Hi. I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thank you for watching this special edition of “The Factor” analyzing today's election in Iraq. And that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."
The turn-out was about 60 percent, the same as the turn-out in the U.S. election last November, and by most accounts, the vote was very successful. So this, indeed, is a good day for the USA. More than 8 million Iraqis defied killer terrorists and went to the polls to make their choice. This is obviously a huge blow against worldwide terrorism, which opposes any kind of democracy.
Back here in the USA, the far left Web sites are silent this evening, no doubt thinking up how they'll spin what is a defeat for them. On the political front, Senator Kennedy (search) issued a statement saying, "As I said this week, while the elections are a step forward, they're not a cure for the growing violence and resentment of the perception of an American occupation."
Well, with all due respect, Senator Kennedy is looking very bad after his negative comments about Iraq last week, and this statement does not improve his declining situation.
Sen. John Kerry (search) also appeared on television this morning, and he was a bit more moderate than Kennedy but continues to call for an international solution to the Iraqi problem, which, of course, would be very, very nice. But many think it is a pipe dream.
Would be a mistake for Americans to get over-exuberant about the Iraq election, but there's no question this is a huge victory for the coalition forces — the good guys. The morale of American soldiers will most likely go up. Iraqi cooperation probably will improve. And President Bush looks like a sage.
As "Talking Points" mentioned last week, failure in Iraq would have bolstered the terrorists and would have made all of our lives much more dangerous. It really doesn't matter whether Kennedy, Kerry or anybody else agrees with that. It's true. Chasing the USA and Britain out of Iraq would have been the biggest terrorist victory in history.
So again, this is a very, very good day for the good guys. Let's hope and pray things in Iraq improve dramatically from here on.
And that's "The Memo."
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
No "Ridiculous Item" on January 30.
I—You can watch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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