thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that is it for this "special report," fair, balanced, and unafraid. make it a great weekend. captions by closed captioning services opinion analysis begins right now. >> laura: "the o'reilly factor" is on. tonight: >> some folks in washington may want to treat this as another political wedge issue. but it shouldn't be. religious liberty will be protected and a law that requires free preventative care will not discriminate against women. >> the factor predicted it. the obama administration backs down on its birth control mandate. but how much damage did this controversy do to the president and did he go far enough to quiet his critics. >> do i have concerns about women in front line combat. i think that could be a very compromising situation. >> are women too emotional to serve in combat? rick santorum is taking some heat for those comments. leslie marshall and janine turner on that. >> this is a president who has

put in place the most anti-jobs, antibusiness, anti-goethe agenda we have seen well, since jimmy carter. we needed a leader. he chose to follow. now it's time for him to get out of way. >> we have brand new presidential polling and it isn't good news for the republic candidates is-bama benefiting from the g.o.p. infighting. >> laura: caution, you are about to enter the no spin zone, and the factor begins right now. captions by closed captioning services >> asked me if and when conservative also put their ideology aside and focus on electability. now, understandably the romney

campaign hopes voters choose the pragmatism and experience over conservatism. and rick santorum and gingrich believe true conservatism and electability go hand in hand. i spoke at cpac a short while ago and many conservatives there seem a little bit worried about this divide. they worry that the g.o.p. is about to blow its opportunity to defeat president obama. i have to say i think all this anxiety is a bit misplaced. let's not forget in 2008 democrats were genuinely divided between those who wanted to stick with the clintons and those who wanted to go with obama. now, that dispute took months to resolve but when it was over, the clinton supporters they had to admit that they had been given a fair hearing. now, it's the g.o.p. that has its own very important issues to decide. some of these are substantive. the conservatives think that the country has serious fiscal problems that need to be addressed right away. and they also think obama care is a time bomb that could destroy our he healthcare system while moderates think that our problems, they are

big, but they are not quite that severe. there are also differences with respect to political tactics. most conservatives think that the g.o.p. needs to draw clear philosophical distinctions with obama. also debate him on first principles. most establishment types think that the g.o.p. should focus on issues of competence and manage: unfortunately, g.o.p. voters haven't gotten the real debate on these issues that they deserve. there have been way too many distractions over things like herman cane's personal life or newt gingrich's space policy or hpv vaccine. it's way past time for the remaining candidates to have serious, respectful, thoughtful discussions about the real differences that divide them. tea partiers need to realize that a lot of establishment people, they are patriots, too. they are just trying to build a better country. after the establishment types, they need to see that many tea partiers are sophisticated enough to understand today's political reality. so, if each side learns to get

past the stereotypes and take each side more seriously. i think the g.o.p. will be stronger. and the candidate is finally will have a real chance to win in november. that's the memo. more on campaign 2012 later. now for the top story tonight. president obama announces a shift in his mandated contraceptive plan saying that religious affiliated institution also not be required to pay for those services. instead, insurance companies must offer the carefree of charge. >> i have been confident from the start that we could work out a sensible approach here. just as i promised. i understand some folks in washington may want to treat this as another political wedge issue. but it shouldn't be i certainly never saw it that way. this is an issue where people of goodwill on both sides of the debate have been sorting through some very complicated questions to find a solution that works for everyone.

with today's announcement, we have done that. religious liberty will be protected and a law that requires free preventative care will not discriminate against women. >> shepard: now,. >> laura: some religious leaders continue to believe that the mandate was good public policy whether it violated the public teachings of the catholic church. joining us from washington is the reverend kathleen who is the dean of the divinity school in massachusetts. she joins us now. reverend ragsdale tell us about your reaction when you first heard what president obama said today. >> >> well, actually, i was quiet pleased and impressed and relieved, frankly. he has still a plan tone sure that every american woman has access to contraceptive health care if and when she needs it he has managed to do it in a way that has won the applause of both the catholic health association and planned parenthood.

