The O'Reilly Factor
A daily summary of segments aired on The O'Reilly Factor. A preview of the evening's rundown is posted before the show airs each weeknight.
Friday, December 19, 2008
The Factor Rundown
Guest Host
John Kasich fills in tonight.
Top Story
Unresolved Problems Segment
Factor Follow Up Segment
Impact Segment
Personal Story Segment
Factor Flashback Segment
Back of Book Segment
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Body of Caylee Anthony positively identified
John led off with an update on the murder of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony, whose body was officially identified Friday. Greta Van Susteren reported that no one should be surprised by the positive ID. "All the attention," Van Susteren said, "is on the fact that they have officially identified the remains as being those of Caylee. But the big headline is what else is in that plastic bag - are there fingerprints on the duct tape, which would point directly at her killer. If the killer is Caylee's mother, the prosecution is now trying to plug any potential holes in their case, and they have to prove that the bag was there in the woods before the mother went to jail."

News Link: Caylee Anthony's remains ID'd
Blagojevich vows to fight corruption charges
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has defiantly vowed to remain in office and "fight, fight, fight" the charges against him. John spoke about the case with Chicago columnist John Kass and former prosecutor Georgia Goslee. "He's trying to cast himself as a victim," Kass said, "as if he's the true reformer who is being battered down. The nation is starting to see what those of us in Chicago have been trying to tell everybody, that our politics are pretty dirty and low." But Goslee cast some doubt on the prosecution's case. "This may be a weak case against the governor. His lawyer says he will seriously challenge the legality of the wiretap. Also, wasn't this just good, old-fashioned political horse trading, or was it a conspiracy?" Whether or not Blagojevich engaged in criminal acts, John denounced his lack of ethics: "I can't imagine asking someone to give me money or appoint me to a certain job in exchange for doing something."

News Link: Blago denies any wrongdoing
Bush bails out the auto industry with a loan
The Bush administration will lend General Motors and Chrysler $17 billion to help the troubled auto makers through the next few months. John welcomed Fox Business News anchors Cheryl Casone and Terry Keenan, who debated the wisdom of the loans. "We should not have given them the money," Casone declared. "If they don't renegotiate the retiree benefits and all the health care, they're going to come back in March and say 'we need $40 billion.'" But Keenan countered that the Bush administration did the right thing. "This is nothing different from the bailouts of AIG and Citigroup, except on a much smaller scale, and these are short term loans. I would have been one of the last people to defend a bailout of this industry, which has been pathetically run, but there are a million jobs at stake." John added that America's manufacturing base is an indispensable part of the national economy. "Americans will say we don't mind helping them if they're going to be viable, but if they're not going to be viable we shouldn't throw good money after bad. And shouldn't we in America be manufacturing things?"

News Link: Auto bailout moves forward
The Clinton library and Hillary's hopes
Former President Bill Clinton has finally revealed the individuals, corporations and governments that have donated to his foundation and presidential library. John asked Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce whether the donor list will cause headaches for prospective Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "The entire list is a problem," Bruce said, "and there is a block that is particularly troubling, which is the Saudi government and other Arab governments. When we're talking about a potential Secretary of State, it becomes very difficult for her to have that kind of financial relationship through her husband with nations that are part of the terrorism problem. When money is given or asked for, there is an expectation of influence or of being paid back." John worried about the appearance of impropriety. "When Hillary goes before the Senate, they're going to ask how she can possibly be independent from all these friends of her husband."

News Link: Bill Clinton releases donor list
Reaction: Obama's connection to Blagojevich
John was joined by political pollster Frank Luntz, who electronically monitored a group of citizens as they watched Barack Obama's initial reluctance to comment about Rod Blagojevich. "Barack Obama's response was very different from the American people," Luntz reported. "The people don't like this governor and they want him gone. Obama should have immediately said that if any of this is shown to be true, Blagojevich has to go. The challenge for Obama is that he has expectations beyond any president in my lifetime. Americans expect him to be swift and sure in any evidence of corruption." Luntz added that President-elect Obama earned high approval marks two days later when he called for Blagojevich to step down.
Mark Felt ("Deep Throat") dead at 95
Former FBI official Mark Felt, who clandestinely passed information to Washington Post reporters during the Watergate scandal, died Friday at the age of 95. John introduced a 2005 conversation between Bill and Judge Andrew Napolitano, who argued that Felt was the antithesis of a hero. "There is a litany of statutes that he may have violated," Napolitano said at that time, "and we start with the proposition that an FBI agent is sworn to uphold the law. Passing secrets to newspaper reporters was inconsistent with his oath as a government officer. So this was malfeasance in office, he corrupted his office in 1973."
Church threatening to publicly chastise woman
Officials at a Florida church have threatened divorcee Rebecca Hancock, saying they will publicly rebuke her for having premarital sex with her boyfriend. Attorney Wendy Murphy told John the church is way out of bounds. "This is so inappropriate and illegal," Murphy pronounced. "I would say to the church that if you announce to the congregation that this woman is having premarital sex, I will sue you from one end of Florida to the other, and you will pay her for emotional distress and invasion of privacy. They will pay if they do this." John pointed out that "this is not unusual in some churches, but it does not illustrate what we want people to believe in."

News Link: Church threatens to make woman's 'sins' public