Pinheads and Patriots (12 page)
Read Pinheads and Patriots Online
Authors: Bill O'Reilly
O'Reilly:
All right, look, I got one more question that I forgot that's important.
Obama:
Go ahead.
O'Reilly:
A hundred and fifty billion to alternative energy in the Obama administration.
Obama:
Yeah. Over ten years.
O'Reilly:
Okay. Over ten years.
Obama:
Yeah.
O'Reilly:
To what? To what? What, don't, aren't, shouldn't we have a plan, before we start to spend?
Obama:
Oh, no, no.
O'Reilly:
Is it going to be ethanol? Is it going to be fuel cells?
Obama:
Let, let, let, let, let meâ
O'Reilly:
What's it going to be?
Obama:
Let, let, let me give you some examples. Uh, number one, uh, we have to extend tax credits for solar, wind, hydro, which is basically the hydroâ
O'Reilly:
But you're scattershotting it, though. What if, what if solar wind and hydro don't work?
Obama:
No, no, no. No, noâbut, but, but, but that, that was true for the space program. We didn'tâ
O'Reilly:
Always focus on the space program.
Obama:
Kennedy didn't know how we were going to go to the moon. That, that, the nature of discovery, and research, and innovation, is you put money into a whole bunch of promising pots. It's like venture capital. And you figure out what works. And some things are going to work, and some things are not. You're not going to bat a thousand. But here's what we know. We can't keep doing the same things we're doing. Look, I had a meeting with T. Boone Pickens.
O'Reilly
[
overlap
]: I'm with you. I'm with you.
Obama:
Here's an example. T. Boone, you know, did some things with, uh, respect to John Kerry and voting that I thought, uhâ
O'Reilly:
No, he's the wind guy now, and we, I'm with you on that.
Obama:
âbut he and I sat down and had a conversation because he is absolutely right, that we can't sustain importing 70 percent of our oil.
O'Reilly:
Everybody knows that. But you've got to have a plan.
Obama:
That's right. And I, I do have a plan.
O'Reilly:
You should get nukes involved. Why are you against nuclear energy, when Sweden does it?
Obama:
I am notâI am not against nuclear energy.
O'Reilly:
Well, let's get the plants up!
Obama:
Well, okay, why not?
O'Reilly:
Let's start drilling in ANWR [the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]. What are you going toâ
Obama:
Who's arguing with you?
O'Reilly:
Are you afraid, are you afraid of scaringâ
Obama:
No. Now, ANWR, ANWR I think is a problem for us.
O'Reilly:
What, a caribou is going to be scared?
Obama:
[
Laughs.
]
O'Reilly:
Come on!
Obama:
[
Laughs
.]
O'Reilly:
You, you're with the folks that complained about heating bills, and you're worried about a caribou going, “What's that pipe thing doing?”
Obama:
No. But, but, I tellâ
O'Reilly:
What?? What??
Obama:
One of the great things about this country is you travel around, is, you've got a, some beautiful real estate here.
O'Reilly:
Oh come on. Nobody goes to ANWR.
Obama:
We got, we got lots of, weâ
O'Reilly:
You know, what do you want to do, run shuttles up there?
Obama:
We are lucky to have some of the most beautiful, uh, uh, real estate on earth. And we want to make sure thatâ
O'Reilly
[
overlap
]: You're making me cry here.
Obama:
We want to make sure we'll pass it on to the next generation, but this notion that I'm opposed to nuclear power, it's just not true. The notion that I am opposed toâ
O'Reilly
[
overlap
]: What I'd like to seeâ
Obama:
âcoal, is not true. What I have said is that we've got to invest in the technologies that make 'em cleaner.
O'Reilly:
That's swell.
Obama:
You and I agree on that.
O'Reilly:
But what I'd like to see between now and election dayâ
Obama:
All right.
O'Reilly:
âand I think it would get you some votes, is say, Look, this is what I'm going to do.
Obama:
Yeah.
O'Reilly:
I want to hear, We're gonna, we're gonna get this many new plants.
Obama:
Right.
O'Reilly:
We're going to put this much into solar. We're going to get this, this, this. And that would drive down the price of oil.
Obama:
I'll, I'll help you, uh, uh, I'llâ
O'Reilly:
No, that's your deal. I'm not running for anything.
Obama:
No, no, no. I'll make sure to send that plan, so that you can start advertising it for us.
O'Reilly:
Well, you can come back on and tell me.
Obama:
I look forward to it.
So am I a prophet or what? I pounded then-Senator Obama on his objections to drilling in ANWR and his lack of a specific vision for alternative energy, which the country desperately needs.
Then, about a year and a half after that interview, BP befouls the Gulf of Mexico, forcing President Obama to address the nation and to promise to invest billions in nonspecific alternative energy projects. Yes, the President is consistent. No, he is not advancing the energy ball down the court. The United States still does not know how to replace oil.
We could, however, replace deepwater drilling if we opened up ANWR. But the President will not alienate the environmental Left by doing that. I guess it's better to have pelicans and turtles covered with oil and the saltwater marshes of Louisiana turned into toxic garbage dumps. But, hey, should you care to visit, the Arctic Circle is spotless.
O'Reilly:
All right, now. Final question for you. I think I can kick your butt in one-on-one basketball.
Obama:
You've got height.
O'Reilly:
Okay.
Obama
[
overlap
]: But I think I've got speed.
O'Reilly:
But you have, but you've got youth. I'm an old guy. I'm seventy-three years old.
Obama:
Are you seventy-three?
O'Reilly
[
overlap
]: Yeah, this is Botox.
Obama:
Is that? You look good, man.
