Why Both Political Parties Are Letting Us Down

I'm Bill O'Reilly.  Thanks for watching us tonight.

Why both political parties are letting us down, that is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo.  If you are a fanatical Republican or Democrat, you might want to change the channel right now, because both of those parties are letting you down.

Let's start with the party in power, the GOP (search).  President Bush owes us all, but most importantly the families who lost soldiers in Iraq a full explanation of the weapons of mass destruction situation.  It is time for a detailed update.  Americans will forgive mistakes, but it is simply not fair to let this issue twist in the wind any longer.

We need more openness about Iraq (search).  Also, the Bush administration will not control the southern border.  This puts all of us in danger.  And the Republicans continue to ignore the fuel issue, which is developing into a disaster.  All American vehicles should have mandated fuel requirements.  And the government should encourage voluntary conservation efforts because we simply can't be dependent on countries like Saudi Arabia (search) much longer.

On the Democratic side, things are simply chaotic.  None of the  presidential candidates have viable solutions to complex problems.  It is simply the same old tax-and-spend philosophy that has ruined the state of California.  Remember, California's  completely controlled by left-wing Democrats.  And working men and women in that state are being mercilessly taxed, and so are businesses.

In fact, many analysts believe California has the worst  business climate in the country right now because the Democrats have wasted so much money and  are pounding businesses to provide more.

The Democratic party will not deal with the border issue either and does not have a cohesive message to improve social programs or problems.

The most powerful Democrat in this country is Senator Hillary Clinton (search), who has failed three times in the public policy arena.  She couldn't improve public education in Arkansas.  She failed to develop a viable national health plan as First Lady.  And she has failed to improve the economic conditions in upstate  New York, her primary campaign promise.  Americans who support Mrs. Clinton are basing their preference on emotion, not  performance.

And there is certainly an emotional attachment to the president as well.  He's done a good job protecting us against Al Qaeda (search), but Mr. Bush needs to  become more aggressive in confronting domestic problems and more open about his decision-making.

Political partisans will most likely reject this analysis by providing the usual excuses.  It's kind of like parents who will never acknowledge that their children mess up.  But most Americans know that the political machinery in both parties is  wobbling.  And of course, it's the folks who suffer.

We need bold, honest leadership in this time of terrorism and collapsing social mores.  It's time for both parties to abandon the "B.S." and start  providing that leadership.

And that's The Memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

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

Actor Johnny Depp (search) continues to show disrespect for his country.  Depp is living in France, which seems appropriate, and from there said America, "...is dumb.  It's like a dumb puppy that has big teeth and can hurt you."

Very profound, don't you think?  Not at all ridiculous.  Oh, no. -- Or as they say in France, ridicule.

Johnny Depp.  OK.  Let's hear it for him.

--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