It's safe to say Comcast isn't a particularly beloved company. In 2004 and 2007, it had the worst customer satisfaction rating of any company or government agency. There are entire Web communities devoted to trashing it. There was even an instance in 2007 when an angry female customer entered Comcast offices and began destroying office equipment with a hammer before being arrested. Little wonder that in February, the company began a rebranding effort under the name "Xfinity."

But last night, we found out that the country's largest cable provider has an unlikely ally in Bill O'Reilly. On his show he called Comcast an "honest corporation" and suggested that it may improve the journalistic integrity of NBC, which it merged with last year. It was a pretty strange endorsement from the Fox News firebrand. The comment came in the midst of a rant about the rampant dishonesty of NBC News. Here's the transcript:

You, the everyday American, are now being lied to on a regular basis by people working for huge corporations and nothing is being done about it.  A voter-driven republic, a voter-driven republic cannot survive if lies supersede the truth...  Now, we expect that from NBC.  But "TIME" magazine?  Come on... The good news is NBC News will soon be taken over by Comcast, an honest corporation and perhaps changes will be made. The American people deserve an honest government and an honest media.  Do we not?

Does O'Reilly know something we don't know? Perhaps he's a uniquely satisfied cable customer. Perhaps he's got Comcast shares. Thoughts?

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John Hudson