Guests: Brit Hume

"We expect a very close vote in November and the polls will go up and down until then. But what Mitt Romney absolutely has to do if he hopes to defeat Barack Obama is win the three debates. We have seen the Governor debate well and we have seen him get his butt kicked, but the best we've seen of Mr. Romney was back in 1994 when he was running for the Senate against Ted Kennedy. That debate was intense and included some of the same issues that are on the table today. Senator Kennedy easily defeated Romney, but that was expected because the Kennedys rule in Massachusetts. But now Mr. Romney has a very good chance to unseat President Obama because the economy is bad and the president is governing, at least domestically, as a far left guy. Romney must bring the challenge right to the President - not by attacking Obama the man, but by taking facts and confronting Mr. Obama with them in a very vivid way. John McCain stayed completely away from Mr. Obama's left-wing background; Romney has to highlight it. Again, whoever wins the debates wins the election."

The Factor asked FNC's Brit Hume how Mitt Romney should comport himself in the debates. "Remember the debate with Newt Gingrich in the Florida primary," Hume asked, "when Romney called him out on the contents of Gingrich's investment portfolio? Sometimes anger works, particularly if it seems to the audience that it's been provoked, but anger as a general tone in a politician is not attractive. And I disagree with you about the debates, which are rarely decisive in presidential elections." The Factor contended that Romney needs to show anger that is authentic and resonant: "This is a referendum on President Obama. If Romney can somehow show the American public that he's angry about the state of the union and that he feels the pain of the people who are suffering economically, he brings attention to himself in a positive way."

Guests: Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes

Given that about half of all Americans now receive some kind of government benefit The Factor asked FNC analysts Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes whether the USA is now a welfare state. "No it is not," Colmes declared, "and in fact some numbers are going down. In the last year the number of Americans receiving unemployment insurance went from 7.7 million to 6.1 million, and temporary assistance to needy families also went down. Part of the issue is that we have an aging population and many of them are getting government assistance." Crowley argued that liberals have created ever-more-expansive government programs. "The modern Democratic Party is essentially a cult of victimhood and dependency, and over the last few decades they've done everything they could to establish these redistributionist pillars. This President has massively expanded the welfare state." The Factor disputed the notion that Democrats alone are to blame, saying, "Republicans and Democrats and the whole culture is becoming an entitlement culture."

Guests: Mary Katharine Ham and Juan Williams

President Obama and other Democrats want to "tax the rich," but The Factor pointed out that only 3% of the tax returns filed in 2009 were from people with incomes above $200,000. FNC's Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham weighed in. "This is about fairness," Williams said. "The system is being rigged against working Americans while the rich get tax shelters and deductions and writeoffs that are not available to others." Ham excoriated Democrats for demonizing wealthy Americans, saying, "We have to deal with entitlements and wasteful spending, but 'soak the rich' is the easy message that Obama wants to sell." The Factor lamented the lack of honesty in the argument: "I'm worried about the con. What's being presented to the American public is that rich people aren't paying their fair share, and if they would all these debt problems would be solved."

Guests: Lila Rose

An anti-abortion group called Live Action took a hidden camera into a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas, where a counselor advised a young woman how to abort her fetus if it turns out to be a girl. The Factor welcomed Lila Rose, the founder of Live Action. "This counseling went on for fifteen minutes," Rose reported, "and they went on about different ways to determine gender and the different ways to opt for abortion. The Planned Parenthood worker advised the young woman to wait and confirm that it's a little girl and then come back and schedule a late-term abortion if it's a little girl. This was a horrific disregard for human life." The Factor complained that all Americans are forced to support the abortion industry: "In 2010 Planned Parenthood received about $500-million in taxpayer money, so I'm paying for a counselor to tell a young woman that if you don't like the gender we'll get rid of it!"

Guests: Lis Wiehl and Kimberly Guilfoyle

A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that a high school student can attend classes wearing a shirt with the message 'Jesus is not a homophobe.' Legal analysts Lis Wiehl and Kimberly Guilfoyle evaluated the decision. "This student was also awarded $20,000 by the judge," Wiehl reported, "because he has attorney's fees to pay. The school was not able to show any evidence that the shirt caused a disruption. Nobody was outraged in this school." Guilfoyle turned to the case of pop singer Justin Bieber, who is accused of assaulting a paparazzi. "He was at a mall with his girlfriend," she said, "and a paparazzi came up to him and tried to get a photo. There are no witnesses who say the paparazzi was injured, but a lawyer told him he could make a lot of money, so he called an ambulance and filed a complaint."

Guests: Charles Krauthammer

The Factor invited Charles Krauthammer to dissect the case of Dr. Shakil Afridi, who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden and was subsequently sentenced to 33 years for treason. "President Obama has to cut out the idiocies," Dr. K declared, "and the administration has to stop the leaks and the stupid defenses. The President should announce that we are cutting aid to Pakistan in half today, and if Afridi isn't released in three months we're going to cut it again. And most important, say the word 'India.' Announce that the Secretary of State is going to cement a new strategic relationship between the United States and Pakistan's arch-enemy India. Pakistan doesn't care about us, they have no respect for us, and they are able to do this to the good doctor with impunity. This is a humiliation to the United States!"

Jeff Connell, New South Wales, Australia: "O'Reilly, you can't be that stupid. If a US citizen gave information to Iran or Russia without informing Washington first, they'd be tried for treason too."

Carrie Barron, Moscow, ID: "After seeing Pakistan close NATO supply lines to Afghanistan and prosecute the Doctor, I see them as an enemy."

Terry Wheaton, Nacogdoches, TX: "Bill, good debate with Megyn over Desmond Hatchett. There needs to be new laws on derelict parenting."

Andrea Preston, Westport, CT: "It would cost the taxpayer too much to incarcerate Hatchett for not paying child support. They should castrate him."

Tuesday's Patriot: Comic actor Mike Myers, who sang "What's New Pussycat" at the White House to honor songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David.