A Tale of Two Americans

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Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly.  Thank you for watching us.

Tonight, a tale of two Americas.  That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo .

Here's some No Spin data for you:  According to a CBS [News] snap poll, 67 percent of Americans believe President Bush has made a convincing case against Saddam Hussein.  That's up 20 points and reflects the success of the State of the Union address.

There's no question the president's speech persuaded millions of Americans that military action is now justified in removing Saddam.

Just 30 percent of the American public remains unconvinced, the same number that objected to President Nixon's resignation.  Of course, the 30 percent that loved Nixon is different than the 30 percent that dislikes Bush.  In fact, they are polar opposites.

What we have in this country are committed "wind-chime liberals" and equally committed "might is right" conservatives.  Those groups will never examine issues based on the facts.  They will always vote their ideology.

But the majority of Americans can be persuaded by logical arguments, and that's what President Bush did last night.  He was very logical.

In 1998, Saddam Hussein had various weapons of destruction.  In 2003, he won't say what happened to those weapons.  That's it, that's the logic.  So Mr. Bush connects the dots and believes we can't let this vicious dictator remain in power if he may have anthrax, smallpox, and other almost impossible to trace weapons.

The primary obligation of all Americans is to protect their families, and I don't want Saddam Hussein to hand a suitcase full of anthrax to some terrorist, which is entirely possible, since he will not account for the anthrax he once had.

So if President Bush is going to remove Saddam Hussein from power, I'm going to support that because I have an obligation to protect my family.  I think most Americans see it that way.  They reject the argument of no smoking gun because the argument of Iraqi danger is more threatening.  It's simple as that.

Now, what are we to think of those Americans who want Saddam to remain in power if nations like France don't agree with Mr. Bush?  It is foolish to believe that a few hundred weapons inspectors can control the flow of anthrax.  That's impossible.

So, I believe that politicians who do not support the war against Saddam will lose credibility in the months to come.  And you know who agrees with me?  Our pal, Hillary Clinton.

She couldn't get out of the State of the Union address fast enough last night.  You, we, won't see any Hillary tape doubting Mr. Bush, no way.  Mrs. Clinton is as calculating as they get.  She knows most Americans now support the president.  She knows Saddam is history in a few weeks and above all else, she wants to be on the right side of history for her presidential run in 2008.

As for John Kerry, the Saddam situation will hurt him.  Senator Lieberman wants Saddam removed and Senator Edwards was sprinting for cover alongside Hillary.

Mr. Bush won big last night.  And that's The Memo .

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day"...

If you think the United Nations is under control, listen to this.  The country of Iraq, our pals, is going to chair a forum on disarmament for the United Nations in May.

This, of course, is a joke.  But then again there's a lot of humor at the U.N. these days, if you know what I mean.  And, if you don't, it could be ridiculous.

— You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points Memo and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com