"Millions of Americans have been hammered by the declining stock market, and once again greed has caused the debacle. It's clear that greedy CEOs destroyed their own companies while they walked away with huge money. The government can't do much about that unless these greedheads broke the law. But politicians can provide oversight, leadership and warnings. The Bush administration did not make it a priority to warn the folks about the bad loan mania; Mr. Bush also did not warn of high gas prices. The Democratic Congress stood mute, including Barack Obama, who had nineteen months to sound the alarm on both bad loans and boiling oil. Now the presidential candidates are blaming each other. Both men need to be very specific when it comes to what they want to do to protect Americans from irresponsible corporations. Talking Points believes most elected officials are clueless when it comes to running the economy, and we need a president who is bold enough to manage it. Greed caused this current chaos, and there was no Paul Revere in office to alert us. The fault lies with both parties."

Fox Business News anchor Neil Cavuto entered the No Spin Zone with his analysis of the economy and government's role. "There's plenty of blame to go around," Cavuto said, "but what I'm against is this idea that the government has an obligation to rescue everybody. You're going to trust the government that has a problem policing its own books to start looking at companies? Government cures are worse than the disease they address and they make the economy worse." Cavuto also chastised The Factor for continually demonizing oil companies. "Again and again you cite the oil companies as villains, but the market is much bigger than that. You push this populist nonsense and you are worse than the very politicians you castigate on your show." But The Factor defended the need for more government oversight. "I want a president who will watch these bandits - the oil companies and financial companies - so they don't hurt the folks."

The Factor invited two political experts to handicap the presidential race as it now stands. "With Ohio tilting toward McCain," said John McIntyre of RealClearPolitics.com, "Obama is going to look west to get to 270 electoral votes. He's going to look to flip Colorado, Idaho and New Mexico, all states Bush carried in 2004. Democrats are targeting Colorado." Pollster Peter Brown added another key state into the mix. "Obama needs to take Iowa and he probably will. Then the western three states are the key for him. And if Pennsylvania or Michigan goes to McCain, the election is over. He's within the margin of error in both states."

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown entered the No Spin Zone with his analysis of the Sarah Palin phenomenon. "She's a threat to Barack Obama," Brown surmised, "because she's the new person on the scene, she has a terrific personality, and she's a true maverick. She has thrown the Democrats for a loop and they are not yet back on stride." Brown advised his fellow Democrats to concentrate on the top of the ticket. "It's a mistake to focus on Sarah Palin, their opponent is John McCain. The public loves the idea that Sarah is a mom who took on the 'good old boys' in Alaska." The Factor added that Sarah Palin is obviously despised by many in the media. "She is a big threat to what has become an ideological press in this country. If she becomes the most powerful woman in the world, the left-wing press takes an enormous hit."

The Factor introduced the second installment of the "Obama Chronicles," this time focusing on the candidate's wife. "I found her lovely," reported Rebecca Johnson, who wrote a magazine profile of Mrs. Obama. "She is very bright, very thoughtful, and an impressive person. They say she 'looks angry,' but I didn't find her to be angry. She speaks her mind and stands on her own." Columnist Michelle Oddis compared Mrs. Obama to a former First Lady. "She is a 'stealth' Hillary Clinton, and we can tell that she's not warm and fuzzy. She's an accomplished woman who has done a good job in her career, but it's okay for the media to question some of her ethical choices." The Factor predicted that Michelle Obama would have a "profound influence" in an Obama administration.

Governor Sarah Palin has been accused of improperly demanding the dismissal of Alaska safety commissioner Walt Monegan, allegedly because Monegan would not fire state trooper Mike Wooten, Palin's former brother-in-law. Legal experts Lis Wiehl and Mercedes Colwin both agreed that Sarah Palin did nothing even remotely illegal. "I looked through all the e-mails," Wiehl reported, "that were sent from the governor's office. There was so much rancor in that office - Monegan was going around her and trying to get funds appropriated that she had rejected." Colwin agreed that Palin was totally within her rights. "The commissioner serves at the pleasure of the governor. There was insubordination, Monegan wasn't listening to her and he kept pushing back." The Factor summarized the situation this way: "Both of you agree that this is just bull, a political thing fabricated to embarrass Palin. Opponents of Palin are trying to prop this up as some big scandal."

One week after being totally shut out in the Great American Culture Quiz (Clint Eastwood edition), Martha MacCallum returned for another go at Steve Doocy. This time the subject was Will Smith, which was obviously more to MacCallum's liking. Some questions: "When Will Smith was a rapper, who was his partner?" ... "Smith won Academy Award nominations for his work in 'Ali' and what other movie?" Both Doocy and MacCallum were nearly perfect, answering four of five correctly. And in the tense tie-breaker, MacCallum knew precisely how many children Will Smith has. Martha walked away with her reputation restored and a measure of revenge. If you want to try your own skill, the entire GACQ is posted here under "Fun Stuff."

Tuesday's Patriot: Jennifer Lopez, who completed a grueling triathlon race that raised money for a children's hospital. And the Pinhead: Lindsay Lohan, who accused Sarah Palin of being a "narrow-minded homophobe." Nominate a Pinhead or a Patriot by sending an email to pnp@billoreilly.com.

Jon Penninton, Loveland, CO: "O'Reilly, your series of reports is clearly an endorsement for Obama."

Jerome Beazley, Esmont, VA: "There's a lot of false stuff out there about McCain. You have an obligation to set the record straight."

Chrostopher Curtis, The Bahamas: "Even though I sympathize with the Democrats, I love Sarah Palin."