Although he could not goad Obama into more provocative or specific answers, and at one point said the Democrat "bloviated" in one attack on McCain, he joked that he would join Obama in trying to recover American tax dollars spent in Iraq.
The tough-talking host also offered some praise at the conclusion of the interview.
When one of his guests said Obama was not a "terror warrior," O'Reilly didn't disagree. But he added: "I looked at him eye to eye. And he is not a wimp. He is not a wimpy guy."
After months of putting O'Reilly off, Obama's staff called Fox this week to say it would offer the host an interview at a power plant the candidate was touring in York, Pa.
Despite the relatively cordial tone Thursday, O'Reilly has not always been courteous as he pushed relentlessly for Obama to fulfill a January promise to appear on his program.
He accused Obama of not wanting to answer tough questions and told his viewers, "We don't know Obama."
At a rally just before the New Hampshire primary in January, O'Reilly accused an Obama aide of blocking his film crew. He tried to shove the aide out of the way and yelled angrily.
O'Reilly later attacked Obama's ties to his controversial onetime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. He wondered how the Democrat could expose his two young daughters to the minister's harangues.
Obama aide Burton said it was never a question of whether the interview would be conducted but when. Thursday's taping allowed an airing less than two hours before McCain took the stage in St. Paul, Minn.
Early in the presidential race, O'Reilly showed less interest in Obama.
Although he spent considerable time analyzing the race, the host was well wide of the mark in October: Asked on ABC's "Good Morning America" if Obama had "another round in him" in the election, O'Reilly assured Diane Sawyer: "Of course not! . . . This is ridiculous."
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james.rainey@latimes.com
