Guests: Katie Pavlich and John Flannery

"There were fireworks Thursday on Capitol Hill as Attorney General Eric Holder was once again pummeled with questions from the House Judiciary Committee over the Justice Department's now-infamous 'Fast and Furious' operation. What was intended to be a sting operation set up to track illegal gun purchases from the United States to Mexico led to thousands of firearms being transported into Mexico and then lost. Holder's story about his role in the operation has changed over time, and today his story got even murkier. He also admitted that the White House has assisted in the crafting of the Justice Department's response to Congress. So they're talking to one another about how to best respond."

Laura continued the story with Katie Pavlich, who has written a book about 'Fast and Furious,' and former government attorney John Flannery. "I thought Committee Chairman Darrell Issa lost control of the hearing," Flannery asserted, "and I thought it was like a hack politician questioning an experienced trial attorney. The problem with this entire investigation has been amateurism, we have people posturing." Begging to differ, Pavlich accused Attorney General Holder of stonewalling and sidestepping the important questions. "I don't know what is so hard about answering the questions, what did you know and when did you know it? Who in the Justice Department knew about 'Fast and Furious' and when? Today Eric Holder did nothing but obfuscate and say, 'I don't know anything, I don't read my memos.'"

Guests: Dick Harpootlian and Kirsten Powers

Some prominent Democrats, among them Bill Clinton and former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, have made comments that were deemed critical of President Obama. Laura asked Democratic Party official Dick Harpootlian and Fox News analyst Kirsten Powers about the seeming disarray among Democrats. "The people who you've mentioned love Hillary Clinton," Powers observed, "so it's not terribly surprising to see them come out and criticize President Obama. That doesn't mean they aren't making valid criticisms, but we can put it over in that category of Hillary-lovers." Harpootlian dismissed any notion that Democrats and President Obama are in political trouble. "This party is coming together - I'm hearing optimism and I'm seeing states gel. If you look at the exit polls for this week's Wisconsin special election, many of the people who voted for no recall said they'd vote for Barack Obama. This is the silly season when we're focusing on Wisconsin or focusing on what Ed Rendell said." But Laura concluded, "Democrats were feeling pretty heady a few months ago during the Republican primaries, but now they are worried."

Guests: Rep. Mike Rogers

Government authorities are looking into potentially damaging leaks of America's foreign policy secrets. Laura discussed the leaks with Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee. "Republicans and Democrats have worked together well on national security issues," Rogers said, "and we are all saying that this has risen to a level that is unprecedented and incredibly dangerous to the national security of the United States. We need to be able to shut this off and we need to give tools to the intelligence community to be very tough with individuals they even suspect may be leaking." Laura criticized President Obama for his silence about the leaks: "All this information is leaking out of the government and I haven't heard one statement from this President expressing anger and outrage. This is criminal and lives are at stake!"

Guests: Tara Dowdell and Ford O'Connell

Michelle Obama has been on the road to promote her husband's reelection campaign. Laura asked Republican strategist Ford O'Connell and Democratic strategist Tara Dowdell about that strategy. "The Obama campaign is in trouble and they know it," O'Connell declared. "They've had a bad jobs report, they lost the Wisconsin recall and they're trying to stop the bleeding. They have a muddled message, it's that simple." Not surprisingly, Dowdell described the First Lady as an extremely effective spokesman. "Michelle Obama is absolutely an asset to the President - she is smart and successful and savvy. But yes, ultimately this will be a choice between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney." Laura concurred that neither Mrs. Obama nor Mrs. Romney will decide the election: "Michelle Obama has high favorability ratings, she's very well liked, but people aren't voting for a woman who might be a good talk show host."

Guests:

Abortion provider Planned Parenthood is partnering with Los Angeles public schools and will run a clinic at an L.A. high school, offering "emergency" contraception, pregnancy tests and counseling. Laura was joined by Dr. Laura Berman, a sexuality and relationship expert who endorses the school-based clinic. "In California this is legal," Berman said. "You don't need parental consent to get birth control or STD testing. We have the highest teen pregnancy rate of any industrialized nation and 9-million teenagers contract an STD every single year, so this clinic is serving the community and providing these children with deeply-needed education." Laura denounced the idea of placing a clinic at a public high school: "Schools are already overloaded with the burden of trying to teach kids of all different backgrounds, but now we have a clinic at schools? School is not a health clinic."

Guests: Ahmed Rehab

An Islamic group is suing the New York Police Department, claiming the NYPD is spying on Muslims in New Jersey and New York. Laura welcomed Ahmed Rehab of the Council on Islamic-American Relations, who elaborated on his group's complaint. "This program is unconstitutional," Rehab asserted, "and it's also un-American. The Pilgrims crossed an ocean to avoid this kind of religious harassment - this program was targeting an entire community, including individuals, restaurants, mosques, cab drivers. They weren't following criminal leads, but rather they were going after an entire community based solely on religious affiliation and political opinions." Laura contended that police have valid reasons to be suspicious of some Islamic groups: "Al Qaeda and its affiliates used the platform of the mosque to recruit and to radicalize and to gain supporters and money. Should the NYPD just say mosques are off limits? We all have a vested interest in keeping this nation safe, Muslims and non-Muslims alike."

Thursday's Patriots: President Obama and Mitt Romney, who both made humorous cameo appearances in a video segment prior to the Country Music Television awards show.