Let's Hope Their Mothers Weren't Watching

During his first presidential press conference from earlier this week, President Obama was asked two questions by Helen Thomas, a columnist for the Hearst Corp. and member of the White House press corps: "Mr. President, do you think that Pakistan and -- are maintaining the safe havens in Afghanistan for these so called terrorists? And, also, do you know of any country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons?"

Aside from reporting on every President since John Kennedy, Thomas was the first female officer of the National Press Club, the first female member and president of the White House Correspondents' Association and the first female member of The Gridiron Club. However, apparently those impressive credentials are not enough for Bill O'Reilly. On "The O'Reilly Factor" from later that evening, O'Reilly compared Thomas's voice to "the Wicked Witch of the East". He also stated that "If I were Obama, I would have poured water on her and she'd dissolve". If O'Reilly actually had the ability to use his brain at all times, he would easily remember that (1) the Wicked Witch of the East did not speak in "The Wizard of Oz" because Dorothy's house lands on her in the beginning of the movie and, in turn, (2) the Wicked Witch of the West is the one who melts when water is thrown on her.

During a later segment on the same episode, O'Reilly asked journalist Bernald Goldberg if his comments regarding Thomas had been too harsh. I guess not. Why do I say that? Well, Goldberg had this to add: "Helen Thomas's fifteen minutes were up during the Lincoln administration."