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Monica Novoa, who is, or perhaps was the spokeswoman for the Drop the I-Word initiative came across as very foolish on the "The O’Reilly Factor".

To be fair to her, how could she come across as anything else, when trying to support such a foolish initiative.

Novoa tried several times to weasel out of answering O’Reilly’s questions but he nailed her to the proverbial cross.

The interview will hopefully bring to an end to her fifteen minutes of fame (Andy Warhol), because she came across as dumb, unprepared, and unable to undergo any kind of serious scrutiny.

And we don’t need any more people like that involved in politics.

Having said that, the aim of the initiative is to make the term "illegal alien" morally on a par with a racial slur, and anyone who signed up to the initiative would have to be even dumber than her, so maybe she’ll keep the majority of her followers.

Novoa began the interview by cockily asserting that while America was a "nation of laws", it was also a nation of ”humane laws” and that laws that weren’t also humane could be changed, and apparently thought that raising the politically correct banner would be sufficient, but it wasn’t.

O’Reilly was smart and rather than challenge her implicit premise that U.S. immigration law is inhumane, O’Reilly took a different tack.

"So change the laws and don’t demonize people who are accurate in the description as using a slur or using a hate word, ’cause that’s not true’".

Then laughing somewhat mockingly, Novoa pointed out that Fox News Latino didn’t use the word "illegal".

"Fox News Latino will not join the bandwagon of dehumanizing people who are immigrants".

O’Reilly was unphased however and proceeded to probe more deeply.

"I don‘t think I’m dehumanizing everyone by describing what the reality is. Do you believe we should have open borders here, that anyone who comes to the United States should be able to come?”.

And it was at this point that Novoa made her first major mistake.

"I think that what we should be doing right now is looking at the reality".

And then O’Reilly pounced.

"Miss Novoa, Miss Novoa, Miss Novoa, what you did is just dodge a question, and now you’re filibustering, that‘s two things we don’t allow on this program".

Over the course of the next minute or so, Novoa continued to spout platitudes as O’Reilly continually tried to push her for specifics.

An at one point O’Reilly even appointed her the hypothetical "Czar” of immigration, and asked her what her policy would be.

Then, once he shot down all her preplanned answers, and Novoa literally sat silently, completely stumped.

O’Reilly delivered his harshest criticism of the segment.

"You haven’t even thought this out, Miss Novoa", O’Reilly said coldly. "You have not even thought this out. And with all due respect, because I appreciate you coming in here, you come in here with a very hot campaign, alright? Run by a far-Left website, demonizing people like me who are accurately telling the people what’s happening. And you don’t even know what you want. You don’t even know what you want".

And perhaps amazingly, Novoa still hadn’t realized she was bleeding.

"Fox News Latino agrees with us, maybe you can talk a little bit to them?”.

O’Reilly curtly responded that he could do his own show regardless of what other shows or channels he was affiliated with did.

Novoa responded by simply asserting that "the I-word” was racist.

O’Reilly shot that down by pointing out that not all illegal immigrants were Latino, but that many were in fact Asian, Russian, and from many other countries too.

The simple point was, that they were crossing the borders illegally, hence they were "Illegal aliens".

"I have to say, I’m very surprised that I gave you the opportunity to define for millions of people, what you want the law to be, and you can’t!”.

To which Novoa responded sassily.

"We’re here to talk about the I-word today".

But O’Reilly cut her off with what many would see as a killing blow.

"No, we’re not. You’re here to talk about what I want to talk about. This is my program".

Twenty five years ago I used to defend illegals on what I considered were moral grounds and suggested that, "In the same way that water finds its own level, that illegals would return home if there was no work for them".

But I later realized that taking jobs is only one facet of a much bigger problem.

In total illegal aliens may be costing the US as much as a half-trillion (not million) dollars a year and America is already on the ropes economically.

Is a half-trillion dollars a year correct?

It would appear that it is, but if it’s only two thirds of that, then it’s a huge amount.

Check out How Many Illegals Are In The US And What Is The Cost? and make up your own mind.

Obama 2008 Gains Key To 2012 Presidential Battleground

www.huffingtonpost.com4/14/12

New Hampshire (4) – Romney's backyard and vacation home. He won the 2012 primary big, but Obama peeled off this Bush state in 2008 and has worked hard to keep it. Vice President Joe Biden visited Friday. But the GOP …

Obama 2008 Gains Key To 2012 Presidential Battleground

www.huffingtonpost.com4/14/12

New Hampshire (4) – Romney's backyard and vacation home. He won the 2012 primary big, but Obama peeled off this Bush state in 2008 and has worked hard to keep it. Vice President Joe Biden visited Friday. But the GOP …

Rick Santorum’s quitting the Republican nomination race, means that it’s now down to whether Obama Or Romney will be in the White House in 2013.

2012 Will Be About Obama And Not Mitt Romney

During the GOP race, many questions were raised about Romney’s perceived weaknesses, and whether he could win over the hearts and votes of conservatives, women, and his being a Mormon.

But President Barack Obama will now move to center stage, and his first term will now become the defining figure of the general election campaign.

The 2012 election will be more and more about Obama and his perceived successes and failures during his first term.

Obama’s Job Approval Rating

The most important indicator of the president’s prospects will be his job-approval rating because that rating will be very close to his share of the vote on Election Day.

An Example

In 2004, President George W. Bush had a 51% job approval rating and he won 51% of the vote, so Obama’s ratings suggest we are heading for a potentially very close race.

For the past thirty two months, the full month approval ratings for the president have been remarkably stable, and held to to a very narrow range of 44% to 49%.

Which would seem to suggest that people have formed an opinion of the president, and that very little might change their minds.

But, it needs be said that those who oppose Obama tend to feel more strongly about it than those who support him.

For most of the past three years, the president’s ratings have stayed in an even narrower band of 46% to 48% and those numbers suggest Obama would earn just under 50% of the vote on Election Day.

So Approval Ratings Are Likely To Decide 2012

If the president can win over a few more voters and move those numbers up a bit in the coming months, he is very likely to keep his job.

But if the his ratings falter, then Romney is likely to be moving into the White House next January.

The Economy Dominates The Agenda

Right now, economic worries dominate the voters’ agenda, and here the numbers for the president are troubling!

Some 49% of voters trust Romney more than Obama when it comes to the economy!

And just 39% trust Obama more!

A huge gap, given that the economy is in serious trouble.

And Middle Class Voters Trust Romney More

Middle-income voters are especially likely to have more confidence in Romney.

Whereas Obama does best among those who earn less than $20,000 a year and those who earn more than $100,000 annually.

And especially troubling for the White House is the fact that,

20% of Democrats trust Romney more than Obama on the economy!

On other issues, however, Romney and Obama are essentially even and this includes health care, taxes, national security and energy.

The Present Economy Favors Romney In 2012

In a year when economic concerns trump all other issues, the present economic numbers suggest a victory for Romney.

But if the economy improves, then, confidence in the president’s economic policies, and his job approval ratings, are sure to improve as well, and he’ll be much tougher for Romney to beat.