Reality Check: O'Reilly Separates Fact From Fiction

This is a rush transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," April 24, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Back of the Book" segment: a brand-new segment called "Reality Check."

Here's the deal. I don't have time to do segments on all the interesting stuff that pours in here, so we've decided to show you the most interesting sound we can find every Thursday. Then I'll analyze the truthfulness of it, or the "truthiness," as Steven Colbert might put it.

Tonight, Obama on McCain, Bill Clinton on Obama and those polygamy guys. We begin with Senator Obama reacting to John McCain's condemnation of a North Carolina political ad that mentions Obama and Reverend Wright.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA: Well, my understanding is that the Republican National Committee and John McCain have both said the ad's inappropriate. I take them at their word. And I assume that if John McCain thinks that it's an inappropriate ad, that he can get them to pull it down since he's their nominee and standard-bearer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: All right. As I said in the "Talking Points Memo," it's a very shrewd answer by Senator Obama, because if the ad runs, he can say either McCain didn't want or was too weak to stop it.

But the reality — and we've researched this — is that Senator McCain has no power at all in North Carolina, all right? And Republican leaders in that state think that ad is going to help them, so they're going to go with it, no matter what McCain says. And that's the truth. And that's what we do on "Reality Check."

No. 2: You remember that Bill Clinton was hammered for saying Jesse Jackson won the South Carolina primary, implying some of that vote was race-based when Obama defeated his wife there. Remember that?

But the former president is not backing down and is spinning it this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that they played the race card on me. And we now know, from memos from the campaign and everything, that they planned to do it all along. We were talking about South Carolina political history. And this was used out of context and twisted for political purposes by the Obama campaign to try to breed resentment elsewhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: Now, what McCain [sic] is referring to is a memo written by an Obama staffer that mentions keeping track of comments the campaign considers "racially insensitive."

Now, no candidate knows everything his or her campaign is doing, so you can't lay that on Barack Obama directly. However, if the Obama campaign does play the race card from now on it's going to hurt them, because everybody is looking for it. And Senator Obama should issue a written directive to his staff not to engage in race-baiting.

No. 3: It is clear that these polygamy guys in Texas were running a game that no state should ever tolerate. Taking advantage of brainwashed women and minors in multiple marriage situations, that can't be tolerated. Watch this dance on the "Today" show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEREDITH VIEIRA, CO-HOST, "TODAY" SHOW: And the state also alleges that there are young women, as young as 13, who have been pregnant, borne children, are married. Are you saying that none of that is true?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been here off and on for four years. I know of no girl, 13, that's been pregnant, and I certainly don't know of anyone that has 22 wives.

VIEIRA: Do you consider having sex with a 13-year-old a form of child abuse? If it were going on in the community, would you consider it a form of child abuse?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me personally, I would never do such a thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: All right. That pinhead didn't answer the questions, and had he been on this program, I would have hammered him hard. Enough is enough with this kind of stuff.

Finally, if you get into trouble, your first line of defense is to call 911.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

911 OPERATOR: Sheriff's office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's an alligator in my kitchen.

911 OPERATOR: How tall — how long do you think the alligator is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's huge.

911 OPERATOR: Well, how long is huge? Four foot?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. I only saw the first half of it and that had to be at least three feet. And I thought it was behind the freezer, but I just disappeared.

911 OPERATOR: Are you sure it couldn't be, like, an iguana?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: Could it be an iguana? Well, 69-year-old Sandra Frosti of Oldsmar, Florida, has a right to be insulted.

Memo to 911 operators: If someone calls you and says there's an eight-foot alligator in the kitchen, believe them. It is against the law to make a phony emergency call, so operators should not be debating stuff, especially when large critters who can bite are in play. We know being an emergency operator is a tough job, but action, not words, should be the hallmark. If you want to fudge around with words, get a cable show.

Talk about a "Reality Check." More next Thursday.

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