Guest: Mike Allen, Politico.com

"Wednesday night on David Letterman Senator McCain announced his presidential run. Senator McCain was smart to announce on Dave's show because he needs independents and liberals to support him - most conservatives will not. According to a brand new Fox News poll, McCain is slipping badly. Right now 39% of Republicans are supporting Rudy Giuliani; just 19% like McCain. It's very early but two things stand out so far. First, John McCain is so low energy that it's tough to get excited by his candidacy. And second, his staff is very tough to deal with. The Factor wants to give all candidates in both parties a fair shot, and most are respectful when we call to ask questions. But McCain's staff is nasty, and this is dumb. I praised John McCain's war on terror vision and criticized him for being soft on border security. I believe he is a true patriot, but I believe he has no chance of winning unless he gets his fastball back. He can hang around with Dave Letterman all he wants, but unless he convinces traditional Americans that he's looking out for them, that he has the energy to do the job as president, and that he's accessible to answer tough questions, he has no chance. John McCain has a lot of work to do if he wants to be president, a lot of work."

The Factor was joined by political analyst Mike Allen, who speculated why McCain chose Letterman's program for his announcement. "This certainly is one way for Senator McCain to avoid the pandering rap, because if you want to suck up to red-blooded red-state Republican primary voters, Letterman is not the place to go." Allen conceded that McCain is falling far behind in the early stages of this race. "There's no question the chess board does not look the way Senator McCain expected. He expected to be a prohibitive favorite, and you're seeing a surge by Giuliani." The Factor noted the "startling decline" in the McCain campaign, and suggested that the Letterman appearance was suspiciously amicable. "Everybody in the country saw Letterman call me names over Iraq. And then McCain, who is more hawkish than I am, goes in and it's a love fest. I'm going to submit that McCain's staff knew this ahead of time and there was some kind of an arrangement."

News Link: Latest FNC poll: Full Results

News Link: McCain announces '08 bid on Letterman

News Link: Video: Watch McCain on Letterman

Related: Politico.com

Guest: Attorney Micky Ratzan

Florida State Senator Frederica Wilson has introduced a bill that would forbid any state agency from using the term "illegal alien." Wilson would not appear, but attorney Micky Ratzan defended the legislation. "Senator Wilson is trying to humanize a very difficult issue. Her focus is that this makes them second-class citizen because 'alien' signifies something different. We should treat these people like humans, not like aliens." The Factor argued that "illegal alien" is the correct description. "The primary definition of 'alien' is a person of another family, race or nation. So 'alien is perfectly accurate, and 'illegal' is correct because they crossed illegally. We have laws, these people have broken the laws, they are illegal aliens and don't tell me I can't call them what they are. This is insane!"

News Link: FL lawmaker tries to ban term "illegal alien"

Guest: Dr. Phyllis Zagano, Religion News Service

After two bloggers left the John Edwards campaign for writing vile anti-Christian slurs, religion professor Phyllis Zagano criticized The Factor for being unnecessarily "nasty." Zagano entered the No Spin Zone to make her accusation in person. "What I'm asking," she told The Factor,"is why has civil discourse devolved to the point where everyone is shouting at one another? It's just not necessary to talk like that, why do you have to use vulgarities. It's silly to have you looking arrogant and foolish?" The Factor maintained that the two women bloggers were far more vulgar than anyone. "I said the Edwards campaign gave us the middle digit, which was accurate. I chose to go after Edwards because I thought his conduct was ridiculous. My job is to tell everyone what's going on."

News Link: Phyllis Zagano op-ed

Guest: Cle "Bone" Sloan

Actor and comic Bill Cosby has spoken loudly about the negative influences on black America, including gangs. But former gang-banger Che "Bone" Sloan declared that Cosby and some others are blaming the wrong people. "I have no beef with Cosby," Sloan said, "but he's coming down on these kids who are looking up to him. We have to look at the conditions that were existing long before these kids got here. It's not our fault that you guys keep putting us on TV, it's the media. If you're going to criticize hip-hop and rap, you have to start at the top." The Factor agreed that there is plenty of blame to go around. "I came down hard on the rapper Ludacris, and I also said that the white guys who run the companies and make a fortune peddling this are the most guilty of all."

News Link: Video: Bastards of the Party documentary - preview

Guests: Fox News analysts Jane Hall & Bernard Goldberg

Immediately after Al Gore was feted by Hollywood, conservative-leaning web sites and media outlets criticized the former VP for using vast quantities of energy. Bernard Goldberg argued that measuring Gore's "carbon footprint" is a valid news story. "Let's imagine a conservative female politician who rails against abortion, but it turns out she had five herself. That's not personal, that's news. In the same way, it's legitimate to take a hard look at the whole 'global warming is going to kill us' crowd and whether these people are hypocritical." But Jane Hall questioned whether the media have told the whole story. "Hypocrisy is fair game, but Gore has solar power, he has traded energy credits. This is a legitimate story, but I think you have to question the motives. I think some people on the right fear that Gore is still going to run for president."

News Link: Think Tank Report on Gore's personal energy use

Guest: Attorney David Lane

Kent State history professor Julio "Assad" Pino, a convert to Islam, has been accused of promoting global jihad. Pino called a homicide bomber a "martyr" and urged Islamic nations to exact revenge against the West. The Factor contended that professors like Pino and Ward Churchill are engaged in indoctrination, not education. "The power in a classroom is with the professor who grades the students. He doesn't like his country and if you disagree, he has the power to inflict damage on you. That goes way beyond freedom of speech." But attorney David Lane defended Pino's right to express even noxious ideas. "If this is relevant to history, he can absolutely bring this into the classroom. I have not heard anything about this professor giving poor grades to people who disagree with him. He has the right to put his ideas out there."

News Link: Radical Kent State professor

Many of you wrote about San Francisco's decision to honor a film company that produces gay porn. Some excerpts:

John Dutcher, Lancaster, CA: "The City of San Francisco votes to kick Junior ROTC out but honors a gay porn outfit? Talk about twisted values."

Mario Cimmino, Fairfield, CA: "As a former Marine living near San Francisco, these people make me sick. They are making a mockery out of this state."

Steve Henry, Portland, OR: "A few years ago Mayor Vera Katz declared 'leather pride week' honoring S&M here. Honest."