[Bogey780]

Bill O'Reilly: Hello, everybody, I'm Bill O'Reilly, thank you for watching The Factor. Our top story tonight: Was bankrupt energy giant Enron responsible for the power shortage last year that rocked California? My next guest says no, it was the "environmentalists". He's Thomas Woodward, an attorney with the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Woodward, thanks for coming on The Factor.

Thomas Woodward: My pleasure, Bill.

Bill O'Reilly: Now, uh, Mr. Woodward, in your article, you say that environmentalists simply refuse to acknowledge California's growing need for electricity.

Thomas Woodward: That's right.

Bill O'Reilly: You also say that California has more people than any other state. I say New York State has more people - tell me where I'm wrong!

Thomas Woodward: [ confused ] Um.. well.. Bill.. actually, California is the most populous state.

Bill O'Reilly: I don't know, Counselor. I live in New York, and I walk down the streets every day, and there's people everywhere! You can't move! You know what I mean? Last week, I was in California, went to the beach in Malibu. Nobody! Practically empty. So, for my money, New York's got more people. Probably New Jersey, too.

Thomas Woodward: Well, Bill, your own experience nonwithstanding, each of the last four censuses has clearly shown -

Bill O'Reilly: Sorry, Counselor, not buying it! Not buying it!

Thomas Woodward: Bill, I swear to you, California is our largest state!

Bill O'Reilly: Look, Mr. Woodward, you've got your opinion, I've got mine. We're not gonna settle this tonight.

Thomas Woodward: Actually, we could setlle this tonight! Do you have an almanac?

Bill O'Reilly: Sorry, Counselor, nice try. But I'll give you the last word.

Thomas Woodward: Is there someone else here I could talk to?

Bill O'Reilly: Thanks for coming on The Factor.

Next up on The Factor, our Unresolved Problem segment. Once again, the ongoing saga of San Francisco Giants slugger, Barry Bonds. As you know, Mr. Bonds has repeatedly claimed that, during the 2001 baseball season, he hit 73 home runs. We here at The Factor very much doubt this. We even invited him on the show to argue his case, but he keeps ducking us! Mr. Bonds, by your continued refusal to appear on The Factor and take the heat, you have proven that you're not only a liar, but a coward as well. And even if you had hit 73 home runs, it's still a far cry from the 755 Hank Aaron hit in 1974. And that's tonight's Unresolved Problems.

Now, in our Back of the Book segment: Is human activity really changing Earth's atmosphere? Our next guest thinks so. She's Susan van Etten, Professor of Environmental Sciences at Tulane University. Miss van Etten, thanks for coming on The Factor.

Susan van Etten: Thank you, Bill.

Bill O'Reilly: Now, when you say greenhouse gasses, what are we talking about here.

Susan van Etten: Well, principally, Bill, carbon dioxide or CO2 -

Bill O'Reilly: Hold it, hold it, Professor! CO2?

Susan van Etten: Yes. Bill, you see, as the result of most industrial processes, carbon combines with oxygen.

Bill O'Reilly: Oh, sorry, Professor, not buying it. I know that's a byline, but I'm just not buying it. You've got carbon, you've got oxygen. And my gut tells me, when push comes to shove, oxygen is just not gonna combine with a carbon. I don't care what you do to the carbon!

Susan van Etten: Well.. Bill.. under intense heat, carbon does -

Bill O'Reilly: Sorry, Professor, I just don't buy it! But let's move on. You say in your piece that greenhouse gasses have been found on the top of Mount Everest.

Susan van Etten: That's correct.

Bill O'Reilly: You also say that Mount Everest is the world's tallest mountain peak. I say the world's tallest peak is Space Mountain - tell me where I'm wrong!

Susan van Etten: [ stunned ] Space Mountain?

Bill O'Reilly: Space Mountain! In the Pocano Mountain Range, part of Joshua Tree National Park in Alaska? Where am I wrong?

Susan van Etten: Okay.. um.. first of all, Space Mountain is not a mountain. I beleive it's a roller coaster. Also, the Pocano Mountains are in Pennsylvania, and are not part of any national park, least of all Joshua Tree National Park, which has mountains. And it's in California, not Alaska.

Bill O'Reilly: Hey, have you ever been to Alaska, Professor?

Susan van Etten: Bill, I was just explaining -

Bill O'Reilly: I'm sorry, Professor! I asked you a simple question: Have you ever been to Alaska?

Susan van Etten: [ meekly ] No.

Bill O'Reilly: Well, I appreciate you're coming on The Factor. And I'll give you the last word.

Susan van Etten: Uh..

[ time's up ]

Bill O'Reilly: And now for a look at our Viewer Mail, about a story on overcrowding in kindergarten classrooms.

Janet Miller of Park City, Utah writes: "Bill, normally I'm a fan of 'The Factor's' hard hitting style, but your interview with the five-year old girl about class size was a little too rough. Telling her she was 'out of her mind' was simply uncalled for."

Janet, here at The Factor, we pull no punches, When you come on the show, you gotta know that.

Ed Gekas, Emhurst, Illinois: "Bill, your tough, incisive questions had that five year old girl squirming. The bottom line is, you had the facts. She didn't."

