i'm shepard smith. we'll see you tomorrow. bill: "the o'reilly factor" is on. tonight -- >> this low life, michael jackson. this guy was a per vet, a child molester, -- per vet, a child molester, a pedophile. bill: the racial controversy over michael jackson heats up. we will have both sides. congressman king and al sharpton will be here. >> i want to work right now for people who are going to work in office or out of office for the right things. bill: a new poll says sarah palin is more popular than ever among republicans, even after she quit as governor. we'll analyze it. >> it's a joke. bill: and a wild miller segment tonight. can somebody get this guy under control? >> i'm going to be laughing so hard, cheney is going to have to shoot me in the head to put

me down. bill: caution, you are about to enter the no-spin zone. "the factor" begins right now. [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- bill: i'm bill o'reilly. thanks for watching us tonight. hold tight. we'll have both peter king and al sharpton on the growing race controversy coming up. first the talking points memo. the federal government may crack down on oil speculators, the people who hurt us all very badly by manipulating gas prices and giving the oil companies an excuse to artificially raise prices. that, of course, is greatly contributed to the brutal recession we are experiencing right now. for more than three years, more than three years, i have been telling you that the oil companies are rigged. the markets are rigged. with supply and demand having little to do with what we pay at the gas pump. or what the power companies charge to heat or cool our

homes. you will remember, i was hammered for my analysis. >> but they are not speculators. they are future traders. what they are doing is sharing risk. >> you're allowed to speculate and mommy government is not going to watch every move you make. >> you're right about one thing. there is speculation in the markets. that's what makes the markets, bill. it's this speculator who keeps the money flowing. bill: am i making any mistakes on the oil, i think it's rigged. what do you think? >> this is one of the few moments where i may disagree with you. bill: you just answered my question that i'm right in my analysis it doesn't have anything to do with supply and demand. it has to do with speculation. >> that is a strong economy. bill: we have people manipulating the oil futures markets. >> we have no one manipulating. >> i can't believe you didn't learn anything about economics, with all due respect, at harvard. bill: the front page in "the wall street journal" today is oil speculators under fire. u.s. weighs more trading regulations as u.k., france seek international action. well, it's about time.

the bush administration did nothing to control the speculators, and that was a major reason why our economy crashed. americans had to divert millions of dollars to pay the four bucks a gallon gas price. while exxonmobil and the other oil companies made record-breaking profits. yeah, the mortgage mess contributed to the recession, but the oil con was just as big a factor. now, many of you watch "the factor" because you know it will tell you the truth even when it's unpopular. i received thousands of emails calling me an idiot, a madman, even a communist for telling the truth about the rigged oil industry. but now the truth is coming out , and you heard it here first. that's a memo. the growing racial controversy over michael jackson. while millions of americans have watched the coverage of jackson's death, millions of americans are also fed up with the glorification of the man. leading that charge is congressman peter king of new york. >> this guy was a pervert, a

child molester, pedophile. to be giving this much coverage to him day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country? i think it's too politically correct. none of us want to stand up and say we don't need michael jackson. bill: joining us from washington is the controversial congressman king. after you say that, congressman bobby rush from illinois and hazel dukes and ncaa officials implied you're a racist. what say you? >> that is be a chute nonsense. i stand by everything i said. there is absolutely nothing racist or racial in any of the words i used. you know, bill, i was on your show over seven years ago. i was the first catholic politician in the united states to call for the resignation of cardinal law as archbishop of boston because he had failed to go after the child molesters in the clergy in boston. this past weekend, bob herbert of the "new york times", an african-american columnist, said that behind the facade of michael jackson is the horror of child abuse.

i don't see how pointing out a person's horrible record when it comes to misusing and abusing children, how that becomes racial in any way. also to say this as an ironic point, on sunday "the new york times" editorial which very seldom the "times" has something good to say about me, but they praised me and john mccain because for five years we have had a bill in congress which looks like it is going to go through this year to give a presidential pardon to jack johnson, the first african-american heavyweight champion, and it was doing that because his prosecution was racially biased against him, it was racism and john mccain and i have spoken out against that. i certainly get no votes in my district for that. so i think my record is clear. i just think that people who are raising this issue are absolutely phony. it's really wrong. bill: i agree. i have known you for a long time. you're not a racist. mr. rush and miss dukes are cheap for playing that race card against you. what you said was harsh.

