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From last night's Special Report

Brilliant as always

It’s Iowa minus 32 days, and barring yet another resurrection (or event of similar improbability), it’s Mitt Romney vs. Newt Gingrich. In a match race, here’s the scorecard: Romney has managed to weather the debates unscathed. However, the brittleness he showed when confronted with the kind of informed follow-up questions that Bret Baier tossed his way Tuesday on Fox’s “Special Report” — the kind of scrutiny one doesn’t get in multiplayer debates — suggests that Romney may become increasingly vulnerable as the field narrows. Moreover, Romney has profited from the temporary rise and spontaneous combustion of Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry...

We're in the midst of a great four-year national debate on the size and reach of government, the future of the welfare state, indeed, the nature of the social contract between citizen and state. The distinctive visions of the two parties — social-democratic vs. limited-government — have underlain every debate on every issue since Barack Obama's inauguration: the stimulus, the auto bailouts, health care reform, financial regulation, deficit spending. Everything. The debt ceiling is but the latest focus of this fundamental divide. The sausage-making may be unsightly, but the problem isn't that Washington is broken, that ridiculous cliche. The problem...

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," May 31, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Impact" segment tonight: Fox News political analyst Charles Krauthammer, a very outspoken guy, as Donald Trump recently found out. So how does he see this weekend's Sarah Palin bus tour? Charles joins us now from Washington. So Hume and me, your humble correspondent, we feel that she's not going to run. First of all, do you concur? CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, FOX NEWS ANALYST: I agree completely. I think it would make...

Charles Krauthammer's opinion matters. As any political junkie knows, Dr. Krauthammer is all at once witty, sublime, sarcastic, and serious. People listen to Krauthammer and care about what he thinks. Political junkies yearn for reliable scouts like him who speak plainly, tell the truth, and offer unique insights based on the truth. The most valuable characteristic an established "wise man" can have is the ability to see and tell the truth. Speaking the truth about current events is where Krauthammer seems to hit all the right notes. Only on very rare occasions does this maestro hit a decidedly sour note....

With a lot of media attention, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin visited the nation’s capital over the weekend to kick off a bus tour, in which she will visit various national landmarks. But some see the trip as a campaign stunt for a possible 2012 presidential campaign. On Monday’s “Special Report,” syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer offered his thoughts on the bus tour, but admitted he wasn’t clear on what was motivating it. “I don’t know – it’s more eccentric than usual, this event,” Krauthammer said. “She says she is going around to highlight ‘the foundation of the country.’ I don’t...

"O'Reilly Factor" producer Jesse Watters caught up with Donald Trump in New Hampshire on Wednesday and asked him what he thought of Charles Krauthammer's personal attacks, the latest one comparing "The Donald" to a "crackpot" "drunk." Mr. Trump shot back at Krauthammer, calling him a "sad fool" who was trying to ride his coattails for publicity. http://nation.foxnews.com/donald-trump/2011/04/28/trump-and-krauthammer-take-personal-attacks-new-level

There's something cryptic and elusive about Krauthammer, like the coy Waldo in the famous puzzle. (And don't miss Steve Green on "Krauthammer Correcting Krauthammer." )Charles Krauthammer has long been recognized as one of America’s most astute and authoritative political columnists, acknowledged as a cut above the majority of his scrivening colleagues. And yet there is something cryptic and elusive about him, like the coy Waldo in the famous puzzle. Perhaps he resents being put in boxes and wishes to preserve his independence of judgment, or his unpredictability. Still, one detects a growing tendency to pronounce upon critical affairs without sufficient...