Obama Speaks on Rev. Wright and Race in America

Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thank you for watching us tonight. Senator Barack Obama speaks on Reverend Wright and race in America. And that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

The senator's speech was a mixed deal. First, the positives. He was right that race remains an unresolved problem in America on both sides. And that is a complicated matter. The senator is also correct when he said that Reverend Wright's anti-American statements were misguided and driven by an obsolete view of the country.

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BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static, as if no progress had been made. What we know, what we have seen is that America can change.

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Now that was excellent. However, Obama was weak in explaining why he continues to publicly support Wright.

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OBAMA: The man I met more than 20 years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another, to care for the sick, and lift up the poor. I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community.

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If Senator Obama wants to be friends with Reverend Wright, fine. He can do that in private. But a sitting U.S. Senator simply cannot lend his stature, lend his stature to hate speech by publicly attending Wright's forums.

Barack Obama does not seem to understand that. What he does understand is the origin of black anger in America. And once again, Obama was excellent on that point. Like Reverend Wright, many older black Americans have deep wounds. And we should all understand that. It doesn't justify Wright's hateful viewpoint, but it provides context.

But what about Obama's own daughters, ages 9 and 6? Did they sit in church listening to anti-American stuff? Will they be subjected to Reverend Wright's anger?

Senator Obama says he wants to represent all Americans, wants to heal the divide.

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OBAMA: I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together, unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories but we hold common hopes.

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That is another excellent sentiment, but do the senator's deeds match his words? When the Congressional Black Caucus, a very liberal group, joined with FOX News to sponsor a Democratic debate last fall, Barack Obama boycotted the event. Is that not divisive?

"Talking Points" believes Obama caved into pressure from the far left move on organization, but it doesn't matter. The senator refused to debate on this network, which by far, has the largest audience in cable news. Is that audience not worth addressing?

As I've stated, I think Barack Obama has been a positive force in America but many questions remain about him. Most Americans love their country, believe it's a noble nation. And while we condemn white racism, many of us are also tired of black race hustlers and the far left smear machines crying racism every two minutes.

Enough is enough. With that, where is Jesse Jackson on Reverend Jeremiah Wright? Well, we'll show you tomorrow.

In the end, Barack Obama stopped the bleeding with the speech today, but the uncertainty about him continues. A president must speak to all the people and must understand hateful rhetoric and distance himself from it. You will decide if Barack Obama has done that.

And that's "the memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

Simon Cowell can be a mean guy, as you know, and has made big money off that image. But now we learn that Cowell is paying off the mortgage of a couple whose daughter is fighting cancer. Cowell is giving the family $162,000. So today Simon Cowell is a patriot.

On the pinhead front, many famous people like Nicole Kidman have to pay bodyguards. And when some paparazzi began bothering Ms. Kidman, her bodyguard reacted in this way.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quit following me. You have no right to follow me. Understand me? Understand me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, don't get violent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED). (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you crazy or what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey. Hey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Looks like a lawsuit. And while we have no use for intrusive media, overreacting to it makes that guy a pinhead.