Our Country Honors an American Hero: Lt. Michael Murphy

The country honors Lieutenant Michael Murphy, the Navy Seal who sacrificed his life in Afghanistan to help his unit. That is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

In a White House ceremony today, Lieutenant Murphy's family received the Medal of Honor. And in just a few moments, we'll get all the details from Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell, who was with the lieutenant when he was killed by Taliban fire.

The sacrifice that Lieutenant Murphy made epitomizes the best of America. And that's why we are leading with the story tonight. "Talking Points" believes the USA is a noble nation, and that most of its citizens, especially in the military, are good people. That puts us in stark contrast to other media outlets, who consistently use their power to denigrate this nation.

You often hear that FOX News Channel is some kind of Republican outlet shilling for conservatives. Dan Rather put forth that nonsense. But that is false.

What is true is that FOX News often takes a pro-USA viewpoint. That is we give our country the benefit of the doubt. And most of the time, we are proved correct in doing that. Most of the time.

Here's a good example of the divide between FOX News and the so-called liberal media: The Los Angeles Times recently ran a story by Paul Watson that blamed America for injuries sustained by some Laotian citizens: "While Americans debate whether to keep troops in Iraq, Laos wishes Washington would do more to clean up [leftover ordnance from the Vietnam War] that has killed 13,000 people since communist guerillas seized power here in 1975." The article implies the injuries are America's fault.

But here's the truth: The Communist government of North Vietnam started that war and invaded Laotian territory, setting up the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which supplied forces that were killing South Vietnamese and Americans. So, of course, the USA bombed that trail.

My question to The L.A. Times is: why isn't the Vietnamese government paying for the clean-up, since they caused the situation and they live right next to Laos? Fair minded people would like an answer to that question and would also like to know why The L.A. Times is putting the responsibility on America, which last year alone gave Laos three million to clean things up. Again, how much did Vietnam give?

This is just a small example that illustrates a big point. The liberal media, especially in times when Republicans hold power, find stories that reflect poorly on the USA. — They look for them.

Now today, a true American hero was honored, but the story received minimal attention from the liberal press. It ran in the "Metro" section of The New York Times, for example.

If Lieutenant Murphy had gunned down civilians in Afghanistan, believe me, it would have been page one in the national section. So everybody in the world could see it.

That's why FOX News is so desperately needed to counter the world view of The Times, CNN, and the NBC News crew.

No shilling here. Just putting the truth in perspective.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads and Patriots

A movie called "Rendition" that puts America in a bad light is a colossal bomb at the box office. We like Reese Witherspoon, but this clunker was unnecessary and only appeals to the bankrupt Air America crowd. Rumor has it Stuart Smalley was first on line.

So the movie-going public are patriots, all of you, for saying no to "Rendition".

On the pinhead front, our pal Bill Maher accurately told John Edwards that I believe Edwards doesn't have a chance at the presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's the best endorsement a Democrat can get us, to have Bill O'Reilly be against you.

MAHER: Why does he think you're so left wing?

EDWARDS: I have no idea. Maybe he thinks I'm actually saying something. You know, somehow, if we don't say something, we're not — we're in the center. But if you actually say something, they put you in the left wing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[I have] No idea what he said. Edwards may be in the political center if we're all living in Cuba! But with income redistribution and abolition of all anti-terror measures — as his major campaign themes — he is not only far left, he's a pinhead.

—You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" 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