Barack Obama has had a tenuous relationship with the Fox News Channel, whether it was one of his aides getting into a shoving match with Bill O'Reilly, or Obama following John Edwards' lead in refusing to take part in a FNC sponsored Democratic debate earlier this year. But the always excellent Ari Melber reports that's all about to change:

Yes, Sen. Barack Obama is headed for Fox News, in a bid for Republican votes, by appearing for the first time ever on Bill O'Reilly's prime-time show. While McCain aims his acceptance speech at voters beyond his base, Obama will be talking to the bright red Republicans who watch O'Reilly's highly rated show.

What a smart and savvy move by the Obama campaign. Millions of Republicans and conservative voters will be tuning into Fox News tomorrow night and will likely be seeing Obama on camera in an extended capacity for the first time since is own acceptance speech last week.

Via Think Progress, "Fox News Sunday," moderator Chris Wallace was on "Fox and Friends" this morning and objected to what he called "two hours of Obama bashing," after the morning hosts repeatedly played video of Obama's now infamous "typical white person" interview without playing the quote in full context. Wallace:

Hey listen, I love you guys but I want to take you to task if I may, respectfully, for a moment. I have been watching the show since 6:00 this morning when I got up, and it seems to me that two hours of Obama bashing on this typical white person remark is somewhat excessive and frankly I think you’re somewhat distorting what Obama had to say.

You can watch the full video on Think Progress' website.

MoveOn.org, who has endorsed Obama, is also circulating a petition for what they consider unfair attacks against Obama:

FOX is a Republican mouthpiece, not a legitimate news organization. Real news organizations must reject FOX's smears of Barack Obama, not parrot them and distract Americans from the pressing issues of the day." The more signatures we deliver, the bigger the impact—so please tell your friends.

Blind dates are always bad ideas, but that didn't stop Fox News from trying to play matchmaker.

During yesterday’s broadcast of Fox News Sunday, guests John McCain and Hillary Clinton were briefly, and awkwardly, on screen simultaneously. The event didn’t seem staged by the two campaigns, so much as by Fox News. After all, why would either candidate want to be ushered into a forced moment of bipartisan banter 48 hours before heading into a contentious primary-election battle?

Howard Kurtz did some follow-up with the Fox News producers, and finds:

Advisers to Hillary Clinton and John McCain felt misled yesterday when "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace prodded the candidates into talking to each other after they had agreed to be interviewed separately.

Kurtz also notes the McCain campaign was “particularly unhappy” about the unscheduled appearance.

Powerline’s Ed Morrissey says Fox owes both candidates an apololgy:

Part of the conservative complaint against McCain is his deference to Democrats while treating conservatives much more harshly. That got put on full display yesterday, as the two exchanged not just pleasantries but assurances that a general-election contest between the two would be "respectful". Republicans may want someone less inclined to put the gloves on against Hillary than taking them off against fellow Republicans. Both candidates got taken by surprise, but Hillary hasn't got Democrats wondering if the Clintons can fight hard enough against Republicans. Fox and Wallace owe both candidates an apology.

Fox News Channel just called Iowa for Mike Huckabee.

John McCain is on Fox News right now answering questions about Iowa and New Hampshire. The most current returns show Huckabee looking forward to a “decisive” victory over Mitt Romney, according to Fox’s Brit Hume.

Carl Cameron notes that Romney just referred to Iowa as “the first inning of a 50 inning game.” As Cameron points out, it wasn’t too long ago that Romney said one needed to win Iowa to win the nomination.

For his part, McCain did look a bit subdued with the numbers showing him trailing Thompson for third place. However, as the interview was wrapping up, the latest election ticker numbers show McCain catching up to Thompson, 12 percent to 14 percent, respectively.