By Bill O'Reilly

Life is hard, then you die. That's the pessimist's view of the human condition. And right now in America, pessimism is running wild because we are living in a complicated, dangerous age and our federal government is not really protecting us.

The primary reason the Founding Fathers instituted a federal government rather than a loose confederation of states was to provide protection to Americans against foreign invasion, against criminals that crossed state lines, against people who would manipulate the currency and the economy. Simply put, the federal government's primary duty is to protect Americans.

That's what we saw after 9/11 when the U.S. government ran up a huge debt trying to defeat Al Qaeda and other anti-American terrorists. It largely worked. We have not been attacked again on the home front. But along the way, hundreds of billions of dollars were wasted. I guess that's understandable in the fog of war, but the huge debt is hurting all of us.

In addition, the feds have not been able to protect us from the illegal alien intrusion, the drug plague or Wall Street gangsters that invented bogus mortgage investments and ultimately ruined the economy. The feds have let us down on all of those fronts.

Now we are being let down again, economically. It is clear that President Obama's big spending, big government economic agenda has failed. It is also very apparent that America needs responsible spending and a reinvigoration of the private marketplace. Yet that's not happening, so the world's investment community has begun to punish us.

But it's not the fault of the folks. We didn't do anything wrong. Most of us work hard, most of us are honest, and most of us simply want a decent life for our families.

But leadership in both parties is letting us down, primarily because of ideology. There is nothing wrong with being a liberal or a conservative or a Tea Party member or a libertarian. That's what freedom is all about, political choice. But when an ideology begins to damage the country, then something must be done. And that's President Obama's conundrum. He can't seem to break away from his liberal philosophy and admit that the free marketplace is the only vehicle that can drive us back to prosperity.

A new Gallup poll surveyed each state about Mr. Obama's job performance. Connecticut has the highest pro-Obama percentage, 60. Idaho has the lowest; 27 percent approve of the president there. All told, 29 states are disapproving of Mr. Obama, 20 say he's doing a good job, and North Carolina is tied. So you can see statewide sentiment has turned against the president.

"Talking Points" believes that if the election were held today, Obama would lose. Americans are suffering and the buck will not stop at a Tea Party rally or at the home of President Bush. No, the buck will stop where Harry Truman once lived: in the White House.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

You may remember a horse named "The Factor" almost got to the Kentucky Derby this year. Now there's another horse that won the Hambletonian Oaks horse race in New Jersey last Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jezzy now takes the lead. Crys Dream is there. Watch for Bold and Fresh on the outside. One, 23 and 3 in the stretch of the Hambletonian Oaks. Jezzy has had a tough trip here. Crys Dream. Bold and Fresh angles menacingly here. And George Brennan, the minister of speed, brings her on by. Bold and Fresh at 24 to 1. Bold and Fresh, staggering late. Lady Rainbow is flying, but Bold and Fresh has enough to pull off a Hambletonian Oaks upset.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Yes! Twenty-four to 1. Bold and Fresh, very patriotic horse. Horse paid off big at the Meadowlands, that's for sure. Maybe the horse -- maybe Miller could ride the horse into the show. Wouldn't that be good? On the little cart. We'll work on it.

— 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.