The O'Reilly Factor
A daily summary of segments aired on The O'Reilly Factor. A preview of the evening's rundown is posted before the show airs each weeknight.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Factor Rundown
Talking Points Memo & Top Story
Impact Segment
Unresolved Problems Segment
Culture Warriors Segment
Back of Book Segment
Pinheads and Patriots
Factor Mail
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Comments
President Obama complains about Fox News... again
"Speaking on NBC, President Obama complained that Fox news is 'entirely devoted to attacking my administration.' Are we unfair to President Obama? Let's look at it methodically: First, a study by the Pew Research Center said Fox News had the most balanced coverage of the presidential campaign in the cable news world. Second, the president is moving the country left, so Reagan conservatives like Sean Hannity and libertarians like Glenn Beck will have a problem with that. In the Fox Lineup, Bret Baier seems to be neutral, so do Shepard Smith and Greta Van Susteren. And then there's The Factor. Anybody who watches this broadcast knows I've tried hard to be fair to the president, often giving him the benefit of the doubt. If the president thinks we've been unfair, he's always welcome to reply - his people can come on or he can issue a statement. So I have to chalk this up to politics, and there may be something else in play: In researching the president, I've found that he has rarely been criticized in his life, so he's not used to it. If any of you feel I have been unfair to President Obama, please e-mail me with specifics."

The Factor asked political strategist Dick Morris about President Obama's criticism of FNC. "He is getting an avalanche of incredibly positive publicity," Morris said, "and with that kind of sloppy sentiment coming from the media, he has to talk about criticism because he wants it to appear that the media is being fair and balanced. Obama often says the precise opposite of what he and everyone else know to be true. He is getting media adulation on a scale no president has ever gotten." The Factor agreed that the president is largely getting a free ride from the mainstream press: "Everybody knows the media is in the tank for him and I don't think President Obama has a legitimate beef here."

Fox News media analyst Bernie Goldberg entered the No Spin Zone with his assessment of President Obama's complaint. "What he said about Fox is a typical liberal reaction," Goldberg began. "Fox News is the bogeyman that haunts liberals. And he's wrong - there are liberals and Democratic strategists on this network all day long. There are people on this network who suffer from 'Obama derangement syndrome' and won't give him a break, but they are very few. Here's what I would say to the president: You have 95% of the mainstream media on a poodle leash and they're happy to be there. That ought to be enough for you." The Factor advised the administration to pick up the phone: "I don't like this whining. He can have his guys call me and we'll put on anybody at any time. It could be that they're a little worried in the White House because we are doing so well while CNN and MSNBC are doing so poorly."
Risqu� Calvin Klein ad sparks controversy
The once-trendy Calvin Klein company has put up a huge billboard in New York City showing three men and a woman in a very sexually suggestive position. The Factor discussed the First Amendment ramifications of the salacious ad with attorney Jami Floyd. "This is commercial speech," Floyd said, "but it's still speech. Commercial speech is protected, but not as much, and this is pretty extreme." Floyd also commented on the proliferation of profane bumper stickers. "You own your car but you don't own the freeway and you don't have a right to offend the guy behind you. This can be regulated, and there are greater protections for bumper stickers that are political rather than just obscene."
Is YouTube becoming pornographic?
According to a study by the conservative Media Research Center, young people have constant access to pornographic material on YouTube. FNC's Amanda Carpenter reported on the study and its significance. "YouTube is the most popular video sharing site," Carpenter explained. "The Media Resarch Center found that if you put in a search term like 'porn,' you'll come up with 330,000 different hits on YouTube. There is soft core porn - girls stripping, lesbianism, fetishes - and your child, searching for something innocent, could come across something very disturbing." The Factor complained about the availability of porn to young children: "If a 12-year-old wants to see this stuff, all they have to do is lie about their age. This is one downside of the Internet."
Group of thugs kills shopkeeper, robs store
Culture Warriors Margaret Hoover and Gretchen Carlson began with a horrific crime story in Gary, Indiana, where customers continued shopping even after thugs shot and killed the store's clerk. "This is a personal responsibility issue," Carlson said, "which has dissipated in our society. Just as traditional values have broken down, so has personal responsibility." Hoover cited the location as a driving factor. "Gary was the seventh most violent city last year, and when crime spikes, fear goes up and people lose their civic duty and become desensitized." The Factor theorized that the Internet is partly to blame. "Life is a video game to many people - they see horrendous violence on their screen, and then it's not as shocking when they see it in real life."

The Factor also asked the Warriors about women's groups, most of which were silent when David Letterman mocked Sarah Palin. "The National Organization for Women is not for all women," Carlson opined. "I would not be accepted in NOW because I had the audacity to become Miss America. They protest beauty pageants but didn't go out and protest the jokes about Sarah Palin." The Factor sounded a death knell for some women's groups: "It's over for them. Women's groups that are supposed to be protecting all American women only want to do their far-left stuff. Sarah Palin made it clear to everyone that they're done now!"
Barack and a Hard Place
Finally, The Factor asked liberal Alan Colmes and conservative Monica Crowley to assess the president's past week. Crowley began by criticizing the administration's response to chaos in Iran. "The United States has waited thirty years for this," Crowley stated, "an opportune moment for this regime to be overthrown from within. The people are pouring into the streets and the president should give a statement of moral clarity." Colmes praised President Obama for extending some benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees. "I think he needs to go further, but at least he's taking a step in the right direction. The president spoke out against the Defense of Marriage Act and against his own Justice Department. He doesn't think it's the role of government to define marriage as being between a man and a woman."
Who's helping, and who's hurting?
Wednesday's Patriots: The folks at the Country Music Television awards, who invited Bill to present an award at Tuesday night's ceremony. And the Pinhead: The fly that interrupted President Obama's TV interview and sacrificed his (or her) life in the process.
Viewers sound off
Factor Words of the Day
Amy Campbell, Mustang, OK: "I have never been more ashamed of my state! There is no excuse for the Governor and Attorney General to ignore the miscarriage of justice that puts a child rapist in jail for just one year. Thank you, Bill, for exposing the situation."

Coby Leslie, Atlanta, GA: "Bill, what would you prefer: one year for the rapist or an acquittal? DA's and judges have to make incredibly difficult choices."

Linda Stocker, Commerce City, CO: "O'Reilly, if it wasn't for you, atrocities against children would never be uncovered. I am ashamed we don't have Jessica's Law here in Colorado."

Jim Smith, Salem, OR: "Bill, don't feel threatened by Glenn Beck. Your jealousy is obvious."