Guests:Howard Kurtz & Tom Graham
"Predictably, the former defense secretary is being attacked by some folks upset that President Obama is being criticized. Instead of debating what Mr. Panetta is saying, they question his motives. The interview last night raised important national security questions and shed light on President Obama's leadership. And it's not only Leon Panetta who is troubled by America's receding power in the world. All the polls say everyday Americans have little confidence that Barack Obama can protect them in an effective way. There is no way ISIS savages should be terrorizing the Middle East and threatening the world, those thugs should have been dealt with a long time ago. It's not just President Obama's fault. We are living in a cowardly world where villains know they can commit atrocities, violate international law and generally do whatever they want without lawful nations confronting them. The fact that Turkey is allowing ISIS to murder civilians on their border says it all. The Turks should be ashamed. Add to that the lack of American leadership. That is where President Obama takes a big hit. It is up to him to rally the world against evil. We are the superpower, the nation that stands for freedom and justice. But from the beginning, President Obama did not want that responsibility. He wanted America to be one of many nations and to seek consensus about how to deal with difficult problems. The abdication of leadership is not working and our world is becoming more chaotic by the day. For my money, Leon Panetta is doing the right and patriotic thing in pointing that out."

The Factor invited media analysts Howard Kurtz and Tom Graham to evaluate the Panetta interview. "You were very effective," Kurtz said, "at drawing out of him details of what happened behind the scenes. But I thought you were less effective when you were debating him and trying to get him to agree with your notion that the president doesn't have the stomach for the fight." Graham pointed out that many mainstream media outlets simply ignored the exchange. "This is a devastating interview for Obama, which is why they don't want to pay attention to it. What they could have expected from you was that Leon Panetta would get a softball interview, but that is not at all what he got."

Guest:Ed Henry
FNC White House correspondent Ed Henry theorized that President Obama doesn't really care about Leon Panetta's opinions. "From talking to some of the president's top advisors," Henry said, "he clearly does not care. The president wants to stay the course. And when I pressed Josh Earnest on whether the administration will reflect on the Panetta interview and his book, he basically said no. The president has a tight circle of advisors and is unlikely to change course. It's clear from your interview with Leon Panetta that the president, as a law professor, just thinks that his ideas are better and he'll disregard the opposition."

Guest:Dr. Ian Lipkin
Thomas Duncan, the Liberian man who was diagnosed with Ebola while visiting Texas, has died. Meanwhile, a deputy sheriff in Dallas is exhibiting Ebola-like symptoms after being in Duncan's hospital room. The Factor explored the situation with infectious disease specialist Dr. Ian Lipkin. "You can catch Ebola by touching things that people with Ebola have touched," he explained, "and the best way to protect the American people is to keep the disease over there and get it under control. If this spreads further into Africa, we will not be able to control it because our borders are porous." The Factor lambasted officials who are tasked with keeping us safe: "We were supposed to have an expert from the National Institutes of Health this evening, but he canceled. Also, officials from the CDC have not been cooperative. There's something wrong, we are not being told what's going on by these federal authorities."

Guest:Megyn Kelly
The Supreme Court has announced a decision that delighted advocates of same-sex marriage. FNC anchor and attorney Megyn Kelly explained the ruling. "The bottom line is that gay marriage is coming to a state near you," she declared. "What happened on Monday is that states that had banned gay marriage and lost in the courts were asking the Supreme Court to review the lower court rulings. The Supreme Court said no, meaning that all the decisions that threw out the bans on gay marriage will stand. That opens the floodgates for all the states that are within these circuits to have their bans thrown out as well. Lower courts have overruled the will of the voters and the Supreme Court said that's fine by us." The Factor summarized, "All of these judges believe that homosexual Americans have a constitutional right to marry."

Guest:Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller weighed in with his trenchant analysis of last night's interview with Leon Panetta. "My takeaway," he said, "is that Obama is a very smart and courageous individual, and Leon is anticipating the moment when Obama begins to act on all that brilliance and courage." Miller let loose on President Obama's lofty self-regard and lack of humility. "He makes Narcissus look like he invented self-effacement. I think Barack Obama understood the same thing that Madonna did, that if people were going to pour their hopes and dreams into somebody, it's best to make it an empty vessel. I don't think he is that brilliant a guy, I think he's a meaner guy than one would say, and he in over his head. Arrogance is one thing, hapless is another thing, and arrogant-hapless is bad."

Guests:Molly Line & Eric Shawn
As The Factor reported previously, PBS correspondent Miles O'Brien verbally scorched FNC's Andrea Tantaros after she said Ebola is sometimes treated in Africa by witch doctors. Fox News anchors Eric Shawn and Molly Line entered the No Spin Zone to administer an injection of truth serum. "Miles O'Brien is a good guy," Shawn began, "but in this case the argument goes to Andrea. One of the real tragedies of this disease is the belief in witchcraft in Africa. They believe Ebola is caused by either witchcraft or a curse." Line turned to the venerable cartoon "Tom and Jerry," which is now being accused of racism. "I was shocked when I heard that Tom and Jerry could be racist," she said, "but it turns out that in the 1940s and 1950s there were scenes that could be thought of as offensive. One character was 'Mammy Two Shoes,' which can be considered offensive to African American women. Amazon.com is now putting a disclaimer on the DVDs of these old cartoons."

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Diane Powers, Centreville, VA: "Bill, tough questioning is one thing, but it is not necessary to rough up your guest! You were borderline rude with Leon Panetta."

Paul Galvin, Houston, TX: "Bill, best interview I have ever seen. Mike Wallace would be proud."

Karen Davis, Midland, TX: "I turned off the interview because you kept interrupting, Bill. You do the same thing to Charles Krauthammer."

Terry Hanley, Royal Palm Beach, FL: "O'Reilly, I don't agree with your assessment that Panetta is a good public servant. I think all of them covered up Benghazi."