so, what could be bad? i'm, again, very pleased and very impressed that he has managed this compromise. >> laura: the catholic bishop's u.s. conference on catholic bishops said basically they are going to look at the details and that there is, perhaps, more hope than there was yesterday. they have clearly not given their stamp of approval. i guess my question would be to you reverend ragsdale, what about the religious conscience of those employers who might not be affiliated with a religious institution like a catholic hospital but who nevertheless themselves have moral qualms and reservations about paying for insurance that provides this coverage? why does their religious liberty not come into play? >> well, i think the issue is the religious liberty of the people who need this health care. it's perfectly fine for the roman catholic church and others who agree with them that contraception is wrong. it's perfectly fine for them to believe that that ought to be supported. they have every right to teach

that. they have every right to bring to bear their considerable moral persuasion to persuade people to follow their teaching. what they don't have a right to do is to cross the line from persuasion to coercion by denying people the option to make their own choice -- >> laura: hold on. you said the word coercion, which is a pretty loaded word. to say that the catholic institution would coerce women, i guess, not to get these services, or prevent them from getting these service sass complete mischaracterization. in fact, the catholic hospitals. >> to provide. >> laura: universities, who who who, would simply not pay for these services or pay for insurance that pays for them. nothing is stopping a woman who even calls herself a catholic from going into a planned parenthood clinic or going into a university health center and getting these contraceptive pills or sterilization or morning after pill. and using them. right? so who is preventing the women from getting this, quote, preventative treatment? >> stopping women from being able to access that treatment

through their health care does, in fact, deny them the option. it prevents them from exercising that option. >> laura: it doesn't prevent them. >> require anyone to use it. >> laura: it doesn't prevent them. >> yes, it does. >> laura: from getting the services. what prevents them from going into a community health care clinic and getting ortho know vum 777 prescription, nothing. except they will have to pay out of pocket instead of violating the conscience of the employer. >> if you can afford it, you can have access to full health care. if you can't afford it, too bad for you. health insurance ought to cover all basic health insurance needs. >> laura: so you were in favor of the original edict from hhs, were you not? you were one of a number of clergy who signed on to this saying this was exactly what women needed for, quote, preventative care? >> absolutely. the original regulation already allowed an exemption for the 300,000 churches of

worship in this country they could opt out. what it didn't allow is institutions such as hospitals and schools. >> laura: right. >> which receive federal funding to opt out. i'm not really in favor of having my tax dollars used to promote a religious principle that my church has disagreed with for decades. nearly a century, as a matter of fact. >> laura: and you actually have given speeches in the past and it's an issue that a lot of people think is involved here and it will be down the road on abortion. and you have said in the past that you believe abortion is a blessing and can be a blessing. you even referred to late term abortion as a, quote, blessing in a speech in 2007. i read this paragraph of something -- i guess you said in a speech. and i was quite stunned by that and i guess my question to you is, if it should pay for sterilization and the morning after pill, why shouldn't insurance also be compelled to pay for abortion services free of charge? should it? >> that's an entirely different issue. what the president has managed here is a compromise that

allows women access to contraception which will reduce the need for abortion. i think we all can agree the fewer abortions needed the better off we all are. >> laura: if abortion is a blessing why do we need fewer abortions? >> well, the same reason heart transplants are a blessing but we prefer not to have people need them. the late term abortions take place to save women's lives. it would be wonderful if fewer women needed that. >> laura: you still stand by your statement that abortions are blessings? >> when you need them. so is cardiac surgery when you need it though i prefer never to need it. >> laura: a sick heart is the same as a beating heart in a child? >> yeah. we could spend a lot of time debating that. i think you are completely missing the mark. >> laura: we should. >> we could do that but that's not on the table today. >> laura: you would prefer that abortion is covered under this mandate as well? i mean that's no secret, right? >> i am delighted at what he has been able to accomplish. i'm perfectly happy to applaud

that. >> laura: i appreciate it reverend, thanks for joining us. next on the run down. did president obama really give into the demands of the catholic church or is he just trying to make an end run. later, is infighting within the g.o.p. helping president obama? new polling says it just might be the case. coming right back. across the golden state,

