John Kerry's Dilemma

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

John Kerry's dilemma, that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points" memo.  A new "Newsweek (search)" poll says President Bush's job approval rating has slipped to 42 percent, the lowest of his tenure in office.  However, the same poll says that the president and John Kerry remain tied in their race for the top job.

Now you would think Kerry would be surging ahead because the president is saddled with chaos in Iraq and punishing prices for gasoline, but that's not the case.  Why?  Two reasons.

First, Senator Kerry's plan to fight terrorism is soft, saying the U.N. is going to help us is a pipe dream.  And most Americans don't want to put their safety in the hands of that ineffective organization.

Second, is the far left a factor?  Just 19 percent of Americans define themselves as liberal.  And most Americans actually fear the far left because of the drastic changes that group wants to impose on America.  Also, far left tactics are often deplorable and offensive to many everyday Americans, who basically feel the U.S.A. is a good decent country.

Here's some examples.  Writing today in the "L.A. Times," liberal bomb thrower Robert Scheer (search) says, "In the end, the irony is grim. The U.S. military bans openly gay soldiers, but apparently does not effectively screen out heterosexual sadists."

Is that absurd or what?  Condemn the American military and tying the Iraqi abuse scandal to the gay issue?  Come on.

In "The Boston Globe" it gets worse.  Columnist Derek Jackson (search) ties the scandal into American race relations.  "What happened in Iraqi is a natural extension of the humiliation that has gone on for two decades in this country...the abusing soldiers and the commanders who let it happen assumed that they were dealing with people who had no voice.  So thought the Los Angeles police who clubbed [Rodney] King in 1991...

How about former Clinton adviser Sydney Blumenthal (search), who wrote, "Bush has created what is in effect a gulag.  It stretches from Afghanistan to Iraq, from Guantanamo to secret CIA prisons."

Now that kind of hysterical analysis is the hallmark of the far left, which embraces propagandists like Michael Moore (search) and his ilk.  That doesn't play in Peoria or most or places where Americans value  tradition and believe their country stands for freedom and decency.

Wesley Clark's presidential run was derailed by his embrace of Moore.  And John Kerry has a similar problem.  Many Americans are concerned that he might ally himself with the liberal fringe.  And that alarms them.

Also, it doesn't help much that a lot of the money backing the Dems is coming from certified extremists like George Soros (search).  We'll get to him a little bit later on.  So that's why the polls remain so tight.  Senator Kerry must decide which choir he will sing to, because if he doesn't decide, independent thinking Americans might well tune him out, no matter what George Bush does.

And that's "The Memo."

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

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

You know, from time to time we get jazzed about selling Factor gear and books for celebrations like the upcoming Father's Day.  Now we understand the critiques, but here's the payoff, so to speak.  As I've told you, a lot to profit derived from Factor gear and book sales goes to charity.  So much so, that beginning next January, I will be starting a charitable foundation named after my parents to help people in need all over the world.

Now I couldn't have done this without you guys and I really appreciate your loyalty and support.  So the next time you hear boo birds jab us on Factor gear, like that fanatic [New York Times critic] Frank Rich (search) did recently, you'll know it's ridiculous.

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