This is a rush transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," December 19, 2007. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: "Personal story" segment tonight, 2007, been a very good year for "The Factor." We're actually growing in the ratings after being number one in cable news for seven consecutive years. Thank you all very much.
Now this year, we did a lot of enterprise reporting, but the heart of this program remains stopping the spin. Here are some of our best moments beginning with the Democratic presidential candidates cozying up to a vicious far-left website that runs some truly atrocious pitches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Are you OK with that cartoon, sir?
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: Of course not. That's not the issue, Mr. O'Reilly.
O'REILLY: Of course, it's the issue.
DODD: No, no, you're going...
O'REILLY: That's what they do on the site.
DODD: No, no...
O'REILLY: They do that hate stuff all the time.
DODD: ...you've suggested that we ought not to participate...
O'REILLY: Correct.
DODD: ...in the convention because six or seven or eight or 10 people here have said something...
O'REILLY: Eight of 10 people? What are you, crazy? There's thousands of vile postings on that website. Thousands.
DODD: Mr. O'Reilly, there are thousands on your posting as well everyday...
O'REILLY: No, they're not. There are not any on my postings. We take them off right away.
DODD: Talking about Al Qaeda attacking San Francisco, blowing up San Francisco. That's not offensive?
O'REILLY: When did I say that, senator? When did I say that?
DODD: You said it in 2005, I think is correct.
O'REILLY: Where? Where? What forum? When?
DODD: Right here, I believe, on your own show.
O'REILLY: You're wrong. I didn't say it here. You don't know what the hell I said, with all due respect. You got it from Media Matters. You didn't hear it and you don't know what I do.
DODD: Focus on your legitimate criticism.
O'REILLY: Look, you are a propagandist, senator. You're a propagandist.
DODD: No, no.
O'REILLY: I used to respect you. I don't have any respect for you. And if I were Joseph Lieberman I would never talk to you again. Because this is vile and you're legitimizing it.
O'REILLY: SoYou want to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney and I guess everybody else in there.
ROCKY ANDERSON (D), SALT LAKE CITY MAYOR: No, actually, I want the House of Representatives to stand up for our Constitution or the rule of law.
O'REILLY: Alright. But there's got to be a crime in order to impeach anybody.
ANDERSON: To impeach the president and the vice president.
O'REILLY: Yes, but there's got to be a crime in order to impeach anybody. So...
ANDERSON: I'm sorry. You don't know your constitutional history, Bill. There doesn't have to be a crime at all.
O'REILLY: With all due respect, Mayor, I think I know more than you do about American history and the Constitution. There has to be a demonstrable crime.
ANDERSON: You don't from what you just said, Bill O'Reilly.
O'REILLY: Apparently -- apparently you're going to keep quiet and let me say something and then you can respond.
ANDERSON: Well, I think I was responding to your question.
O'REILLY: You were and you got your point across. Now you have to have a demonstrable action by the president or vice president which is a high crime or misdemeanor that shows...
ANDERSON: That's right, and it's not a criminal violation.
O'REILLY: ... that they violated the Constitution.
ANDERSON: You are misstating constitutional history. Misleading...
O'REILLY: You don't know what you're talking about -- you don't know what you're talking about because abuse of power can be interpreted in a million different ways.
ANDERSON: You know, do you ever let anybody answer a question?
O'REILLY: Not if you're -- not if you're foolish and you're taking up the viewers' time.
O'REILLY: You, Geraldo River, with teenage daughters...
GERALDO RIVERA, FOX NEWS: Right.
O'REILLY: ...are telling me that you are OK with somebody sneaking into the country, becoming drunk, get convicted of a DUI and staying here. You're all right with that?
RIVERA: My nightmare is my daughters having anything to do with a drunk...
O'REILLY: Are you OK with that?
RIVERA: Let me finish my answer. My nightmare is my daughter having anything to do with a person driving drunk. That's my nightmare.
O'REILLY: American crime...
RIVERA: What the hell difference does it make?
O'REILLY: It makes plenty of difference.
RIVERA: It does not Bill, please.
O'REILLY: He doesn't have a right to be here.
RIVERA: He didn't commit a felony.
