"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart and Fox News's Bill O'Reilly clashed this week in a much-anticipated two-part debate on Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor." (See video highlights below.) While many Stewart fans were hoping for a repeat of his 2004 destruction of Tucker Carlson — which preceded Carlson's CNN ousting — Stewart's "vigorous" yet "civil" face-off with O'Reilly seems unlikely to destroy anyone's career. Still, critics are debating: Who won?
O'Reilly wins by decision: "Even though Stewart landed some powerful punches," says Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times, "I'd have to give the edge to O'Reilly." You can't say "O'Reilly won on the intellectual force of his arguments," but he used his "home court advantage" to put Stewart on the defensive about Obama. "Stewart got in his swings, but he certainly wasn't hitting the ball out of the park like he does on 'The Daily Show.'"
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