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that catholics and other religious folks across the country didn't want this type of edict crammed down their throats from hhs? >> i think they completely miscob viewed how this was going to play inside nationwide. they looked at this a classic left-right divide on social issues like abortion where most democrats and liberals tend to be pro-choice. most conservatives, republicans, tend to be pro-life. although there is some variation in there. this has played as a religious freedom issue rooted in the first amendment. it cuts across party lines and that's why it has been a complete mess for the administration. and why they very quickly moved to walk it back in some fashion. >> laura: it doesn't look like it's satisfying the concerns, at least so far, of

republicans on capitol hill. and even the catholic bishops who said well, there might be more signs of hope. the devil is going to be in the details. when you define a religious institution what does that mean? what about the religious conscience of every other employer out there. just because they are employer doesn't mean they don't have a moral conscience. >> this is still, i think, problematic. we have to see first of all how do democrats on capitol hill react? there were a number of prominent democrats on the hill that were not happy with the original rule. i want to see what they have to say about the new rule. i want to see if the republicans are going to continue to push. this from what we have been able to tell so far, this issue as far as they're concerned, hasn't been department with adequately. and i think that if you want to know how much the obama administration recognized its mistake, go no further than the president's rhetoric in announcing the change in the rule. if you look at this, to me it was very conservative rhetoric that you don't often hear from obama. we have been mindful that there is another principle at stake here. that's the principle of

religious liberty and inalienable right enshrined in our constitution. he goes on to say as a citizen and as a christian i cherish this right. >> laura: he said that. as he went along to say we're going to continue to force insurance companies, also some of their boards and their ceos might be -- might have religious reservations about providing this. that doesn't matter. you are right, the rhetoric was interesting. >> he is in a box. you had liberals, had you democrats on the hill come out in force. they were in support of the regulation. in its original form. that's why it's difficult capitulation for him. >> laura: boxer, pelosi. >> democrats in the house a lot of female lawmakers. >> laura: christine gill brantd who herself is going to have trouble in her re-election bid. >> walk back something people don't care about. whether you have your party's come out in full throat support of something you do to simply walk it back you look like you are caving to

pressure from republicans. it doesn't make them feel good. if you look at what obama has been done. in a sense primary season for him. check the box in the environmentalists keystone pipeline. >> laura: planned parenthood was happy about this. this is rhetoric over reality here. planned parenthood is happy. if planned parenthood is happy. a lot of people unhappy. i don't think the democrats are going to give them much trouble for this at all. good to see you again. thanks for joining us. >> good to see you. >> laura: i want top bring in greg abought who has been speaking about this, commenting about this and, in fact, a lawsuit in the offing, greg, tell us about it. >> well, lauer, we are combining with attorneys general from across the nation, just as we did as we were gearing up for the legal challenge to obama care. now we are finding another legal challenge. it's proving to be true what nancy pelosi said and that is they have to pass obama care to find out what is in it. now that we are finding out what's in it, it looks like it's one illegal principle after another. in this case, the focus of the

states attorney general is on the way in which this particular provision violates the religious liberties of institutions across the country. very important, lauer to understand what happened today does not change the legal dynamics whatsoever. what happened today was really nothing more than an enron style accounting gimmick where the president shifts the payment and alignment from directly the religious based entity to the insurance company. but what it means is that indirectly the catholic church, the catholic hospital, the religious based organization is still going to have to foot the bill through the insurance cost of paying for either contraceptives or abortion inducing drugs. >> laura: also, they try to make this argument that, well, they will save money because they there won't be so many of those pesky little babies born. it will save money so premiums won't be raised. to me, attorney general abought, this ends up being a fig leaf.

