Guest: James Carville
"President Obama is on his way to South Africa to pay tribute to the late Nelson Mandela. When he returns, it will be just a few days until he's off on his Christmas vacation to Hawaii. All this traveling might be good for President Obama because the pressures are growing and he needs some diversion. He got some last night at the Kennedy Center honors, and your humble correspondent was on the scene to introduce Herbie Hancock, a good guy and a brilliant artist. I had a few moments to speak with the President, who was very gracious to everyone who attended the event. President Obama is under pressure - a report says that 70% of California doctors will opt out of Obamacare and there is no question that many American doctors are not going to get involved with the American Health Care Act. As Talking Points has said from the beginning, it will be the doctors who make or break Obamacare. Most working Americans will pay more for their health insurance, but if the care is elevated that might be acceptable to some. However, if doctors are not available the whole thing will collapse. There's nothing President Obama can do about that, he can't force doctors into the program. And so America's leader is in a tight spot - he knows it, you know it. Right now his only solace may be up in the air."

The Factor welcomed former Clinton adviser James Carville, who disputed the idea that many doctors will opt out of Obamacare. "I don't think that will be a problem," he said, "and it's not a problem in Massachusetts, where the law is essentially the same as the national law. When Medicare started, doctors were saying they wouldn't take Medicare patients, but it's one of the most popular programs in the country. Things are working better, enrollment numbers are way up, and I think the program will be fine." The Factor was far lest optimistic about Obamacare: "I'm not predicting doom for the law, but I say there is a 75% chance that it will not work. The people signing up are those who are going to benefit directly because they're getting it free or heavily subsidized. The 'young invincibles' are not signing up."

Guest: Brit Hume
For another view, The Factor turned to Fox News analyst Brit Hume. "James Carville made the optimistic case about as well as it can be made," he said, "but the tide is running too hard against the President and I don't see any relief in sight. Every Democrat in the House is going to be dealing with the President's situation next year and it is a huge drag on the ticket when the President's approval ratings are tanking." Hume predicted that Democrats will pay a heavy electoral price for supporting Obamacare. "When people got on the website, they were stunned at the prices and the size of the deductible. Then they found out that many plans did not include their doctors and hospitals. When you put those together, and when employer-sponsored plans begin to drop people, there will be a lot of anger. That drives people to the polls."

Guests: Juan Williams & Mary Katharine Ham
In the wake of Colorado's marijuana legalization, the Denver Post has hired an editor to write about the drug. The Factor asked FNC's Mary Katharine Ham and Juan Williams to opine. "Every day there are reviews of wine," Williams pointed out, "and consumers have an interest in this product. Marijuana is legal in Colorado, there is a business and people who like the product will read reviews." Ham agreed that legal marijuana is a subject that merits regular coverage. "This is a serious public policy issue. This isn't just about reviewing marijuana, this is a newsworthy beat and there are many public policy decisions that you want to be covered. They probably also think this will earn them some buzz and they are looking for readership." Nevertheless, The Factor ridiculed the Post and its focus on weed: "When I worked in Denver a long time ago, the Post was a good newspaper. But now it's a very far left concern and they're promoting marijuana use. The Denver Post is promoting intoxication!"

Guest: Jesse Watters
Jesse Watters headed south, as far south as one can go in the lower 48, and spoke with some of the laid back folks who call Key West home. A few of their observations about life in Margaritaville: "I moved here in 1999 and I'm just wasting time" ... "You come Key West on vacation, you leave on probation, and you come back on violation" ... "I trade food stamps for beer and vodka and cigarettes" ... "When you live here you forget about the rest of the country." Watters summarized his visit thusly: "I didn't see one police officer when I was there. Someone used the analogy that if you shake the country all the sediment winds up in Florida, and then if you shake Florida the rest goes to Key West. But they were very nice to me and I got out alive."

Guest: Bernie Goldberg
Last week, when the unemployment rate fell to 7%, a conservative publication claimed that 41% of the new jobs created in November were government jobs. Bernie Goldberg attributed that misleading statistic to conservative bias. "CNS is a division of the Media Research Center," Goldberg reported, "a conservative group that exposes liberal bias in the news. But this may be an example of their conservative bias - it isn't that 41% of the new jobs were government jobs, these were people who were simply going back to their jobs after the government shutdown. If you take that into account, the number isn't 41%, it's 3.5%! This is important because there are plenty of liberal news organizations that put a happy face on economic numbers to make Barack Obama look good, but there are also conservative media outlets that put the worst face on economic numbers to make him look bad." The Factor concluded, "They're usually pretty good at the Media Research Center, but this one wasn't even close."

Guest: Karl Rove
Fox News analyst Karl Rove looked ahead to the ideological warfare likely to be waged during the 2014 campaigns. "Democrats have very little in the cupboard," he asserted. "There's Obamacare, an anemic economy, growing doubts about the President, and questions about why he hasn't done something to solve problems. We Republicans have to not make stupid mistakes like we did with Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, we have to do a better job of explaining what we believe, and do a better job of focusing on a positive agenda that is as inclusive for as many Americans as possible." The Factor reminded Rove, "The Republican Party is all over the place on health care, on immigration, and on a number of issues."

By popular request, a Tip of the Day compilation is now available in book form, and it's free to anyone who purchases $59.95 worth of items here on BillOReilly.com.

David Blankney, Houghton Lake, MI: "How does someone being rich hurt someone who is poor?"

Rusty Rogers, Saratoga, NY: "Americans have the right to pursue happiness but the achievement of it is in our hands. Not everyone is equal in ability. Over-involvement of the government limits our rights of pursuit."

Matt Noyes, New Hampshire: "I work in a Dunkin' Donuts here. We have a tip jar. It gives us a little more money and the incentive to work harder for the customers."