tell just by appearances and speeches and the way that Michelle has personified herself that she's not warm and fuzzy. We know that about her.

O'REILLY: All right. But neither is Hillary Clinton. You know.

ODDIS: Absolutely. And I think that she -- we could compare her to -- in the way I've tracked her career and her resume, I would say she is a stealth Hillary Clinton.

O'REILLY: OK, so you would compare her more to Hillary Clinton than somebody who's angry with her country, because obviously, that played into the remark about -- and people can make up their own minds about that remark.

ODDIS: Absolutely.

O'REILLY: Again, she said it. She apologized for saying it. You can make up your mind. So, all in all, your summation, your personality profile of her is what?

ODDIS: I think she's an accomplished woman. I think that it goes without saying that she's -- she's done a good job in her career. But I think that it's OK for the media to question some of her ethical choices in her career, as well as Barack Obama's.