On the September 20 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly repeated his rant against Media Matters for America, echoing the attacks he made earlier that day on his nationally syndicated radio show. O'Reilly further admonished former senator and United Nations Foundation president Timothy E. Wirth (D-CO) for criticizing O'Reilly's comment that he wished Hurricane Katrina had flooded the U.N. building in New York. While O'Reilly admitted, “We exaggerate on the radio,” he attacked Media Matters as “one of those nutty, far-left websites” and “unbelievably irresponsible.” He also claimed that Wirth was “used” and “should know better.”

From the "Talking Points Memo" segment of the September 20 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: And the radical websites are just desperate. Here's the latest example. Listen to this. A few days ago on The Radio Factor, I was joshing around about the U.N., a favorite target of mine, and said this:

[begin audio clip]

O'REILLY: Bush addressed the U.N., says he wants to be steadfast in battling terrorism. I'm sure all the U.N. people fell asleep. They don't really care about anything over there at all. I just wish Katrina had only hit the United Nations building, nothing else. Just flooded them out. And I wouldn't have rescued them.

[end audio clip]

O'REILLY: Well, one of those nutty, far-left websites, which tapes the radio program every day, called up the United Nations Foundation chief Tim Wirth, who then wrote this letter to Fox News:

“Mr. O'Reilly should be required to withdraw those remarks. And both Mr. O'Reilly and Fox should make an immediate and public apology. Some weeks ago Pat Robertson made a mistake in calling for the assassination of a head of state and then he had the decency to apologize and withdraw his comments. Bill O'Reilly should do the same.”

Well, apparently Tim Wirth has never listened to talk radio. So I will speak very slowly to him. It was a jest, sir. We exaggerate on the radio. You heard a wheel in the background, you know. Wise up. Now, chances are the former senator never even heard the broadcast. He just took the word of an unbelievably irresponsible website. He was used. His fault. He should know better. But this ridiculous incident just points out how desperate and dishonest the far left is. Truth be told, they are the Republican Party's best friend. And that's the Memo.