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Just one day after Fox News announced that former Governor Sarah Palin would be joining the network as a political commentator, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate joined 'The Bill O'Reilly Factor' as a guest Tuesday night.

Making her debut as an analyst, Palin said "I'm grinning today, and I'm so appreciative of the opportunity," adding that she plans to "provide the fair and the balanced reporting that the voters of America deserve."

During the interview, Palin said sinking approval numbers for President Barack Obama reflect "an uncomfortableness" some Americans feel toward his administration. She also spoke on a wide range of topics, from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to racisim in politics to the possibility of war with Iran.

After her stint with O'Reilly, the pundit asked Palin how her first interview with Fox News went. She replied, "I couldn't ask for anything better -- I was with the big man on campus."

In a statement published in the New York Times following his sudden Nov. 11 announcement that he'd leave CNN immediately, Lou Dobbs blamed the country's changing political direction for forcing his hand. "Over the past six months," he said, "it's become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us, and some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day."

Yet the events that led to Dobbs' abrupt departure were months, even years, in the making.

Controversial talk show host Bill O'Reilly is involved in another spat. But does he have a point this time?

The latest feud involving the star of Fox's long-running opinion series 'The O'Reilly Factor' stems from last week's episode of 'Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit,' which revolved around a killer stalking the children of illegal immigrants. During the course of the episode, the suspect's defense lawyer, played by veteran television actor John Larroquette, argued that his client was incited to violence by the words of conservative pundits such as O'Reilly.

As part of his never-ending quest to make himself the news, the "Culture Warrior" has lobbed another fireball on the world of popular culture. This time it's Law & Order SVU creator Dick Wolf, because the show mentioned him.

This week's episode, titled "Anchor," featured a character who kills children birthed by illegal immigrants in America. His attorney, played by John Laroquette, fashions a defense that the TV and radio talking heads who rail against illegal immigrants are responsible for his actions. He even puts one on the stand, played by Bruce McGill, who seems to be channeling a Warner Bros. cartoon version of Lou Dobbs.

The attorney mentions O'Reilly by name, along with Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, as a "cancer spreading ignorance and hate." O'Reilly not only ripped Wolf a new one for working him into his show, but also brought in fellow pundit Laura Ingraham who frankly seemed more upset that she wasn't one of the name smeared in the episode like a jilted prom queen who only scores "Miss Congeniality". Well, darling, there's always Criminal Minds.

Bill O'Reilly usually pre-tapes his show, 'The O'Reilly Factor,' and therefore must often take advantage of the ability to fix his on-air errors.

However, during one of his few live broadcasts last week, O'Reilly made the unfortunate mistake referring to President Obama as "Osama," before quickly catching himself.

As we all know, there are no "do-overs" on live TV. Wanda Sykes said it was an honest mistake and shares a similar mistake she's made in the past on 'The Wanda Sykes Show.'

Watch this video from Daily Drama after the jump!

There are a few definitive signs that you have become an icon in television news: getting a blog dedicated solely to your ties, winning an "Auto-Tune the News" award, and bringing the world the hilarious tale of an exploding whale.

Last week, Fox News' "No Spin" pundit Bill O'Reilly was cemented into fame when Sesame Street unveiled their "Spill O'Reilly," the newest talking head on the "Grouch News Network" that includes such greats as Walter Cranky, Dan Rather-not and Sally Messy Yuckayel.

This got me thinking...

Remember the brouhaha with Sesame Street over their alleged swipe at Fox News? Sesame Street has officially extended an olive branch.

Sherrie Westin, executive vice president of the Sesame Workshop, appeared on The O'Reilly Factor to explain the "Pox News" joke and unveil a new character that pays homage to "Papa Bear" as part of the show's long-standing Grouch journalism homages. Just so there's no confusion, the new Sesame Street character is the guy in the suit on the left, not the right, I think.

Lou Dobbs is getting his political ducks in a row following his abrupt departure from CNN.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Dobbs has confirmed rumors that he is considering a run for the U.S. Senate -- and possibly even the White House.

