The O'Reilly Factor
A daily summary of segments aired on The O'Reilly Factor. A preview of the evening's rundown is posted before the show airs each weeknight.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Factor Rundown
Can President Obama get a handle on all the controversies?
Guest: Charles Krauthammer

"President Obama's job approval rating is falling faster than Eric Holder's credibility. The latest Fox News poll has the President's job approval at 44%, a 3-point drop since the beginning of the year. Mr. Obama has not been aggressive in defining Benghazi, the IRS, snooping on reporters, and snooping on Americans. He has put forth no specific strategies to stop the bleeding in his administration. Attorney General Holder is a lightning rod, but he's still there; there have been no firings at the IRS; there has been no further definition about who screwed up in Libya. Throughout his life Barack Obama has been patient, he is not a confrontational man or a problem-solver. Press conferences are simply an opportunity for Mr. Obama to give mini-speeches and his trips around the country are primarily to raise money. You may have noticed that Mr. Obama rarely gives interviews any more, and when he does they are mostly orchestrated. So we have an executive branch that is largely unaccountable. President Obama knows he doesn't have to run again and that he can very possibly ride all this stuff out."

The Factor invited reaction from FNC's Charles Krauthammer. "You have staggered upon the truth," Dr. K. quipped, "and there are two things happening here. Number one, when there's trouble out there, you insulate the President and make sure that the focus is on the people beneath him. That's nothing new, but what is new is President Obama's leadership style, which doesn't exist. The man is a bystander to his own presidency, he acts like he just stumbled upon the scene of an accident and he's catching up. The lack of leadership from this President is quite unique." Krauthammer described President Obama as a liberal ideologue who knows his agenda has been stymied. "He's enjoying the presidency, he golfs a lot, he uses the airplane a lot, and he'll have a lovely few weeks in Cape Cod. But he's always 'leading from behind.'"
Is NSA leaker Edward Snowden a hero or villain?
Guest: Mark Zaid

Whistleblower Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old former NSA contractor, has been lionized by some, vilified by others. The Factor scrutinized Snowden's actions with attorney Mark Zaid, a specialist in national security cases. "At this time Snowden is a criminal," Zaid declared, "and we'll see as time goes by whether he's a hero or a villain. He's not helping himself by revealing to the Chinese and the world that the United States was engaged in cyber-operations against the Chinese. That puts him towards the villain category, and he is the leaker of classified information for which he had no authorization, so he's a criminal! An individual does not make a determination as to what's in the best national security interests of the United States." The Factor concluded, "Snowden should be charged with crimes and he should come back."
MSNBC host Chris Matthews takes a shot at O'Reilly!
Guests: Tim Graham & Erick Erickson

On his little-watched program, MSNBC's Chris Matthews actually called Bill a "hard right-wing guy" who has a "black Irish" look. The Factor discussed Matthews' slanderous invective with Tim Graham of the Media Research Center and Erick Erickson of RedState.com. "As ratings go down and as people get more disenchanted with liberalism," Erickson said, "they're becoming more shrill and trying to keep the core audience. There's not a lot of entertainment on MSNBC, there's a lot of anger and they don't relate to people in the heartland." Graham described liberal TV and talk radio as bereft of ideas. "They don't have any substance to offer, they're terrible shows without anything to say. Chris Matthews is just unglued these days." The Factor reported that MSNBC's ratings have taken a nosedive: "This is a desperate attempt by Matthews to get attention. In the last six months things have fallen apart for MSNBC. The core liberal audience is disenchanted with President Obama and now Matthews has to call me names because he doesn't have anything else."
Turning to the internet for love
Guests: Wendy Walsh, Bonny Forrest

A new study shows that 35% of American couples originally met online. The Factor analyzed the phenomenon with mental health experts Wendy Walsh and Bonnie Forrest. "This is a lot better than choosing your mate through the distortion of a martini in a singles bar," Walsh said. "However, it doesn't guarantee a happier marriage or a longer marriage. We have this illusion that the key to a successful marriage is choosing the perfect partner, but the key is actually being the perfect partner and having good relationship skills." Forrest expressed far more skepticism about dating sites. "I say it's no better than a bar, even though these online dating sites give you the illusion that they're doing this scientifically. But it's a great way to 'meet' 200 people in one shot."
Morning-after-pill news
Guest: Laura Ingraham

Conservative radio talk show host Laura Ingraham reacted to a judge's decision that the the 'Plan B' morning-after pill should be available to girls of all ages. "Some girls as young as 9 or 10 or 11 have reproductive capacity," she stated, "and the studies on this drug are non-existent for girls of that age. We need long-term studies on the effects on young girls' future fertility and hormonal development. For most girls that report sexual activity at that young age, it's coerced sexual activity, so this helps people who want to take advantage of young women. Anybody who abuses a young girl can take her into a pharmacy and get the pill without her parents being involved on any level." The Factor warned that the morning after pill may have unintended negative consequences: "This will lead to a rise in STDs because now kids will say that if they have unprotected sex they can just get this little pill."
Comedian Jim Gaffigan talks about Father's Day
Guest: Jim Gaffigan

In advance of Father's Day, The Factor welcomed comedian and father-of-five Jim Gaffigan, whose book "Dad is Fat" is filled with observations about his large family. "The title came from my son," Gaffigan revealed, "whose first sentence was, 'Dad is fat.' He showed it to me and then I put him up for adoption. Dads are the vice president of the executive branch of the family. The mom is Bill Clinton, feeling the pain, and we're Al Gore, telling them to turn out the lights." The 46-year-old Gaffigan also opined on how fathers have changed over the past few decades. "My dad essentially just brought home the bacon - he didn't shop for the bacon or cook it, he ate the bacon! It's not that my father and his generation didn't do anything, it's that they didn't feel guilty!" The Factor pointed out that Gaffigan and his brood still live in New York City, saying, "I want everybody to buy your book so you can move out into the suburbs."
Viewers sound off
Factor Words of the Day
Tom Mulligan, Chatham, NJ: "Bill, night after night you implore President Obama to explain what is going on with the scandals. When will you accept that he doesn't give a damn?"

Bob Creighton, Libby, MT: "Is Beckel moving to the right or is the president moving too far left even for him?"

Richard Good, Clearwater Beach, FL: "O'Reilly, always enjoy your exchanges with Beckel. He's the new Andy Rooney."

Grace Wheatley, Edmonton, Canada: "Bill, the guy who has fathered 22 children with 14 mothers says he loves women. Bull. He uses women."
Book Mentions
Check out the books mentioned during this show.
Dad is Fat
by Jim Gaffigan

Read more...
A helping hand
When someone asks you to help out a charitable enterprise, try to find some way to do it if you possibly can.