By Bill O'Reilly

A new Fox News poll contains some surprising data from the key swing states of Florida, Ohio and Virginia. Voters there apparently believe the economic policies of Barack Obama have helped more than hurt the economy. That is simply stunning.

Unemployment remains above eight percent, wages down big; national debt $16 trillion. And the annual deficit is now well over $1 trillion a year. And likely voters think President Obama's economic policies are helping? Again, it's inexplicable.

Now, last night I had a conversation with Laura Ingraham whereby I put out a reason why this might be happening but it's speculation, something I don't like to do.

We all know that the Internet now dominates the lives of many Americans. Millions of us are addicted to texting, entertainment web sites, gaming, is pretty much blocking out the world whenever we want to.

It's now possible to live in an alternate universe that is operated out of your home or in your hand. You never have to deal with reality. There's always some fantasy you can create.

Economic issues are boring and complicated. There is spin flying all over the place. It's very hard to know what the truth is unless you're out of work and then you know.

But to understand what's actually happening in the marketplace you have to pay attention. You have to read. Listen to news reports. For example my syndicated newspaper column this week is why America does not have an energy policy and how that affects all of us. You guys might read it on BillO'Reilly.com but most Americans will not.

Almost every person I know has a hand held Internet device American children and adults spend hours surfing the net. So you can see how our society has been dramatically impacted by high tech. In my opinion that's why this presidential election is so close.

32 years ago when Reagan ran against Carter there was no place to hide for the President. Jimmy Carter's economy was a disaster and so was his foreign policy and most Americans knew it.

But today we have $4 a gallon gas prices and people go, so what? The average American worker losing take home pay and many don't seem to care. The value of your home down dramatically, so what? I'll go on my computer I'll lose myself in the fantasy world.

About 30 percent of the American electorate is paying attention. The other 70 percent, distracted to say the least. And I believe that's what the polls are reflecting.

And that's "The Memo."

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