By Bill O'Reilly

According to a Gallup/USA Today poll taken among Americans likely to vote Republican, Mitt Romney is now favored by 24 percent of them; Sarah Palin, 16 percent; Herman Cain, 9; Ron Paul, 7; and Tim Pawlenty, 6.

Obviously that is good news for Governor Romney, who is up 7 percent in that poll in just three weeks.

By the way, Newt Gingrich has bottomed out. He's at 5 percent, down from 9.

Now, on Friday I was analyzing some of the Republican challengers and said this about Governor Pawlenty:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY: He's got to get a little Trump in him. And I'm telling you, I like him. I think he is a good man. I think he is a patriot, OK?

CHRIS WALLACE, HOST, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY": No, I hear, I hear what you're saying.

O'REILLY: He's got to get a little Trump in him. He can't be going out. He as a -- look, Haagen-Dazs can put his picture on vanilla. Do we get that? Are we all hearing that? The guy is invisible. He's -- he -- you can't even see him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Two days later, the governor appeared on "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Too vanilla, invisible, how do you plead, governor?

TIM PAWLENTY, R, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Did Chris -- Chris, did Bill O'Reilly use the word "vanilla"?

WALLACE: He did.

WALLACE: Is he playing the race card on me? We've got a country that's in serious trouble. It is sinking. We need people who are serious, thoughtful seasoned leaders who are willing to address the real challenges with real specific solutions and have a record of getting it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Now, that was a good answer by Mr. Pawlenty. The explanation that he's a serious guy, not an attention-getter, is valid.

The problem is that many Republican voters want a candidate who will hammer President Obama because they are angry with him. That's why Donald Trump and Sarah Palin get a lot of attention -- because they go after the president.

The Gallup poll is not good news for Tim Pawlenty. He must separate himself from the pack if he wants to have a chance.

In America today, you have to have an element of show business in your political presentation. That's how Barack Obama got elected. Do we all remember that?

So while we respect Governor Pawlenty and believe he is an honest and smart guy, he has to define Barack Obama so that Republican voters will know he feels their pain. If the governor is unwilling to do that, as John McCain was, he will not win.

I gave good advice to Tim Pawlenty.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

Far-left actress Janeane Garofalo is a bit upset about the Congressman Weiner situation:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, but you can't talk about Anthony Weiner with your kids. You can't talk about him at the dinner table. I mean, at one point…

JANEANE GAROFALO, ACTRESS: What?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I couldn't talk about what was going on in the news, what I spent my day doing this week at the dinner table. It was X-rated.

GAROFALO: That's not his fault.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's not his fault?

GAROFALO: We can talk about the things he fought for. I would say the distraction that's created is by a media that's overly obsessed with this stuff because it's easier than doing the hard stuff of their job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Hard to believe. Blaming it on the media, which Mr. Weiner, of course, attempted to use. This is called Kool-Aid drinking. Janeane should be on the packet of Kool-Aid. She's a pinhead.

On the patriot front, Fox Business anchor Liz Claman is helping a charity called Building Homes for Heroes, a very interesting organization. It custom builds houses for American military people who are badly injured. For example, Army Specialist Brendon Marrocco lost both his arms and legs in Iraq. But he now has a new home custom-made just for him. What a great charity this is.

If you would like to help out, please go to BuildingHomesForHeroes.org. Liz Claman, Specialist Marrocco and all those involved with the charity are patriots.

— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.