Guests: Howard Kurtz & Erick Erickson
"Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has written a book and some people are upset. Gates says President Obama was not convinced that U.S. strategy in Afghanistan would work and wanted above all to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Also, Gates says the President did not trust military leaders in general. Are you surprised? President Obama is a committed liberal man who does not like war and believes 'social justice' programs are hurt by military spending. The one thing that does surprise me is his aggressive use of drones to decimate terrorists. The nature of warfare is changing dramatically and there is no way any nation can control chaotic countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. We have to use high tech weapons to wreak havoc among those who threaten us and selective boots on the ground to impose order. President Obama is not wrong when he is skeptical of Iraq and Afghanistan, the problem is that he did not seem to have the will to win. Talking Points believes Robert Gates accurately portrayed the President's view of war; whether he should have put it in print is another matter."

The Factor pursued the Gates revelations with conservative blogger Erick Erickson and FNC media analyst Howard Kurtz. "Bob Gates is perfectly entitled to rip Barack Obama on policy," Kurtz declared, "but it's a betrayal to reveal private conversations with the President who trusted him to give confidential advice. How can a president rely on his inner circle if they're gathering material for a best-seller?" Erickson countered that tell-all books are nothing new. "This is what people in Washington do. Don Regan did it to Reagan, George Stephanopoulos and Robert Reich did it to Clinton. Considering that the Obama administration is spying on all of us with the NSA, there's a bit of irony in this." The Factor added that Gates' book paints a dismal picture of the administration, saying, "The message I'm getting from this is that life and death decisions are being made by politics, not by what's right or wrong for the nation."

Guests: Ed Henry & James Rosen
For more reaction to the forthcoming Robert Gates book, The Factor turned to FNC White House correspondent Ed Henry. "President Obama took a risk," Henry suggested, "by keeping President Bush's Defense Secretary because he was a rookie Commander-in-Chief. But in the end, Gates turns on him and suggests that his leadership is wanting. The other problem for the White House is that Vice President Biden comes under such heavy fire." The Factor was also joined by correspondent James Rosen, who critiqued a New York Times report on the Benghazi attacks. "By and large it was a disingenuous effort," he asserted. "The Times stated that the attack was fueled in large part at an American-made video that denigrated Islam. But Ambassador Stevens' top aide in Libya said the video was a non-event. Also, the Times denied that Al Qaeda or other international terrorist groups had any role in the assault. Fox News is still working on the Benghazi story and we have what we think are some very big stories coming up."

Guests:Kirsten Powers and Kate Obenshain re-visited the controversy involving the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, which alienated some contributors when it temporarily cut off funding to Planned Parenthood in 2012. "There was a huge backlash," Powers stated, "and some women stopped giving money to Komen and gave more to Planned Parenthood. I wouldn't have stopped giving Komen money over this, but Planned Parenthood is an extremely popular organization for many women." Obenshain added that Komen got caught in a firestorm of criticism from both sides. "After three days the Komen Foundation caved to bullying by Planned Parenthood, so a lot of pro-lifers stopped giving. Also, a lot of folks who are concerned about breast cancer prevention and research stopped giving because they didn't realize that the Komen Foundation was giving to Planned Parenthood, which doesn't even give mammorgrams."

Guests: Tiki Barber & Mike Westhoff
The National Football League has been sued by former players alleging that the game left them with permanent brain damage. The Factor explored the issue with former NFL running back Tiki Barber and long-time coach Mike Westhoff. "We want to say that there are so many more injuries now," Barber said, "but the reality is that we are just paying attention, we care now. People used to get concussions, but the coach said, 'Shake it off, you'll be okay.'" Westhoff insisted that the NFL is making the game safer. "There's more attention being paid to how these collisions are happening and the league is trying to eliminate the helmet-to-helmet attacking. The league is doing everything it can to keep this contact as limited as possible." But The Factor worried that today's athletes are meting out more punishment than ever before, saying, "The hits are worse than they've ever been, the guys are bigger and faster, it's brutal."

Guest: Dennis Miller
The Factor invited Dennis Miller to weigh in on the deep freeze enveloping much of the USA. "I like the old days when the 'polar vortex' was known as Pelosi's stare," Miller quipped, "and I blame this on Al Gore. This goofus had a chance to pick the word 'climate change,' but he always has to look brighter than everyone else so he said 'global warming' for ten years. Can't the left reach across the aisle and just give us an ironic moment when they say, 'Yeah, we did go heavy on warming.' Give us one moment where we can say, 'Beware of Gore, beware of the prophet seeking profits.'" Miller also critiqued White House spokesman Jay Carney's new beard. "He's been acting as a 'beard' for this President, so why not grow one? This guy blows more smoke than a Rastafarian death rattle."

Guest: Martha MacCallum
Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, mocking Bill's warnings about excessive texting, claimed that China's teens actually text more than America's. FNC anchor Martha MacCallum tried to settle the dispute. "In a study of 15-year-olds," she reported, "three of the top six performing academic areas were in China. They're outperforming us, no doubt. We also have data showing that Chinese students spend more time on the Internet in school, and they do have addictions to web surfing and chatting. Chinese are fascinated with technology and they're spending more time using it. But our kids are clearly obsessed with social media and reality TV in a way that is overwhelming and desensitizing." The Factor insisted that Chinese teens are frequently using that technology for academic pursuits, saying, "I spent some time in China and the kids are regimented, they don't have any free time to text!"

As proven by former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who sang Happy Birthday to North Korea's murderous tyrant Kim Jong Un, doing foolish things will always come back to haunt you.

Mattie Fowler, Huntington Beach, CA: "O'Reilly, you and Bernie are becoming insufferable. We don't need either of you to edit our options because Barack Obama and the Democrats are destroying America."

Roger Kuhlman, Ann Arbor, MI: "Of course winners of the lottery like you and Stossel are going to think economic inequality is okay."

Nicole Bennington, Longmont, CO: "My husband and I were horrified to hear about the two-year-old girl who ate a marijuana cookie in our town. But we are not surprised. Since pot became legal in this state, we can personally attest that use in public has skyrocketed."