it was harsh. you know, the man just died. yes, people love him. in hindsight, might you have waited a week? >> no, bill, because this had already gone on for nine or 10 days. i guess what put me over the edge was i spent the whole fourth of july with veterans, cops, firefighters, different parades. as you would say being with the folks. there was such a resentment building up, people saying why is this guy getting all this adulation? ok, he was a good singer, a good dancer, but why is he getting all this coverage? why has the nation stopped for michael jackson? i went to an american legion hall on sunday. i was with somebody on my staff. we had a video camera. i said hey, i'm going to say what's on my mind. we posted it. the reason i was harsh if you want to call it that is i had come through this 10-day glorification, this onslaught where he was made out to be a saint or a hero or whatever. i wanted to get right to the point.

this man was a child molester. he was. by his own admission, he slept with young boys. you walk to an enabler and you say if grown man sleeps with young boys in his bed, is he a pervert, 99 out of 100 people would say yes, black, white, or any color. bill: let me play devil's advocate here. i want to be fair and i think you know that we are fair here. jackson was acquitted of child molestation charges. he did settle a civil suit, but settling something doesn't mean you're admitting anything. it just means you want to get it out, get rid of it. the people who know jackson well say he is a product of an arrested development. that he is a child, or was a child in his own mind. i think that speaks to the way he conducted his life. he was not an adult in an emotional way. he himself says that he slept with children. he admits it. only because he loved them and only because he loved them and wanted to be close to them.

how are those children going to possibly grow up normal after spending nights in bed with michael jackson? so -- and i would say also there is not a daycare center in the united states that would be allowed to hire him. any one of my critics, would they allow their child or their grandchild to be in the same room with michael jackson, to be alone with michael jackson? again, we have to strip away a lot of it. there is a difference between a criminal conviction and admitted conduct. i went back and i read also columns -- those articles by maureen north detailing the way he had all these alarms in his bedroom and his mansion and he had those alarms on when he was with these young boys.

it was a deviant lifestyle. if michael jackson had died, it got one or two days of coverage, that would have been fine. but the way it went on and on. wall to wall, round the clock coverage. at the same time we have americans dying in iraq and afghanistan. we have the president in russia trying to negotiate arms control, nuclear arms control. to me it was a real reflection on the culture of our country. you talk about a culture war, bill. this to me -- i think the media and the political class and the elite class failed. pat moynihan spoke about defining deviancy down. it can't be much more down than what michael jackson did with young boys. yet we exalted that over the last 10 days or two weeks. it was wrong. bill: why do you think the media played him as a hero? >> perhaps it was political correctness. they get caught up with this hollywood swirl. it sort of fed on itself. i guess no one wanted to just acknowledge the fact of what his record was all about. and so i just think it was

really a terrible failure by the media, by the elite. i was saying what millions of americans really felt. bill: all right. thanks for being a standup guy and coming in, congressman. we appreciate it. next on "the rundown," al sharpton will reply. later, dennis miller goes after a very specific group, and it may not be fair. miller is after gay penguins.

bill: the racial component in the michael jackson situation. yesterday at the memorial service in los angeles, al sharpton said this. >> michael made us love each other! michael taught us to stamped with each other. i want his three children to know there wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. it was strange what your daddy had to deal with. bill: with us now is reverend sharpton. nothing strange about michael jackson? all that plastic surgery, altering his face and all of that, the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on prescription drugs, in vitro on white kids when you're a black man, nothing strange about him? >> well, no -- bill: you don't think any of that is strange? >> first of all, you could >> first of all, you could probably have a large

>> i didn't say anything about race. bill: but bobby rush and hazel dukes are saying because the congressman criticized jackson that he's a racist. that's not right. >> i think you said they implied -- i don't know how they implied it.