people think that's great you are preserving religious liberty. religious liberty is not just limited to religious institutions. joe smith employer who runs a small pipe fitting factory if there are any of those left in the united states, maybe is he catholic, maybe is he a protestant. maybe he doesn't want to fund this, but is he still compelled by the force of the federal government to fund sterilization, abortive drugs and other contraception. in my mind that's religious liberty issue. >> you are exactly right. it's so important for your audience to understand that just like our general obama care lawsuit. this doesn't involve the money aspect. doesn't involve the concept of access to health care. what this comes down to is a legal violation a trampling of first amendment freedom of religion rights. we have to be guardians of those freedom of religion rights while the obama administration continues to intrude upon the constitution in ways he is not allowed. >> laura: compelling people to pay for a certain type of procedure that is morally

reprehensible to them. i mean it can't get any clearer than that that's religious freedom. >> exactly. those religious principles shall not be compromised. >> laura: great to see you. attorney general abought. thanks for being with us. rick santorum is in hot water for comments he made about women in the military and their emotions or somebody's emotions. will this derail his momentum. surprising new poll numbers show barack obama would beat every one of the republic candidates by how much and how could that be? those reports after these messages? [ male announcer ] is zero worth nothing? ♪ imagine zero pollutants in our environment. or zero dependency on forei oil. ♪ this is why we at nissan built a car inspired by zero. because zo is worth everything. the zero gas, 100% electric nissan leaf. innovation for the planet. innovation for all.

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>> laura: in the impact segment tonight, rick santorum is hitting the presidential campaign trail on the heels of his three state sweep earlier this week. but he raised some eyebrows yesterday when responding to a question about women in

combat. >> do i have concerns about women in front line combat. i think that could be a very compromising situation where people naturally may do things that may not be in the interest of the mission. because of other types of emotions that are involved. and i think that's probably, you know, it already happens, of course, with the camaraderie with men in combat. but i think it would be even more unique if women were in combat. i think that's probably not in the best interest of men, women, or the mission. >> laura: joining us now to react from all of this from fort worth, texas. radio talk show host janine turner and from san francisco leslie marshall a fox news contributor. okay. now, i heard this and i thought to myself why does rick feel like he has to answer every question asked of him especially on an issue like this well, look, of the top five issues facing americans today, this is probably not one of the top five. but, legislationly, as a democrat, i want to get your perspective on this. how does this play for you?

is it just kind of a fun moment or disturbing moment? how do you react? >> i can hear cindy lauper sing hing your true colors are shining through. this is the same excuse they gave why women couldn't vote. women couldn't enter the workforce. women couldn't each enter the military. it's our emotions. as a matter of fact i think i'm too emotional to even answer. this sorry, this is sexism at its finest. you know what? i'm sorry you guys are not going to embrace any feminists or any more women in the party with talk like this. if you really think that a man is looking at a woman with no makeup and 114-degree weather in the shade with fatigues on with her hair pulled back not even looking like a woman when he has got insurgents around him about to kill him. is he not going to be distracted. >> laura: i get the point. i think santorum today. he was on one of the morning shows. he said today he was referring to men's emotions which does

make sense does it not, janine, for his formulation. i have spent a lot of time thinking about this. i don't have any military experience so i don't feel like i'm great to speak on this. he was talking about men's impulse to protect women and that in combat, direct combat that that might come into play. i think that's what he was getting at. that's what he said this morning. nevertheless, why weigh into this issue now i guess because the obama administration is removing some of the obstacles to full combat rules for women. >> i don't think santorum who i believe is a leader and fighter and has a lot of great ideas, i don't think he does himself any favors with a thought like this. they did try in israel with men and women on the front lines that didn't work. that's like 50 years ago. there are no safe jobs in battle and in war today. and women are already out there. 250,000 of them. >> laura: getting killed in iraq and afghanistan. >> 145. there are no safe areas

