To watch "The Memo" click here.
Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thank you for watching us tonight.
Musings and updates. That's the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo.
A bunch of stuff to mention this evening. First, this Bush-Daschle war controversy is dopey and really not worth very much time. Both the Republicans and the Democrats are playing politics in the Iraq situation because the midterm elections are just five weeks away. The president wants to appear strong, in command, and resolute, and Saddam is an easy target and a convenient diversion from the shaky economy.
Senator Daschle is desperately trying to put his party in an area where it can gain votes from the Iraqi situation. But the senator is losing badly. Two-thirds of the American people want Saddam out quickly. They understand the threat he poses.
So Daschle is in a corner and soon will give Mr. Bush the congressional approval he seeks. All of this stomping around demanding an apology stuff is a show and not a very convincing one.
The Saddam issue has also hidden a major failing of the Bush administration inside Afghanistan. According to a United Nations survey, Afghan farmers will increase opium production more than 1,000 percent under the Karzai government.
Talking Points warned six months ago that unless the Bush administration destroyed the poppy fields, heroin would flood the world by 2003. Now that's definitely going to happen.
The reason Mr. Bush did not order the destruction of the opium is that America is trying to buy the cooperation of the Afghan drug lords. So once again, politics trumps humanity. Many Americans will die or be hurt because of that Afghan opium.
Back here, the defense lawyers of southern California have launched a ferocious counterattack after hundreds of Factor viewers and listeners filed complaints with the California bar against Steven Feldman and Robert Boyce, the lawyers who defended convicted child killer David Westerfield.
"Talking Points" remains steadfast. No American lawyer is allowed to knowingly lie in a court of law, period. The tortured logic of people defending Feldman and Boyce would be amusing if it weren't so sad.
Simply put, some defense attorneys want carte blanche to destroy the truth in a court of law, and we're not going to sit for it.
Finally, if you missed the interview with the guy from Democrats.com last night, we posted it on the Web site. He misstated a CBS poll on Iraq, intentionally, I believe, so we showed him the door. Soon after that, he posted on his site that he kick my butt in the segment.
Well, fine. But I were a Democrat -- and I'm an independent -- this is not the guy I'd want running a Web site with my party's name on it.
And that's The Memo.
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day."
The old Black Panthers are angry with the New Black Panthers, and bad words are flying. Original Panthers co-founder Bobby Seales says the New Panthers are, quote, "xenophobic idiots." The old Panthers believe the New Panthers have extremist Islamic views and no social agenda.
The New Panthers leader, Malik Shabazz, denies any rift, saying there is love and understanding between the two Panther groups, which may be ridiculous -- at least if you believe, Mr. Seales.
— You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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