bill: they said well, this is jim crow stuff. that's an implication there. >> i'm saying it's reckless and it is totally irresponsible for a lawmaker to say that a jury means nothing. let's not talk about nine out of 10. 12 jurors that said he is not a child molester. bill: that is correct. that is correct. >> that's all. bill: how do you describe an adult male single admittedly bringing young children into his bed to sleep with him? >> i don't -- bill: wait. how do you describe it? >> what i don't describe it is it's something a jury has already said it was not. bill: how do you describe it? >> whether i say michael had arrested development, whether i say michael dealt with children in different ways or not is immaterial. we're talking about a person that votes on laws saying that i don't care what a jury said. i'm going to impose a criminal accusation anyway. bill: you're bringing a very narrow standard to the

definition of michael jackson. >> i'm addressing what he said. bill: no, you're bringing a narrow -- >> the congressman makes a criminal allegation that is totally untrue, totally been answered. bill: and people can make their minds up about that. but you, reverend sharpton, are bringing a very narrow definition to michael jackson. you got up there in front of the world yesterday and you portrayed him as another martin luther king jr. he brought us all together. >> he did. first of all, people can go to my facebook page and see the whole speech. bill: i saw the whole speech. >> what i said was that michael jackson, in his career, pop culture, broke down racial barriers. first black to get mtv to run black videos, his. first black to get people like "rolling stone" to have blacks on the cover. these are facts. this is not my guess. that "we are the world" was the first time a superstar got other superstars to help african hunger. this is a fact. you may not like it. mr. king may not like it but

those are facts. for me to say that there is for you and anyone else to raise allegations about his personal life doesn't answer the facts of what he did. he brought people together. this is as irresponsible as someone saying we're going to honor president x in history and i say but president x in his personal life did so and so. what does it have to do with the fact that he was president? did michael jackson not do the things i just outlined? bill: yeah, but they are not important. >> they are important. bill: no, what mtv does, what "rolling stone" magazine does is not important. >> it is important to the millions of people that bought his records. he is the top record seller in the world. bill: you used to work for james brown. >> i didn't work for james brown. bill: but he was a pioneer. >> so was michael jackson. there were allegations against james brown. bill: answer me this. i heard a lot of people yesterday -- and i think you were one of them, but correct me if i'm wrong -- saying that michael jackson was some kind of african-american icon. >> yes, he was.

bill: then why did he have white children? >> what does that have to do? bill: what does that have to do? he chose to have in vitro by a white woman and a white man. what does that have to do? >> so in order for him to be an african-american eye con -- bill: an icon? why would he have that choice? why? >> i'm trying to answer you. would you like an answer from an african-american? bill: yes. >> because he broke all records. he changed music. he brought people together. bill: no, the kids. >> we didn't say he was an african-american -- father of african-american children. we said he was an african-american icon. bill: why would he have white kids then? >> what he did in his personal life has nothing to do with his iconic status. bill: it doesn't? >> if i said that bill o'reilly has a hot television show, does that mean i have the right to go to your house and say but how come his kids are too bubbly?

bill: if you were -- let me ask you this and i will give you the last word. if you were just to say that michael jackson was an extraordinary entertainer that broke down entertainment barriers, i would agree with you 100%, but you went farther than that. you put him up as some kind of civil rights hero, and it doesn't wash. >> it washes with the millions upon millions of people. bill: doesn't wash with the facts. >> you said you were going to give me the last word. the fact is he sold more records than anyone in history. the fact is he broke every record. and you and mr. king with these imaginary millions that are against him can't document it. i can document the millions that was with mr. jackson. i can only see you and mr. king in some undocumented -- and some undocumented people

bill: just like congressman king, you're a standup guy. coming in. i appreciate that. >> i appreciate you letting me come. bill: directly ahead, a new poll out on sarah palin has some surprising results. we'll tell you all about it. d in skyscrapers alone...ary

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bill: a poll asked americans what they think about sarah palin in light of her resignation. 2/3 of republicans believe palin will be a major political player in the future. most importantly for the governor, 72% of republicans say they would likely vote for her if she ran for president in 2012. obviously, she is still a force within the g.o.p. joining us now from d.c., rebecca hagland, a columnist of "the washington times" and author of the book "30 ways in 30 days to save your family ." and from detroit, nancy skinner, a radio talk show host. a lot of women commentators have mocked sarah palin for resigning this week and mocked her continuously. do you think that's fair? >> well, bill, you know, it's always tough on women.

i will tell you what. her resignation brings a number of women governors down to six. 16% of women in the congress and we make up 52% of the electorate. there are several -- running for office as a woman is tough for all women. i ran against barack obama for president and congress and lost by a hair. we have a higher standard to match up to. an attractive woman like sarah palin with the charisma she had, she had an even higher standard. i think what this poll is trying to deliver is that republicans like quitters is being implied. that somehow her resignation helped bolster her opinion. no one likes to see someone quit in the middle of a job. bill: that's not what the poll says, though, nancy. the poll says 75% of republicans would vote for her if she ran for president. who knows? rebecca, maureen dowd, a cloumist in "the new york times" laid out sarah palin again today. i think that's more a liberal political thing rather than a gender thing.