anymore. >> laura: right. >> women and men can work together. women have been in combat since the day -- who do you think won the wild west? it wasn't just men. women were out there fighting too protecting their women, children and country. think this whole thing is absurd and not doing the republic move. i agree with leslie, this doesn't help the republicans at all. >> laura: let's get back to what's happening now on the back and forth on the primary trail. big c pack event this weekend. i spoke earlier today. and it was interesting though to watch the crowd and talk to folks in the crowd. no sense of we don't know who we are for yet or we're worried about what's going to happen. nevertheless, romney comes there, leslie, and he really tries to make that conservative connection. he talked about marriage, same sex marriage. he talked about his efforts to stop that in massachusetts. he talked about all sorts of hot button conservative issues to connect to that base. does that help him or hurt him

in your eyes? i don't think it matters laura quite frankly. this was a man who was pro-choice, clearly. it was convenient when he was a moderate republic running in a blue state my home state of massachusetts to be governor of that state. just like the mandate. he, in my opinion, will say whatever it takes to whatever audience he is speaking to to get them to like him and to vote for him. so i think that not only we, democrats like myself on the left find him to be disingenuous and ensign sear in a lot of these remarks there are many people on the right. no matter what he says a on the right you know a lot of people are going to view him as a moderate. they are not going to buy into it. >> laura: janine, santorum meanwhile in one new poll i think it's the ppp poll, fox poll has different results. but santorum actually comes closest to obama head to head in a head-to-head matchup. i think is he down 4 points and romney is down 10 points. santorum is connecting with some of those independent

voters and core conservative voters. >> well, history has proven when you have a far left liberal that the one who beats is a strong conservative wins. reagan being a great example. so, you know, i think is he a sleeper, santorum. you don't know exactly. i think he may surprise everybody. romney has to prove that he is not obama light. >> laura: big task for both of them. nevertheless, we will continue to track it leslie, janine, thanks so much. plenty more ahead as the factor moves along this evening. geraldo rivera on that horrid sex abuse scandal that's rocking southern california. you won't believe the shocking story. we hope you stay tuned for those reports. laces? really? slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag,

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>> laura: in the fridays with herald segment tonight, a school abuse controversy you are not going to believe. the elementary school in los angeles was forced to shut down after two former teachers were arrested on charges of

lewd acts against children. the allegations against both teachers are extremely disturbing. the school reopened yesterday with every single teacher replaced. many parents and students are still extremely upset over the situation and a school district is facing a number of lawsuits. joining us from new york is the anchor of "geraldo at large." it's great to see you. >> thank you. it's nice to be here. >> laura: in this case, as a mom, i read the facts of what is allegedly happened to these children, it is so awful and disgusting and it's like the question we asked when anything like this happens, how could this happen over any period of time without somebody noticing it sooner? >> it's a great question. and i'm not sure the answer will satisfy you or the viewers. but the conduct alleged here, against two teachers, is horrifying. one particularly. mark burnt, is he charged, a 31 year veteran in that school is charged with 23 counts of

lewd conduct that goes above and beyond the pale. it is among the most horrifying conduct. the other one martin springer the charges against him involving fondling against one child. not nearly as severe. obviously reprehensible none the less. but the berndt perpetrated these acts over years, laura as you suggest. the only way he got caught with these children was a cbs photo technician saw the photographs, was distressed by them and by law was required to contact the authorities. he did. that started the investigation that led result ultimately to burns dismissal and finally his arrest and charge 23 counts as a bitter footnote. he sued or threatened to sue the district. he got had h. $0,000 in -- $40,000 in severance pay before he went to jail. you asked how it happened. this is where you and i might have some tension.

