'The Factor's' Person of the Year

"The Factor's" person of the year is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo. On Wednesday, Time magazine will announce its person of the year. And on its Web site, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is the leading vote getter. Memo to Time: No.

Al Gore is also a crowd favorite because of his global warming campaign. Ahmadinejad getting some attention. But again, he would not be a good choice and Time knows it.

Now "The Factor's" Person of the Year must meet some very strict requirements. The person must have done something extraordinary, must be a world player, and must have changed history in some way. That is our yardstick.

And so, "The Factor" person of the year is General David Petraeus, who has turned a disastrous military situation in Iraq into a possible victory in less than a year. You will remember how the general got worked over by some Congress people, how many folks said publicly the so-called "surge" in Iraq would not work.

Well, they were wrong. Violence is now at the lowest levels since the conflict began in 2003. —Obviously, a stunning turn around in less than a year.

As "Talking Points" has stated, there are Americans who desperately want the USA to lose in Iraq. Some of those people are in the media. So reporting on the surge has been sparse to say the least.

The hate-Bush crowd simply will never admit anything good can come from the Iraq conflict. These people are bitter, dishonest, and of course, damaging to America.

A fair amount of people can oppose the war in Iraq yet want to see their country succeed in that place. There's no question that a stable Iraq is good for the world because it provides a bulwark against Islamic terrorism and Iranian expansion.

The cost has been great. We all know that. In suffering and cash. And the Iraqi government is still a mess. But General Petraeus, backed by a brave and professional U.S. military, has restored much order, largely defeated the Iraqi A Qaeda thugs, and at least given the good people of that country a chance to prosper. General David Petraeus is "The Factor" person of the year by a wide margin.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads and Patriots

Legendary singer Stevie Wonder is a Christmas kind of guy. Each year he gives a benefit concert to raise money and gifts for poor kids. Show-goers are asked to bring a gift for the kids. Over the past decade, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of toys have been donated to families in need. So, Mr. Wonder is a patriot.

On the pinhead front, you may have heard, that a film based upon the TV series "Dallas" is being made. Well, apparently, it's not going all that well. 20th Century Fox has fired John Travolta from the J.R. role, along with Shirley MacLaine, Luke Wilson and Jennifer Lopez.

Wait a minute. Jennifer Lopez was fired? Outrageous.

Well, we're not exactly sure who the pinhead here is, but we know there is one.

Also two amazing displays of dishonesty in the print press. The Washington Post, which is quickly losing ground on the honesty front, printed a ridiculous opinion piece by someone named Amy Chua: "Bill O'Reilly fulminates against floods of immigrants who threaten to change America's 'complexion.'"

That is a complete lie. I've never criticized a legal immigrant in my life. Criminal illegal aliens are subject to scrutiny on this program, madam, as everybody knows. You, Ms. Chua, are a deceiver, and the Washington Post flat-out dishonest.

And then there's this from the committed left Chicago Sun-Times: "Frothing at the mouth for hours of air time, O'Reilly extrapolates from various church versus state skirmishes and politically correct marketing efforts that there is a conspiracy to eradicate Christmas."

Pinheads doesn't even begin to cover this one. I hope I'm not "frothing."

A reminder, it's crunch time for Christmas stuff on BillOReilly.com. Our no- spin elves are working hard, but time is growing short. Lots of great stuff for under $20, plus signed books and terrific gear, so get in gear, check out BillOReilly.com Christmas store. And all the proceeds I get go to poor kids' charities, so everybody wins.