On the October 25 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly unveiled his list of invited guests who he said will not appear on his television or radio programs. O'Reilly explained that the list contains “people who are afraid to answer any questions.” Earlier in the show, O'Reilly described the list as “people who will not stand up and answer questions about their bomb-throwing statements,” adding “You have a moral obligation to do that. If you don't, you're a coward.”

The list:

• Dick Cheney (Vice president. O'Reilly acknowledged, “He must be sick of getting our calls.”)
• Michael Chertoff (Secretary of Homeland Security)
• Jeb Bush (Governor of Florida)
• Samuel Bodman (Secretary of Energy)
• Tom DeLay (Representative, R-TX)
• Howard Dean (chairman of the Democratic National Committee. According to O'Reilly, “the biggest coward in the country”)
• Cindy Sheehan (anti-war protester, founding member of Gold Star Families for Peace)
• John Kerry (Senator, D-MA)
• Brad King (state attorney for Florida's 5th Judicial Circuit)
• Jon Corzine (Senator, D-NJ)
• Jane Fonda (actress)
• Jesse Jackson (founder, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition)
• Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Senator, D-DE)
• George Pataki (Governor of New York. O'Reilly, “He's so unsure of himself on TV.”)
• Sheldon Silver (Speaker of the New York State Assembly)
• Al Gore (former vice president)
• Bill Clinton (former president)
• Andy Rooney (journalist, syndicated columnist, regular contributor to CBS' 60 Minutes)
• Richard Clarke (former counterterrorism adviser to presidents Clinton and Bush)
• Roger Mosey (Director of BBC Sport, former head of TV News at BBC News)
• American Civil Liberties Union (O'Reilly: “Anybody from the ACLU is afraid.”)
• National Public Radio (O'Reilly: “The executives over there are afraid.”)
• Oil and gas industry (O'Reilly: “The heads of the oil companies are afraid.”)
• Bill Moyers (journalist. O'Reilly: “biggest mouth in town”)
• Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (Governor of Louisiana)
• Ward Churchill (Professor of ethnic studies, the University of Colorado at Boulder)
• Barbra Streisand (Singer, actress. O'Reilly: “All of these Hollywood people ... I mean, they're way out of control there.”)

Of the 27 people and organizations on the list, O'Reilly ranked as the top three cowards: Dean, the DNC chairman; King, the Florida state attorney who dropped charges against roommates of the man suspected of killing Jessica Lunsford; and Moyers, a journalist and the current host of PBS' Wide Angle, in that order.

From the October 25 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

O'REILLY: OK, here we go with the people who will not stand up and answer questions about their bomb-throwing statements. Now here's my philosophy so you know it: If you are going to put yourself out into the public arena and attack somebody, somebody, a person, a human being, OK, then you owe it morally -- you have a moral obligation to answer questions about the attack.

All right? Even if it is [President] Bush or Cheney or the big shots. You have a moral obligation to do that. If you don't, you're a coward. You're a coward. Because if you're going to attack somebody, no matter how you do it, then you have to be man or woman enough to stand up and defend the attack. Otherwise, you're a weasel. You know weasels run out of their little holes, and they run around, and they bite chickens or whatever they're doing, and they run back in their hole.

[...]

O'REILLY: Anyway, here's a list we put together this morning of people who are afraid to answer any questions. Ready? Now what I want you to do is listen to this list and then tell me if I'm being fair or not. OK. Here we go.

Vice President Cheney. Now he told me, man to man, eye to eye, he'd come on The Factor, long time ago. Has not done it. I mean, he must be sick of getting our calls, but he only goes on people that are going to agree with him. Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security chief. Now Chertoff, in the middle of the news, we can't get him on. We got to go through Peter King, the congressman in New York, say, “Look, can you get Chertoff on?” I mean, it's pretty important we talk with him. Where is he?

Governor Jeb Bush of Florida over the kid stuff. I mean, until he signed Jessica's Law, that was the worst state in the union for the protection of children. No way. Samuel Bodman, secretary of energy. Bodman goes on Fox News Channel but won't come on my show.

Tom DeLay won't come on my show. DeLay goes everywhere, not on The Factor. Howard Dean, the biggest coward in the country. Howard Dean, bar none, biggest coward. Number one on the hit parade. Cindy Sheehan, goes on anything. You call Cindy Sheehan, she'll talk to you on the phone for two hours, not on The Factor.

John Kerry, another guy who said he was going to come on, told TV Guide he was going to come on The Factor. He's afraid. Brad King, the Florida state attorney who wouldn't indict the three people involved with the killer of Jessica Lunsford. I mean, this is coward number two, King. He's right behind Howard Dean. Senator Jon Corzine, now running for governor of New Jersey, another guy who will come to anything, not on this show. Nope. No Corzine.

Jane Fonda. We actually even sent a camera person out to Jane Fonda and said, “Jane, Bill would really like to talk to you. He would be very respectful.”

Jesse Jackson. You know, you know that situation. Senator Biden. Now here's another guy. I mean, Biden all day long throwing bombs, nope. George Pataki, governor of New York, won't come on, even though he actually did a good thing. He's so unsure of himself on TV.

New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the biggest villain, I think, in New York state for blocking the kids legislation. He won't come on.

Al Gore. We've asked Al Gore a thousand times. Same thing with Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton, actually, we're negotiating with now. So that's not out of the realm of possibility. Gore would never come on. Andy Rooney made anti-religion remarks, pretty sturdy anti-religion remarks, wouldn't come on and back them up.

Richard Clarke would not talk to us. He was afraid. The head of the BBC, Roger Mosey, afraid to talk to us Anybody from the ACLU is afraid. And the ACLU actually tells their satellites not to talk to us.

NPR, the executives over there are afraid. The head of the oil companies are afraid. I mean they're a riot, these guys. Not only won't they come on, but they pay these mouthpieces in D.C. millions of dollars, millions of dollars, and, and the mouthpieces won't even come on. They go on everything. OK, so that's a riot, the oil companies.

Let's see, a bunch of columnists. We don't care about them. They're insignificant. Bill Moyers. Biggest mouth in town. He's coward number three. All right, Dean is the biggest, Brad King is two, Moyers is three. I mean, Moyers runs around the country giving these paid speeches just defaming every -- oh, he's afraid.

At least Phil Donahue, as much as I detest where he is in his political thinking, at least he's go the courage to come on.

Louisiana Governor Blanco, another coward. And Ward Churchill. Big mouth, Ward. Where is he? OK. That's a list we just threw together this morning, OK, of people -- bomb throwers, people who do this all day long -- and then we got Barbra Streisand, all of these Hollywood people. This is ridiculous. I mean, they're way out of control there. Because they live in a world of entitlement where, well, I don't have to do anything I don't want to do, but I can say anything defamatory about anybody else.