It is no secret that Dobbs' outspoken views made for squabbles with new CNN bigwigs, and likely hastened Dobbs' departure from the 24-hour news hub. His frequent criticism of U.S. immigration policies led many civil rights groups to declare him racist and uncaring. And though Dobbs says that he does not doubt Obama's citizenship, he is famous for demanding to see the President's actual birth certificate, adding fuel to the fire of those who feel that the document might have been falsified in a cover up.

Dobbs' opinionated reporting style was no longer a good fit with a new, more neutral CNN. So, while keeping his radio show, Dobbs left television for the time being, preferring to "be more engaged," he said, expressing himself "fully and straightforwardly in the public arena no matter what I decide to do next."

It looks as though Lou Dobbs has picked up another spot on another cable news network. This time, he's not the interviewer. He's the interviewee.

Dobbs will appear as a guest on Monday's episode of The O'Reilly Factor where host Bill O'Reilly will grill the former CNN talking head on his sudden departure from his previous employer, his future career options and his never-ending quest to battle the invading armies of the Mexican empire aka illegal-immigrants.

Of course, the timing could not be worse. His appearance should only "fuel speculation" that Dobbs has scored a job at the Fox News Channel. The network's PR team continued to deny such speculation, something they'll continue to do until he scores a job at the Fox News Channel.

Sit a kid in front of a TV for an hour a day and a parent is bound to find something that offends them, other than the fact that plopping impressionable minds in front of a TV unsupervised is considered "good parenting."

Sesame Street is no stranger to controversy. Critics, cynics and crybabies have called out the show on everything from questionable behavior to the ambiguous situations...of puppets. Of course, all of these complaints and cackling criticisms just scratch the surface of a much bigger issue that has largely gone unaddressed: the total loss of our sanity and grasp on reality.

So as we look back at the last 40 years of television's greatest children's show, we see some speed bumps along the way. These are the ones that caused the greatest loss of tire pressure.

It's always fun when Bill O'Reilly visits The View. Bob posted about it yesterday, too, talking about how weird Whoopi was acting.

My first thought whenever O'Reilly visits The View is Joy Behar. She always looks like she'd rather be anywhere else but sitting next to him. But I suppose she puts up with it -- and has no choice in the matter -- because O'Reilly and Barbara Walters have been friends for a long time, and Barbara, of course, has the final say on who gets on the show and who doesn't.

This is all speculation, of course. I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. Just reading the body language, which I've learned a little about while watching Tonya Reiman on O'Reilly's Fox show, The O'Reilly Factor.

Proving once and for all that vampires do indeed suck, Bill O'Reilly manages on 'The View's' Halloween-themed episode to plug his new book "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity" and take a swipe at Whoopi Goldberg and her predecessor Rosie O'Donnell in one fell swoop.

Not to be outdone, a clearly vexed Whoopi fires back with, "I've been Whoopi Goldberg for almost 25 years. You are the least of my problems." Better break out your cloves of garlic, Whoopi.

Watch the video after the jump.

American Idol's choice of Ellen DeGeneres as a judge replacement threw everyone for a loop, even schlubs like me who don't watch the show.

It's not that she's not talented, successful or funny. It's just an odd choice, putting a comedian on the show that takes its goal of crushing losers' dreams on live television so seriously. It would evoke the same reaction from me if they picked Andrew "Dice" Clay as the new judge, if the Diceman was talented, successful or funny.

And besides, why do they need humor and comedy on such an otherwise serious show? There are lots of humorless, vapid and downright boring shows that are crying out for comedic interjection.

It seems the never-ending feud between Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly has become a kangaroo boxing match. The worst thing you can do is get in the middle of it.

That's exactly what the parent owners of Fox News and MSNBC tried to do when they arranged a "cease-fire" between them and their top-tier shows' "lieutenants."

The cease-fire, however, didn't last long. It's another case of the ol' Rufus T. Firefly conundrum for peace. Either side might be willing to do whatever it takes to end this war, but they've already paid two months' rent on the battlefield.

Rupert Murdoch thinks so. In fact, he's betting that folks will pay to watch all of his television properties on their respective websites.

A friend of mine once suggested something like this. Basically, news would be free, but premium content online would come at a cost. Sort of like how stock quotes are delayed 20 minutes unless you pay a premium to see the prices instantly. And those with extreme political opinions, like sports fans, would pay any price to see their favorite commentators/players do their thing.