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Laura Ingraham fills in. |
| On The O'Reilly Factor...
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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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"Barack Obama surprised everyone Friday by actually appearing in Washington. After a few days of Hollywood schmoozing and a week after the worst job numbers in a year, he reported that 'the private sector is doing fine.' What?? The economy is growing at only 1.9% and the there are 552,000 fewer Americans working now than when he took office. This is not 'fine' by any measure - it is shocking and unacceptable. After Republicans jumped on his remarks, the President tried to clarify them later in the day, maintaining that the economy is not doing fine but the private sector has seen momentum. On Thursday in Las Vegas the President urged Congress to 'get to work,' but that was just a few hours after he was at a Hollywood breakfast with young Hollywood stars. And on Wendesday he attended star-studded celebrity fundraising bashes in San Francisco and Beverly Hills. There's a big game of pretend going on here - President Obama pretends that both he and the economy are working and he hopes voters don't catch on before November. I don't know what's worse - President Obama pretending the economy is working when it's not, or pretending that he's working when he's not."
For two other views, Laura welcomed former Obama advisor Steve Murphy and reporter Michelle Fields of the conservative Daily Caller. "The President was telling the truth about the private sector," Murphy stated. "Over 4-million jobs have been created by the private sector in the last 27 months, but it's been offset by a necessary pullback in the public sector. We have one of the strongest economies in the world right now." Fields criticized the President for spending an inordinate amount of time with Hollywood celebrities. "This President is so out of touch with the American people. He has spent more time campaigning than his five predecessors combined, schmoozing with people like George Clooney and Sarah Jessica Parker and people on Wall Street. It's no surprise that he thinks the economy is doing just fine because he's out of touch with Americans." |
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| After saying the "Bush tax cuts" should remain in place, former President Clinton did an about face and aligned himself with President Obama. Laura was joined by Bill Clinton's former top aide Lanny Davis. "I believe President Clinton supports the policy of taxing the wealthy at a greater amount than the rest of us," Davis said. "I think what happened is that he was looking at the timing on increasing taxes at a particular moment in time. He probably regrets interjecting what looks like a difference with President Obama. We all agree with President Obama's policies - we're disagreeing with some of the tactics. I think President Obama has done a good job and he should be telling his story better." Laura contended that President Obama's problem runs deeper than how he delivers his message: "You think it's a story-telling program, I think it's a fundamental misunderstanding of the economy on his part." |
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| Often-profane comedian Chris Rock, a staunch supporter of President Obama, jokingly compared President Obama to a zebra and mocked Mitt Romney's Mormon religion. Laura explored President Obama's Hollywood connections with radio talk show host Janine Turner and entertainment reporter Jeanne Wolf. "Chris Rock blasts everybody," Wolf said, "but let's remember that Chris is funny and very strategic. He doesn't care if he made you or President Obama mad, he cares that his movie is publicized." Turner questioned the wisdom of President Obama's coziness with entertainers. "He goes to Hollywood and raises a lot of money with celebrities, but I don't know that it's going to help him with the American people who are looking at their paychecks and the unemployment numbers. I think Obama has a fun time in Hollywood, but there's a lot of hypocrisy. Can you imagine if a conservative had made the 'zebra' comment?" Laura concluded, "The country is on the brink and the President looks frivolous and immature." |
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| After Democrats were routed in Tuesday's Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election, many folks on the left seem genuinely worried that President Obama could lose in November. Geraldo Rivera analyzed the fear and loathing on the left. "Unions and big labor truly suffered a devastating blow on Tuesday," Rivera said, "and I think unions will never be the same - they are really staggered and I think history will mark this as the end of a trend where unions disproportionately wielded their clout. And right now Mitt Romney is leading the President in half the polls, so liberals are trying to get ginned up again because the President could clearly lose. Liberals are right to be very concerned, but before we overstate the panic on the left, liberal enthusiasm for Barack Obama is building again. Wisconsin could be used as a catalyst by groups like MoveOn." |
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| During his Friday news conference President Obama took umbrage at the suggestion that someone in the White House is leaking classified national security secrets. Laura asked former Clinton aide Nancy Soderberg about the recent leaks. "This is a President who has done more to crack down on leaks than anyone in history," Soderberg asserted, "and the administration has been investigating people who are leaking since they took office. Having been at the White House and having handled national security information, it is one of the most serious responsibilities you take. The President has been unequivocal in that he has authorized no leaks." Laura pointed out that President Obama has benefited politically from the leaks, saying, "Pretty much every piece of information that has come out has made him look pretty good." |
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| U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, showed up at his pre-trial motions sporting a beard, a violation of Army rules. Laura welcomed Fox News intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge, who has been investigating the Fort Hood massacre. "Our investigation shows there was a series of people dropping the ball," Herridge reported. "In the five months that we looked at this there were moments when you felt you wanted to weep because it was so avoidable at so many points along the chain." Herridge added that Hasan's superiors seemed to be obsessed with political correctness. "When Major Hasan was in the Army, at least twice he justified the use of suicide bombings and he also justified the writings of Osama bin Laden. Yet none of this appeared in his performance reviews. His supervisors seemed more worried about protecting him and promoting him than actually dealing with the problem." |
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| Friday's Pinhead or Patriot: The Massachusetts high school teacher who told graduating seniors, "None of you is special, you're not exceptional, contrary to what your soccer trophy suggests and your glowing 7th grade report card." |
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