By Bill O'Reilly

You may remember that left-wing partisans hammered President Bush every August because he vacationed at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. How could he, the lefties wailed, when the Iraq war was raging.

Well now we have criticism from some on the right directed at President Obama, currently relaxing with his family on Martha's Vineyard. How can he do that, they say, when the country is tottering economically?

Unlike Mr. Bush, who was defiant about his vacation time, Mr. Obama doesn't want to be photographed having fun, obviously sensitive to the terrible economy.

Now, fair-minded Americans understand that presidents deserve downtime with their families, and these guys do work on vacation, just as I and millions of other folks do as well.

And here's the no-spin upside: It is absolutely better for all of us if President Obama stays out of economic matters for a while because at this point he is not helping.

Obamacare: job killer, no question.

Tax hikes during a recession: poison to business, which is now scared to expand.

Increased federal regulations: cutting into profits and causing banks to hoard, not lend money.

The debt debate debacle: incredibly harmful to the American economy. We need to drastically cut federal spending, not tiptoe through the fiscal tulips.

Mr. Obama and his economic advisers are on the wrong side of all these issues. So if he's golfing, I'm happy. Get him away from the economy.

If you think that assessment is unfair, you are misguided because in his own words, the president will not admit his economic vision has been wrong:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Look, we've actually made the right decisions. Things would have been much worse had we not made those decisions. That's not that satisfying if you don't have a job right now. I understand that. And I expect to be judged a year from now on whether or not things have continued to get better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Have continued to get better? Good grief. What exactly is getting better, Mr. President? I mean, come on.

Most Americans well understand the problem. In fact, a recent Gallup poll says that 71 percent of us believe the president is doing a poor job managing the economy. Just 26 percent think he's doing a good job, and some of them are communists. That's just a joke for those of you taking notes for George Soros.

But still we have guys like billionaire Warren Buffett, no relation to Jimmy, who wants more taxes on wealthy Americans and investors. Writing in The New York Times, Mr. Buffett laments that he is not paying enough to the feds because his capital gains are taxed at 15 percent, not 35 percent, as straight income is.

Of course, increasing the cap gains tax would inhibit investment and further damage the American people. Buffett has to know that but still clings to the erroneous belief that further taxing the rich is an economic solution.

Perhaps like his namesake Jimmy, old Warren is spending some time in Margaritaville.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

We haven't heard much from Stephen Colbert lately or maybe we just weren't paying attention. But anyway, he did actually poke some fun at Mr. Obama recently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": While Putin is in Siberia bagging tigers, what did Obama bag on his safari through the Midwest?

OBAMA: Hey! How are you? I got a pie.

COLBERT: He got a pie. Come on, Obama. At least throw it at a puma.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

You can make the call whether Mr. Colbert is a pinhead or a patriot for that bit. And I think it's time, Stephen, I think it's time for you to come visit us here on "The Factor." Is it not?

— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.