Hillary Clinton, Benghazi and the media

Bernie Goldberg reacts to Hillary Clinton’s account of the Benghazi controversy in her new book

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," June 2, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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O'REILLY: Thanks for staying with us. I'm Bill O'Reilly.

In the "Weekdays with Bernie" segment tonight, Hillary Clinton --

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-- has a new book coming out in which she says that the Benghazi screw-up was her fault. But -- but partisan politics have made the story much more than it really is.

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That statement, of course, Has engendered controversy.

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BOB WOODWARD, AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST: One of the questions I have, and I think there are serious unanswered questions about this, did she keep a diary. There are facts, there is neutrals inquiry.

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O'REILLY: And we will have Mr. Woodward on THE FACTOR tomorrow night. Joining us from Miami, the purveyor of BernardGoldberg.com, Mr. Goldberg.

So, obviously, Mrs. Clinton's book is trying to get out in front of the Benghazi deal. Is that smart.

BERNIE GOLDBERG, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I think it is. You get the Benghazi chapter out of the way now, you get the rest of the book out of the way in a few days.

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You hope all of -- you get all of the controversial stuff out of the way now.

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And then, when some Republican has the gall to bring up Benghazi sometime down the road after she announces -- and not if she announces but when she announces that she's running --

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-- for president, you say, "We dealt with all of that in June of 2014." And the media that's anxious for another historical presidential candidate, I think, will cover for her.

O'REILLY: All right. Now, I'm going to --

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-- you're Hillary Clinton -- you're Hillary Clinton. You want to go change? I mean, you're her, OK.

GOLDBERG: Uh-huh.

O'REILLY: And I'm the Republican guy or gal running against Hillary Clinton, OK.

GOLDBERG: Right.

O'REILLY: All right. "So, Madam Secretary, can I just ask you a very simple question because, as you know, I am a simple man, or woman. You are the Head of the State Department. Benghazi, Libya happened even though your State Department was warned about that security by both" --

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-- "the ambassador himself who died and British Intelligence who was attacked in Benghazi. And you didn't do anything about that. Why should we elect you President of" --

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-- "the United States when you couldn't even run your own State Department effectively."

GOLDBERG: If you plan to use four dead Americans for your cheap political gain, then you do that and I'm not going to take part in that.

Now, I want to make clear to the people watching us, Bill, that is not my position.

O'REILLY: That you're answering as she would.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

O'REILLY: But that -- don't you think that question -- and then if I were the candidate in the debate, I wouldn't back away, I would say, --

GOLDBERG: Right.

O'REILLY: -- "You're not answering the question. You ran the State Department inefficiently. And, now, you're asking for a much, much bigger job."

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"If you couldn't control or pay attention to what happened to what happened in your department, how can you run the government. Why should anybody vote for you. Put the dead Americans aside. Just answer the larger question."

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GOLDBERG: I think that's not only a good question but, more importantly, it's a legitimate question.

O'REILLY: Yes, she can't fight that, can she. Or she can.

GOLDBERG: Well, but here -- let me read you one short part of what she wrote in this chapter that was released, because this is how she's going to --

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-- deal with it. She said, "I will not be a part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans."

O'REILLY: Yes.

GOLDBERG: That's a nice touch, "I won't do it it on the backs of dead Americans." Nice going, Hillary.

Then, she says, "It's just plain wrong and it's unworthy of our great country." Another nice touch, "great country." "Those who insist on politicizing the tragedy will have to do so without me."

Now, here's the point, Bill -- and maybe you have more confidence in the American electorate than I do -- but I think that might work.

O'REILLY: No, I don't. Oh, I shouldn't say that.

GOLDBERG: Even though the question is --

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-- legitimate, the question should be asked, I just don't have faith in enough of the electorate to think -- they might say, "You know what, this is old news."

And they're going to have a mainstream media that is, as I say, that's always anxious for a historical candidate, who will cover for her. They're not going to get behind this.

O'REILLY: Yes. But if you ask the question in a right way about the bigger picture of her efficiency as Secretary of State, and then you throw in a couple other things that got screwed up -- Putin, the reset, all of that.

It's not -- she's not going to be able to do the dance that she is on the micro. If you just kept it on that night, you're right. But if you brought it out to the big picture, I think she may have some trouble.

I'd love to ask her to come on the program. And I'm going to do it right now. Come on, Secretary Clinton, talk to me about this. We'd love to hear --

GOLDBERG: You mean the real -- you mean the real Hillary.

O'REILLY: Yes, not you. You get paid to come on. You will come on anytime.

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