Keep It Pithy

Also by Bill O’Reilly

THE O’REILLY FACTOR: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE
COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS IN AMERICAN LIFE

THE NO SPIN ZONE: CONFRONTATIONS WITH THE POWERFUL
AND FAMOUS IN AMERICA

WHO’S LOOKING OUT FOR YOU?

THE O’REILLY FACTOR FOR KIDS: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR
AMERICA’S FAMILIES (COAUTHORED BY CHARLES FLOWERS)

THOSE WHO TRESPASS: A NOVEL OF TELEVISION AND MURDER

CULTURE WARRIOR

A BOLD FRESH PIECE OF HUMANITY

KIDS ARE AMERICANS TOO

(COAUTHORED BY CHARLES FLOWERS)

PINHEADS AND PATRIOTS: WHERE YOU STAND
IN THE AGE OF OBAMA

KILLING LINCOLN

KILLING KENNEDY

Copyright © 2013 by Bill O’Reilly

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Archetype, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

CROWN ARCHETYPE with colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

Portions of this work were previously published in the following Broadway titles:
Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity
(2008),
Culture Warrior
(2006),
The O’Reilly Factor
(2000),
The No Spin Zone
(2001), and
Who’s Looking Out for You?
(2003).

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available upon request.

eISBN: 978-0-385-34663-4

Jacket design by Michael Nagin
Jacket photograph by Visco Hatfield

v3.1

Contents

Cover

Other Books by This Author

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

STATE OF THE UNION

ONE
Just as I Predicted and Long Before We Heard of President Obama: The Growing Success of the Progressive Agenda

TWO
I’ve Questioned European Socialism from the Beginning: Hello France, Next Stop—God Forbid—Greece!

THREE
Minority Report: The Obstacles, the Search for Answers, and the Case of the Sharpening Divide

FOUR
Religion Under Attack: Who Cares? You Can Hear a Pin Drop

FIVE
From 9/11 to Benghazi: What Have We Learned About the War on Terror? Anything?

STATE OF YOURSELF

SIX
What’s Mine? Americans Just Want More Stuff, and That’s a Problem

SEVEN
The Kids: Hollywood Sleaze, Wrongheaded Educators, Nutty Judges, and Other Problems Knocking on the Door

EIGHT
From
SNL
to
The Daily Show
, from Moveon.org to Occupy Wall Street …: It’s All One Big Liberal Joke—and a Disturbing Pattern

KEEPING IT PITHY

NINE
Getting Back to Traditional Values: “The Code of the Traditional Warrior” and Other Top Hits

TEN
A Decade’s Worth of Head Shots to the Rich and Powerful: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

ELEVEN
The Last Word (As Usual, I’m Taking It)

Photo Credits

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

First up: Call me clairvoyant, but I know what you’re thinking
.
Another book from O’Reilly? We have to read yet another book from this guy?
Let me quickly say that this book is not mandatory. This is not something completely different like my works of history. No
,
Keep It Pithy
is a literary highlight reel that may help you in your life. I really hope it does
.

Over the past twenty years, I have written millions of words. “Bloviating” doesn’t even begin to cover it. Eleven bestsellers, thousands of newspaper columns, a daily talking points memo on television, and so on. On my tombstone I want these words inscribed: “He finally stopped talking.”

Many publishers have asked me to simply reprint my past stuff. I’ve always said no. That’s because some of what I’ve written is obsolete. Dated. Not relevant to anything anymore. That happens because life passes quickly and seasons change, to say the least. What was fascinating five years ago may be very boring right now
.

But some of what I’ve put down on paper is worth another look, especially my predictions about the age of Barack Obama. Back when I wrote the book
Culture Warrior
,
I knew little about the man. And what I wrote in
Culture Warrior
had nothing to do with him as a human being. But it did have to do with his mind-set and how his secular-progressive (S-P) point of view was gaining steam in America. Looking back, I see that I am nearly an oracle in this area. It’s interesting to read today what I saw in the fictional future that I created years ago. It’s also somewhat frightening
.

In this book we look back but we also update everything, allowing you to incorporate some of the views I’ve stated into your own lives should you choose to do that. The only way things will get better in America is for sane people to win the debate
.
Keep It Pithy
will help you do that, and it will also clarify things that may be perplexing you at this moment. As usual, I will be blunt and, I hope, entertaining at the same time
.

It is especially important for younger Americans to understand what the deuce is happening in their country and how to deal with it so that they can prosper and help America at the same time. Fortunately, I think I have accomplished that in my own life, and I want to impart some guidance so that you can do the same thing. The opening headline is obvious:
Keep it pithy!
We’ll tell you exactly why in the pages of this book
.

It continues to amaze me that so many of you want to hear and read what I have to say. It’s really the ultimate compliment, and I take your interest very seriously. I would never want to let you down in any way. I owe you honesty, clarity, and my best work. I think this book will reflect that. Please let me know by email if it does not
.

Finally, I owe a big thanks to my pal Charles Flowers, who has helped me compile the book. You may have seen the name. Flowers has worked with me from the beginning of my literary career and coauthored the book
Kids Are Americans, Too
.
Charles is an interesting story. A southerner with a liberal sensibility about life, he is an educator and a man of letters. He and I are about as opposite as two Americans can get. But we both share a passion for the traditions of the country and for problem solving. And I think over the years I have somewhat convinced Charles that the no spin, pithy approach to disseminating information is the way to go. He can’t admit that to his salon-type friends because they’d stone him. However, Charles has reaped other rewards among my fans. They love him at Peppino’s, one of the best Italian restaurants on the planet
.

In this book, Charles and I have selected some of my best stuff and have presented it in a way that is designed to help your life. It is another journey that we hope you will enjoy. And one final thing: Please keep in mind that in order to move forward, you have to look backward. We all must understand what has happened in our lives, in the country, and in society in order not to repeat mistakes and, most important, so that we can find the most moral path to happiness and prosperity
.

Life is short. No time to waste. Here now—the pith!

State of the Union

ONE

JUST AS I PREDICTED AND LONG BEFORE WE HEARD OF PRESIDENT OBAMA

The Growing Success of the Progressive Agenda

Back in 2006, I had fun imagining in my book
Culture Warrior
a future State of the Union speech by a U.S. president named Gloria Hernandez. Here’s a summary of that imaginary pol’s goals and philosophies:

A sharing of the wealth by targeting the affluent for most of the government’s revenue … lax school discipline on American children to promote their so-called liberties … naked hostility to religious values and their expression in public … a “one-world” approach to foreign relations that would prevent the U.S. government from imposing a policy that would benefit America first … a touchy-feely vision of our society that places individual self-expression and rights over self-sacrifice and adult responsibility.

Did I get it right? Well, I made one serious mistake. I imagined that this would be the platform of a president elected in 2020. Looked at a calendar lately?