First off, our condolences to the Travolta family. Sixteen-year-old Jett Travolta died in the Bahamas on Friday and an autopsy was completed on Monday.
Also this evening, Newt Gingrich will analyze the fighting in Gaza, a big challenge for Barack Obama, who is getting hammered by his own party these days.
The latest, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is out as Obama's Commerce Secretary, as there may be indictments because of pay-for-play contracts doled out in Richardson's administration. We are hearing it is possible the governor himself may be indicted, just like Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been, as you know. Both men supported Barack Obama, and ever since the Democrats won big in November, it has been one scandal after another.
In Minnesota, another embarrassment may be brewing, as The Wall Street Journal is suggesting that the Democratic structure in that state is cheating in the Coleman-Franken Senate race, where Franken leads by about 200 votes.
The Journal says: "We can't recall a similar recount ... in which nearly every crucial decision worked to the advantage of the same candidate (Franken). If the Canvassing Board certifies Mr. Franken as the winner based on the current count, it will be appointing a tainted and undeserving senator."
Well the Board certified Franken as the winner on Monday, and The Journal backs up its opinion with a number of disturbing facts, including 25 precincts in Minnesota having more ballots than people signed up to vote.
Early on, "The Factor" questioned whether Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie was honest enough to run a clean election, and now the evidence says he is not. We expect Coleman to file a number of lawsuits, and Governor Tim Pawlenty must aggressively pursue an honest count here or this will become a major scandal for the state of Minnesota.
So in the space of just three months since the Democrats won big on Election Day, two sitting governors and a Democratic state machine are all on the corruption watch. Of course, the liberal press is downplaying most of this. They would rather concentrate on beating up President Bush as he moves out of the White House, and his father, President Bush the elder, is not happy about that:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H. W. BUSH: It's been tough on his father and his mother. We're not very good sports about sitting around and hearing him get hammered, I think, unfairly. Now there are some things that clearly he deserves criticism for, but I think the idea that everything that's problem in this country should be put on his shoulders, I don't think that's fair. And I'm not trying to get back in the game by criticizing people. For example, The New York Times, but…
CHRIS WALLACE, HOST, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY": I'm glad you're not criticizing The New York Times.
BUSH: You know, it's just grossly unfair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
But there is more to the Bush-bashing than just hatred. The more bad stuff the press can lay on Mr. Bush, the more time President-elect Obama will have to sort things out.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
2008 was a tough year for Miley Cyrus, as her image was tarnished by some provocative pictures she allowed to be taken and details about her social life. She's just 16 years old.
But on New Year's Eve, Miss Cyrus played a special concert to help a mother who has breast cancer at Beckham High School in Irvine, California. The singer also kicked in $15,000 for the cause, so she is a patriot.
On the pinhead front, you knew this would happen. In Ashland, Oregon, some loons decided to exploit the Iraq shoe-throwing incident.
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots."
Pinheads? What else.
— 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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