This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," March 8, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.
BILL O’REILLY, HOST: Now for the top story tonight, two other views of this. Joining us from Miami, Bernie Goldberg. And here in Washington, Jane Hall. Both are FOX News analysts.
Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane.
JANE HALL, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
O'REILLY: I've been telling you for how long now.
HALL: Yes.
O'REILLY: Are you going to finally see the light and understand what is happening here in the context of the very important presidential race?
HALL: Well, you know, let me just say a couple of things. First of all, I thought Alessandra Stanley's piece was kind of absurd. To go after Charles Gibson — I think where that's coming from is NBC feels that you've been beating up on them. She decided that she wanted to praise him for going there and being in Iraq, Brian Williams, which is laudatory. I disagree with you about Richard Engel. We'll never going to agree about that. He's been embedded with the troops. He's been there.
O'REILLY: All right, let me stop you. OK. Now first of all, why did Alessandra Stanley attack Charles Gibson? If she wanted to just praise Brian Williams, why did she attack Gibson?
HALL: Because you can make points making snide remarks. I don't agree with what she did. I think she completely.
O'REILLY: You don't know why she attacked Gibson though?
HALL: I don't read nefarious motives. I think she was trying to build up Brian Williams.
O'REILLY: OK, by attacking Gibson?
HALL: Yes.
O'REILLY: OK, secondly, you heard Richard Engel just say the situation in Baghdad is dire, but not say that according to the Army violence has dropped 80 percent. You're going to sit there, Jane, you teach journalism.
HALL: Yes.
O'REILLY: And tell me that is a fair minded report, madam?
HALL: Well, you know, I think you have to consider his — the context in which he made that report.
O'REILLY: Oh, stop it. Stop it. He did not.
HALL: There are - OK, there are deaths night after night. There are a lot of people.
O'REILLY: All right.
HALL: ...that are questioning how efficient we are being with this surge, Bill.
O'REILLY: Jane, if I were a student in your class and I asked you that question, and you gave the answer you just gave, you'd have to give me an "A." Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie, why did Alessandra Stanley attack Charles Gibson?
BERNARD GOLDBERG, FOX NEWS ANALYST: You know, I don't know if I'd even use the word "attack." I think it's just a snide, smart ass kind of thing that goes on out there. And.
O'REILLY: Why though? Why Gibson? Why? Gibson's no flaming conservative.
GOLDBERG: Oh, absolutely.
O'REILLY: As you know, we both know Charles. In his private life, Charles Gibson is a liberal.
GOLDBERG: Right.
O'REILLY: Why attack him? He didn't do anything.
GOLDBERG: Well, I don't know if she attacked him. She.
O'REILLY: She said he was lazy and got his job by default, Bernie.
GOLDBERG: She made a dumb observation about him being on vacation. It was unnecessary. I mean, you know, did she have some agenda? I don't know. I think we live in a wise guy culture. And I think it was a wise guy observation that shouldn't have been made.
O'REILLY: Got to be a reason for her to do that.
GOLDBERG: Well, you know, maybe yes, maybe no. But I think there's something else you said in your "Talking Points", if I might, I'd like to pick up on.
So CBS News hired Rick Kaplan, who is a well-known liberal Democrat.
O'REILLY: Right.
GOLDBERG: A well-known liberal Democrat who is friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton, who slept in the Lincoln bedroom at the White House when the Clintons were there, who helped Bill map out a strategy to deal with the media during one of the president's many sex scandals, and who said Dan Rather was the gold standard of American journalism after, after the memo gate story. At least, Bill, at least nobody can throw around that accusation that CBS News has a liberal bias any more right?
O'REILLY: Why do you think that they hired Kaplan?
GOLDBERG: I don't know that they — I'll tell you what. I don't know they hired him because he's a liberal Democrat. But I do think this. On these matters, they're clueless. There is no conspiracy. They didn't come in one day and say if we hire Rick Kaplan, then we could help elect a Democrat.
I guarantee you it didn't and doesn't happen that way. But the perception of hiring a guy who is so tied to the Clintons, who is such a well-known in the media liberal Democrat, it doesn't register on their radar screen.
O'REILLY: I know. They don't — I tend to agree with you that they don't. But if you had hired a conservative for that job.
GOLDBERG: Exactly.
O'REILLY: You would have had headlines from coast-to-coast damning them.
GOLDBERG: And that.
O'REILLY: Damning them — but I got to get to Jane.
GOLDBERG: That's the important point though.
O'REILLY: Jane, Rick Kaplan in the presidential race. Who do you think he's going to be favoring?
HALL: Well, you know, I think we have to give him credit that he will try to be fair.
O'REILLY: Just like he did at NBC, right?
HALL: Roger Ailes came from politics ten years ago.
O'REILLY: And Roger's getting an award tonight. We'll talk about that later.
HALL: OK, all right.
O'REILLY: You know, we have to give him credit after what he did at CNN and NBC?
HALL: No, I think - let me finish.
O'REILLY: Come on.
HALL: I think that he should be asked. Here's where I would fault. TV writers are not smart enough to have asked the question and mentioned it. That's what — I mean, he needs to be asked about it. Hillary Clinton.
O'REILLY: Oh, yes, I'm sure he'll tell the truth. He'll say, no, I'm going to try to get Hillary elected. Katie and I are going to work together to get Hillary elected. But it's so.
HALL: Yes, but Bill.
O'REILLY: I mean, look, all I can do is present the evidence.
HALL: OK, but what about the "Newsweek" cover story on Rudy Giuliani?
O'REILLY: I don't care.
HALL: It's a love fest for him.
O'REILLY: I don't care about "Newsweek." All I can do is present the evidence and I have.
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