but columnists like ellen goodman and people like that, very, very tough. as nancy said, this seems to be an almost resentment on the part of some women against other women, particularly those with whom they disagree for even running, for even being in the game. >> well, i think you really can't separate so much the gender issue from the feminist issue in this particular case. some of these women are vitriolic. i mean, maureen dowd has demonstrated many times that she really can be pretty smoke alarmy when it comes to other women who disagree with her agenda. and i don't think we should be surprised that the media sends out their big guns and their females to try to take down a woman like sarah palin who really represents the heart and soul of american women in this country. they see her as a threat. they are going after her. bill: i don't know if she represents the heart and soul of american women. several conservative women.

to be fair to maureen dowd, she was tough on bill clinton. this is her shot. but here is where it gets -- >> it's a new low for her. it's a new low for maureen dowd. bill: here is where it gets more personal for any woman who has children. they always drag the children in, nancy. we're going to do something right behind you. on the huffington post, one of the most disgusting things i have ever seen, arianna huffington should be absolutely ashamed, although she did take it down, the guy still is around. but unlike men, women, you know, have children. their primary responsibility is the child. and that's why i don't believe, nancy, that the american people, fair-mined people are going to hold this against sarah palin, the resignation, because her children are being worked over right now. i think she needs a break. she needs a break. >> look at the double standard here, though. look at the double standard. i think being a mother helped her all the way along. and look at mark sanford. people don't want him to resign as governor even though he left

the country, had an affair with his soulmate. he had children. >> but maureen dowd, not like going easy on sanford, i don't think there was a double standard in that regard. i think her biggest problem is this, bill -- george bush. because listen, we know -- i was on the debate prep team for sarah palin for the vice-presidential debate. no one thought she was a bimbo, but we looked at her game tape. she was very good at local issues, but she was not ready in terms of the big stage, in terms of -- bill: but that's a whole different issue. >> that hurts you. >> bill, i have to jump in here. i have to jump in here. first of all, nancy is wrong on a couple of fronts. sarah palin stepped down because she doesn't believe in making decisions based on political expediency. she saw that the next few months of her candidacy -- excuse me, her governorship that's left, that she was going to be a distraction to running the country, thousands of hours put in for defending herself, millions of dollars -- bill: running the state.

>> running the state. what she decided to do was hand over the torch to her lieutenant who could govern properly right now and not be a distraction. bill: lady, i have got to run, but you know this will be looked at in the prism of politics. if you're a conservative, you will like her decision. if you're liberal, you won't. ladies, thanks for the debate. we appreciate it. we would like you to vote in our billoreilly.com poll which asks do you think governor palin was smart -- there is the key word -- was smart to resign, yes or no? plenty more ahead as "the factor" moves along this evening. awful posting on the huffington post. calls one of governor sarah palin's children retarded. what will arianna huffington do about that? and then dennis miller has some strong words for a gay penguin, among others.

bill: three topics beginning with a vile posting on the huffington post. sean nelson works for that website. he said palin will be the first politician to actually try to increase the population of retarded people, unquote. nelson referring to the governor's baby trig born with down syndrome. obviously, that's despicable. the huffington post took that down from their website, but we wanted a further explanation from arianna huffington. she is vacationing but her spokesperson said, quote, we sincerely regret the error and apologize for it. however, mr. nelson continues to work for miss huffington. joining us now our internet cop

amanda carpenter. if you were huffington, what do you do? >> i think you cut this guy loose. this is a guy, he is a contributor, he is not very popular on the site. this is the second offensive posting he had. he had another one published a few weeks ago talking about the way that jesus would sexually fantasize about miss california and making jokes about her being a christian porn star. so this guy, he books himself as a comedian, but i don't care, even if you don't like carrie prejean or sarah palin, this isn't funny and is nothing but a black mark to this website. bill: ok. so now if any right winger did this, used the word retarded in context of a down syndrome baby, they would be on all the networks, they would be blackballed, they would be crucified, and we all know the double standard here. i think we're the only program bringing this to anybody's attention. now, you might make the argument that this nelson guy is just a small little whatever and not worth the time of day. is it worth the time of day? >> well, i think you just cut