the reason it happened without anyone sounding the alarm is that the vast majority of the children, if not all of them are the children of undocumented immigrants. their parents are here illegally. their parents have the classic extreme hyper shyness of those without documentation. despite the fact that according to their attorneys the children complained of this reprehensible conduct throughout the years. the parents were afraid if they came forward their status would render their presence in this country -- >> laura: geraldo, would that ever prevent from you reporting someone who was doing something horrifying to your kids? >> who knows? >> laura: i mean, we are talking about children. saying it's illegal immigration and demonization of illegal immigrants. these are thugs and criminals. any time this happens to any child, i don't care if the child is a legal immigrant or not an illegal immigrant. those children need to be protected.

if you are a parent and someone is doing that to your child. >> how about this? let me ask you. why not have comprehensive immigration reform. why not make it clear to awful these people. all 11 million of these demons who are hidden amongst us that they will not be persecuted. they will not be reported -- deported if they report a crime. this is another example of why we need comprehensive immigration reform. >> laura: geraldo. >> talk around the issue. here is a population. these children are citizens. vast majority of them born in this country, laura. >> laura: they are american citizens and they deserve every protection of american citizens. i would completely agree with you. to make this issue, which is horrific crime against a child, children, an issue about am amnesty. i think it's a big stretch. i don't think it helps your case. make the case of illegal immigration less attractive for people to argue. this is just about children. not about whether they're illegal or not. horrible crime against

children. parents whether you are here illegally or not should protect their own children. i think it goes back to the parent. they have got to protect their kids. >> i certainly agree parents have to do everything they can but you cannot expect and i have enough experience with this population to know how paranoid they are. their whole lives. >> laura: that's why you shouldn't come here illegally. >> i'm not arguing the whole issue. i'm merely explaining why the attorneys in this case are suggesting these people did not come forward soon enough in a timely enough fashion. expressing themselves, afraid to go to sheriff's departments because they are almost inevitably referred to the immigration authorities. that's a fact of life. >> laura: that's why you don't break the law in the first place you don't put yourself and your family. >> i'm willing to debase that any time. >> laura: on my radio show. >> okay. >> laura: when we come back, new polling shows president obama may be benefiting somewhat from g.o.p.

infighting. are republicans doing damage to their chances?

>> laura: thanks for staying with us. i'm laura ingraham in for bill o'reilly. in the campaign 2012 segment tonight. a brand new poll from fox news shows that barack obama would beat every single republic candidate in a head-to-head matchup if the election were held today. also president obama's approval rating is up in recent days with 48% approve of the job he is doing. 48% disapproving. is the republic field really this weak or is president obama enjoying a lasting uptick in the polls? joining us now with analysis from charlottesville, virginia. political analyst dr. larry sabato and from asbury park, new jersey pollster scott rasmussen. i'm looking at the fox poll and i see that obama beats everyone handily. 47, 42 for romney.

santorum 50 to 38. gingrich 51 foe 38. scott, let's start with you since you run your own polling shop. is this just the result of the infighting in the republics? a little bit of the good news on the economy? or is this a lasting move for obama up in the polls, approval rating is going to stay there? >> it's not the republic infighting. in fact, our numbers do show some similar trends fox polls. we show mitt romney down by 10 right now. over the last couple nights, rick santorum doing better. is he only down by 4. the reason president obama is doing well is because people are feeling better about the economy. right now, 36% say their own finances are in good shape. that's not a great number. but it's up 9 points since last summer. and not coincidentally his job approval rating is also up 9 points to 51% in the rasmussen poll. what we are see something people feeling better about the he economy. feeling better about president

obama. therefore, all the republicans are getting left behind. >> laura: larry is, it just an economic issue because the analysis that i trust that i'm reading about this economy does not indicate that this is any type of strong recovery. in fact, we have people leaving the workforce and en masse which gives inflated sense of unemployment numbers in this country. >> you know, lauer, i think it is mainly the economy. people, perhaps because of the unemployment rate and the emphasis that we place on the unemployment rate and as you say, that's not the whole picture about the economy. but people have gotten the impression that things are getting better. maybe better than they are. but let's remember, there are 269 days to go. until election day in november. and every one of them will be packed with new information, new developments, new data that can change people's minds. laura, i disagree with scott a little bit.

