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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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"The New York Times implied that Senator McCain had an inappropriate relationship with lobbyist Vicki Iseman, perhaps romantically. McCain quickly denied any wrongdoing and criticized the Times. I have no idea what John McCain did or did not do and, according to the Times article, the paper doesn't know either. No direct charges of impropriety are lodged, only innuendo, and that is very wrong. As with all people I report on, I am willing to give Senator McCain the benefit of the doubt because there is a doubt. This is incredibly sloppy journalism, is it not? Here's a guy running for president, and you're implying things that could ruin him. Based on what? If John McCain did indeed do something wrong, prove it! Have these anonymous people come out and lodge the accusation. Don't smear the man with innuendo. Finally, consider this - the New York Times endorsed John McCain for the Republican nomination less than a month ago. The paper had this article already in the works. So why would the Times endorse McCain if he had acted improperly? We asked that question to New York Times editor Bill Keller, who hasn't gotten back to us."
The Factor welcomed former White House spokesman and long-time journalist Tony Snow, who castigated the Times. "It's unbelievably sloppy," Snow pronounced. "Bob Bennett, McCain's attorney, submitted answers to written questions, and they had at least a dozen different cases in which Ms. Iseman had recommended one course of action and John McCain opposed it. Having been in journalism for nearly thirty years, I have to tell you that no editor is going to look at this and say it measures up. This is going to do a lot more damage to the New York Times than to John McCain." The Factor questioned why the Times went forward with this story. "There isn't an accusation that McCain broke any law or that he had an affair. All they do in the article is insinuate and suggest, based on no hard evidence."
News Link: NYT hit piece on McCain |
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| For more on the McCain/Times story, The Factor welcomed FNC media analysts Jane Hall and Bernie Goldberg, who pointed to a glaring double standard. "The New York Times showed virtually no interest," Goldberg recalled, "in Bill Clinton and Gennifer Flowers. It had no interest in a allegations by a credible woman who said Clinton raped her. But they did have interest in putting on page 1 a story alleging that Nancy Reagan had an affair with Frank Sinatra. And now we have a page 1 story based on two people whose names we don't know who think John McCain might have had a romantic affair with a lobbyist. This is really thin stuff to put on page 1 of any newspaper." Hall agreed that the so-called "paper of record" should not have run the piece. "This story was very flimsy, they didn't have the goods. They don't prove that they had an affair and they don't prove that this woman exercised undue influence. This story was totally misguided." |
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The Factor aired portions of Senator McCain's Thursday morning press conference, at which he denied the key allegations in the New York Times article. McCain said this about the story and its fairness: "For months the New York Times has submitted questions and we have answered them fully and exhaustively. Unfortunately, many of those answers were not included in the rather long piece in the New York Times."
News Link: McCain denies NYT allegation |
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| The Factor's American Movie Icon series continued with Sean Connery, best known as the dashing spy James Bond. Entertainment reporter Gregg Goldstein explained how Connery landed his signature role as Agent 007. "Other actors turned it down, including Cary Grant and David Niven. Connery had appeal to women, he was a very good looking man, and he also had a 'man's man' appeal. Later he felt he wasn't getting the roles he deserved and was getting typed as just being James Bond in people's minds." The Factor praised Sean Connery, now 77 years old and retired from acting, as the best of all Bonds. "If you took a poll of Americans, he's James Bond. All the others were fine, but he's the guy and nobody else could live up to that role." |
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How should the remaining Democratic candidates respond to the John McCain controversy? The Factor posed that question to two Democratic strategists. "The story," said Julie Roginsky, "points to the fact that John McCain, who is supposed to be a big reformer, is actually running around with a bunch of lobbyists and doing favors for them. If I were advising Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, I would say that John McCain is a continuation of business as usual in Washington." Sarah Flowers suggested that Obama stands to benefit the most. "It allows Obama to draw an important contrast between him and John McCain, who's been putting out a public persona that is completely opposite to what he's been doing in Washington." The Factor advised Democrats to tread carefully. "I think this is a loser for the Democratic Party and they should stay away from it, particularly Hillary Clinton. People could look into donations to the Clinton Library and the kind of people she has hung around with. And Barack Obama had a lot of help coming up, a lot of help getting elected to the Illinois legislature."
News Link: Howard Dean rips McCain |
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| Ombudsperson Laurie Dhue relayed grievances from viewers, some of whom complained that radio and TV hosts have been too tough on Michelle Obama. The Factor's response: "I have a job to do on talk radio, and that is to analyze the news. If her husband wins the presidency, Michelle Obama will become the most powerful person in the world. And when she says something that is controversial, it has to be analyzed. I did my job and I was very fair." Anyone with questions or complaints can write to dhuepoint@foxnews.com. |
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Thursday's Patriots: Americans defending the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, under attack by Serb protestors. And the Pinhead: Michael Moore, who joked that the brutal dictator Fidel Castro would be a welcome guest at the Academy Awards. Nominate a Pinhead or a Patriot by sending an email to pnp@billoreilly.com.
News Link: Video: Riots break out in Kosovo
News Link: Michael Moore wants Castro at Oscars |
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A sampling of your recent e-mails:
Sgt. Richard Dean, Temple Hills, MD: "Mr. O'Reilly, on behalf of the Air Force Sergeants Association's 125-thousand members, I thank you for your support of a new GI bill. As CEO of this organization, our members welcome what Congressman Peter King and Senator John Kerry are trying to accomplish."
Aaron Walker, Melbourne, Australia: "Mr. O, I'm a student at a left-leaning university and I want to thank you for your commitment to truth. I'm impressed by your willingness to treat people with different opinions with a fairness some of them would never extend to you."
Jim Dye, Ohio: "My question for Michelle Obama is, was she not proud of her country when her husband was elected U.S. Senator?"
Don McKay, Rhinebeck, NY: "Dear Bill, I agree that taking nasty shots at Nancy Reagan is creepy. But the left aren't the only ones doing this." |
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