The Political Backlash is Coming...

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

The political backlash is coming, that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."  You may remember that General Wesley Clark's presidential hopes were destroyed when he would not distance himself from Michael Moore's insane comment that President Bush was a deserter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER JENNINGS, MODERATOR:  At one point, Mr. Moore said in front of you that President  Bush -- he was saying he'd like to see a debate between you, the general, and President Bush, who he called a deserter.  Now, that's a reckless charge not supported by the facts.  And I was curious to know why you didn't contradict him?

WESLEY CLARK, FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:  Well, I think Michael Moore has the right to say whatever he feels about this.  I don't know whether this is supported by the facts or not.  I have never looked at it.  I have seen this charge bandied about a lot, but to me it wasn't material.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY:  All right, now most Democrats in this country aren't crazed ideologues and realized that Clark lacked the perspective to be president.

Now we have a full-length film from Moore and other far-left individuals.  They're bomb throwing all over the place.

Last night, the ultra-liberal mayor of Baltimore actually said he feared Mr. Bush more than Al Qaeda (search)! We'll play that for you later on. Unfortunately for John Kerry, the mayor said that at a Kerry fundraiser.  Now, I say unfortunately for Kerry because I believe the irresponsible rhetoric being thrown around by the far-left zombies will hurt the senator if he is seen as endorsing it.

The upcoming presidential election will likely come down to three states:  Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida.  And it is the working class folks in those states who will decide the next president.  Those folks generally don't like Michael Moore (search), don't like to see the office of the presidency disrespected, and really dislike hateful statements about America.  Republican or Democrat, most everyday Americans aren't ideologues, as I said. They respect their country and believe it is a good place.

So, any politician that allies him or herself with the lunatic fringe, even if the media glorifies that fringe, will pay for that mistake come election day.  We the people want to know who will look out for us, and most of us reject extremism. Neither Bush nor Kerry are extremists.  Both men are patriots who have the best interests of the country at heart. Your decision will be which man is a stronger leader, which man will better fight the terrorists and bring security and prosperity to the nation.

But ideologues on both the right and the left reject any kind of analytical thinking. All they want is their guy, no matter what he says or does.

The far right in the USA has been largely quiet since Bill Clinton left office, so it is the far left that is really out of control right now. Senator Kerry would be well advised to understand that and distance himself from it.

And that's "The Memo."

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

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

As you know, scores of Hollywood stars made a really big deal out of Michael Moore's movie.  So we did a little experiment here at The Factor. We asked a bunch of them to send a statement, saying what do they think. Only one did. The others ran for cover.

Richard Gere (search), for example, said he couldn't provide a statement because he's out of the country.  Hey Richard, they have phones even in Tibet, call your publicist. Jodie Foster (search) said she couldn't provide a statement because she's spending time with her kids.  Maybe the kids have a statement.  Danny DeVito's people said no and they wouldn't even give an excuse why he wouldn't provide a statement.  Ellen Degeneres said no because she had just completed a project. No statements after a project.

Now I can go on and on, but the dopiness remains the same.  Only Yoko Ono (search) sent us a note, and we respect her for it.  Quote: "I was deeply impressed with Michael Moore's love for the country and the people, and his devotion and courage to speak out." All right, Yoko, at least you've got enough dignity to state your opinion.  The others are ridiculous.  Yoko is OK with us.  All we wanted was a statement, that's it.