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| 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.
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"There has always been politics at the Olympic Games, and this year's games in Russia now have a bit of controversy. NBC Sports anchor Bob Costas said this about Russian strongman Vladimir Putin: 'In the past year Putin brokered a deal to allow Syria to avoid a U.S. military strike by giving up its nuclear weapons, and helped bring Iran to the negotiating table over its nuclear intentions.' What Mr. Costas stated is true, but the context is weak. Vladimir Putin is a villain, a former KGB thug, and the prime supporter of the Syrian murderer Assad. Sure, he tried to stop military action against Assad, who is his buddy. And Putin protects Iran's crazy mullahs, who are causing trouble all over the place. So if you are going to profile a guy like Putin, you really have to bring a lot of perspective. NBC Sports simply did not, and then the predictable happened. Rush Limbaugh said 'there's not that much ideological difference ' between Russia and NBC, and conservative Michelle Malkin called Costas 'Putin's sycophant.' Costas is not some crazy left-wing guy who would celebrate a man like Putin. He was simply reading a script that was designed to be innocuous. But these days, nothing is innocuous. I would not have read the script, but I don't think Costas and NBC Sports meant any harm at all."
The Factor was joined by FNC media analyst Bernie Goldberg, who adamantly defended Bob Costas. "You asked for context so let me give you a little bit," Goldberg said. "Here's a quote: 'I don't know anyone who sees Putin as a peacemaker.' Bob Costas said that. He also said 'Putin supports a vicious regime in Syria' and 'corruption is rampant in Russia.' So the idea that Costas somehow portrayed Putin as a benign figure is ridiculous. This has almost nothing to do with Bob Costas, this is about cable television and talk radio and blogs, conservative and liberal, who have a constant need for a supply of bad guys and controversy. Every little thing has to become a big controversy because that's good for business." |
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| For a totally different take on the Bob Costas story, The Factor turned to Fox Business anchor Lou Dobbs. "Costas was carrying a party line that I didn't like," Dobbs stated, "and this was not an accident. When you're speaking to a billion people and NBC has a billion dollars invested in the outcome, there are no accidents. He talked about President Putin being at the center of everything. In my opinion, this was a network that was pandering to its host country, and doing so shamelessly." The Factor reiterated, "Costas is not some crazy liberal guy, I think he was simply handed a script and he read it." |
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| The Factor welcomed Fox News analyst and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who is often mentioned as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016. Huckabee questioned whether Hillary Clinton will actually be the Democrats' nominee. "I'm not sure she's going to run," he said. "She's going to be at an age where it will be a challenge for her, and she has a record. She was Secretary of State, and can you name one country we have better relations with after her tenure? Republicans need to make sure that we have a message that takes people up, not down." The Factor reminded Huckabee that Hillary Clinton, if she runs, will be an historic candidate: "The mass of people don't know what they're voting for. We elected a president who had no experience, no record, and no ability to run anything. So if you run against Hillary Clinton, you're running against emotion." |
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| Kevin Sabet, author of the book "Reefer Sanity," entered the No Spin Zone and accused special interests of pushing for marijuana legalization. "There is a marijuana lobby that stands to make millions if marijuana is fully legal across the United States," Sabet opined. "Our policies on alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs have led to a massive lobby that lives off addiction for profit. The question is whether we want to add something else to that list. The science is in - marijuana is addictive and about one in six kids who smoke marijuana at age 16 will become addicted. That has huge implications for IQ and competitiveness." Sabet contended that the legalization movement is more about money than freedom. "Legalization is about creating an industry whose business model is to increase addiction. Already things are not going well in Colorado. Kids are going to the emergency room after ingesting pot cookies and candies." |
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| Bernard McGuirk and Judge Jeanine Pirro tackled that eternal question: "What the heck just happened?" The duo began with a Cadillac ad that mocks the European focus on vacations and leisure. "I love the commercial," McGuirk declared. "Is it a cultural shot across the bow? Yes, but it's against France, where the men smell, the women don't shave their legs, and they cheat on each other. But the question is whether the commercial reflects reality, and we are now a nation obsessed with useless bums like the Kardashians." Pirro looked west to California, where state officials have mounted a campaign against sugared soft drinks. "There is already a calorie count on all sodas," she pointed out, "and nobody sees it. They say the science is conclusive regarding diabetes and that legislators have an obligation to protect the public. Are you kidding me? You can get throat cancer from smoking pot, but they don't want you to gain a few extra pounds!" |
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| Pirro and McGuirk returned to name the week's most ridiculous people. Judge Pirro convicted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his schools boss Carmen Farina, who decided against closing public schools before Thursday's blizzard. "There was a monster winter storm slamming New York City," she scolded. "Someone was killed by a snow plow and busses were hitting cars. De Blasio was dressed casually because it wasn't a regular day, but he was sending these midgets to school." McGuirk went with the Iraq bomb maker who was trying to teach his fellow terrorists how to use a suicide belt. "There were some signs," McGuirk joked, "because the guy only had seven fingers and no nose and his nickname was 'Butterfingers Bashir.' They missed all those signs and he blew up everyone. 21 people died, including this guy." The Factor went with the three Miami Dolphins football players who, according to a new report, used racial and homophobic slurs against their teammates. "Nobody should have to take that kind of stuff, and where are the Miami Dolphin leaders? You can't have this in the locker room!" |
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| When faced with the choice between sunny/warm and treacherous/freezing, always choose the former, as Bill will do next week when broadcasting from Southern California. |
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