"Both presidential candidates appeared on NBC last night to answer questions about national security, and both made fairly significant mistakes. One was Donald Trump saying Vladimir Putin 'has been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader.' That description of Putin was a mistake because it legitimized the Russian leader who doesn't deserve that courtesy. Vladimir Putin is a killer who has corrupted his country and who routinely violates international law. If elected president, Trump will try to make Russia an ally, especially in the fight against ISIS. That strategy is not wrong, but praising Putin is. Let the tyrant earn friendly descriptions. Now, on to Hillary Clinton, whose blunder dealt with ISIS. She said, 'We are not putting ground troops into Iraq ever again, and we're not putting ground troops into Syria.' I'm sure the ISIS savages were happy to hear that ground troops are off the table. That means Secretary Clinton will essentially follow the Obama plan, which has allowed the ISIS savages to retain strongholds in Iraq and Syria while trying to limit their destruction all over the world. You can decide how effective that strategy has been since ISIS became a menace after the U.S. pulled out of Iraq. As Talking Points has stated, the solution to the ISIS problem is to mobilize NATO and bring the fight to the terrorists while at the same time setting up safe zones for refugees so they don't flood into Europe. Surely Hillary Clinton knows the NATO alliance is just sitting there doing very little to contain the jihad. Why not mobilize that alliance? Summing up, both candidates have to sharpen their international focus and with the 15th anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, this is the perfect time to do it."

The Factor asked retired Navy Admirals Charles Kubic and Jamie Barnett to evaluate the candidates' performances. "Hillary Clinton showed again," Barnett said, "that she has the command of the issues and the judgment and experience. What you got wrong in this is that from a strategic standpoint you need both your allies and enemies to know what you're going to do. The Islamic State is losing its state, we are actually making gains." Kubic, who supports Donald Trump, defended his man's assessment of Vladimir Putin. "He wasn't endorsing the way Putin runs Russia, he was expressing his opinion that Putin is a strong leader. Putin has been a very proactive leader, particularly on the world stage, while we have a very passive leader. Trump is looking to create a new relationship with Russia." Barnett praised Hillary Clinton for helping prevent war a war with Iran, and Kubic lauded Trump for his deal-making skills."

FBI Director James Comey, who had been widely respected by both parties in Washington, is now being criticized for his actions and decisions in the Hillary Clinton email investigation. The Factor spoke about that with former FBI assistant director Ron Hosko and author Ronald Kessler. "We have seen a series of extraordinary events in this case," Hosko said, "and there has been an effort to be transparent by Director Comey. His summary of the FBI's investigation was extraordinary." Kessler defended the agency's interview with Hillary Clinton, which was not transcribed or recorded. "They wanted to gather all the evidence before they confronted her and interviews are never recorded unless someone is in custody." But The Factor denounced the FBI and Comey for releasing summary notes of the interview on the Friday before Labor Day, saying, "Everybody knows that this information dump on a Friday afternoon was meant so that nobody would read it."

Pollster and political analyst Frank Luntz entered the No Spin Zone to nominate two of this campaign season's absolute worst TV ads. His focus group gave lousy marks to the Hillary Clinton ad that hits Donald Trump's past comments on race. "This ad failed because the viewers felt it was taken out of context," Luntz reported. "When you take a candidate and only use four or five words, people assume that wasn't what they meant to say. They also thought the attacks were unfair and without context." On the other side, Luntz and his focus group viewers reacted negatively to a Trump ad that used clips from President Obama and Hillary Clinton in their own words. "The Trump campaign actually created an ad that helps Hillary Clinton, I never saw anything like this. This featured Obama and Clinton and it didn't work with the average voter."

A federal judge has granted the conservative legal group Judicial Watch permission to ask Hillary Clinton 25 questions in writing. Legal analysts Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl singled out what they thought were the very best questions. "I like the question about a memo Hillary Clinton sent in 2011," Wiehl began. "She told all her employees at the State Department to avoid conducting official department business on personal email accounts. So why did she send that out and continue doing it herself?" Guilfoyle cited this question about Hillary Clinton's actions after she left the State Department: "After you left office, did you believe that you could alter, destroy, disclose, or use email you sent or received concerning official State Department business?"

Are pundits and reporters too focused on Hillary Clinton's coughing and other minutiae? The Factor posed that question to media analyst Bernie Goldberg. "It's perfectly legitimate to report that she had a coughing attack," Goldberg said, "but there are too many people in the conservative opinion business who use anything they can get their hands on as a weapon. Some conservatives used the incident to say that she is sick, has some secret disease, and is not fit to be president. If you want to attack her because she is dishonest, no problem, but this was an attempt to convince people that she is not capable of being president."

Jesse Watters dropped in on a Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot on Coney Island, where he spoke with some onlookers about the presidential campaign. Here is what some of them had to say: "The U.S. is too far in debt and we need a businessman like Trump" ... "The election is not important at all, it's not going to make a difference in my world" ... "Hillary Clinton would help the black community more than Donald Trump" ... "I think she's just a president's wife, plain and simple" ... "Donald Trump wants to get this country back in shape and I think he'll do it."

Richard Manauzzi, Marietta, GA: "As a retired FBI agent with 29 years of service, I agree with your assessment of Director Comey, Bill. His actions in the Hillary Clinton case have been shameful."

John Thomas, Bakersfield, CA: "I consider you a nothing, Bill, and your opinion on Comey doesn't matter."

Rickey Payne, Las Vegas, NV: "I don't even talk about Trump. The left in my area is so violently opposed to him, I could get myself hurt."

Listen up, Factor viewers! Send in any questions you may have about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to OReilly@FoxNews.com and our research staff will dig up the answers. Secretary Clinton will be covered Friday, Mr. Trump on Monday.