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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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Guests: Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham
"In March of 2011 Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a law eliminating most collective bargaining for Wisconsin state employees. The left went wild, protesting vehemently against the new law; there was even vandalism at the State House. So in order to punish Governor Walker, the Democratic Party pushed for a recall and got enough signatures to put it to a vote. The final judgment will be made Tuesday and the stakes are very high for President Obama, who does not want to constrain union bargaining power. But Governor Walker has a pretty good story to tell - when he took office in January of 2011, Wisconsin unemployment stood at 7.7%; now it's down to 6.7%. On the spending front, when Walker took office there was a budget deficit of $3.6 billion; now the deficit is projected to be $143 million, and astounding drop. All in all, Walker seems to be succeeding economically in Wisconsin, so the vote comes down to ideology. The left doesn't like him so they want to throw him out. If Governor Walker does keep his job, President Obama, American labor and the hard-core left will all be disappointed. It's not so much about Walker himself, it's about the message that will be sent - big spending and big government versus tough measures when it comes to taxpayer dollars."
The Factor invited Fox News analysts Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham to opine on the Wisconsin vote. "I'm not comfortable with recalls," Williams said, "unless they're about criminal corruption. But if this was 2014 I would vote against Governor Walker because he used a sledgehammer and a Republican majority in the legislature to absolutely crush the unions. This guy said he was going to produce jobs, but by every measure he hasn't done it." The Factor reminded Williams that "unemployment is down by one percentage point and the deficit is down big time." Extrapolation to the national stage, Ham theorized that a Walker victory will not bode well for President Obama and other Democrats. "What the President has to worry about is that if it turns out well for Scott Walker, then people have not gotten the message from unions. This was going to be the end of the world, but things are looking pretty good in Wisconsin and that does not help unions or the President." |
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Guests: Brit Hume
President Obama's political guru David Axelrod asserts that the vast majority of the campaign's ads have been positive. The Factor asked Fox News political analyst Brit Hume to assess that claim. "Positive ads don't make news very much," Hume said, "because they don't strike sparks in the way negative ads do. Negative ads get replayed on cable news and they also get more reaction than do positive ads. I suspect that what Axelrod said is basically true, but it's a little misleading. I think Obama has a record that is such a burden to him that he has no choice but to go negative." The Factor contended that going negative may also be an effective strategy for Mitt Romney: "If I'm Romney, I'm running negative ads all day long saying that President Obama doesn't know what he's doing, he's killing the economy." |
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Guests: Austan Goolsbee and Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Ph.D.
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who will host a lavish fundraiser for President Obama, says in a TV spot that the President has created 4-million new jobs. The Factor examined that number with former Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee and Republican economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin. "There is more lipstick on that number than on Sarah Jessica Parker," Holtz-Eakin quipped. "There are 1.4 million fewer jobs than there were in December of 2008, the last month of the Bush presidency. And for those who do have jobs, we've seen no income growth. The record is not satisfactory and the policies haven't worked." Goolsbee insisted that the 4-million number is actually valid. "The 4-million jobs are over the last two years, and since the recession ended they've added more than that. That's how candidates running for reelection have always counted jobs." Goolsbee also dismissed the notion that health care reform is making small businesses wary of hiring, saying, "The health care bill exempts small businesses from the employer mandate and it gives a big tax credit to help reduce the cost of their health care." The Factor concluded, "Two-thirds of the American people say the country is on the wrong track and I don't know how an incumbent president gets reelected with those numbers." |
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Guests: Tonya Reiman
George W. Bush and Barack Obama were together at the White House last week when President Bush's official portrait was unveiled. Body language analyst Tonya Reiman interpreted their movements and gestures. "When President Bush was at the podium I felt like he was still in office," Reiman observed. "He was so confident, making jokes with that same mischievous smile on his face. And when they shook hands, President Obama put his hand on top - he did a power move by pulling Bush in and patting him on the back. That says, 'hey, this is my place.'" |
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Guests: Tim Graham
The Factor welcomed Tim Graham of the conservative Media Research Center and asked him to evaluate the political leanings of the morning programs on the three broadcast networks. "These shows reach a lot of female voters," Graham said, "and we have found that there is just a dramatic bias in terms of favoring Obama and the Democrats. They have been very harsh to the Republicans throughout this primary season, to the point where I think Mitt Romney really didn't want to do many morning show interviews because they were so tough. They were very swift to attack Republicans, while Barack Obama and Michelle Obama both get the puffball interviews." |
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| Obama advisor David Axelrod went out of his way Sunday to criticize Senator Marco Rubio, often mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential candidate. The Factor's Check: "I think Marco Rubio might take the spot if it's officered and the Obama folks apparently think that as well. You don't even mention someone unless you're concerned about them." Meanwhile, President Obama spoke with 5th grader Tyler Sullivan at a campaign event and wrote a note to excuse Tyler's absence from school. The Factor's Check: "A note like that is worth thousands of dollars, but I hope Tyler keeps it. It is history." |
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Chris Brede, Edmonds, WA: "Bill, you are against Obama. Stop the spin and just be honest. The real reason people hate Fox News is because you deny you lean right."
Eldon Peck, Sun City Center, FL: "Bill, you would have to be a 'plonker' to think the liberal media doesn't plan to make conservatives look bad."
Ralph Smathers, Newhall, CA: "Bill, you're right. The folks are afraid, but you didn't explain why. The reasons are Obama and the Democratic Party." |
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| Monday's Pinhead: Beauty pageant contestant Audrey Bolte, who cited the prostitute in "Pretty Woman" as a positive portrayal of a woman in the movies. |
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