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| On The O'Reilly Factor...
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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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"Corruption in America at this very moment has reached critical mass. Why is this happening? The simple answer is greed. The complicated answer is the failure of the Feds to challenge financial fat cats in any meaningful way. That has allowed the crooks to become very bold. Blagojevich is a great example of that. Here's a guy caught on a federal wiretap asking for stuff in return for appointing a person to take Barack Obama's Senate seat. But instead of defending himself at his own impeachment hearing he whines to the media. Talking Points predicts Blago will be out by the end of this week. But will the Feds then charge him in criminal court? That would mean Obama's guys like Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emmanuel would have to testify. Does the President want that headache? It will be interesting to see if the new Attorney General -- most likely Eric Holder -- pursues the case."
For more on the Blagojevich scandal, The Factor welcomed Fox News host Geraldo Rivera. Geraldo interviewed Blagojevich Monday afternoon, in the middle of the Illinois governor's media blitz. The Factor thought that Blagojevich was going about his PR campaign in the wrong way: "If he went [into the legislature] and said 'I didn't do anything wrong, this is what I've done for the state, you don't have a right to do this' -- and then gone onto The View or wherever, I'd be sympathetic, or at least listen to him." Rivera meanwhile, didn't think very highly of Blagojevich, but also didn't think that he deserved impeachment: "He's a dirtbag. When you hear someone saying 'I'm going to get money' and all this, it's sleazy. He's a sleazy politician. But that doesn't mean this is justified what's happening." |
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| As the Factor reported last week, the plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River had had engine trouble just two days before the crash. The Factor wanted to know if US Air was hiding anything. Aerospace journalist Kathleen Bangs -- a former airline pilot -- didn't think that there was any coverup. She believed that what caused the engines to fail was pretty straightforward: "These were not ducks that flew into the engines -- they were Canadian geese, which are enormous birds. These birds are three to four times the size of the birds that actually get tested on these engines." The Factor thought that the airline and the engine manufacturer needed to come up with a better explanation. But he did have praise for Sully, the hero pilot: "The pilot absolutely saved lives. There is no doubt. A less skilled pilot, everybody would be dead." |
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| The Factor asked Fox News analysts Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham to sound off on a range of issues, but the pair seemed to have the most fun talking about Blagojevich. Juan was sick of the whole sideshow: "This thing makes me want to tear my hair out. I don't get what's going on. Why do Americans think it's entertaining and funny and put him on 'The View' and this show? This guy is pulling our leg." Mary Katharine thought just the opposite: "I'm guilty of thinking he's entertaining. He's got a 7 percent approval rating. He goes jogging in spandex. You cannot stop the man." The Factor's opinion on the ordeal was short and to the point: "He's out at the end of the week. I think that's great." |
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| Fox News business analysts Liz MacDonald and Alexis Glick discussed a brewing scandal that involved Barney Frank securing $12 million in bailout money for a bank with shaky financials. MacDonald revealed that the bank appeared to be wasting money: "They arranged for a Porsche for their CEO. They also arranged for a housing allowance for the CEO to live in a Santa Monica home." The Factor pointed out that the bank is in trouble because it lost so much money to Fannie Mae, which failed under Barney Frank's watch: "Barney feels bad because Barney made them go bankrupt, and now Barney is giving them 12 million of our money." Glick simply didn't like that all of the shenanigans were going on with the bailout: "It's scary." |
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| The Factor wanted to know what Obama's actual position on abortion was. He asked culture warriors Monica Crowley and Margaret Hoover for their thoughts. Hoover thought she knew where Obama was coming from: "He told Rick Warren he doesn't know when life starts. So I think he's probably in favor of abortion, but he's doing a dance." Crowley was a little impressed by Obama's political shrewdness: "He's been very ambiguous on this issue. He is a far left guy, but he's backing into the culture wars. He's smart enough not to go full frontal on the culture wars." The Factor explained his desire to figure out Obama's position: "It is a potential human being that you're just wiping off the face of the earth for whatever reason you can come up with. So I'd like my president to kind of define the way he feels. Bush did." |
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| In a fully loaded Reality Check, The Factor first had some stern words for Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai who accused US troops of killing civilians: "Check believes Karzai is making a political play and it is insulting. Without us his head is on a stick." Next, The Factor got a little tongue-in-cheek about the ACLU's misfortunes. The ACLU is laying off ten percent of its workers -- they say it's because of the bad economy. "Another reason may be that Christmas is over," The Factor speculated, "So there are no more Nativity Scenes to go after until next year." |
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| Monday's Patriot: Jackie Chan, who is promoting the environmentally friendly vehicle the Segway. And the Pinheads: The company that makes Beanie Babies -- they're making dolls named Sasha and Malia, but absurdly claiming that the dolls are not based on the Obama daughters. |
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Bob Misenti, Wallkill, New York
"It is beyond despicable that those parents named their son Adolf Hitler. They don't deserve to raise them."
Kathy Smith, Purcell, Oklahoma
"Mr. O, what an interesting interview with former Miss America contestants Gretchen Carlson and Lauren Green. They are very talented and smart."
Johnny Knox, Canada
"Yes, Mr. O'Reilly, please move up here. My hometown of Weyburn, Saskatchewan would welcome you."
Kerry Covington, Boise, Idaho
"Bill, 'Bold Fresh' has inspired me to keep going in these tough times and never give up. Thanks." |
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