"Congratulations to Senator Joe Biden, a safe choice for vice president, but one unlikely to swing many ballots. The only VP choice that would have rallied the party big time would have been Hillary Clinton, so there must be some real bad blood between the Clintons and the Obamas. The challenge for Barack Obama now is to convince independent voters that he is not some far-left ideologue masquerading as a rock star politician. As the polls demonstrate, there is deep suspicion about Senator Obama because of his past votes and associations. That's why he went with an establishment guy like Biden, who is a traditional liberal, not a netroots nut. Time and again American voters have chosen traditional politicians for the top job. Now we have a very liberal senator vying for the presidency, and he has run into problems. This week is Barack Obama's big chance to regain momentum, to persuade doubters that he is not a son of San Francisco, a cousin of George Soros, or a puppet of MoveOn. That is the drama here in Denver."

The Factor was joined by political analyst Dick Morris, who said Joe Biden was precisely the wrong choice. "Obama chickened out," Morris declared. "He should have reached over Hillary Clinton and picked Kathleen Sebelius, the female Governor of Kansas. 30% of the Hillary voters now say they're not going to vote for Obama, and his failure to choose a woman is going to come back and haunt him. You have a Democratic candidate who is not winning women." The Factor thoroughly disagreed with Morris' analysis. "Picking Sebelius would have caused Hillary Clinton's supporters to defect en masse. I don't think Biden gets him any votes, but I don't think he loses him any votes either."

The Factor next welcomed Bill Clinton's former Chief of Staff John Podesta, who endorsed the Biden selection. "He's a good choice," Podesta said. "He gives Senator Obama some balance on the national security side, and he's a working class guy and a very effective campaigner who connects with voters. There's no one in the Senate who is a more effective critic of what Senator McCain wants to do." Podesta also downplayed reports of an enduring feud between the Clinton and Obama camps. "They learned to respect each other on the campaign trail. She's going to support him and wants to see him be elected president."

Featured Book: The Power of Progress: How America's Progessives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate, And Our Country by John Podesta

John McCain is the target of a new TV ad that ridicules the senator for forgetting just how many homes he owns. The Factor spoke with pollster Frank Luntz, who analyzed the impact of the ad. "We tested Obama's ad," Luntz explained, "by showing it to 21 undecided voters. That ad didn't work. Why? Voters may think McCain is out of touch, but they don't see that he's used his political position to get to that level." Luntz also tested an anti-Obama ad that links the Democratic nominee with corrupt real estate developer Tony Rezko. "This ad was more impactful because voters do not accept someone who uses their political position to enrich themselves. McCain has been closing the gap because his advertising has been more effective." Luntz summed up the election this way: "There's an age gap. If you're under age 30, everybody's voting for Barack Obama. If you're over age 65, McCain's winning. The key segment is middle-aged and middle-income who are the undecideds."

Featured Book: Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear by Frank Luntz

A few radicals have taken to the streets of Denver, calling America a "police state" and accusing the Bush administration of engineering 9/11. Factor producer Griff Jenkins, who had a confrontation with some of the protestors, entered the No Spin Zone with his first-hand account. "This is a total bust," Jenkins reported. "These are fringe protestors and their goal is only to disrupt. But I did feel a little bit of danger, I felt they were reckless and they were trying to destroy our camera." The Factor questioned why authorities in Denver are allowing the protestors to hide their faces. "Masks were against the law in New York four years ago, but in Denver they're not arresting people with the masks. It looks like some of these guys are violent, but you don't know how many."

A new anti-Obama ad tries to convince Hillary Clinton supporters that she was treated unfairly by the Obama campaign. The Factor spoke about the Obama-Clinton rivalry with FNC analyst Juan Williams. "Of course they dislike each other," Williams asserted. "There's no reason why, if you could get me three to five points in a close contest, that I wouldn't grab your hand." Williams also accused conservatives of shedding crocodile tears over Clinton's alleged mistreatment. "When it was possible she would be the nominee, Republicans were busy demonizing her. Now they're saying poor Hillary, she's been disrespected." The Factor argued that Senator Clinton would have been the pragmatic choice for vice president. "I'm not saying she should have been on the ticket, but she would have brought votes in."

Jenna Kern, a contributor to Long Island Newsday, wrote a column about the man who opened fire at a church in Tennessee. She laid part of the blame on Bill O'Reilly because 'The O'Reilly Factor' was found in the man's book case. But when confronted by Factor producer Jesse Watters, Kern admitted she had never read the book. "I wasn't directly linking him," Kern told Watters, "I was talking about a culture where I perceive a lot of hateful things being said against people with liberal points of view." The Factor offered this reality check: "Obviously Ms. Kern is misguided, but the true villain here is Newsday editor John Mancini, who has directed cheap shots toward Fox News for years. Mancini has turned that newspaper into a left-wing attack vehicle with no sense of honesty whatsoever. Editors like John Mancini are corrupting journalism in America." The Factor also put forth this reality check on John McCain's forgetfulness about his housing situation: "That was not good, Senator McCain needs to take inventory if he wants to connect with the real folks." And finally, Barack Obama said Russia was wrong to invade Georgia, but implied that the U.S. acted similarly in Iraq. The Factor's check: "Drawing a moral equivalency between removing a killer dictator and invading a Democratic country is simply wrong, Senator Obama, and it's dumb, too."

Monday's Patriots: The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, whose pre-convention reports were fair and balanced. And the Pinhead: Madonna, whose latest concert juxtaposed images of John McCain and Adolf Hitler. Nominate a Pinhead or a Patriot by sending an email to pnp@billoreilly.com.