"America needs to change the health care system because regular Americans are getting hosed. Greedy insurance companies and insane medical charges have made it impossible for millions of Americans to protect themselves against disease. President Obama's vision is a giant federal apparatus funded primarily by affluent Americans. That's not going to work - the expense is simply too great and punitive taxation will not be able to pay the bills. So what do we do? In Switzerland, where I visited a couple of weeks ago, every citizen has to have health care insurance. The citizen pays, but the government regulates the insurance industry to make sure there is no gouging and premiums are fair. If a Swiss citizen can't afford to pay, the government provides. The key to reforming the American health care industry is oversight on costs - punishing frivolous lawsuits against doctors and mandating that hospitals charge according to government guidelines. That would allow the private system to continue but prevents exploitation and price gouging. Talking Points doesn't believe the feds can run an efficient health care system, but the government can stop profiteering and unfair practices."

Fox News analyst Laura Ingraham entered the No Spin Zone and took issue with part of the Talking Points Memo. "We love the watches and the cheese in Switzerland," Ingraham quipped, "but not necessarily their approach to health care reform. There's an idea that we have to cover every single person in the United States. Why? If a 22-year-old doesn't want to spend $8,000 a year on health insurance, why force him to take on coverage?" The Factor answered Ingraham's hypothetical: "It costs the nation so much to treat people who are uninsured in emergency rooms that it is bankrupting our system." Ingraham concluded by calling for less government involvement, not more. "The way to lower costs is to give individuals more power over their own health care decisions. Some Republicans want a tax rebate that would go to people who are covered, which incentivizes smart decision making by individuals."

According to a new Rasmussen poll, President Obama's job approval rating has slipped to 51%, while a substantial plurality of Americans feel the cap and trade energy bill will hurt the economy. The Factor asked Scott Rasmussen about the significance of his poll. "Part of the erosion is very natural," Rasmussen said. "Honeymoons don't last forever and that's part of what we're seeing. The big issue for this president is the economy - when he first took office, people believed it was George Bush's fault, and more people now say it's Barack Obama's economy. People have an instinctive belief that more government spending is bad for the economy." The Factor warned elected officials about moving too fast and too far toward government-run health care. "The health care deal could really bankrupt the United States, and your poll says most Americans get that and don't want the plan."

Now that the Jackson family admits that Michael was addicted to drugs, The Factor asked Geraldo Rivera to analyze the possible indictment of Jackson's personal physician. "There are two key words here," Rivera began, "which are 'implied malice.' It means a recklessness and gross negligence that is the legal equivalent of intent. Dr. Conrad Murray may have given Jackson the drug propofol in a home setting, which is conduct that is so shockingly out of the norm that you can charge murder. I think Murray will be charged with homicide." Rivera also tackled the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings in Florida. "This is something very deep and it has to be more than the contents of the safe. I'm hearing that the Billings' had financial difficulties, and I'm also hearing that federal authorities are investigating. God bless them for adopting 13 special needs children, but there is something more to this elaborate crime."

Tonya Reiman focused her trained eye on the woman in the hot seat, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. "She's blinking a lot," Reiman observed, "which is typically an indicator of nervousness. But that is something she does all the time, it's one of her norms. I was looking at her hands - they were very low and her fingers were open, indicating that she was really trying to control how she comes across." Reiman also watched tape of Michael Jackson's father discussing his son's drug use and death. "My impression was that he actually did know about the drugs. His hands were open and closed, open and closed, and when he was asked about the drugs he went to a hands-folded position, which tells me that he's hiding something."

FNC legal analyst Megyn Kelly began with the Senate testimony of New Haven firefighter Ben Vargas, whose lawsuit against the city was summarily dismissed by Judge Sonia Sotomayor. "This is a Hispanic guy who had studied hard and passed a promotion exam," Kelly explained. "When the city said you're not getting a promotion, he and the other firefighters expected a thorough discussion, but what they got was one paragraph from Judge Sotomayor. Still, she's going to be confirmed - she is not out of the mainstream." Kelly also examined the case of Maria del Carmen Bousada, a Spanish woman who was 66 when she came to America for in vitro fertilization. She gave birth to twins and now, just three years later, is dead. The Factor expressed outrage at the situation: "There should be a federal law that puts an age limit on in vitro fertilization. 66 is too old to give birth." But Kelly took the libertarian position: "Parenthood is a fundamental right and we don't want the law getting involved here. Once you open the door to letting the government regulate parental rights, it's a very slippery slope."

At the Sotomayor hearings, Senator Dick Durbin claimed that white male judges such as Samuel Alito and John Roberts "can not understand the plight of minorities" because it is not in their DNA. The Factor's Check: "Does that not sound like a racial statement? White men can't understand the minority experience? Way to go, Dick Durbin." Fox News' domination has reached new heights - every single one of the top ten cable news programs are on FNC. The Factor's Check: "What is really interesting is that our competition has pretty much collapsed, and that is change we can believe in."

Thursday's Patriot: The cartoon character Sponge Bob, who is celebrating his tenth birthday. And the Pinheads: The Arizona cleaning women who are trying to beat the recession - and perhaps the heat - by doing their jobs topless.

Steve Miller, Denver, CO: "Hey, Bill, Maureen Dowd is celebrating the demise of white men. Didn't Doctor King tell us that people should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character?"

Jennifer Sorenson, Seattle, WA: "Bill, excellent analysis of Dowd's column. When I read it I thought 'what would O'Reilly think.' Now, I know."

Dave Lowery, Salem, OR: "Mr. O, it's about time you got fired up over President Obama's complicity in allowing companies like Goldman Sachs to profit off cap and trade."

Michael Neuberger, Nutley, NJ: "Bill, I work at Goldman and take great umbrage at your sensational attacks."

Todd West, Decatur, GA: "Bill, I now realize you are the best reporter in the country. Your analysis of Goldman and the Global Warming con was fair and honest."