Bill O'Reilly
Fox News Channel, The O'Reilly Factor
August 12, 2005
Bill O'Reilly |
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Cindy Sheehan |
JOHN GIBSON, GUEST HOST: "The O'Reilly Factor" is on. Tonight, anti-Bush military mom Cindy Sheehan puts out a new advertisement demanding the president admit his mistakes in Iraq. We'll play it for you and tell you who's really behind it. New evidence in Aruba may link Joran Van Der Sloot to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. We'll talk to the investigator who found this evidence. And Pat Buchanan versus Bill O'Reilly in a great debate.
Caution, you're about to enter a no-spin zone. "The Factor" begins now.
Hi, everybody. I'm John Gibson reporting for Bill O'Reilly. Thanks for watching us. We'll have a report of some potentially important new evidence discovered in Aruba a little later in the hour.
But first, "The Factor's" continuing coverage of the Cindy Sheehan story. Her son, Casey, an Army specialist, was killed in Iraq last year. And as you may know, she's now staging a very public protest outside of President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.
Ms. Sheehan met with the president shortly after her son was killed, but now she says not going away until she speaks with him again. And she explained why in a new advertisement paid for by an anti-war group.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY SHEEHAN: Mr. President, my name is Sheehan. On April 4, 2004, my son, Casey, was killed in Iraq. He was only 24. And he died in his best friend's arms.
Casey was so good and so honest. Why can't you be honest with us? You were wrong about the weapons of mass destruction. You were wrong about the link between Iraq and al Qaeda. You lied to us.
And because of your lies, my son died. You said he died for a noble cause. What cause? Mr. President, I want to tell you face to face how much this hurts. I love my country, but how many more of our loved ones need to die in this senseless war? How many more soldiers have to die before we say enough? I know you can't bring Casey back, but it's time to admit mistakes and bring our troops home now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIBSON: "The Factor" broke the story that Ms. Sheehan is involved with some very far left organizations, but is her alliance with anti-war groups helping her get her message out? Or is it actually hurting her credibility?
With us now, Mike Paul, a reputation management and public relations expert. So what's it's doing? Is it helping her or hurting her to have all these groups behind her?
MIKE PAUL, REPUTATION MANAGEMENT EXPERT: Well, I think it's going to hurt her in the long run. You know, right now, we're still talking about the death of her son, a grieving mother. But I think the more that we see her coming from a perspective of an anti-war activist, she can't wear two hats for long.
Thus far, she started with one hat as a grieving mother. And that was the hook to get people interested. And now she's wearing another hat, which is a hat she's worn for a while, which is an anti-war activist.
GIBSON: Well, I mean, even if she's both things, why shouldn't the president meet with her? Go ahead. She's going to say that to him, he's going to answer. We're pretty sure what he'd say. So why not do it?
PAUL: Well, the president has a lot of different families who are grieving right now. And to set a precedent of meeting with her - by the way, she's already met with the president a year ago. So this would be meeting number two.
GIBSON: This is a do over. She didn't yell at him.
PAUL: Right.
GIBSON: .at that point in a way that she wanted to -- wants to now.
PAUL: But she had access to the president of the United States. And that's a very rare thing. And to have a precedent set of any family member who is grieving, to have access to the president is the wrong thing.
GIBSON: Well, look, the people who are against the war have said oftentimes that the people who are for the war, starting with the president, don't send their own kids.
PAUL: Right.
GIBSON: And you know, Jenna and Barbara aren't going.
PAUL: Right.
GIBSON: Bush family members aren't going. So maybe it would be smart for him to say, all right, I'll sit down with her.
PAUL: So let's go through that scenario. The president meets with her. Let's say we even have a photograph that's taken. It's closed door to the press, but her photograph is released. And the president is leaning over and being sympathetic, showing some empathy towards her.
Any word that's said to her during that meeting will then turn into a political statement from the left. And that is something that the president shouldn't do.
GIBSON: Well, I mean, he can listen. She's going to demand these answers. She's going to yell at him. She's going to berate him.
PAUL: And again.
GIBSON: She's going to blame him for her son's death. Not blaming the people who actually killed her son.
But if he were to take it.
PAUL: Right.
GIBSON: .if he were to go just in there and take it.
PAUL: Right.
GIBSON: .wouldn't he actually score political points, instead of letting her make it appear that he's afraid to see her?
PAUL: The president has the ability to take it, as you say. He is a person who is caring, who can show that empathy.
But the bigger question is where do you stop? How many parents do you do this for? This war has others who have died. There are future people that will die. What type of precedent does that set for the president of the United States?
GIBSON: Well, what if it sets no precedent? Suppose it's just one? He says OK, there's political pressure. The anti-war types want me to face Cindy Sheehan. She symbolizes every other parent who's lost a child or a husband or a relative. That's the one I'm going to talk to.
PAUL: Well, the problem is she doesn't symbolize that. If she were a person who were out there by herself, who are - was grieving over a cross that was put out there initially, and it was only her who was grieving from a personal perspective for her son, then you're absolutely right. That would be the right person.
But that's not the situation now. This is an anti-war activist who is leading from that perspective right now. She has over 100 other people that are out there with her. She has ads that are being paid for by other liberal groups. And this is going to continue to go on.
She is the poster person now for the anti-war movement. She is not just a grieving mother. If she were only a grieving mother, then I would say yes, there's a possibility that that would happen, but his aides and his closest relations and consultants will tell him that this is a wrong thing for him to do.
GIBSON: Mr. Paul, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
PAUL: Thank you.
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