i think that the primaries so far has hurt the republicans. i took an average for the three major candidates, i took their favorabilities, they are all down. romney is down 10 since december. newt is down 9 since december. santorum who has recently got an uptick, obviously, he is still down 4 since december. all of this negativity, all of the attacks, leveled on one another, it is having an impact. >> laura: i think solutions are what people are looking for, scott. the president, like what he is doing or don't like what he is doing and i think a lot of it is total bunk like this mortgage deal yesterday, he appears to be doing stuff. i'm going to help the tuition. the kids with the i had tuition. i'm going to help people with underwater mortgages. michelle is going around the country helping people obese. they are all doing stuff. gingrich is fighting romney, santorum is fighting -- that's the appearance that people get. >> it is the appearance.

that will change when the republicans have a no, ma'am he knee. four years ago barack obama became a much better candidate because of his long slog with hillary clinton. i suspect that whoever emerges with the republic nomination will be a better candidate come summer than they are today if they are not the republicans very serious trouble when you talk about the economy, it's not really all the things president obama is talking about. it j s. just how part-time are feeling about it. t is perceptions of how the economy is doing. if the economy is seen to be getting stronger, everything obama seems to be doing sounds great. but if there is a single bad jobs report or if gas prices spike, well then all of a sudden those same policies won't look so good. >> laura: just to close it out, larry, this walk back of the abortion -- i say abortion, contraception mandate from h.h.s., that's certainly got religious people's backs up. i don't think that issue is going away given how the compromise is being discussed

in catholic circles. >> certainly republicans will have to make sure it doesn't go away. that's their task during election season. absolutely. although i have to say can you tell it is election season because they did walk it back. i don't think they necessarily would have outside the election context. >> laura: good point. gentlemen, we appreciate it thanks so much. up next, the most lethal sniper in u.s. military history takes a swing at a former governor. is he going to explain why. what did michele bachmann learn while running for president? it's not what you think when we come back.

>> laura: in the back of the book segment tonight, you may remember controversy ensued last month in navy seal chris

keil wrote in his book american sniper about punching out a former governor who turned out to be jesse ventura. bill o'reilly recently spoke with keil. -- kyle. >> bill: chief, i read your book. very entertaining. i recommend it to my audience. i think they will like it. first of all, you say you knocked jesse ventura to the floor with a punch. you don't mention his name but everybody knows who that is. number one, that happened? you knocked him out? >> well, i knocked him down. >> bill: knocked him down. why? would you knock him down. >> we lost our first two seals in iraq. we came home and lost our last guy just before coming home. we had the wake in a seal bar there in coronado. he was there. he was there for a speaking engagement at a bud ceremony, graduating class. >> bill: because he was a seal. >> yes, sir. >> bill: he was a navy seal. he was bad mouthing the war, right? >> bad mouthing the war.

bad mouthing bush. bad mouthing america. >> bill: you took exception? >> i did find a problem with it the family was there. i asked him to please tone it down. that we did not want to upset the family members of mikey monseur. >> bill: who was killed. >> yes, sir. he jumped on a grenade. >> bill: he wasn't verbally bashing him he was bashing the whole thing in general. >> yes, sir. until he said we deserved to lose a few guys. >> bill: he said we, the united states. >> no, he said you, y'all, deserve to lose a few guys. >> bill: navy seals? >> i am assuming he was saying that to me. >> bill: was he drunk? >> no, sir. i never saw him with a drink in hand at all. >> bill: so once he said you deserve to lose a few guys, you popped him? >> yes, sir. >> bill: did he fight back? >> he he went down. the cops were there. i took off running. >> bill: you ran? >> yes, sir. [ laughter ] >> bill: did they arrest you? >> no, sir. i have a master chief that always said punch and run.