him loose. this guy, even in his apology that he posted on the site, he said, quote, i heard from loved ones of the retarded. then he decided to take it down. bill: he is defiant and it's basically the middle finger to everybody. we will see if huffington does cut him loose. the huffington post was really vile there for a while. i think it's moderated a little bit, has it not? >> there are some things that make me feel a little better about the site. for instance, the commenters for the short while this post was up were pretty harsh on the guy, saying this was over the line. there was one that said don't ever take it back. it gives me a little bit of hope. bill: how are the political blogs handling the michael jackson thing? >> well, it's interesting because they are kind of trying to play it to what they do the most. for instance, the politico. when they cover the michael jackson controversy and the fallout from his death, they are concentrating sort of on the political angle inside the beltway washington, for instance, the sheila jackson lee resolution to honor his

life's work. they are covering the fallout from that. fox nation, they are covering the peter king comments about michael jackson being a low life and a pervert and what they are saying about that. you have places like the huffington post going after the celebrity angle of it all and the brooke shields and the speeches and the memorial service. bill: are you saying there is any trend? we consider conservative americans probably do not like the man very much. liberal americans, do they care about him or have a point of view on him? enginely speaking, of course. >> i would say generally. conservative blogs are making a point about the media's coverage of him while not focusing on past soldiers in iraq and afghanistan and trying to bring attention in that way, whereas the liberal sites are caught up a little more in the celebrity aspect of it all. bill: in new zealand, it was an unbelievable situation where an 18-year-old boy was i guess punished by his mother. found some pictures of the

mother undressed and posted them on the internet, right? >> well, he got in trouble with his mom, got ordered to go clone out the garage and sell any unwanted items that he finds on a site that's kind of like ebay. that's a trading site. so he found these nude pictures of his mother, posted them onto the site for money. the site took them down, which is a good move. but then he got permission from his mom to post photos of her in her underwear. bill: that's good, right? >> the site took those down as well. bill: you wonder why crazy people do crazy things. look at the mom. >> she said they are going to split the profits. bill: he disrespects the mother, obviously, violating her privacy. then the mother says oh, you know. all right, amanda. as always, thanks. we appreciate it. when we come right back, it will be miller time. the d man has some words of wisdom for president obama an the gay penguin movement.

bill: in the miller time segment tonight, our pal dennis is in japan on vacation, and there is no truth to the rumor that the japanese prime minister has resigned because of it. however, before he left the states, the prince of perspicacity asked me, your humble correspondent, to replay

the following miller time moments, beginning with wanda sykes. ue rush limbaugh, i hope the country fails. i hope his kidneys fail. how about that? bill: the first 15 minutes were fine, but then she got mean. here is my question to you. the remarks about limbaugh, about sarah palin were mean. then they flashed to obama laughing at the meanness. i don't think it does them any good there, dennis. >> i don't think she was a pro that night. comedians judge by somebody whether they are a pro or nonpro. i don't know how funny or not funny it was. at some point you get hired and she didn't fill the requisite for what they needed. i think wanda sykes was kind of funny. for a girl. that's all she is doing today is explaining that. it's a joke. i thought efforts going to bring reverend wright in. >> i'm a pastor. he's a member. i'm not a spiritual mentor. >> borat falls on eminem's head

at the mtv awards. roll the tape. >> let me down. it's losing. eminem, nice to meet you. >> can you explain this to me? >> some people like their eminems plain and some like them with nuts. bill: i don't know what that means. why am i laughing? >> yes, you do. you know exactly what it means. bill: i swear to god i don't know what that meant. >> look at that and tell me what it means. bill: this whole interrogation torture situation. barack obama may allow a phony, unnecessary show trial driven by the far left. what say you? >> i don't think he will go ahead with it, because i think

i will be honest with you, i have been pretty even headed with the president so far, giving him praise when i felt he deserved it, been quizzical when i didn't understand something. he starts doing that, he loses me. i'm off the reservation. if he he's going to start caving the lightweights like patrick leahy on this. do you ever said on your back porch on a nice summer night, one of the daffodil head that are all dried out flies by you? as far as leahy goes, he makes that look like titanium, he is such a lightweight. bill: i couldn't agree with you more. ellis henniken disagrees with me. >> who? is he the vlasik pickle bird? bill: i will say this about the president. he has made an enormous mistake letting it go on this long. >> it's worth to him if he has accrued the approbation of ellis penniken. bill: what is the beef against

