O'Reilly grabbed Nicholson's arm and shoved him, another eyewitness said. Nicholson, who is 6'8, said O'Reilly called him "low class."
"He grabbed me with both his hands here," Nicholson said, gesturing to his left arm and O'Reilly "started shoving me." Nicholson said, " He was pretty upset. He was yelling at me."
Secret Service agents who were nearby flanked O 'Reilly after he pushed Nicholson. They told O'Reilly he needed to calm down and get behind the fence-like barricade that contained the press.
Obama had his back turned at this point and did not see any of this.
O'Reilly yelled "sir" at Obama and Obama walked over, not aware of what happened and told him he had an overflow crowd to visit. According to the time code from a photographer shooting the two, Obama and O'Reilly talked near 11:45 a.m. eastern time.
He just came right around the barricade. They shook hands and Mr. O’Reilly said he thought Sen. Obama was great and that he loved him and loved to have him on the show and said he would think about coming on after the primaries.
Here's a video that captures part of the incident:
This behavior on the party of O'Reilly is, in my opinion, not unlike that of a zealout who could present a security danger to a Presidential Candidate. Suppose by approaching Barack the way he did, Bill O'Relly distracted agents just enough to allow an assailant to get in? That would be more than disasterous, yet the threat is there.
For his part, Bill O'Reilly seems to revel in this and seems emboldened. Senator Obama was nice and gracious to him as is natural for a candidate of his character. But it does not discount the danger and disrespect O'Reilly's behavior brings to the Presidential Race.
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