"President Obama is doing something very strange right now. He knows we're a divided nation and he also knows we have a budget situation that could send the country into bankruptcy. So it is on the President to solve the problem! This week Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner offered the President's plan, which would raise taxes on high earners by $1.6 trillion over the next decade. But on the spending front, there isn't anything substantial on the table. The President is basically saying, 'I'm not going to cut much and blank you if you don't like it!' I think President Obama wants the Republicans to oppose him, believing the American people will become angry with the GOP. It's a political strategy that is putting the entire country at risk. Many Republicans have already said they'll go along with some tax hikes, so why is the President being so in-your-face about this? He's doing the same thing with the Susan Rice situation; earlier this week he said he thinks the U.N. Ambassador is doing a great job. Are you kidding me? So it doesn't seem like Mr. Obama wants to run the country efficiently. Maybe he'll compromise in the end, but now we have a 'my way or the highway' situation. The American people deserve better. We have huge financial problems in this country, problems that every single one of us will feel if the dollar tanks. C'mon, Mr. President, put forth something reasonable and get off the politics."

The Factor asked Fox Business anchor Lou Dobbs how the warring parties might deal with deficit reduction. "The first thing they have to do is set the parameters," Dobbs said. "Right now the top 2% of the country is paying about 40% of the taxes, so what percentage does the president want? Speaker John Boehner needs to stand up and say everything is on the table, including taxes and entitlements. We have to raise the retirement age for Social Security and Medicare and we have to get serious about reducing the deficit by $500 billion a year." The Factor joked that Speaker Boehner and President Obama must sit down and "they don't get to go to the bathroom until they get a deal.

Columnist Ben Stein entered the No Spin Zone with his assessment of the so-called 'war on Christmas.' "I'm Jewish and all of my ancestors are Jewish," he began, "but I don't mind people saying 'Merry Christmas' to me and I like calling it a 'Christmas tree.' It's a holiday marking a man who said 'peace on earth and good will towards men.' What can possibly be wrong with celebrating the ideas of a person who said that?" The Factor added, "Jesus of Nazareth was the most influential human being who ever lived, so of course you would honor a person like that." Stein theorized that anti-Christmas warriors are filled with resentment. "There are a lot of bitter people out there, they've got to attack something, and so they attack Christmas."

Federal Judge Barbara Jones has sentenced three terrorists, all of them convicted of aiding Al Qaeda, to five years each. Geraldo Rivera defended the judge and the seemingly light sentces. "Our biggest fear," Rivera said, "is that terrorists will become drug dealers and fund their violent activities against the West with the proceeds. The newest Al Qaeda organizations are budding in northern and western Africa, and the fear is that they'll become drug dealers. In this case these three men from Mali were caught in a sting run by a DEA informant. They were transported here, where the judge imposed five years because of the weakness of the case. There was no real drug deal, this was a 'fake crime' and I have a real beef because 95% of all our terrorism arrests are these fake terrorists in fake crimes. The judge in this case did exactly the right thing."

A Long Island couple is facing charges after their 17-year-old son crashed his car and killed four of his friends. Kathleen Rice, the prosecutor in the case, explained why the parents are liable. "They bought a car for their son," Rice said, "even though they knew he didn't have a license to drive. When they handed him the keys, that was a recipe for disaster, it was like handing him a loaded gun. These four young lives would not have been lost but for the fact that his parents bought him that car and gave him the keys. They're being charged with unlicensed operation of a vehicle." Rice also explained why she vigorously prosecuted various teens who were caught cheating on SAT tests. "If we don't teach kids the difference between right and wrong," she said, "we're looking at the next generation of corrupt politicians and Wall Street executives."

Some students at Harvard have formed a club devoted to bondage and other "alternative" activities. The Factor asked two Harvard students to opine on the bizarre club. "The university has supported similar actions in the past," lamented Luciana Milano, "and it's sad that the standards for recognizing student groups are somewhat questionable. Recognizing this group is a symptom of this problem of a hyper-sexualized culture at universities." Ben Samuels, editor of the school paper, defended the new S&M organization. "This is not meant to be a group just for kinky behavior, the purpose is much more education-driven. A big part of any group like this is teaching safety, and there's no question that this behavior is happening." The Factor added, "We talked to one of your pinhead professors and he said, 'This is very healthy, they're just expressing their sexuality and we can't discriminate against them.' That's the point of view."

The Factor reprised some highlights from previous segments with Greg Gutfeld and Bernard McGuirk. This was Gutfeld after Joe Biden had a close encounter with a biker chick in Ohio. "He's preparing for the White House Christmas party," Gutfeld quipped, "where he is going to be Santa. I love bikers, they're either taking teddy bears to hospitals or giving meth to my uncle." Gutfeld also weighed in on President Obama's pre-election interviews with MTV, Leno, and other soft outlets. "This is infuriating," he protested. "There is a massive scandal with four people dead and they're talking about music! It's disgusting." Just prior to Thanksgiving, McGuirk roasted PETA for its campaign comparing turkeys with dogs. "Bill, you fought the good fight in the war on Christmas," McGuirk said, "now you have to fight these giblet-brained communists. They can't tell the difference between eating Lassie and eating some yummy wild-eyed turkey! Unless you're some sicko, you don't develop an emotional attachment to a turkey."

Chuck Neeley, Richmond, KY: "Lincoln Chafee? Not exactly the Lincoln we need."

Ainsley Weber, Newport, RI: "Mr. O'Reilly, thank you for putting our Grinch Governor in his place. He is scaring me and my sister Darcy."

Gary Brignone, Amherst, NY: "I hear Chafee plans to rename the Menorah, the 'Holiday Candelabra.'"

Paul Porter, Brown University, Providence, RI: "Bill, your treatment of our governor was not consistent with the spirit of Christmas."

Mary Ann Melleby wrote in and described the best present she ever received: "My mother retrieved several dolls I played with as a child and restored them. I felt like I was ten years old again."