|
|
| 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.
|
|
|
"As you may know, we here at The Factor like to advance stories, not give you the same thing over and over again. As we predicted weeks ago, Hillary Clinton will be running against Donald Trump for the presidency unless she is indicted over the email scandal. So let's take a look at who has the advantage right now. An analysis of the electoral votes by the Washington Post says that if Mrs. Clinton wins all the states Democrats traditionally win, she only needs to win Florida to become president. But that's a bit simplistic because Donald Trump should be more competitive in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania than Mitt Romney was. However, there is no question Mrs. Clinton is the favorite to win at this moment. Right now you can throw the primary votes right out the window. About 20% of voting age Americans participated, leaving the vast number of Americans still to be heard from. Mr. Trump's support is fervent and that will help him. Secretary Clinton's support is more tepid, but her advantage in the minority precincts and among women is substantial. And Mrs. Clinton is putting forth that she's not going to take any guff from Donald Trump. For his part Mr. Trump told me last night he is more than happy to take the low road if Hillary Clinton attacks him. That sets up a very unpredictable race, and a debate between Clinton and Trump will be the most watched political event in history. Summing up, anything could happen but Hillary Clinton has to be considered the favorite today."
The Factor asked political analysts David Rothschild and Richard Sammon to handicap the upcoming race. "Right now we see about a 70% chance that Hillary Clinton will defeat Donald Trump," Rothschild said. "We're looking very closely at the prediction markets. There are hypothetical matchup polls that show Hillary Clinton dominating Donald Trump, but these are very early and voter turnout will be very tricky." Sammon agreed with those odds and put forth a scenario in which Trump can overcome his deficit. "Donald Trump needs to win Florida, he needs to keep his base excited, and he needs them to turn out. He needs them to replace votes that he'll lose in the women sector and minority sector. He also needs to perform very well in the presidential debates. A lot of people don't want another Clinton." |
|
|
| Hillary Clinton's campaign has already produced an attack ad that shows Donald Trump voicing his opposition to ObamaCare and Planned Parenthood. Dana Perino joined The Factor to evaluate the spot. "I always think it's effective when you use someone's own words against them," she began. "This ad is meant for her supporters, she needs to show that she will be willing to fight him. There are probably only about 8% of voters who are still persuadable at this point." Perino, whose former boss George W. Bush now says he will not endorse Trump, warned that other GOP leaders feel the same way. "There is a serious risk that a significant number of establishment Republicans will not be able to pull the lever for him. Trump should be picking up the phone and talking with these people." |
|
|
| Many universities have essentially banned conservative speakers from visiting their campuses. Most recently, West Virginia University invited, dis-invited, and then re-invited black conservative Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Riley. The Factor spoke about the situation with Robert Shibley, who writes about the college culture wars. "Things are quite bad and it's hard to exaggerate the problem," he lamented. "Since 2000 there have been 305 separate attempts to disinvite speakers and the pace is accelerating. There is something called the 'heckler's veto' where hecklers take over a venue and shut the speaker down. This most often comes from the left, but it is from both sides." Shibley reported that there have been campus protests against Rudy Giuliani, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and even liberal professor Cornel West, who ran afoul of various Jewish organizations. |
|
|
| The Factor welcomed former Army Sergeant Clint Romesha, who was awarded the Medal of Honor and has just written a book about his heroic actions in Afghanistan in 2009. "We knew our mission was to help create stability in the region," Romesha recalled, "and each of us knew that if we could plant a sprout of democracy it would grow. The Taliban was very well trained, they knew what they were doing, but they made a mistake of going up against the world's greatest fighting force." Romesha elaborated on the deadly firefight and his determination to help his platoon mates. "I wasn't really scared that I would die, muscle memory takes over and you keep moving forward. What scared me was the thought of not being able to recover the bodies of our fallen guys. As the president put that medal around my neck, I saw the soldiers I served with and the families and I was so happy and proud to be there." The Factor lauded Sgt. Romesha for his great bravery and for writing the revealing book. |
|
|
| Bernie Goldberg looked ahead to the general election and how the media will cover the duel. "With Donald Trump running," he predicted, "everything will be a little bizarre. The only thing the cable networks are not happy about is that they can't put this on pay-per-view. This is the big show and it will be covered on television as a show, even though they will also cover the issues. Both candidates have high negatives and it will be nasty and ugly, and in the 'United States of Entertainment' the only sin is being dull. This will be many things, but dull is not one of them." The Factor added that TV outlets are salivating over blockbuster ratings: "Most cable news and network operations are overjoyed that it's Clinton vs. Trump. That's like having a World Series with Los Angeles against New York." |
|
|
| Jesse Watters walked out the front door to Times Square, where he asked some young children about their political preferences. Here is what some of the urchins had to say: "I think Bernie Sanders should be president" ... "The president should be wise, noble, loyal to America and not stupid" ... "I think Obama should stay" ... "Trump is very high maintenance" ... "If Hillary Clinton wins she'll be the first girl president" ... "Trump is right, if she were a man she wouldn't get 5% of the vote!" |
|
|
Jason DiSalvo, Congers, NY: "Bill, you read my email last summer saying that Trump was not a serious contender. You were right and I was wrong. I hope you continue your tough interviews with him."
Paul Richards, Hull, England: "Last June, oddsmakers here had Trump at 70-to-one to win the nomination. Not close to Leicester winning the football championship."
Neville Cramer, Las Vegas, NV: "Mr. O'Reilly, good luck with your passionate quest to pass Kate's Law. Unless a member of Congress is victimized, it will never get passed." |
|
|
| Because there is absolutely no consequence for putting out bogus information on the Internet, you always have to ultra-vigilant about double-checking what you read on the web. |
|
|