Strollerderby

Does it matter that O'Reilly mistakenly called the polar bear a panda?

Yes it matters because it shows who he is.  He can't admit anyone else is right when he is obviously wrong. He sees what he wants and refuses to listen to reason.

Ryan, there is a fabulous clip that illuminates that so much moreso. He was discussing McCain's comment during the campaign about firing the head of the SEC. The female correspondent he was talking with said that as president he wouldn't have the authority to do so but Papa Bear was angrily insistent that she was wrong. He refused to budge and you could see the woman really getting angry. I wish I could find it again but I don't recall the name of the correspondent. Regardless, he proves that little character flaw of his regularly.

Oh, it matters.  In fact, it's a perfect metaphor for how he views the world, and his viewers should take heed least they someday find themselves identifying a horse as a gopher 'cause Bill-O says so.

THIS IS A GRIZZLY.

I'm perfectly sure Bill's brain simply swapped 'polar bear' with 'panda bear', he didn't notice, and would defend his statement until he could scream no more. I'm awfully wondering what he would do if Jon would prod him a bit more before explaining that panda bears are black and white, while polar bears are all white. Would he admit he was wrong? Probably, after all, we, the stoned slackers who watch this show, wouldn't remember it the next day.

Claire,

He didn't 'mistakenly' call it a panda. he was convinced even in the end that it was really a panda bear. What does that tell you about somebody's knowledge and his other views?