On The O'Reilly Factor...

• Talking Points Memo & Top Story
  America lacking leadership
• Impact Segment
  California leading the way for the 'Nanny State'
• Stossel Matters Segment
  Should prostitution be legal?
• Fridays with Geraldo Segment
  Did diving-death husband get away with murder?
• Lou's the Boss Segment
  Should the Feds intervene to lower gas prices?
• Back of Book Segment
  Watters Occupies Beverly Hills
• Factor Mail
  Viewers sound off
• Pinheads and Patriots
  Model student
  
  

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.

"Last night I ran down a number of crucial areas where American leadership is lacking. The main point is that President Obama's leadership is lacking in a number of areas, the gas situation being the latest. But the Republican candidates have not seized the advantage because they are squabbling over minor issues. Mitt Romney has not shown enough leadership to make millions of Americans comfortable with him. He has been caught up in his past, defending his record in Massachusetts, but what we really need are candidates who will look to the future. Right now there are three areas of great concern. Gas prices are at their highest level ever in February and, as we've been reporting, the oil companies are sending products overseas. Muslim jihadists are on the march again - in Afghanistan some soldiers made a mistake and burned Korans while cleaning up and now Afghan militants are running wild. This infuriates me - after ten years and nearly 2,000 Americans dead, we should expect more from the Afghan people. On the debt front, predictions are that if President Obama is reelected the national debt will rise to $20 trillion by 2016. Even those who support Barack Obama are having some doubts about his leadership. If you vote for the President this time around, you are again voting on 'hope' that his policies will finally begin improving the country. Leadership is the key to getting this country back to prosperity; the question is whether any of these guys in either party have what it takes?"

Fox News analyst Charles Krauthammer took issue with The Factor's contention that President Obama should tell oil companies to curtail their exports. "You're saying that the President should be telling the oil companies that they can't sell to China," Krauthammer said. "Your logic is that 'we the people' own the land and the President has the right to bring in the oil companies. But in some cases the oil companies own the land and it is their oil. And if they are leasing the land, there is a contract with the government. The contracts are the law of the land and the President can not order anybody to do anything." Dr. K also surveyed the Republican field and Rick Santorum's recent slide. "Santorum is stumbling - he had the initiative and the momentum but he squandered it. He's the man who says 'I'm the real conservative,' and yet in explaining all the votes he took in the Congress to enlarge the government he says, 'I'm a team player.' If he's trying to appeal to the Tea Party, that's not what they want."

Some California counties are now sending free condoms to boys as young as twelve years old; the state has also enacted a host of provisions telling people what they can and can't do. The Factor asked radio talk show hosts Leslie Marshall and Janine Turner to weigh in. "I like some of the things in this nanny state," Marshall said. "I think bike helmets and no smoking in public places are good ideas, but I'm not 100% on the condoms. As a mom, I have a problem with it for kids 16 and under." Turner explained why she joined the thousands who have moved out of California. "The liberal-progressive agenda didn't sit real well with my traditional values. It's government gone wild and they get to pick and choose the things they like. I'm done with it, I have no desire to move back." The Factor complained that "California is now being regulated to death, the overall philosophy is that government knows best."

The Factor welcomed Fox Business host John Stossel, whose latest special argues that prostitution should be legal. "America is overregulated," he declared. "Are we free or not once we become adults? Who owns our bodies? These ladies say 'I own my body and who are you to tell me that I can't rent it out to some guy. In the parts of Nevada where prostitution is legal there is no disease and no violence." The Factor countered that state-sanctioned prostitution would not be a panacea: "Even if you legalize prostitution, heroin addicts and people with AIDS wouldn't be allowed to ply their trade and they'd still be out on the street doing what they do because they're desperate. So you're not really solving anything."

Alabama Judge Tommy Nail has freed 34-year-old Gabe Watson, who was accused of drowning his wife during their honeymoon in Australia. Geraldo Rivera reported that Judge Nail tossed the case without letting the jury hear the evidence. "99 times out of 100," Rivera said, "the judge lets it go to a jury so the man or woman can be tried by their peers. But my initial outrage has been tempered now that I've read the case. The judge's decision had to do with the fact that the jurisdiction for this case was Australia. The only crime committed in Alabama was that this was a conspiracy to get the insurance money and the prosecution's case was very weak." The Factor questioned whether our justice system has gone off the rails: "Based on O.J. Simpson, Robert Blake, Casey Anthony and this case, would I be wrong to draw the conclusion that it's easier to get away with murder in the United States right now than it ever has been?"

Returning to the issue of oil prices, The Factor asked Fox Business anchor Lou Dobbs whether President Obama should call in the bosses of major oil companies. "It is a great idea," Dobbs replied, "for any leader to bring the principle actors together and say, 'This is what you're going to do.' It's called jawboning and it's been done throughout this nation's history, but the unfortunate part is that we have a president who is incapable - he lacks the standing with the business community and as a leader to successfully carry that out." The Factor reiterated that the price of oil is vital to America's well-being: "It's really a national security issue and that's why I'm urging President Obama and Congress to get involved to some extent."

Factor producer Jesse Watters concluded the show's West Coast swing in Beverly Hills, where he spoke with some upscale folks on Rodeo Drive. Watters returned from his outing sporting a bright yellow tie and looking like a genuine 'one-percenter.' "This tie is from Bijan," he reported, "and it costs $950. It comes with a pocket square but I didn't use the pocket square tonight because you told me if I did you'd burn it on the set." The Factor agreed that a matching pocket square would have been grounds for dismissal: "This is not a pocket square program. Hume and Goldberg get away with it, but not you - you're a man of the people."

David Granner, Toronto, Canada: "We pay $5 a gallon here, and Canada is an oil exporter, so what are you whining about, O'Reilly?"

Dr. George Grant, Richmond Hill, GA: "So what are you going to do, O'Reilly? Nationalize the oil industry? Hugo Chavez would be proud."

Rick Trinkner, Newmarket, NH: "Bill, thank you, thank you. Someone finally gets it. If we don't get leadership in this country, I think we are doomed."

Friday's Patriot: Model and TV host Tyra Banks, who graduated from Harvard's management program for business executives.