Excerpts from Clinton's Interview on "The O'Reilly Factor"

SENATOR CLINTON TELLS O'REILLY THAT REV.WRIGHT'S COMMENTS ARE, “OFFENSIVE AND OUTRAGEOUS”

Senator Hillary Clinton sat down with Bill O'Reilly in South Bend, Indiana today for a one-on-one interview airing tonight on The O'Reilly Factor on FOX News Channel at 8:00pm ET. Part 2 of the interview will air tomorrow, May 1st at 8:00pm ET on The O'Reilly Factor.

Following are excerpts from the interview:

On Reverend Wright:

“Well, I take offense at it. I think it's offensive and outrageous. And, you know, I'm going to express my opinion, others can express theirs. But, you know, it is -- it is part of, you know, just an atmosphere that we're in today where all kinds of things are being said.

And people have to, you know, decide what they believe. And I sure don't believe the United States government was behind AIDS.”

On gas prices:

“But I'm trying to lay the groundwork so that when I'm president, we can get in there and say this has been going on way too long. I also want to take on OPEC. You know, OPEC is a cartel, it's a monopoly.”

“Nine of the 13 biggest oil-producing countries that are in OPEC are also members of the WTO. I would file complaints. I would also change the law so that citizens and businesses could file antitrust actions. We're going to begin to hold them accountable.”

On taxes and the economy:

“In the '90s, we had one of the strongest, fairest economies we've ever had. Yes, did people like you and me pay a little bit more? We sure did. But so did everybody else benefit, because middle class taxes stayed pretty even.”

“People are net losers under the Bush economy. They were net winners under the Clinton economy. We're going to bring back a good, positive economy for the vast majority of Americans.”

On Iran:

“If Iran were to ever obtain a nuclear weapon, that would be unbelievably bad for us and the world. And I'm going to do everything I can to prevent that from ever happening.

On pulling troops from Iraq:

“First of all, I believe that our military has fulfilled all their military missions. There's no doubt in my mind. They got rid of Saddam Hussein, which they were asked to do. They gave the Iraqis free and fair elections. They gave the Iraqi government the space and time to make the decisions that only the Iraqis can make for themselves.

There is no military solution to what we face in Iraq, which is unprecedented. It is dangerous, it is unstable. I have said that I will begin withdrawing our troops because I believe two things.

Number one, because there is no military solution, we have got to emphasize the political and the diplomatic. And because as we withdraw them, that's the only way to focus the Iraqi government on what they must do for themselves.

I think it's somewhat open to debate as to whether Iran really wants to see us withdraw, and here's why. They have been an equal opportunity supporter of the militias, of the insurgents, of anybody who would pick up arms against the United States.

They would have to begin to pick sides. That will, I believe, catalyze Iraqi nationalism. Remember, we have a Persian state, the Iranians; an Arab state, the Iraqis. There will be a lot of conflict between the Iranians and the Iraqis moving forward if the United States is on the sidelines, in stead of in the middle.”

On interrogation / water boarding:

“Well, Bill, first of all, of the three of us who are running for president, each of us has decided we will not condone and sanction torture. Obviously Senator McCain knows a whole lot more about this than both of us put together. I know from firsthand discussions with people who have responsibilities for extracting information and getting good intelligence out of those who are our enemies that torture doesn't work.

On Immigration:

“It's broken. I share the frustration. I have voted for tougher border controls. I've voted to put more money, more personnel, even a physical barrier where appropriate. I'm 100 percent in favor of tightening our borders, of enforcing the laws against employers, of going after the kind of abuses that we see in the job market, of making it clear that we have got to figure out what we're going to do with people.”