Dishonesty in Politics and in Media

More dishonesty in politics and in the media. That is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

Let's look at our pal John Edwards, who's running for president. Edwards contends there are "two Americas," one for the rich and the other for everybody else. And that everybody else is getting hosed. The fix is in; the economy's rigged.

"Talking Points" doesn't believe that. Of course the rich do have advantages, but I am living proof that you can start with very little and prosper economically if you work hard and keep it honest. To hype up this class warfare, Edwards is now bringing in homeless veterans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN EDWARDS: Tonight, across this country, 200,000 men and women who wore our uniform and served this country patriotically, veterans, will go to sleep under bridges and on grates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Now I've said on this program that we will pay for homeless veterans to be taken to the Edwards mansion in North Carolina for shelter. Of course, that's an immature remark, I know that, but there's a reason I'm saying it.

Certainly there are homeless veterans, but it's not because of the economy. It's mostly because of addiction and mental illness, something politicians can do little about. But if Edwards admits the truth, it takes away the class warfare issue, which is his only issue. My criticism of Edwards has reached his own ears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN EDWARDS: I heard that last night Bill O'Reilly, who's a talk show host, just heard that I had said this about hundreds of thousands of veterans who don't have a place to live and were homeless. And he challenged me about whether that's true or not — whether in fact we have that many veterans who don't have a place to live, and some of them are sleeping under bridges. Well, he ought to start by coming to Las Vegas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Fine. Here's the truth about poverty in America, Mr. Edwards. Listen up. You might learn something. And you need the lesson.

If you earn less than $10,000, you are poor. If a family of four earns less than $21,000, they are poor. Yet according to the government census, poor households in America have lots of stuff.

Ninety-seven percent have a color TV, 78 percent a DVD player, 80 percent an air conditioner, 73 percent a car or truck, 63 percent cable or satellite TV, and 43 percent of poor households in the USA own the home they are living in.

So if the poor are not destitute in America, and they obviously are not, why are so many veterans sleeping under bridges, John Edwards? The answer again is they're mostly addicted or mentally ill. It has nothing to do with the economy.

Edwards is a charlatan, a man either too uninformed or too dishonest to be elected to anything. I am tired of hearing this nonsense from him and other callow politicians. We deal with facts here on "The Factor," not fiction. John Edwards owes us an apology.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

As we've been telling you, famous people in America are under tremendous pressure because they're often followed by photographers and other stalkers.

When actress Gwyneth Paltrow left a New York City hospital recently, her husband, rock guy Chris Martin, saw the paparazzi waiting and reacted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MARTIN, MUSICIAN/GWYNETH PALTROW'S HUSBAND: Have some respect. Have some respect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Chris, thanks for the video. You give it back to him or this door's getting broken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

All right. Now, we don't condone that, but let's be clear about this: All people who stalk celebrities are pinheads.

On the patriot front, Richard Knerr has died. The company he founded brought us the Hula Hoop and the Frisbee.

If you were around in the year 1960, you could not escape the Hula Hoop. And let's be honest, who would want to escape it? I actually had a Hula Hoop.

The Hula Hoop and the Frisbee are part of American culture, and for that Mr. Knerr, the late Mr. Knerr, is a patriot.

I had a Hula Hoop. It was blue.

— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads and Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com