Causing Trouble on The Tonight Show!

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

Well, your humble correspondent caused more trouble on The Tonight Show last night, and that's the subject of this evening's Talking Points memo.

I just couldn't help it.  When Jay Leno asked me about Hillary Clinton, I had to tell the truth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO)

I, I, I just feel that Hillary is a socialist, you know, and I'm paying enough tax.  She — you know, Hillary, Hillary wants to take my money, your money, and Freddie's money over here...

JAY LENO, HOST:  Have you met her in person?

FREDDIE PRINZE, JR., ACTOR:  No one's taking my money (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

O'REILLY:  Never met her.

LENO:  You know what's interesting?  I'll tell you something.  When you meet her — when you watch Bill Clinton on TV, he's very photogenic and friendly, and she comes off a little cold.  You meet them in person...

O'REILLY:  She's nice and he's cold.

LENO:  Yes, he's a little standoffish...

O'REILLY:  Right.

LENO:  ... and she's extremely nice and quite...

O'REILLY:  But it doesn't have anything to do with nice.  It has to do with Hillary wants to take my money, your money, and Freddie's money and give it to strangers.  She's going to take our money...

(CROSSTALK)

O'REILLY:  ... she's going to — Freddie, trust me, she's taking your money.

PRINZE:  I'm not voting for Hillary Clinton.

O'REILLY:  She's coming to your house, going to take your wallet right out of there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY:  That was actor Freddie Prinze, Jr., I was on the dais with.

Now, some people say I'm misguided.  Mrs. Clinton is certainly not a socialist, that extreme.  But they're wrong.  In the year 2001, Senator Clinton voted for almost every spending bill that crossed her desk.  The Taxpayers Union says she is the biggest-spending freshman senator in U.S. history.

And the reason for that is Hillary Clinton believes that government has a right to take an enormous amount of money from affluent Americans and give it to other Americans who don't have much money.

That is called the redistribution if income.  Mrs. Clinton also believes in cradle-to-grave entitlements, that the government has a responsibility to make sure every American has a certain level of care paid for by working taxpayers.

So what Mrs. Clinton wants for the USA is to take a huge amount of money from private citizens and give it to other citizens in a never-ending government merry-go-round.

That's what they do in Sweden, Norway, and other quasi-socialistic countries.  But it is not what the founding fathers had in mind for America.

Now, the reason Mrs. Clinton is doing this is political, not ideological.  She herself lives in splendor, two multimillion-dollar homes, all living expenses paid.  So she's not a Spartan socialist in her personal life.  But Mrs. Clinton knows the only way she can get elected to public office is by pandering to Americans who don't have very much, promising to give them more.

And the key word here is "give them."

So I did call Mrs. Clinton a socialist, and I'm not sorry.  She will run for president in the year 2008 on the Democratic ticket, which Talking Points has now renamed the Democratic Socialist ticket.

And that's the memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time for the "Most Ridiculous Item Of The Day." 

More trouble in the Middle East, but not the kind we're used to.  It's so hot over there, chickens are overheating and dying in their pens, before they're plump enough to be eaten.  So scientists at Israel's Hebrew University have crossbred a featherless fowl with a broiler chicken, in an effort to create a succulent, bare-skinned bird.  Look at these birds.  The redskin chickens may look a little odd, oh yes, but their lack of feathers keep them cooler, makes feather plucking a thing of the past.  No word yet from the chicken rights people or Frank Perdue.  But one thing is clear, these things look ridiculous.

— You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com