Guests: Brit Hume

"The lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal today laments the fact that the USA is losing power all over the world. The Journal points to Russia and Putin supplying the tyrant Assad with weapons in Syria while the USA and the UN can do absolutely nothing about it. Putin is a villain who consistently thumbs his nose at America and doesn't care about civilians being massacred with Russian weapons. Also, Iran is supplying Syria with weapons and military people, even as it continues to develop its nuclear capability. Iran doesn't fear the USA at all. The question is, why are we declining? The first reason is the economy - the Obama administration is attempting to shift from a market economy to a quasi-socialistic approach where the federal government calls the shots. That has failed by every measure and has also eroded consumer confidence here and abroad. President Obama has to know that the reason Europe is collapsing financially is because they abandoned the market economy. Greece, Spain, and Italy are all entitlement states going bankrupt, yet the President makes no attempt to downsize government or reduce our staggering debt. On the Republican side, there's no question that the war in Iraq hurt the USA. It cost nearly a trillion dollars and put heavy pressure on our military, and for what? The war in Afghanistan was a necessity, Iraq was not, and fighting two wars over a ten-year period has drained our military. So the Wall Street Journal is correct - America's power is in decline. The good news is that the situation can be reversed. A return to the market economy and aggressive capitalism can rebuild what we've lost. Our military remains the finest in the world, our technology is the best, and the working men and women of America have no equal. But this country needs to harness those strengths, fast!"

The Factor analyzed President Obama's just-completed press conference at the G-20 summit in Mexico with Fox News analyst Brit Hume. "The President didn't have anything new or dramatic to announce," Hume said, "and the questions from the press got nowhere. Nothing major came out of this summit, and it's arguable whether anything minor came out of this summit. The President is in no position economically or militarily to do much about any problems." The Factor expressed enormous disappointment in the President's comments: "That was the most boring press conference I've ever seen. This really offends me - I was trying to listen to President Obama, who was speaking to the world, but he made no sense and he reiterated what was said an thousand times. I resent it!"

Guests: Alan Colmes

For another view of President Obama's remarks, The Factor called on Fox News analyst Alan Colmes. "You always say it's boring," Colmes protested, "but what do you expect, dancing girls and fountains? This was an economic summit. He was saying we can work with Putin, we can work with China, and they should realize that it's in their best interest. President Obama believes he can bring them around." The Factor countered, "The President of the United States has to lead the world but he's not because he doesn't know what he's talking about."

Guests: Steve Greenberg and Matt McGill

With Chicago plagued by escalating violence and murders, The Factor examined the problem with attorney Steve Greenberg and Chicago radio talk show host Matt McGill. "Chicago is a victim of its own success," Greenberg claimed. "Years ago we had a couple of large gangs that controlled the streets, but now that the gangs have fallen apart we have tiny cliques that are like militias. They engage in random acts of violence because they think it's about respect. It's like disarray in a third-world nation." McGill pointed out that almost all the crime is in black neighborhoods. "Chicago historically has been the most segregated city in the nation, and when you have that kind of segregation the crime is going to be in these separate areas. There is a culture of violence that has been simmering for maybe forty years. Now the numbers are getting startling and we realize we have a crisis." The Factor urged Chicago officials to do whatever is needed to quash the violence: "Why don't the Chicago police force and Mayor Rahm Emanuel flood the zone with all the firepower they can get?"

Guests: John Stossel

The Factor welcomed Fox Business host John Stossel, who has been investigating the burgeoning problem of disability fraud. "The government pays out $75 billion for this," Stossel began, "and we don't know how much of it is fraud. But it's contagious - if your neighbor is out playing golf but collecting disability, then you might feel like a sucker if you don't cheat too. It's an epidemic and it's growing." The Factor depicted the problem as an unfortunate sign of the times: "Forty years ago people had a lot of pride and wouldn't have taken the money, but now they want the money because they think they're entitled to it in our entitlement culture."

Guests: Lis Wiehl and Kimberly Guilfoyle

Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, who has been threatening to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over the 'Fast and Furious' scandal, met with the AG Tuesday. Fox News legal analysts Lis Wiehl and Kimberly Guilfoyle reported the latest on the showdown. "This was a 20-minute meeting," Wiehl said, "and both parties say it was fairly non-contentious. Holder said he will give Issa's committee a briefing and a compilation of documents. In exchange, he wants the committee to stop the investigation. Chairman Issa said absolutely not." Guilfoyle accused Attorney General Holder of stonewalling. "He's not acting in good faith. If you don't have anything to hide, why are you continuing to withhold these documents? Isn't his job to seek the truth?" The Factor agreed that Holder "doesn't have any right to hide anything from the American public."

Guests: Charles Krauthammer

Finally, Fox News analyst Charles Krauthammer entered the No Spin Zone with his assessment of President Obama's press conference in Mexico. "I watched the beginning of the show and you were great," Dr K told The Factor. "You were on the verge of an apoplectic reaction and if I were there I would have hosed you down with a valium spray. And in fact it was the dullest press conference since the invention of the radio. However, regarding Syria, President Obama actually said that he is confident that the Russians do not condone the massacres. The Russians are providing the helicopter gunships that are conducting the massacres and they are preparing to send three ships to a Syrian port. This is a thumb in the eye to the United States, this is the Russians saying Syria is our property, and the United States has a president who says he's confident that they don't condone the massacres!" Krauthammer contended that President Obama is responsible for a precipitous decline in American influence. "There has been a bigger decline in U.S. influence in all areas of the world than any three-and-a-half years since the end of the Second World War. No one gives a damn what the United States says because it is irrelevant."