Monday, September 10, 2007
On The O'Reilly Factor...
Segment Summaries
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.
Talking Points Memo & Top Story
The Petraeus factor
"The commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, is testifying before Congress. The crux of the matter is simple - although many Americans want out of Iraq, the military and the Bush administration want to fight on. Of course, some Americans don't care what Petraeus says. The radical left MoveOn organization paid more than $100,000 to the New York Times to run an ad using the words 'General Betray Us.' No matter what you feel about the war, this is disrespectful and vile. Talking Points believes General Petraeus is an honorable man who sincerely believes American forces can improve things in Iraq. The problem is, the USA is likely to lose another 1,000 killed in the process. That is the awful truth about Iraq, but the stakes are incredibly high for the USA. Right now Al Qaeda is being badly damaged in Iraq, and a pullback would give them air. Also, Iran has been held in check. Should the USA withdraw from the theater, that country is likely to have its own surge, not only in Iraq, but also in the entire Gulf region. My feeling is that we should allow General Petraeus the resources he needs within a year's time. After that the Iraqi Army must step up and provide their own security, with a few American battalions. That is probably the best course of action in a truly painful situation."

News Link: Petraeus testifies before Congress

For an opposing view, The Factor welcomed Congressman Ron Paul, a presidential candidate and staunchly anti-war Republican. Paul disputed the theory that withdrawing U.S. forces will embolden Iran. "The whole invasion of Iraq helped Iran," Paul declared. "What I'm saying is put it in perspective - Iran doesn't have a weapon of mass destruction and they're not likely to get one in ten years. We need to defend this country, but the policies we're following are undermining our national security." The Factor reminded Congressman Paul that Iran is actively seeking a nuclear weapon. "We have to assume that Iran is an aggressive nation, that it wants to injure the United States. It's policy in Iran to wipe out Israel and attack the USA, and If you don't think Iran is sponsoring terrorism, you're living in the land of Oz."
Impact Segment
Will Americans hold the far-left accountable?
The far left in America, which blames America for most of the world's ills, has been growing more vocal, and The Factor asked FNC's Michelle Malkin and Kirsten Powers for their analysis. "We have reached the lowest of the low points," Malkin asserted, "with this New York Times ad run by MoveOn.. And there is a constant line that these people are only the fringe, that they don't represent a lot of Americans. Guess what? That's no longer true." But Kirsten Powers argued that MoveOn and far left Hollywood types are out of the mainstream. "These are people who are entertainers giving their perspective, but they have nothing to do with the Democratic Party. Rosie O'Donnell is not part of the Democratic Party, and no one takes her seriously." The Factor lamented the fact that many Democrats refused to denounce the slander against General Petraeus. "We asked all the major politicians to react to the ad. Here's who would not condemn the ad: John Edwards, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, and Dennis Kucinich. But Nancy Pelosi stepped up and said she has great respect for David Petraeus, which I was glad to see the Speaker do that."

News Link: GOP slams MoveOn.org smear of Petraeus

News Link: MoveOn.org anti-Petraeus ad
Unresolved Problems Segment
Manslaughter charges possible against McCanns
3-year old Madeleine McCann vanished while on vacation with her parents in Portugal, and her British parents Kate and Gerry may now face charges. Reporting from London, Fox News correspondent Greg Palkot, elaborated on the latest details. "Police in Portugal," Palkot said, "have transferred their evidence to the prosecutor's office and are pushing hard for a homicide or manslaughter charge against Mrs. McCann. The alleged smoking gun is that DNA from Madeleine was found in a rental car that was rented a month after she disappeared. The scenario is that Madeleine was given a sedative that night, but died of an overdose. Mrs. McCann hid the body for about a month, then got rid of it. The McCanns say this is absolutely ludicrous."

News Link: Evidence mounting against McCann parents
Personal Story Segment
Tiki Barber: From football to journalism
Former New York Giants star Tiki Barber has moved from the NFL to NBC, where he is a news correspondent. Barber told The Factor about his first assignment, the massacre at Virginia Tech. "I was nervous because that's my backyard. I played at the University of Virginia and my mother and father went to Virginia Tech, but I had to go do journalistic stories and stay unaffected." Barber also explained why he left his lucrative career in the NFL. "People don't understand the brutality of our sport - the stuff we do to each other is illegal on the street. You start to think about mortality and what you want in life, and that's why I walked away." Factor praised Barber for retiring while on top. "You played ten years in the pros, on top of college and high school, and your body had enough. You were smart."
Culture War Segment
Has American culture reached a new low?
Sunday night's MTV awards program included a fistfight between Tommy Lee and Kid Rock and a grotesque performance by Britney Spears. The Factor called it one more sign of a corroding culture. "Bad behavior is celebrated in sports, movies, music, concerts, and the people who do it make more and more money. Anything goes, and our culture is celebrating it." But entertainment reporter Harvey Levin disputed that contention. "In some ways," Levin said, "I think it was worse when it was phonier. Are a lot of these people out of control? Yes. Were they out of control in the '20's and '30's? Yes, you just didn't know about it. This has been going on for a long time, and I don't think the answer is to create some phony image." The Factor complained that gross conduct is widely emulated. "You have young people looking at bad behavior, and all of this seeps into the culture. This culture is at its lowest ebb ever!"

News Link: Video: Britney bombs at MTV award show

News Link: Video: Kid Rock scuffles with Tommy Lee
Back of Book Segment
The Great American Culture Quiz
Martha MacCallum and Steve Doocy entered the No Spin arena for their weekly Great American Culture Quiz showdown. The Factor gave them five questions, including these: "What name did Simon and Garfunkel originally use?" ... "Which president pushed through airline deregulation?" The match again came down to the final question, which MacCallum answered correctly. Steve Doocy, unaccustomed as he is to losing, left with his tail between his legs. Metaphorically speaking, that is.
Factor Mail
Viewers sound off
Many of you wrote about the proliferation of anti-war movies. Some excerpts:

Tom Beitler, Tucson, AZ: "The movie 'Redacted' will cause Americans to die. The movie is treasonous and aids the enemy."

Jason Diec, Salt Lake City, UT: "The reason for these anti-Iraq films is that half the country believes that dissent is the patriotic thing to do."

John Fay, Hawaii: "While it is detrimental to morale to show the bad behavior of a tiny group of soldiers, I don't think it is anti-American to criticize the CIA's 'Rendition' program"

Charles Deen, Shreveport, LA: "I was in Patton's front line combat team and can assure you that anti-war movies would have been regarded as treacherous by the G.I.'s back the."