Bill O'Reilly: 'Killing Patton'
By Katie Couric
Bill O'Reilly likes to kill people. In the figurative sense. The outspoken Fox News Channel anchor has just released "Killing Patton," his latest book in a series that includes "Killing Lincoln," "Killing Kennedy" and "Killing Jesus."
This latest effort is an in-depth examination of the legendary World War II general and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. O'Reilly also takes a close look at other key figures of the time including Hitler, Stalin and Churchill.
I recently spoke to the "O'Reilly Factor" host about his book and the numerous headline-making subjects he covers every night.
When asked about the Islamic State threat, he said plainly that President Obama had been warned by the CIA about the militant group but chose not to deal with it. He also argued that the president should never say he's not going to put "boots on the ground," a statement O'Reilly said is just pandering to the public.
He referred to Russian president Vladimir Putin as "Stalin light." "He's not nearly the mass murderer Stalin was," he told me. "You can't even put him in that category. But the mentality is the same, ruthless."
When the conversation turned to the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, O'Reilly was at no loss for words about the police shooting that led to the death of an 18-year-old unarmed black man.
"The media coverage convicted the police officer. And that's wrong. But I said many times, if the police officer did shoot — Michael Brown unnecessarily, and that should be able to be proven by all the FBI and all the state of Missouri people we have in there, he should go to jail for the rest of his life," he told me.
There was some praise for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's handling of Ferguson and his personal visit to the community to help quell the protests that had erupted in the wake of the shooting.
O'Reilly also had a lot to say about the recent domestic violence scandal in the NFL but stopped short of calling for the resignation of Commissioner Roger Goodell. "I think he made a mistake. I don't think he should resign. If he makes another one, I think he should. But I think you're entitled to one mistake. That's a big one, though."
