O'Reilly: 'Sarah Palin needs to go to college'

Sarah Palin's popularity among conservatives may be strong, but even some of them seem to think she ought to learn a little bit more. That includes Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly.

Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday, O'Reilly told George Stephanopoulos that if Palin wants to be a serious political contender for the 2012 elections, she should hit the books.

"Sarah Palin needs to go to college," O'Reilly said.

"Political college, world affairs college," he added, ostensibly tempering what appeared to be a slight at the former vice presidential candidate who most Americans deem unqualified to be president.

"And she is. She's hired a bunch of advisers and they're giving her a whole bunch of tracks to learn, because it is a sophisticated deal."

O'Reilly said Palin would like to run but needs to also consider the family considerations and the tough media environment. "It depends how articulate they are and how they're gonna handle all the slime factor," he said.

Palin resigned last year as the governor of Alaska and is now a paid contributor for the Fox News Channel.

"You get into this game now, they're gonna tear you to pieces on both sides," O'Reilly added. "Do you have the stomach for it? You wanna put your family through that? That's what scares them away. The press is so vicious now with a capital 'V.'"

The Fox host said he personally has no interest in running. "I have more power doing what I'm doing than getting involved with the political process," he said. "Plus you have to kiss butt to get money."

Discussing health care reform, O'Reilly said the approaches of both parties are flawed, claiming that the Republican plans falls short of real results while the Democratic plan is too expensive.

The following video is from ABC's "Good Morning America."