biden? >> you know when biden is lying? when he acts like he is certain that he knows about something. >> when he says look, the bottom line -- >> the bottom line here is -- >> you know he has no idea what he is talking about. this guy has vaccinated himself through all these minor gaffes to the point now where he can reveal where he is hiding the terrorists and people go that's joe! >> hey, joe, what are you doing? >> but they have a new great hideaway for him. big, empty space with thick walls. it's inside pelosi's head. biden hurts himself so frequently, they are going to put one of those plastic lamp shades that your dog gets after you have him neutered so he can't get at himself. this guy is a gaffe a second, for god's sakes. bill: i love that interview biden. do you think he will ever do an interview with me? >> i don't even know if biden -- put it this way. i don't even know if biden is the vice president. i think biden so believes his own crap that we all tend to believe it. i think this is a story he's

telling a stranger at a diner where he's the secondmost powerful man in the country, and he believes it so much that it's actually encroached on my life. i don't even believe he's in the senate. i don't believe there is a guy named joe biden. i think joe biden hallucinates himself. >> it's time to press the reset button. bill: the bremerhaven zoo in bremen, germany, has imported four female penguins from sweden who are supposedly allegedly gay. because the bremen zoo wants to see if they can persuade them to go straight. what say you? >> hard to believe the germans aren't flexible about this, because over the years they -- they are an open tent over there. i don't know much about penguins, but i will say this. if a couple of gay guins want to swap a little beak in germany, i could care less. bill: i can't figure out how they know the penguins are gay.

how would you come to that conclusion? do they wear tight t-shirts? how do you know? i don't know. what's the barometer here? >> a couple of things, billy. their sex is very former, the penguins. >> there is a mysterious ritual that dates back thousands of years. >> they wear the black and white. bill: tuxedos. >> also, when they do have an egg, it's already precolored, which that sets off some alarms. bill: if the penguin is gay, leave the penguin alone. god made the penguin that way. who cares? >> when did you turn into such a reflective c.y.a. guy? >> ♪ that's doing the penguin ♪ bill: dennis will be back next wednesday. you have been warned. barack and a hard place next. dana perino sitting in this evening. she does not like the president meeting with our enemies.

bill: in the back of the book segment tonight, barack and a hard place. monica crowley is vacationing which is lucky for alan colmes who cannot take a vacation because no resort will accept him. here to take monica's place from washington, fox news

analyst dana perino. all right. now, so you don't like president obama visiting our enemies and then overlooking our friends abroad? is that the beef? >> yeah. my main concern about what happened this week was that president obama went to -- had a summit with russia. perfectly appropriate. it's important for us to have a relationship with them. but by not going to ukraine and georgia and by saying that he would send vice president biden there at the end of the month, i think it left a very bad taste in the mouth of the georgians and the ukrainians and it's a very symbolic move. maybe not here inside the midway or in hadn't, but it's very important to the ukrainians and the jordans. bill: but i think putin who is calling the shot or medvedev, whoever he is, if the dance card included ukraine or georgia would have extended the courtesy to president obama. i don't think he could have made the trip, dana. >> i think he could do it. we used to do it all the time

when i worked for president bush. he could have tacked on one day at the end of the g-8 or on his way there, stopped for breakfast in georgia, dinner in ukraine, and head on up to russia. bill: i'm not sure that putin would have gone for that. >> that could be another trip. he has met with so many of our foreign leaders, our allies. he has been all over the world. the idea that he meets only with people whom we don't agree. bill: he snubbed georgia and ukraine. >> he is in the region and he didn't go to those places. >> i bet there will be more, because he is traveling all over the place. >> he could send vice president biden. i don't think he will be going to georgia and ukraine any time soon. bill: doesn't it show weakness to putin when he doesn't go over and back up to countries that actually like us? >> it's not that he is not backing them up. he is sending the vice president. bill: who would you rather see? biden or him? >> would i rather see? >> you know with that kind of a signal -- >> biden is more fun. you never know what he is going to say. >> it's like me subbing for

monica crowley. bill: no, we love monica. ok. what did the president do right this week? >> he did a lot of things right, missile control. but to move on to a new topic. i thought what he said -- this may not be the most important political issue. i thought what he said about michael jackson was significant. let's not forget this is an important cultural icon. the fact that the president honored michael jackson with a couple of his comments, saying this is a day to honor him. i have all his stuff on my ipod. he is glad to see he is remembered primarily for the great joy he brought to a lot of people through his extraordinary gifts as an entertainer. i thought it was good he honored this cultural icon on a day when so many people were putting him down. bill: i don't think president bush would have said that, dana, do you? >> i don't. i think he would have recognized he was a person that had an impact on the entertainment industry in a big way. but i think there are some disturbing things that happened in michael jackson's life and i don't know if he deserves a presidential tribute. >> but the day that he actually