O'Reilly:
How many are going to spot me on theâ
Obama:
What do you eat, to be looking like that at seventy-three?
O'Reilly:
I don't, I don't eat anything.
Obama:
[
Laughs
.]
O'Reilly:
How many are you going to spot me on a one-on-one game, huh?
Obama:
Uhâ¦
O'Reilly:
'Cause I think Iâ
Obama:
Game to eleven?
O'Reilly:
Yeah.
Obama:
I'd spot you ten.
O'Reilly:
All right. You'd spot me ten. That's pretty cocky.
Obama:
[
Chuckles
.]
O'Reilly:
That's pretty cocky. So now I win, right, I want to be secretary of state.
Obama
[
overlap
]: Now, now I hear you're, I hear you'reâ
O'Reilly:
No, no. If I win, I want to be secretary ofâ
Obama:
I hear you're, I hear you're a pretty good athlete, but, but your game was football and baseball, right?
O'Reilly:
Right.
Obama:
Different than basketball.
O'Reilly
[
overlap
]: And I, I think I couldâ
Obama:
But you do have height.
O'Reilly:
But white guys can't jump. You know, I, I think Reverend Wright said that, didn't he?
Obama:
I'm sure he did.
O'Reilly:
Ha, ha, ha!
Obama:
I think that was Bill O'Reilly.
O'Reilly:
Senator, a pleasure.
Obama:
I enjoyed it.
O'Reilly:
I enjoyed it, too.
Obama:
Thank you so much.
O'Reilly:
I hope you come back.
Obama:
We'll be back.
O'Reilly:
And good luck in the campaign.
Obama:
Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
So I snuck in that Reverend Jeremiah Wright jab. If you saw the interview on TV, you may have noticed that Mr. Obama's smile dimmed a bit upon hearing that. Some people hammered me for ending the chat with a bit of
mindless banter, but I say, give me a break. I appreciated the opportunity to talk with the man and wanted to leave on an up note. After all, he didn't have to submit to the interview, which, by the way, could very well be the toughest one he's ever done.
Also, just as I did not dislike President Bush, I don't dislike President Obama. They are human. They do good things; they do bad things. Like all of us. I enjoy talking to these guys. They are both smart and have experienced incredible things. When I visit the White House for an interview, I am totally engaged. But that doesn't mean I'm starstruck. My main obligation is to you. I think my interviews with both Presidents demonstrate how I keep that in mind.
For me, things get complicated when a President's policies adversely affect you. President Bush let Iraq get out of control for a while and did not watch the Wall Street bandits closely enough. The brutal fallout from those failures hurt most Americans.
Right now, President Obama is spending the country into peril. In addition, his liberal view of the world has not resulted in any improvement in the lives of most of us. His big issue, ObamaCare, remains a wild card. Nobody knows how that will work out. What we do know is that it will be expensive and complicated.
Finally, we are now firmly in the age of Obama, a fact that has a direct effect on your life. He is dominating world events but has not delivered on the “hope” promise. “Change,” yes.
In just a short time, the President has become a polarizing figure, who is most likely in over his head as chief executive of the most powerful country the world has ever
known. But so were Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan in the beginning of their White House tenures.
As for your place in this age? It's to assess the country and your personal situation honestly; it's also to be a loyal citizen no matter what your political and social allegiances.
As Mr. Obama's first term moves along, polls show that most Americans have lost some confidence in his ability to lead. The blunt truth is that most of us are not better off than we were in the last year of the Bush presidency, not exactly a shining moment for America.
But as my pal Billy Joel once sang, keep the faith. Throughout our gallant history, Americans have always responded to tough situations by fighting through them and electing great men and women to represent us. If President Obama does not institute policies that improve the lives of most Americans, he will be voted out in 2012. I have no doubt. The system will work.
In the meantime, he's a Patriot for serving his country but also a Pinhead on some important issues. We will know rather soon which label will override the other.
It's All About You
SO WHAT DO
YOU
THINK?
Not about President Obama and his policies, but regarding your place in your country. After all, that is the subtitle of this book. How are you feeling these days about being an American? I'd sincerely like to know.
So if you would be kind enough to put together some thoughts and send them to O'[email protected], I will read them and highlight some of your musings on the Web site. Beginning in September 2010, we'll post daily updates written by everyday Americans about this book and about how folks perceive their own personal situations.
This will be fun and instructive. I want to know where you disagree me with me. If you see something in
Pinheads and Patriots
that strikes you the wrong way, let me hear it. I might even include some of your critiques in the paperback edition of this book. So let's get on it, people!
At the end of my books, I like to thank you, the reader. With all the options you guys have these days, it is a major compliment to me that you have taken the time to read what I have to say.
Also, I hope the book has given you some clarity about your life and the country in which you live. We are still the most prosperous, generous people on the planet, but things are changing rapidly in America, and your voice is important to steer that change in the right direction.
As you may know, I believe in the “power of the people.” But, unlike the crazy radicals of the 1960s, I actually understand who “the people” really are. The folks to whom I speak are largely traditional-minded, fair, hardworking, and respectful of their country. They understand that it is not government that has made America great; rather, it is Mary and John, who live their lives honestly, fulfilling responsibilities no matter how difficult they may be. The power of change lies with those folks, and that is the great hope of the United States.
Things may not be the way we want them to be right now. Anger and discontent are in the air. But, always, the folks have prevailed and the nation has snapped back from hard times.
That will happen again. The people will rise and correct the political chaos that has taken place. That will happen for one very simple reason: in America, there are far more Patriots than Pinheads.
Bill O'Reilly
August 2010
Long Island, New York