Guest: Charles Krauthammer
"So far it's been all talk, no action. Politicians in the USA and Western Europe are condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine but doing little else. Putin is smirking at the world and testing the will of the Western powers; he clearly believes Europe will back down, isolating the USA. And he could be right - the British media reports that the UK government will not curb trade with Russia, while France wants to have 'mediation.' That will frighten old Vlad, won't it? Germany says Putin is living in another world, but since Russia is Germany's biggest supplier of energy, Putin can live in any world he wants. So Putin is having a grand old time violating international law and watching the Western powers kneel. He knows the West is weak, he knows Mr. Obama will not be likely to rally European nations against him. NATO is supposed to be the bulwark against Russian oppression, but NATO is powerless as European governments time after time back away from confronting illegal international behavior. I hate to use the cliché, but the Ukraine situation is the same old, same old. And Putin knows it."

The Factor asked Charles Krauthammer for his insight into the situation. "I don't blame NATO," Dr. K said, "which exists to defend its own countries against Soviet and Russian aggression. The Bush administration wanted to bring Ukraine into NATO, which would have triggered a NATO response to the invasion now. But the Europeans did not want to get involved with Ukraine because they thought it was dangerous." Krauthammer opined that President Obama is ill-suited to confront an international thug. "He came into office and announced the famous 'reset' with Russia. Then he canceled the missile defense agreement the Poles and the Czechs had agreed to because the Russians opposed it. Obama wanted to show the Russians that he was willing to bury the hatchet, but Putin looked at this guy and said, I'm dealing with an adolescent. He's a community organizer, he doesn't understand how the world works."

Guests: Former Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) & Leslie Marshall
For a view from the left, The Factor turned to radio host Leslie Marshall and former Congressman Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich implied that the USA bears blame for the crisis in Ukraine. "We shouldn't have tried to force the people of Ukraine into a deal with NATO against their interest. The U.S. has been involved covertly with the CIA, the National Endowment for Democracy, and USAID stirring up trouble in Ukraine, and now you have neo-Nazis in control." Marshall vehemently disagreed with that assessment. "This is not the United States' fault, this is Putin's fault. He is a thug and a bully, and we need to isolate him. I believe President Obama has begun to do that with our allies." The Factor also scolded Kucinich, saying, "You're blaming the USA for subverting Ukraine and thereby giving Putin a pass to go in and invade."

Guest: Ezekiel Emanuel
According to a survey of thousands of physicians, 44% of doctors will not participate in the ObamaCare exchanges. The Factor invited reaction from Ezekiel Emanuel, one of the law's architects. "Doctors will not opt out," Emanuel declared, "because it's not doctors who participate in the exchanges, it's insurance companies who participate. Doctors will take ObamaCare insurance - very few can just take people who pay cash because 98% of Americans can't pay cash for their health care. When you poll young doctors, 60% of them actually support ObamaCare." The Factor reiterated that many physicians seem to be frustrated with the law: "I'm seeing walk-in health care clinics opening that are staffed by physician assistants and nurse practitioners. I think that's where this is going. But they aren't doctors!" Emanuel used the segment to repeatedly accuse Fox News of "sowing fear" among Americans.

Guest: John Stossel
President Obama's latest budget proposal calls for a much smaller military presence. Fox Business host John Stossel endorsed the cutbacks, even in light of the Ukraine situation. "I don't see what we could do there," he said. "We couldn't solve the problems in Somalia and we got out of Iraq and Afghanistan, as we should have after we retaliated. It's our job to fight back when we're attacked, not to police the world. We already spend as much on the military as the rest of the world combined. We can't afford that." Stossel also denounced the president's plan to boost spending on pre-school. "We spend more than any other country in the world on K - 12 education and we do a lousy job. We have already spent $200-million on Head Start, but Obama's own Education Department said it doesn't work."

Guests: Kimberly Guilfoyle & Lis Wiehl
Legal aces Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl began with terror suspect Suleiman Abu Ghayth, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, who is being tried in New York City. "The official reason for trying him in a civilian court," Wiehl reported, "is for transparency in prosecution. But I think the real reason is because some conspiracy cases in the past have been overturned in military tribunals." Guilfoyle turned to Texas, where a court has ruled that a male teacher was within his rights to send sexually suggestive messages to a 13-year-old female student. "We're not doing our job of protecting children by writing laws that will be upheld. The law needed to state that you are not allowed to send 'obscene' messages, otherwise there is a First Amendment protection to send things that are merely 'indecent.' They need to re-write the law in Texas."

Guests: Monica Crowley & Alan Colmes
Some editorial writers, often using the word "feckless," have compared President Obama to Jimmy Carter. The Factor asked Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes whether the comparison is fair. "Obama and Carter espoused a left-wing philosophy," Crowley said, "which is basically that the United States is a force for ill in the world. Bad guys feel emboldened when the United States is perceived as weak." Colmes, not surprisingly, disagreed with his sister-in-law. "The meme that Obama is weak is being put out by the right-wing, but the fact is that this is the guy who killed bin Laden and went into Libya, this is the guy who killed more Al Qaeda leaders than any other president. Strength can be just waiting for the right moment." The Factor contended that President Obama's inaction in Syria badly damaged his reputation: "He said there was a red line and he didn't follow up. Everybody saw that!"

A great way to honor our wounded veterans is to help organizations such as The Fisher House and The Wounded Warrior Project, which do an enormous amount of good work on behalf of vets and their families.

Vince Schweikert, Mooresville, NC: "Bill, I absolutely agree with you. China is the country that will be most emboldened by Putin's actions."

Christine Belofatto, Norwell, MA: "It seems like Bob Costas changed his angle only after he praised Putin. Now he's trying to spin it."

Gary Paine, Columbus, OH: "Mr. O, I had formed an impression of Costas that I now see was not accurate. Thanks for allowing him to set the record straight."