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| All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.
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"On the Radio Factor today, some folks said Scott McClellan sold the president out for money; others believe he is sincere in his dissent. But that dissent was a long time coming - just last April McClellan was vigorously defending the Iraq war. Ari Fleischer, who was McClellan's boss, believes the publisher directed the book to be more negative and McClellan went along. The left-wing media is swooning over McClellan's contention that the Iraq war was not well thought out. But former President Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, both of whom saw the same intelligence as President Bush, agreed that Saddam was a huge danger to America, as did the CIA. Insinuating some sinister action by the president doesn't hold up, even though the far left kooks loves that. Finally, on the positive side, McClellan does say that President Bush was driven by an 'idealistic and ambitious vision.' Isn't that a noble motivation? But you're not going to see that in the American media."
News Link: McClellan out with 'tell all' book
The Factor was joined by former Bush adviser Karl Rove, who was - not surprisingly - critical of Scott McClellan's book. "The thing that troubles me," Rove said, "is that he makes these wide-sweeping assertions and then provides no evidence. Everybody in the West and every intelligence agency in the world thought Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, so the suggestion that the intelligence was 'dummied up' is simply incorrect. I'm not going to comment on what Scott McClellan's ultimate motive might have been, but if you go to the preface of his book, he writes how his editor helped him 're-examine' all these things. These are sweeping statements that are common on the left of American politics, and Scott regurgitates them without any supporting evidence." The Factor agreed that McClellan failed to back up his most damning assertions. "I think it's safe to say that going to war was a mistake, but it was a justifiable mistake because of how Saddam Hussein handled the situation." |
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| Returning for a second segment, Karl Rove addressed Scott McClellan's claim that Rove deceived him about the Valerie Plame case. "What I told Scott," Rove recalled, "was that I didn't reveal her name, didn't know what she did at the CIA, and that I wasn't the source for the leak. And we now know that Richard Armitage was the source." Finally, Rove dealt with McClellan's criticism of President Bush's flyover immediately after Hurricane Katrina. "There were three options. One was to have the president land in New Orleans and discombobulate everything. We could have flew the plane north of New Orleans to Washington, or we could have flown over. If we had the president fly from Texas to Washington and pass north of New Orleans, then you've got the president turning a blind eye. So either way it's a bad call." The Factor encouraged everyone to make their own judgments. "It's fascinating history, and whether one agrees with you or not, your perspective should be heard. Now people have a good balance." |
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FNC legal analyst Megyn Kelly began with the Indiana Kindergarten teacher who berated a 5-year old student, calling him "ignorant, selfish, self absorbed." "I'm sure he was disruptive," Kelly said, "but there's no excuse for doing that to a child who doesn't even know what those words mean. The teacher should be disciplined, but I don't think this belongs in a court." Kelly turned to the Texas ruling that hundreds of young girls must be returned to the polygamist compound. "The state had argued that we haven't yet determined who is the father of whom, so they could be returning little girls right back to the same men who molested them." Finally, Kelly predicted singer R. Kelly will be convicted for videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl. "He has a long history of sleeping with 14- and 15-year olds. Normally prior bad acts aren't allowed, but I think the prosecution should try to get this in as part of a pattern."
News Link: Surprise witness stalls R. Kelly sex trial |
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| The Factor was joined by FNC's Bernie Goldberg and Jane Hall, who analyzed media coverage of Scott McClellan's new anti-Bush book. "I think McClellan made the right move going on the Today show," Goldberg asserted. "But I think MSNBC is not a good idea, because when you go on a network that is clearly anti-Bush, when you go on with a host who detests the president, it calls into question whether you, Scott McClellan, are also a Bush hater." Hall critiqued McClellan's appearance on NBC's Today program. "Meredith Vieira eventually asked his personal motivation, but she should have asked him more about his evidence of deception. It would have been better television if Karl Rove, rather than Dan Bartlett, had been on to respond." The Factor took the opportunity to lay into NBC with both barrels: "There has been a tremendous change at NBC, where the bosses have gone far left. I wouldn't work for any organization like NBC, which is in the tank and dishonest!" |
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Network anchors Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Charles Gibson now imply that they were pressured to avoid negative reporting during the run-up to the Iraq war. The Factor offered this reality check: "I'd like to know exactly who pressured Ms. Couric - she should have blown the whistle on the strong-arm agent. And who caused Mr. Gibson trouble? Nobody is named by Williams. NBC News consistently reported negative stories from Iraq and still does, yet their access has never been denied. So forgive me for being skeptical." Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer also received this Factor reality check: "Oppenheimer mentioned that I bash illegal immigrants. He knows this because he reads 'Media Matters,' which he described as a 'watchdog group.' For the record, we have never bashed illegal immigrants here, only illegal immigrants who commit crimes. And Media Matters is a far-left smear machine, just the kind of group Oppenheimer loves."
News Link: Media on defensive over McClellan claims |
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Thursday's Patriots and/or Pinheads: Singer Mariah Carey, who muffed her attempt to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game in Japan, and celebrity chef Rachael Ray, who shot a commercial for Dunkin' Donuts wearing a scarf that looked like one sometimes associated with Muslim radicalism. Viewers can decide whether the women are Patriots, Pinheads or neither. Nominate a Pinhead or a Patriot by sending an email to pnp@billoreilly.com.
News Link: Mariah Carey 'throws' out first pitch
News Link: Dunkin' Donuts drops Rachel Ray |
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A sampling of your recent e-mails:
Frederick Moore, Novi, MI: "Bill, please make every effort to have Scott McClellan on the Factor."
J. Melichar, Las Vegas, NV: "Bill, stop bashing McClellan! He has revealed lies about the Bush administration."
Mike McGowan, Bronx, NY: "First Governor Richardson betrays Hillary Clinton, now McClellan does the same thing to Bush. I don't know how either one can sleep at night." |
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