Although he praised the late "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert in the past, O'Reilly criticized Russert for what he saw as a misinterpretation of what were seen as potentially racially insensitive comments by former President Bill Clinton. In his comments, Russert challenged Senator Hillary Clinton about her husband's remarks regarding Senator Barack Obama, when Mr. Clinton referred to Obama's position on Iraq as a "fairy tale." O'Reilly said that Russert "should have known better" and realized the former President's comments were regarding Obama's Iraq policy and not his entire candidacy.