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Welcome to Bill O'Reilly's Spin Zone

While Bill O'Reilly says his interview with President Barack Obama before the Super Bowl will be among the most watched interviews in television history, will it also prove to be among the most irrelevant in recent years?

Friday morning, O'Reilly described the interview , "More people will see this interview than any other interview that's ever been done in the history of mankind." Given the huge audience that the Super Bowl draws, there would seem to be a reasonable enough chance for O'Reilly to be proven correct. Most believe a Barbara Walters interview with Monica Lewinsky in 1999 is the most watched interview of all time, with an estimated 70 million viewers tuning in.

Whether it sets records or not, the O'Reilly/Obama discussion is sure to draw a huge pregame audience. But will anything really important be discussed during the 12-minute interview, or is it mostly a PR opportunity for both the Fox commentator and the President?

While O'Reilly created a sort of self-fulfilling buzz about his conversation with Obama, he also wroteon Friday that seemed designed to temper expectations over what will be discussed. O'Reilly, who has made his name on Fox News by establishing a so-called "no spin zone," seemed to almost apologize in advance if his questions to the president are not hard hitting enough.

O'Reilly said that the interview is "fraught with danger" for him (not the president). He said he expects to get "hammered" after the interview from all ends of the political spectrum. The main point of O'Reilly's article seems to be that while he will ask hard questions of President Obama, he will not be able to "call out" the president on spinning as he must respect the man as president.

So as the nation settles in front of the national campfire that is the Super Bowl, and as a sizable percentage of the Super Bowl audience will surely settle in beforehand to watch the O'Reilly and Obama interview, what is it that they will actually be watching? Will it be an insightful give and take or will it be a chance for both Obama and O'Reilly to elevate themselves? O'Reilly gets the opportunity to the most powerful man in the world immediately before the biggest television event in the United States. The president gets the opportunity to appeal to O'Reilly's audience ... one that contains critical swing votes that Obama will need in 2012? The cynic, or perhaps even the realist, probably has his or her mind made up on those questions.

O'Reilly has already signaled to not expect much out of this interview. He has already, in advance, said he cannot interview Obama the way he would most anybody else. And if O'Reilly cannot apply his signature style and follow-up approach, if he cannot "call out" spin as he sees it, what is the point of all of this, really?

Perhaps O'Reilly is purposely setting expectations lower. He's an experienced journalist who should know how, at this point of his career, to remain respectful of the president while still asking hard hitting and insightful questions. If he cannot ask tough follow-up questions to answers that he considers "spin," then there is little point to having O'Reilly conduct the interview; Fox could just as easily hire a game show host or Larry King to handle the interview.

Ron Hart is a political observer living in New York City. Having volunteered on several political campaigns, for both , he brings a moderate's perspective. He is following the 2012 presidential campaign in its nascent stages.