Behind the Scenes With Barack Obama
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Part 2 of my interview with Senator Obama concentrates on the economy and taxation. There's no question that your financial well-being and the terror threat are the two dominating issues in this year's presidential race, and that's what I concentrated on with Senator Obama.
Since we aired the national security segment last Thursday, we've received thousands of letters. Also, John McCain has received a significant bump in the polls because of the convention. He's now ahead in many of them.
But partisans on both sides remain in a frenzy. A right-wing Web site urged its readers to complain that I should not have interviewed Senator Obama during the Republican Convention. Some left-wing blogs told their crew to protest that I interrupted the senator.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Talking Points" finds ideological zombies boring, and you can decide the validity of those complaints.
There's no question that the Obama campaign wanted exposure during the Republican Convention. They admit it. But if I did not take the interview opportunity, I was not assured of another one.
As we all know, Barack Obama is very glib. He could do 30 minutes on your shoelaces. And since I only had 30 minutes with him, I had to move the conversation along. Thus, the lively intrusions, as I like to put it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Senator Obama and his staff were respectful to us, very professional, and I enjoyed the chat. The senator said he also found it worthy. But there's no doubt that our conversation was different than any other he has done.
So Monday, it's the economy, stupid or smart. Tuesday, it's Reverend Wright and all those dubious associations that have hurt the senator. And on Wednesday, it's dealing with the crazy oil prices. Hope you can watch all three.
And that's "The Memo."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pinheads & Patriots
The Pussycat Dolls, a pop group, received an MTV award last night.
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots."
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NICOLE SCHERZINGER, SINGER, PUSSYCAT DOLLS: First and foremost we'd like to thank God for just being so awesome to us and allowing us to be here tonight. And to all of our fans out there for sticking with us and believing in us. And also the troops out there, we love you, and we haven't forgotten you.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}That was nice. In addition, the Dolls do a lot of work for the USO, so they're obviously patriots.
On the pinhead front, Madonna gave a concert in Rome over the weekend and dedicated a song to the pope, her hit "Like a Virgin."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MADONNA, SINGER: I want to dedicate this song to the pope, because I know he loves me. Yes, he does. I am a child of God.
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Well, that woman better hope God has a sense of humor, because she is an incredible pinhead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}— 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