First off, our condolences to Barack Obama. His grandmother passed Sunday, and it's a shame she did not live to see the vote.
Whatever happens Tuesday, both John McCain and Barack Obama will emerge with their dignity intact. Neither candidate did anything untoward, despite a bitter partisan media egging them on.
The campaign has been a long and winding road, with the economic chaos providing a steep advantage to the Democrats. That is something few predicted, and the fact that Senator McCain has competed so energetically is to his great credit.
On the downside, McCain's campaign is pretty mysterious. Some viewers have written asking why McCain and Sarah Palin have not been on "The Factor" since the convention. Well we tried hard to make that happen, but we had just one opportunity.
Last Tuesday night the campaign said the senator and the governor would talk to me the next morning in Hershey, Pennsylvania. That was very late notice, but we scrambled. However, the next morning there was a monsoon here in New York with three-hour delays at the airport. We could not be assured we could get back to do the program, so that blew up. We tried to reschedule but failed.
It was clear to us that Senator McCain did not see "The Factor" as a priority. I don't take it personally. He's been on before. But last week "The Factor" was rated No. 2 among all cable shows, not just news programs. And we have a huge following among independents, the exact voters McCain needs. Why the McCain campaign avoided us is simply incomprehensible.
I did talk to Governor Palin on the phone. She said she wanted to do an interview. We believe the McCain people killed that, but I could be wrong.
On the Obama side, he did the major interview with me. But there was no way Joe Biden was going to come anywhere near "The Factor." They are hiding Biden, no question.
To me, the most incredible thing in the campaign is that neither Obama nor McCain tapped into the great anger Americans have about the corruption that caused the stock market to tank. I am still very surprised McCain does not understand that if he had used Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney as go-to guys to punish the people who have caused so many Americans so much financial pain, he would have won.
In fact, I put that to Giuliani a couple of weeks ago on "The Radio Factor":
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: I would have said I'm going to make Rudy Giuliani attorney general if he'll accept and Mitt Romney secretary of the Treasury to turn the economy around and have Giuliani investigate all of the CEOs and all of the government people who allowed this thing to happen.
RUDY GIULIANI: Personally, I've never thought you can name your cabinet before…
O'REILLY: But this is…
GIULIANI: …you get elected because then they became — Giuliani and Romney would get added to McCain and Palin. Personalities aside, your idea is a very good idea, and that is to have a real investigation of this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Summing up, both candidates missed opportunities. But Obama has more money and the media in his pocket, so McCain has a lot to overcome.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
Because we live in a country where the press is now corrupt, you probably do not know that the Iraq situation is now at the victory level. I think it's safe to say now that the U.S. military has been victorious in that brutal country, and, again, very few press people will acknowledge it.
But here's something everyone should acknowledge: American forces in Iraq have been brave and patriotic from day one.
On the pinhead front, KGO Radio in San Francisco has a major problem. One of its far-left talk show guys was caught on mike commenting on an ABC News Radio report:
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With only a few days to go before the election, John McCain tells ABC News Radio there's still a lot of work to do.
JOHN MCCAIN: We're going to campaign hard. We're going to campaign on the differences between myself and Senator Obama. Joe the plumber made it very clear...
CHARLES KAREL BOULEY, KGO RADIO: God (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
MCCAIN: ...for the people of this country that he wants...
BOULEY: Joe the plumber.
MCCAIN: ...to help spread the wealth around.
BOULEY: I want (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Joe the plumber dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
The guy's name is Charles Karel Bouley. Obviously he's a pinhead, and the people who run KGO Radio are pinheads, too, for allowing this to happen.
— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & 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
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