>> bill: if i ask you a tough question, are you going to pop me tonight? >> no. >> bill: you are credited in the book with 150 certified kills which means you as a sniper took out 150 guys and somebody else saw it, witnessed it. so, you are the most lethal sniper in u.s. history and you have the medals to prove it. five bronze stars, two silver stars and all of that. what struck me in the book though is that you consider the people you were killing, the iraqis you were killing quote, unquote savages. >> the people i was killing. not just iraqis. >> bill: why did you consider the enemy savages? >> from their actions. the way they live day to day as far as the violence they commit on american troops. the beheadings, the rape of innocent villagers and townspeople that they go into just to intimidate them. they live by putting fear into

other people's hearts. and civilized people just don't act that way. >> bill: you were so effective in iraq that they put $20,000 on your head if one of them had killed you, they would have been paid $20,000. do you believe that they considered you a savage? >> i'm sure they did. honestly, i don't know. and i really don't care. >> bill: so you were committed to killing these people because you in your heart believe that they deserved to die? >> i wasn't so much committed to killing them as i was i'm committed to making sure every service member that was over there, whether american or ally came home. >> bill: as a sniper, your job is to kill them. not wound them. not arrest them. you have to have a certain mentality to be a sniper. you are killing them. >> oh, i'm killing them to protect my fellow americans. >> bill: and you liked it? you liked that job in the book that comes -- it was -- your

wife didn't want you to do it. she wanted you to stay home. you wanted to go back. how many times did you go back? >> four times. >> bill: you liked killing these guys. did you ever figure that out? >> i mean, it's not a problem taking out someone who wants your people dead. that's not a problem at all. >> bill: do you ever, now, looking back, have any regrets at all about anything that you did? >> yes, i did. it's the people i couldn't save. >> bill: the americans you couldn't save? allied forces. >> the americans, the local iraqis, anyone who i witnessed violence coming down on them and i could not save them. >> bill: that's your regret? >> yes, sir. >> you don't have post-traumatic stress or anything like that or, you know, that you killed so many human beings? that doesn't come back at you? >> none of my problems come from the people i have killed. >> bill: it's very fascinating. that's why i want people to read your book. i think if they do, if they read your book, chief,

american sniper, they will understand what war is really about. because i think too many of us don't understand what war is really about. >> i mean, war is hell. it's definitely -- hollywood fantasizes about it and makes it look good. war sucks. >> bill: but they need guys like to you win. >> you have to get in the mentality and you have to not think of them as a human being. you have to portray them as that's why i put savages. >> bill: savage. >> definitely. >> bill: thanks very much. we appreciate you coming in. >> thank you for having me. >> laura: pinheads and patriots on deck tonight starring michele bachmann and what she learned while running for president. we will be back in just over two minutes. as you can see, i'm in a tricky situation here.

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finally tonht. >> pinhead and patriots, thousands of conservatives gather this weekend in washington, dc, for annual conservative political action conference, for yours truly delivered a speech a few hours ago. yesterday, congresswoman michele bachmann took the stage to explain what she learned while running for president. i learned three things. first, i learned where john wayne was born. that's very important. and, second, i learned the day that elvis presley was born. these are vital issues to our republic. and, third, i learned never

forget the throw things that you learn. very important when you run for president. >> for being able to provide livity after a gradualing presidential primary campaign, michele bachmann is a patriot. that is it for us tonight, check out bill's big best seller "killing lincoln," and since its is his birthday on sunday he will send you a complimentary copy of the gettysburg address if you purchase now on billoreilly.com bill and the show is in chicago on the 23rd, and you do not want to miss a chance to see miller and o'reilly to see them together, so go to billoreilly.com bill and check out "of thee i zinc," and my radio show and where you can hear it on my website. remembehe