The Elizabeth Smart Case

To watch "The Talking Points Memo" in the Screening Room click here.

Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly, reporting tonight from Los Angeles.  Thanks for watching us.

The Talking Points Memo is about Elizabeth Smart.  There are many unanswered questions in this case, but the media has to be very careful.  Only Elizabeth herself can answer some of those questions, and she has, obviously, been traumatized.  So both the authorities and the media must be patient.

The reason questions like why didn't the 15-year-old cry out for help and was she brainwashed by her kidnapper have to be answered is to help other abducted children.  The more we know about Elizabeth Smart's investigation, the better future investigations of this type will be.  There is no question, this is a very strange case.  But jumping to conclusions can only hurt Elizabeth and the Smart family.  Thus, we the media should be cautious.

I will say I was very uneasy with the police grandstanding last night once Elizabeth was found.  It's clear the Smart family was primarily responsible for alerting the public to the identity of the alleged kidnapper, not the police.  And 9-year-old Mary Katherine Smart seems to have broken the case by describing the man who broke into her room and snatched Elizabeth.

As everybody knows, Talking Points is pro-police, but, in this case, the focus should be on the family.  Once again, The Factor will not engage in endless speculation, mindless rumor spreading or the exploitation of the Smart family.  We will concentrate on the facts and try to get the truth, no matter what it is.

But we will use discretion, because the mental health of a 15-year-old girl is the most important aspect of this case right now.  That, and prosecuting the kidnapper and his complacent wife.  If found guilty, Brian David Mitchell should be sentenced to life without parole, and his wife Wanda Barzee should get at least 25 years.

Finally, Congress should pass the AMBER Alert bill.  And for once, that body should act quickly and without political guile, for once.  American children need to be protected by the federal government, and this should have happened a long time ago.

And that's The Memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

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

On billoreilly.com, we have a poll which asks the question: Should American's boycott French goods?  So far, almost 30,000 people have weighed in.  Ninety-three percent say they support a boycott,. 5 percent say they don't, and 2 percent don't know.

My question is why would anybody go to a Web site and participate in a poll if they don't know.  What's that all about?

Anyway, we're keeping the poll open until Friday, tomorrow, and we'll send the results to the French embassy in Washington.  They're already going to nuts.  I'm sure they'll think it's ridiculous.

Once again, the poll is on billoreilly.com.

And I will be talking about this tonight on the Jay Leno program on NBC.  We are for a boycott of French products, if they veto the U.N. resolution, which will be next week.