David Carr's MEL-topping article on Al Franken's Democratic fundraiser in his home state says, "Comedian for Senator? Don't Laugh" but really, why would you? It's not like Franken is Jim Carrey trying to be taken seriously in "The Majestic"; he's been writing political humor for years on SNL, totally got to Bill O'Reilly with "Lies and the Lying Liars" (which did some solid debunking before getting a leetle strident in the second half), and threw himself into Air America, helping to build the fledgling network's credibility and in the process solidifying his own. No, in a country where Bozo's sidekick can be president (not to mention a state where a pro wrestler presides as Governor!), Franken seems to be doing everything right so far.

Which, of course, drives O'Reilly crazy. Just the thought of Franken ascending on high elicited an apoplectic tirade on his show last night, in which he said Franken was mental and floated a conspiracy theory involving Bill Keller's nefarious plot to run puppet candidates from the pages of the Times:

What do the New York Times and the Mafia have in common? ...The answer to that question is that both the New York Times and organized crime routinely engage assassins. In the case of the newspaper they are propping up character assassins...The editor of the Times, a man named Bill Keller, realizes his paper has lost power over the last few years. The rise of FOX News and other pro-American news agencies as well as the success of radio talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have made it far more difficult for the Times to put its left-wing agenda unchallenged.

So Keller has decided to help character assassins outside the paper attack those with whom it disagrees...The New York Times is outsourcing slander and libel and should be ashamed of itself.

We don't know about that, but we did notice the big promotional push it gave to Oribe today. Now that would be a Senator.

Full transcript of O'Reilly's rant after the jump (courtesy of Newshounds) and a video is here (courtesy of Crooks and Liars). Also, an account of Franken's speech this weekend accepting an award for free speech and then, uh, freely speaking, courtesy of Sean Hannity. Yes, we are nothing if not fair and balanced here at Fishbowl.

BILL O'REILLY, ON THE FRANKEN SENATE TICKET:

What do the New York Times and the Mafia have in common? ...The answer to that question is that both the New York Times and organized crime routinely engage assassins. In the case of the newspaper they are propping up character assassins. Today, in an unbelievable article, the New York Times actually reports that the vile smear merchant Al Franken is a legitimate contender for a U. S. Senate seat. Unless defamation counts, Franken has absolutely no qualifications to serve in any public office. He is simply a man who makes money hurting people. He is also a person who may be having emotional problems.

At a radio conference last Friday, Franken apparently melted down during a bizarre performance where he cried and embarrassed the organizers of the event, but you didn't see that reported in the New York Times or any other left-wing newspaper.

Now. The big picture. The editor of the Times, a man named Bill Keller, realizes his paper has lost power over the last few years. The rise of FOX News and other pro-American news agencies as well as the success of radio talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have made it far more difficult for the Times to put its left-wing agenda unchallenged.

So Keller has decided to help character assassins outside the paper attack those with whom it disagrees. Keller is also allowing the Times to promote Air America, the left-wing radio network. So far that paper has done an astounding 24 stories on Air America which loses millions of dollars and actually has to pay some of its own stations to put it on the air. The only reason the network even exists is because a few loony millionaires finance it. The national ratings are terrible.

In Washington D.C., for example, Air America's audience is too small to be counted. In L.A. pretty much the same thing. But the New York Times continues to promote that disaster while ignoring the success of Limbaugh, Hannity and others. Ladies and gentlemen, you need to know what's goin' on here.

Last night we told you we would not report any of the charges in the new Hillary Clinton book, because we didn't report on Kitty Kelley's smear book on the Bush family. I also told you I'm gonna pinpoint exactly who's behind the personal attacks and character assassinations that are rampant in this country.

The New York Times is outsourcing slander and libel and should be ashamed of itself. That article today is a piece of rank propaganda. Bill Keller and the Times pooh-bahs may think they can get away with this sleazy stuff but they can't, because now you know. And that's the Memo.