O'REILLY: He doesn't have a right to be in this country.
You like this, going around, talking to pinheads like me?
VINCE VAUGHN, ACTOR: I won't let you use that name. I won't let you spin yourself that way here. No, you're not a pinhead; you're a gentlemen. You're a gentleman.
O'REILLY: All right.
VAUGHN: It's easy to go around and talk about this.
O'REILLY: And you don't mind? Because they're all asking you dopey questions.
VAUGHN: You know what's tough is if you go in and you had a movie that you didn't believe in or that you didn't like. I'm sure that would be difficult.
The other thing I'm going to do is I'm going to have you come out with me to help promote the film.
O'REILLY: Yes. See, that will drive away, though. It depends on where we go. If we went...
VAUGHN: We're going to bring people here.
O'REILLY: In San Francisco, that would hurt you.
VAUGHN: San Francisco, we're going to get you and San Francisco on the same page.
O'REILLY: Are we?
VAUGHN: Next time I'm coming in, we're going to get into it like that Geraldo moment, in a positive way.
O'REILLY: All right, in a positive way. Because everything has to be positive.
VAUGHN: A lot of people thought the contender fight was big last night. They didn't see you and Geraldo. You guys made that look like two Swiss sister who stole each other's sweaters.
O'REILLY: Scott Pelley asked you...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT PELLEY, "60 MINUTES": Why aren't you telling the president, "Mr. President, I need this authority this afternoon"?
GEORGE TENET, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: Because the United States government doesn't work that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: I thought that was weak.
TENET: Well, Bill, it's the way I did -- that particular briefing, did I march down the hall. I'm sure Condi went down the hall and talked to him about it.
O'REILLY: But you should have done.
TENET: I started talking about imminent threat in May.
O'REILLY: But you should have gone
TENET: And I know the president understood my concerns. I knew the entire government understood my concerns. I knew everybody knew how concerned I was.
O'REILLY: I would have been in there, banging that table.
TENET: You know, I banged every table in town. I was the guy who had his hair on fire that summer.
O'REILLY: If you're going to go out and say to millions of people, "we got to get out of there now," then I'm going to come in and say, well, what happens if we do that? Do we put America in more danger? And it doesn't matter how you feel. You need to -- you need to think about that.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, ABC'S "THE VIEW": If you're asking, in my opinion...
O'REILLY: Yes.
GOLDBERG: ... then it does matter how I feel.
O'REILLY: You need to think about it.
GOLDBERG: No, Bill, you need to think about it. That's how you do it. I don't do it that way.
O'REILLY: So you don't have a responsibility to back up how you "feel"?
GOLDBERG: No, I have a responsibility to answer your question. I wasn't a fan of the war in Iran -- I'm still not -- I'm sorry, Iraq.
O'REILLY: Right.
GOLDBERG: I'm still not a fan of the war in Iraq. I think we went in under misguided ideals and with no real way to get out.
O'REILLY: Is it tough being you?
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL'S "THE COLBERT REPORT": It's hard for me to be you. I'll tell you that much.
O'REILLY: It is? Now don't you owe me an enormous amount of money?
COLBERT: Well, if I were imitating you, I would, Bill. But here's a difference between imitation and emulation. Let me tell you the difference, OK? If you imitate someone, you owe them a royalty check. If you emulate them, you don't. There's a big difference. Check your lawyer.
O'REILLY: I will, I will. Now, what is it exactly that you do on your program?
COLBERT: What I do, Bill, is a catch the world in the headlights of my justice, OK?
O'REILLY: Your middle name is Tyrone.
COLBERT: It is.
O'REILLY: How could that possibly happen?
COLBERT: Because I'm Irish, Bill. Have you ever been to...
O'REILLY: You're French.
COLBERT: Have you ever been to -- have you ever been...
O'REILLY: What Irishman is called Colbert?
COLBERT: Have you ever been -- Coal-bert. Tom Coal-bert of the Easter Rebellion, 1916.
O'REILLY: Now you're Coal-bert again.
COLBERT: I thought you had a researcher.
O'REILLY: Who are you? Are you Coal-bert or Colbert?
COLBERT: Bill, I'm whoever you want me to be.
O'REILLY: All right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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