Trouble on the Left

This evening's "Talking Points Memo": trouble on the left.

Our pal, Howard Dean (search), is at it again. If you remember last week, he said most Republicans don't work. Well, Monday in San Francisco, he put GOPers into another category.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN: You know, the Republicans are not very friendly to different kinds of people. They're a pretty monolithic party. Pretty much, they all behave the same, and they all look the same. Uh and they all, you know...It's pretty much the white Christian party.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

Well, Dean's remarks came as a shock to the 40 percent of Hispanic-Americans who voted Republican in 2004. But let's be honest, nobody should be offended by anything Dean has to say. He's just being nonsensical. He can't help it.

The frightening thing is he could have been elected president and still remains a powerful Democrat. But other Democrats are starting to get nervous.

The very liberal "Boston Globe" editorialized today, "Howard Dean should squelch the incendiary rhetoric. It won't change Republican hearts and minds, and it could alienate Democrats."

Well, the globe's right. Dean's strategy is sad —smear, attack, defame — "SAD", pardon the acronym. As "Talking Points" has pointed out, the big winner here is Hillary Clinton (search), who comes off as a moderate in the wake of Dean's rantings.

But there's no question the left in general is taking a hit. Enter Jimmy Carter, another committed liberal who has now jumped on the "close down Gitmo" bandwagon. Not only that, Carter wants Geneva Convention protections for terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They can be sent back home, they can put on trial, they can be given all of them a guaranteed right. First of all, that they will not be held incommunicado -- that they can stay in touch with their families, that every one of them will have a right to counsel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

No, they won't. They're illegal combatants captured in foreign countries. Carter is nuts!

Once again, no one will testify against accused Al Qaeda. That's a death sentence. Putting these people into open court is truly crazy. Why Jimmy Carter can't figure that out is hard to understand.

So with people like Carter and Dean running around the country, Democrats have to be worried. Most Americans aren't buying this. And Hillary or no Hillary, the Democratic Party better wise up. If they're defeated in 2008, that party may simply disintegrate.

And that's "The Memo."

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Just a heads up: tomorrow, we will have our investigation of the Angelina Jolie (search) charity question. I just want to make it perfectly clear, as Richard Nixon might say, that we are concerned Ms. Jolie's generosity may not be benefiting those for whom it is intended. It's a very, very interesting story, and we've taken our time here, very methodical. I'll have it for you on tomorrow's "Factor."

But please note, it's not going to do with the woman's personal life. Anything like that would be ridiculous. We don't do that here.

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