On The O'Reilly Factor...

• Talking Points Memo
  Why Americans don't trust the government
• Top Story
  Sens. McCain, Kyl call for troops on Mexico border
• Personal Story Segment
  Bill Clinton on the Tea Parties and domestic terror
• The Hume Zone Segment
  Brit Hume on Clinton's terror musings
• Unresolved Problems Segment
  Leaked memo criticizes Obama's nuclear plan
• Weekdays with Bernie Segment
  Jon Stewart criticizes Fox News Channel
• Back of Book Segment
  Reality Check: Megyn Kelly and the White House
• Pinheads and Patriots
  Zac Brown Band & Willie Nelson
• Factor Mail
  Viewers sound off
  
  

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.

"According to a new study by Pew Research, 76% of Americans do not trust the federal government at least some of the time, while just 25% of Americans think Congress is doing a good job. The Pew people say it's driven by economics, but Talking Points believes there's something else in play. President Obama ran on 'hope and change' and many Americans were optimistic that good times would be here again. It hasn't happened! Yes, there's been change - we have record spending and a new tone of humility overseas, but those might not be good things. So a combination of those who didn't like Mr. Obama from the jump, and the disillusionment because things haven't gotten better, is driving the negativity towards the federal government. It is true that Congress is doing a terrible job and both parties are at fault. Republicans are undermining President Obama; Democrats don't seem to care if the country goes bankrupt. The American people are the ones with the common sense - they know the feds aren't doing the job. It is incumbent on the incumbent, President Obama, to turn this around fast."

Arizona Senators John McCain and John Kyl have asked President Obama to send federal troops to secure the southern border. McCain, who long dismissed the need for military help, explained his change of heart. "The violence on the border is incredible," McCain said. "The drug smugglers and human smugglers are heavily armed and violence is spilling across the border. We need to have troops on the border and an increase in the Border Patrol. The state is broke, this is a federal responsibility and therefore the feds should pay for it." The Factor reported that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is about to sign "a stringent state law that gives the police very broad authority to question people and see if they're here illegally."

After former President Clinton cautioned protesters not to "demonize the government," The Factor put forth this critique: "I didn't hear President Clinton say anything when President Bush was being hammered as a demon. So President Clinton is being very selective." Fox News analyst Juan Williams found fault with that theory. "A lot of the criticism of President Bush was way over the top," Williams conceded, "but there is nothing like the Oklahoma City bombing in terms of left-wing criticism, nothing like the militia movements. All of that involved vehement rhetoric coming from the right." FNC's Mary Katharine Ham accused Clinton of trying to stifle dissent. "It's appropriate to look back at Oklahoma City and reflect on that terrible terrorist act. But this is part of a year-long attempt by the left to demonize the people who were out on tax day simply making it clear that they are skeptical of the government, which I think is profoundly healthy. He's part of a process where they are trying to chill free speech."

FNC political analyst Brit Hume entered the No Spin Zone and suggested that Bill Clinton's warning about inflammatory rhetoric follows a pattern. "It's not the first time he's done this," Hume said. "When the Oklahoma City bombing took place in 1995, he suggested that the hot rhetoric used against him on talk radio and elsewhere created the atmosphere that gave rise to Timothy McVeigh and his terrorist attack. It was a very clever device, he got some traction from it, but there wasn't any evidence that would give rise to that charge." Hume also analyzed John McCain's apparent swerve to the right. "A lot of McCain's record is quite conservative, but at the same time he is running against a more conservative challenger and the race is getting tight. So McCain is emphasizing his conservative credentials."

An anonymous government official has leaked a memo in which Secretary of Defense Robert Gates criticizes the administration's lack of a plan for dealing with Iran. The Factor explored the issue with FNC's Lt. Col. Ralph Peters. "From what I hear," Peters reported, "we do not have a comprehensive plan that will give the President options. Secretary Gates, who is a great American, is trying to minimize the harm that zealots in the administration are doing to our security." Fox News analyst K.T. McFarland, a former Pentagon official, agreed that Gates is sounding a warning. "Bob Gates is a very cautious and deliberate man. He was basically saying, 'Hey, guys, where's the plan?' Let's get one because if we're going to have a military option we have to think about that. A lot of people in this administration have already decided that Iran is going to have nuclear weapons, but they think they can handle it with containment."

Comedy Central's Jon Stewart blasted Fox News last week, singling out Bernie Goldberg for generalizing about liberals. Goldberg entered the No Spin Zone to respond. "I am pleading guilty," Goldberg began. "I said liberals think people in the middle of the country are a bunch of jerks, and obviously all liberals don't think that. But I worked with liberal elites for 28 years and they were always throwing around the term 'white trash,' by which they meant poor southerners who didn't go to Harvard. But even all liberal elites don't think that, so Jon Stewart was right." Goldberg then addressed Stewart directly: "Jon, you clearly want to be a social commentator and if you want to be a good one, you better find some guts. When you had Frank Rich on your show, who generalizes all the time about conservatives being bigots, you didn't ask him a single tough question. You gave him a lap dance and practically had your tongue down his throat. And how about those black columnists who generalize about tea party people being racists? Why don't you go after them by name? If you don't do that, you're not nearly as edgy as you think. You're just a safe Jay Leno with a much smaller audience."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs criticized Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly for showing a 1960's mushroom cloud while reporting on the nuclear summit. The Factor's Check: "Mr. Gibbs was referring to a segment tease. Was that unfair to President Obama? You make the call." And HBO's Bill Maher compared last week's tea parties to a "Klan rally." The Factor's Check: "That kind of stuff is getting boring, is it not?"

Monday's Patriots: The Zac Brown Band, which has been entertaining troops in the Persian Gulf. And the Pinhead: Willie Nelson, who joined the tinfoil brigade and implied that 9/11 was an inside job.

Anne Cioffi, Troy, NY: "I believe Cathy Areu was petty in her criticism of Sarah Palin. I don't think she dislikes her because she has earned a lot of money, I believe it's because she's a popular conservative."

Rosemarie Warner, Riverview, FL: "Just because someone makes a lot of money doesn't mean they can't relate to regular people. That criticism of Sarah Palin came across as mean-spirited."

Mimi & Keith Ingalis, Neiderwald, TX: "Bill, you were spot on telling Al Sharpton that his crew doesn't want to see racial harmony."

Jack Capone, Thomason, CT: "I rarely agree with Sharpton, but he's got you on this one, Bill."