And finally, Paul Jemino of Islip, New York writes: "Bill, even though the girl hurt her case by crying, she was right, and you were wrong. Albany, not New York City, is the capital of New York State."

Well, Paul, I thank you for watching. But I still say New York City is the state capital. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

And finally, our Most Ridiculous Item of the Day: This week, Congress voted $1.2 million of your tax dollars to the University of Iowa to study breast cancer! Come on! Don't study it, guys. Cure it! Ridiculous! [ laughs ] Well, that's all the time we have for The Factor. As always, we thank you for watching. I'm Bill O'Reilly. Good night.

[Ragin1]

Good one! Here is one more:

Chris Matthews: Welcome back to "Hardball". I'm Chris Matthews. A nuclear submarine slices through a Japanese fishing boat like cream corn trough a goose. Bush orders allied planes to give Baghdad a beat-down. I'm gonna tell you what, no one gives a flying frig! 'Cause when you get right down to it, the Clinton scandal machine keeps running along, next stop, Harlem, and it wouldn't matter if Bush did a line of coke along the Loch Ness monster's ass! We'd all still be talking about what Clinton thought of "The Wedding Planner". Morons, you're all morons! With me today, the current belle of the post-Clinton epoch, Denise Rich.

Denise Rich: Hello, Chris.

Chris Matthews: Also joining us from Washington, former Clinton advisor Paul Begala.

Paul Begala: Thanks for having me...

Chris Matthews: Zip it, Begala! It's not Equal Time, it's Hardball! Miss Rich, we're gonna start with you. Did you and your husband, Marc Rich, pay off the Clintons in exchange for a presidential pardon or what?

Denise Rich: Chris, as I have stated, I invoke my Fifth Amendment rights concerning all questions on this matter.

Chris Matthews: Come on, lady! Fifth Amendment? That's just rich people talk for "I'm guilty". It's not gonna fool anyone here at "Hardball".

Denise Rich: Chris, the only things we have given to the Clintons are love and support, a saxophone, and millions of dollars. Is that a big deal?

Chris Matthews: Paul Begala, what about it? Denise Rich insists she didn't break the rules, but more importantly, shouldn't someone who wears that much makeup be a better liar?

Paul Begala: Absolutely, Chris. There's no story here.

Chris Matthews: Yeah.

Paul Begala: The Bush administration...

Chris Matthews: Yeah.

Paul Begala: ...is simply substituting an...

Chris Matthews: Yeah.

Paul Begala: ..anti-Clinton witch hunt...

Chris Matthews: Yeah.

Paul Begala: ...for their actual agenda.

Chris Matthews: Blah, blah, blah, you're done! You're boring and you look like a fetus! Joining us now from Pennsylvania is Senator Arlen Specter. Senator, you recently suggested impeaching President Clinton; isn't that a little extreme?

Arlen Specter: I didn't say we should impeach Mr. Clinton. The Constitution gives us a number of options: We could impeach him, he could be censored - uh, censured, or according to Article Three, we could also tie his hands behind his back and have Roger Clemens fire a fastball at his face.

Chris Matthews: Paul Begala, what about it, should the U.S. government hire major leaguers to whip baseballs at the ex-president? And please, phrase your answer in the form of a shout.

Paul Begala: President Clinton has done nothing wrong, and I fail to see why...

Chris Matthews: (makes snoring noises) Specter, wake up! Shouldn't Clinton's punishment fit his crime?

Arlen Specter: Uh, again, at this point, I merely want to our investigate legal options. For instancee, under the Articles of Confederation, we may have the authority to take President Clinton to a deserted island and hunt him for sport. If he survives, he's acquitted. If we bag him, we get to cook him in a large pot and eat him. Now. I'm not saying we're going to do this. I'm just saying, Strom Thurmond has an island.

Chris Matthews: Denise Rich, the next question's for you: exactly how much money does it cost to look that cheap?

Denise Rich: Once again, I invoke my Fifth Amendment rights.

Chris Matthews: Paul Begala, you chesire cat-faced cretin, should Clinton be hunted like a dog on Strom Thurmond's island or what?

Paul Begala: Chris, you really don't expect me to answer that.

Chris Matthews: You're a virgin, aren't you, Begala? Come on.

Paul Begala: That's really none of your business.

Arlen Specter: Can I say something here, Chris? Scottish common law says that we have the option to shrink President Clinton to the size of a field mouse and then force him to fight spiders for our amusement. Are we going to do this? Probably. All I'm saying, Strom Thurmond has a shrinking ray.

Chris Matthews: Ho-ho! Now we're playing some freakin' Hardball! I wanna thank my guests. Denise Rich, anything left to say?

Denise Rich: I must invoke my Fifth Amendment...

Chris Matthews: Boo! Senator Specter, good luck eating the President.

Arlen Specter: Or shrinking him, Chris.

Chris Matthews: Okay, right. Paul Begala, once again, I tore you a new one. Let's check the scoreboard: Matthews 17, Begala 2! Stick around, I'm going outside to shout at cars! You're watching "Hardball"!

Thanks to Mike S. for this transcript!