Wednesday, February 13, 2013
On The O'Reilly Factor...
Segment Summaries
All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.
Talking Points Memo & Top Story
Are we on the proverbial road to ruin?
Guests: Bob Beckel

"Most Americans believe government spending and the huge debt are major problems, but President Obama apparently does not. In his State of the Union address, Mr. Obama would not cop to being the biggest-spending president in history. No, he now sees himself as an 'investor,' fourteen times using the word 'invest.' That's obviously a con and government spending is out of control. In 2002 the government's yearly outlay was $2 trillion; last year the outlay was $3.5 trillion, up 76%. Every honest American knows the feds are spending far too much and the country may go into bankruptcy if restraints are not imposed. But left-wing ideologues will not admit that. Do the Democrats think we're stupid? Apparently they do and they may be right. President Obama has never denied that he wants to create a government colossus and spend trillions of dollars on entitlements, yet American voters reelected him. So now the country is invested in President Obama for another term. Let the tax money flow."

For an opposing point of view, The Factor welcomed 'The Five' co-host and proud liberal Bob Beckel. "This welfare money goes to areas in the inner city where there are no jobs and people are on welfare because they have no opportunities," Beckel said. "They barely have enough money to feed their families, where are they going to get the money to move? Is there anything that President Obama listed last night that you think is a bad idea? And we can afford them! He also opened up the door for Republicans to have negotiations on Medicare and Social Security." The Factor complained that President Obama may be throwing good money after bad: "In fifty years the poverty rate really hasn't changed despite trillions spent on anti-poverty programs, so why haven't people learned from that? And I don't want the federal government running the economy and investing in green energy, let the private sector do that."
Impact Segment
Senator Marco Rubio's new water bottle "scandal"
Guests: Kirsten Powers and Kate Obenshain

Some pundits have actually mocked Senator Marco Rubio for pausing to take a drink of water during his response to the State of the Union. Democrat Kirsten Powers and Republican Kate Obenshain opined on the "scandal." "I've maintained for a while that the media is run by a bunch of 14-year-olds," Powers began, "but I'm going to downgrade them to kindergarteners. This is what they think the whole speech was about? He took a drink of water, it's a big deal. They're juveniles, and if Barack Obama did this it would probably be proof of how brilliant it is to sip water in the middle of a speech." Obenshain accused the media of again displaying a blatant left-wing bias. "They very intentionally are trying to divert attention from a brilliant speech in a very difficult situation. They don't want to talk about the substance of it and I think Marco Rubio scares the left more than just about anybody out there." The Factor warned Senator Rubio that he should get used to being hammered: "The media knows that Rubio is a threat and they're going to do what they did to Romney, they're going to make him into an idiot."
Personal Story Segment
Howard Kurtz enters the No Spin Zone
Guests: Howard Kurtz

CNN's media analyst Howard Kurtz has accused The Factor of ignoring the fact that NBC News revealed the memo in which the Obama administration justified assassinations by drone. Kurtz entered the No Spin Zone to defend his stance. "It was clear to me," Kurtz said, "that you and Bob Beckel were talking about the outcry in the media about waterboarding during the Bush administration and the relative silence about drones. But the NBC scoop was what kick-started this debate. I would certainly agree that much of the mainstream media is giving President Obama the benefit of the doubt on national security issues in a way that was not true with George W. Bush. The press has been too passive, this issue should be debated." The Factor urged Kurtz to play a role in exposing media hypocrisy: "Leftists were screaming about waterboarding but they're muted about drones because they're in the tank for Obama. Why haven't you covered this and spent the time on this? You run a media show!"
Factor Follow Up Segment
Update on former LA police officer turned killer
Guests: Doug McIntyre

Former LAPD cop Christopher Dorner has apparently been burned to death in a cabin where he was surrounded by police. The Factor got the latest from California radio host Doug McIntyre. "They're just waiting on forensics," McIntyre said, "before they definitively say it's Dorner, but it's him. This was an exceptionally dangerous criminal with police and military background." McIntyre lamented the admiration directed at Dorner by some folks on the Internet. "We have this mythology of taking bad guys and turning them into folk heroes, we did it with gunslingers in the old West and for some people it's Timothy McVeigh." The Factor pointed to a bizarre coincidence, saying, "It's really eerie that this guy died on Lincoln's birthday almost exactly the same way John Wilkes Booth died."
Miller Time Segment
Miller on President Obama's State of the Union and the Pope Resigning
Guests: Dennis Miller

The Factor asked Dennis Miller for his take on the State of the Union address. "I wanted to watch actual lapdogs," Miller joked, "so I flipped over to the Westminster Kennel Show. Anytime somebody says the word 'smart government' and Joe Biden is over his shoulder, that risks tearing a seam in the time/space continuum. Biden's stare was blanker than the check that Obama is asking the American people for. I think Barack Obama is a debonair grifter, I don't trust a word he says." Miller also claimed to know the identity of Pope Benedict's successor. "I think the next Pope is going to be Hillary because when they announce the new Pope that wisp of smoke comes out of the Vatican, and who better to blow smoke than one of the Clintons. She can turn water into whining."
Back of the Book Segment
Did President Obama break his promise to Ft. Hood victims?
Guests: Juliet Huddy

At his State of the Union address three years ago, President Obama hailed Fort Hood police sergeant Kimberly Munley, who helped stop the deadly shooting spree on the base. But Munley now claims the President failed to live up to his promise to take care of the victims' families, and Fox News correspondent Juliet Huddy elaborated on the story. "Kimberly Munley and her partner were there during the Fort Hood shooting," Huddy reported, "and she feels that the country and the President and the military have betrayed her and the victims and the families. This was considered 'workplace violence' and not combat, so the military people are not getting Purple Hearts because of that. They feel they're not being treated fairly."
Factor Mail
Viewers sound off
Darold Schnell, South Korea: "I was shocked to see Marc Lamont Hill agree that the left has been hypocritical on the drones vs. waterboarding analysis."

Alvaro Ancede, Lisle, IL: "O'Reilly, excellent argument! You effectively exposed the hypocrisy."

Dr. Mark Schmitz, Rush City, MN: "Bill, did my eyes deceive me? O'Reilly and Letterman getting along and having a substantive conversation. How did you turn that lion of liberalism around?"
Tip Of The Day
For your Sunday viewing pleasure
Don't miss the movie version of "Killing Lincoln," which will be broadcast this coming Sunday evening on the National Geographic Channel.