"We expect the bailout to become law as the Senate is voting tonight and the House will vote in a few days. Millions of Americans do not like the bill and their opinions should be respected. However, the feds will likely intervene to save the financial system, and then we'll see what we can do to hold greedy business people and corrupt politicians responsible. The Factor will devote a lot of time to doing that, rest assured. Now, the vice presidential debate. It's a huge night for Sarah Palin Thursday - she must perform well to re-ignite the McCain campaign. The moderator of the debate, PBS anchor Gwen Ifill, has written what some say is a pro-Obama book. I wanted to talk with Ms. Ifill about it, but she refused to take my call. This is not good, ladies and gentlemen. It looks like Ms. Ifill could have a rooting interest; thus she should step aside as moderator. Journalistic ethics demand it. Whatever happens, Sarah Palin will continue to get hammered in the media. But here you'll get incisive and fair analysis of the debate."

The Factor asked Dick Morris about John McCain's decline in most polls. "McCain had two strikes in handling this bailout package," Morris said. "He started as a populist and talked about greedy Wall Street types, but all of a sudden he supported the bailout. Then he decided he would be the 'behind-the-scenes magician' who saved America when he suspended his campaign. He should have opposed the Democratic bill, but he wimped out and just went along. But McCain can still make this a win by saying this gives new saliency to Obama's tax increases." Morris also explained why Gwen Ifill's pro-Obama book should disqualify her from moderating Thursday's vice presidential debate. "Here are the economics of a best-selling book. She's going to make $350,000 if Obama is elected president, and she might make $700,000 or a million. It's outrageous that she's allowed to emcee this debate."

News Link: VP debate moderator under fire

Monday's O'Reilly Factor attracted more viewers than the CBS Evening News, a milestone that came as no great surprise to former CBS correspondent Bernie Goldberg. "CBS News has been crumbling for quite a while," Goldberg pronounced. "If they were selling shoes instead of news, they'd be out of business by now, and the suits on executive row at CBS News should be passing out cyanide." Goldberg also watched a portion of Katie Couric's interview with Sarah Palin in which Palin couldn't name a Supreme Court decision other than Roe vs. Wade. "I hate to say this because I like Sarah Palin, but the more I see stuff like this, the more I'm thinking that she's making Dan Quayle look like Socrates. I'm not saying she's not smart, but as it comes through on the TV screen it's not looking good." The Factor concluded that Thursday's debate could be a game-changer. "Tomorrow she has the chance to erase all that. If she defeats Joe Biden, these interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric will be forgotten."

News Link: Video: Katie Couric press Palin

The Factor's examination of Barack Obama's political philosophy continued with the senator's foreign policy views. George Friedman of the private intelligence agency Stratfor laid out what he views as Obama's strengths and weaknesses. "His weakest point is his obsession with the Europeans," Friedman began. "He thinks the biggest mistake George Bush made was alienating Europeans in Iraq, but the problem is that Europe is deeply fragmented and their military capability has declined dramatically." Friedman turned to Obama's strong point: "He recognizes that the key to Afghanistan is going to be in Pakistan, and that's an important point. As long as Pakistan is a sanctuary for Taliban forces, we're not going to have a settlement in Afghanistan. But if he pushes too hard he'll trigger a civil war in Pakistan that will further destabilize the situation."

The Factor was joined by pollster Frank Luntz, who conducted an intriguing experiment with a group of undecided voters. Luntz wired them up and had them watch a segment of ABC's "The View" in which the hosts treat Barack Obama with adoration. "At a time when we have the economy and Iraq," Luntz reported, "they were fawning over this guy and it made our voters angry to the point where two people almost broke their dials." Luntz then revealed that his voters also reacted negatively when they watched "The View" hosts treat John McCain with unmasked hostility. "People have the right to expect a balanced approach - if you're going to have fun with one, have fun with the other. 'The View' wants to play politics, but they play it on one side. I feel sorry for any conservative who goes on that show because the audience is against you and the hosts are against you." The Factor pointed out that he'll be a guest on "The View" soon, and asked Luntz to "wire up" some viewers to gauge their reactions.

News Link: Video: 'The View' grills McCain

The Factor asked Dennis Miller how he would advise Sarah Palin to deal with Joe Biden. "At the beginning," Miller joked, "she can lean across the table, pepper spray Joe Biden and say he pinched her under the table. And she should have a galley copy of Gwen Ifill's Obama book and ask Ifill to autograph it." Miller also offered some serious advice for Palin and John McCain. "From here on, this campaign has to drop any iota of artifice. She should just start speaking from the heart, stop worrying about gaffes, and if she makes a mistake, so be it. She doesn't have to know the answer to every question, but she has to look like she's aware that she's in a 'gotcha' situation." The Factor argued that Sarah Palin "has to demonstrate that she has a grasp of complicated issues and have some solutions for them."

A widely-viewed Internet video shows young children singing songs hailing Barack Obama. Internet ace Amanda Carpenter explained the genesis of the video: "This was arranged by a music teacher in Venice, California. It was promoted on Barack Obama's web site but was taken down this morning, so I think they've gotten quite a bit of negative attention. It's spun as a grass-roots event, but they had 22 people on the camera crew and this was a professional job." Carpenter also reported that bloggers on both sides of the Internet want Congress to reject the bailout bill. "The left sees it as corporate welfare and they oppose it. The right doesn't want it either, so the hard right and the hard left both dislike it for different reasons."

News Link: Video: Kids sing for Obama

Wednesday's Patriot: "Piano Man" Billy Joel, who is helping to pay for a funeral for a clam digger who drowned near Joel's Long Island home. And the Pinhead: General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, whose apparent mismanagement is evidenced in the company's ever-declining stock price. Nominate a Pinhead or a Patriot by sending an email to pnp@billoreilly.com.

News Link: Buffett saves Immelt (for now)

Rick Norton, Fergus Falls, MN: "Come on, Bill. You're buying into the bailout? Let the fat cats eat litter on this one."

Robert Gulley, Milan, IL: "Mr. O'Reilly, since the collapse happened on the President's watch, shouldn't he be stepping down along with Barney Frank?"

Steve Glover, Hallsville, TX: "Bill, when you're right you're right. Both Frank and Christopher Cox should resign. And it shouldn't take a bold fresh piece of humanity to say it."

Don Severa, Templeton, CA: "I am a depositor at the Washington Mutual Bank. I cannot accept a $15 million payout for CEO Alan Fishman. If Chase does that, I will not do business with them. Thanks for calling Fishman out, Bill."