-- they have the tribute, the day he is buried, i'm not sure that's the day you want to start bringing up all -- bill: why does he have to bring it up at all? he's the president. >> i think it's important to honor. michael jackson is a guy who brought people together. he broke color barriers. he brought so many people into the arena and was a true force for good. that song "heal the world," i think his impact was phenomenal. all the media coverage has been criticized especially by conservatives, but the president i think it was good he honored that and showed how important that cultural contribution was. dana? >> i don't know if you can say it, but conservatives are the ones complaining about the wall to wall media coverage when there is everything else going on under the sun. i don't know if barack obama would think that was one of the best things he did all week. i think they have some real big troubles on their hands right now, especially politically. back here in washington while they are in russia and now at the g-8. they have got some big problems on their hands when it comes to the economy and floating the idea of another stimulus

package, the health care debate. people are getting really unhappy. bill: i'm not buying this whole bringing everybody together michael jackson business. i think that's baloney. >> he had a cultural impact. bill: he was a good entertainer. people liked his records. blacks and whites liked elvis' records. he crossed over. i'm not buying this that he was the big ambassador. we discussed it with al sharpton earlier. am i offended by obama mentioning that he was a good entertainer? no, i'm not offended. you're not offended by that, are you, dana? >> of course not, no. bill: it's almost a charitable thing to do as we said. michael jackson has a family who loved him even though he was a troubled guy. he was a troubled guy, colmes. don't give me that he wasn't. >> i'm not saying he wasn't. i think the tone of yesterday to say what the president said. i think it's important. perhaps bush wouldn't have done that. i'm glad our president now did. bill: ok. dana, thanks for subbing for monica. see you soon. >> you're welcome. bill: colmes, i hope some resort will take you somewhere.

pinheads and patriots up next. .

bill: time for "pinheads and patriots." we are green people here. we like the nature thing, communing with wildlife. when we saw halle berry of close and personal with shamu in c world at san diego, we approved of her interaction. she is a patriot and so is shamu. sometimes you can go overboard. a new trend called mutton busting puts kids on top of sheep. the kids say it is a lot of fun. they like it. however, the sheep are not very

thrilled with this at all. penn hade -- pinheaded? you make the call. finally, our e-mail. billoreilly.com, my an american patriot polo shirt. a lot of colors. you get an american patriot tote bag absolutely free of charge. shirts are selling out. get them while we have them. premium member discounts apply. we are practically giving the shirts. please remember all of the money goes to charity.

bill: i have been very careful to deal with jackson factually. you should do that, too. bill: there is a huge difference between invitro and adoption. i am sure you know.

bill: if you believe that way, i might have to reevaluate my position on jackson, sir. bill: sometimes, especially when someone is as misguided as congressman frank often is. bill: i appreciate that. someday, right after i am fired, i will do my morrison impression.

bill: we get a lot of letters and we posted information for jack victor and other short guys on billoreilly.com. this is "the factor" website. there is the website right there. please e-mail us with pithy comments from anywhere in the world. we like foreign mail. weigh in on the jackson controversy. we want to know what you think overseas and right here at home. name in town, name and town common name and town if you wish to a pain -- to opine. please do not be picayune. "the factor" continues 24-

gretchen: good morning, everyone. thursday, july 9, 2009. thank you for sharing your time with us today. let me tell what you is happening right now. remember that web site recovery dot got? that is the web site that tracks how the stimulus money is being spent. enough to you can track it even more. get, this the government is spending $18 million of your money to revamp it. dave? dave: fox news exclusive this morning. al qaeda paranoid and desperate. that's according to a new book written by the senior member of the terror group. we have the first look inside the pages. brian: sounds great. meanwhile, move over michael jordan, check out this dog dunking the basketball. i get all the hard-hitting stories. his owner never trained him to do. this he is just gifted. dave: can he go to his