"Since President Obama took office, the Dow is down nearly 1,200 points. It's obvious Wall Street is not yet confident the president knows what he's doing. But investors also see continuing corruption on Wall Street, and many Americans have stopped buying stocks. Let's take blue chip General Electric. Talking Points has hammered GE because CEO Jeffrey Immelt did business with Iran while that country was killing American soldiers and Marines in Iraq, and he has allowed NBC News to veer sharply left. On February 5th, Immelt told the world that GE would not cut its dividend, but on February 27th GE cut its dividend by almost 70%. Because of his incompetence, Immelt misled the public and some people bought GE stock based on his statement. Since Immelt took over in 2001, the stock has fallen 81% to its lowest level since 1993. So let's do the math: GE is being mismanaged, the CEO apparently has trouble telling the truth, yet he keeps his $20 million a year job. And while GE may be an extreme case, it does reflect an abuse of stockholders that is not uncommon among publicly traded companies. Mr. Obama should stop this semi-socialistic nonsense that has Wall Street spurning him and demand that the Street get back to honest capitalism."

The Factor asked Fox Business Network anchors Stuart Varney and Liz MacDonald about the ongoing stock slide. "The market has been ruined by near-criminal bad judgment on the part of Wall Street executives," Varney declared, "and there is no confidence that the chief executive of the country, Barack Obama, has a clear plan. There is a crisis of confidence, and you restore confidence with a good helmsman in the White House." MacDonald focused on the stunning decline of General Electric. "The company could lose its AAA rating under Immelt's watch, it has a very bad lending unit that is half the company. Wall Street doesn't have faith in GE or Immelt, the company's units have been mismanaged. But you can't blame all of this on a president that's only been in the office for a month." The Factor added that "people have been betrayed by our government, which failed to oversee the Wall Street crooks."

News Link: Dow dives below 7,000

News Link: Jeffrey Immelt & GE in trouble

The White House and the Democratic Party have been positioning Rush Limbaugh as the voice of the Republicans, which Fox News media analyst Bernie Goldberg described as a smart strategy. "If they can make Rush Limbaugh the leader of the Republican Party," Goldberg said, "then all they have to do is run ads where Rush says he wants Obama to fail, and non-savvy people will believe that Rush Limbaugh and the Republicans want the president to fail. I think this is a strategy that will work, they're going to marginalize the Republican Party." The Factor agreed that Rush-bashing is a political tactic. "The economy is so shaky and the Obama vision is not working, I think they're trying to start a culture war to divert attention."

News Link: WH paints Rush as face of GOP

Barack Obama has picked Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to head the massive Department of Health and Human Services. Anti-abortion activists object to Sebelius' pro-choice stance, and point out that she accepted campaign contributions from notorious late-term abortionist George Tiller. The Factor was joined by Fox News analyst Juan Williams, who defended the Sebelius nomination. "She is known as somebody who works across party lines," Williams said. "She's a Democrat and she's won elections in very conservative Kansas, and this is in keeping with the fact that Barack Obama is pro-choice." But FNC's Mary Katharine Ham argued that President Obama risks alienating moderates. "He could have picked someone who wouldn't cause a pro-life fight. She's outside of the mainstream when it comes to parental notification and restrictions on late-term abortions, and George Tiller was a pretty big supporter of hers." The Factor opined that Governor Sebelius "is not just pro-choice, she is a zealot."

News Link: Sebelius nomination offends pro-lifers

Some fertility clinics are advertising that prospective parents can pre-select their baby's eye and hair color and also screen for certain diseases. The Factor explored the technology with fertility specialist Jeffrey Steinberg. "You can select from 4,000 different items," Steinberg said, "that are genetic or genetically-related disorders. We can screen for all of those - we look at the actual chromosomes and we are learning more about the human genome every day." The Factor asserted that this brave new world raises new moral and ethical questions. "If you get the science so exact, why would parents have children the natural way when they can go to you and say this is exactly the kind of baby I want? That is very dangerous and the government is going to have to step in and regulate this."

News Link: US clinic offers 'designer babies'

President Obama has requested hundreds of millions of dollars to promote "family planning," another term for birth control. The Factor invited Culture Warriors Margaret Hoover and Monica Crowley to assess the program. "I don't think it's the government's business to be subsidizing birth control," Crowley said. "It is not the government's role to be making these social and value decisions for you." But Hoover countered that family planning is a relatively benign expenditure. "If we're going to pick a fight with Barack Obama on his budget, there are a lot of places to look at in health care spending other than family planning. There are a lot of places where he is expanding federal funding in things that are far more egregious to conservatives."

News Link: Stimulus $ to promote marriage

The Northern Trust Bank of Chicago, which threw a big bash after taking taxpayer bailout money, has returned the money to the feds. The Factor's check: "We vowed to confront the bank's president Frederick Waddell, and apparently the specter of Jesse Watters chasing him down the street was just too much for Waddell. That should be a warning to other irresponsible companies - if you take taxpayer dollars, no parties or private jets or other ostentatious stuff." Meanwhile, some left-wing radio hosts mocked Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, depicting him with a powerful Indian accent. The Factor's check: "If a conservative radio host had done that, you know what would have happened."

News Link: Audio: Liberal radio host mocks Jindal's heritage

Monday's Patriot: Actress Maria Conchita Alonso, who disparaged Sean Penn for his support of Venezuela strongman Hugo Chavez. And the Pinhead: Reed Harris, who surprised his girlfriend by putting an engagement ring in her milkshake. Harris' fianc�e surprised him by accidentally swallowing the ring, which at least wound up near to her heart.

News Link: Video: Woman swallows engagement ring in milkshake surprise

Peter James, Winnipeg, Canada: "Bill, many months ago you told us about G-E and Jeff Immelt. I know you're not a financial advisor, but I sold my shares. What a blessing!"

Robert Stone, Clinton, TN: "Bill, you should stop interrupting Cavuto. In his world you are no genius."

Aaron Gee, Palm Coast, FL: "Bill, you asked Glenn Beck why some liberal Congresspeople want to hurt the CIA when it protected us for seven years? The reason is simple: Far-left ideology sees only victims and oppressors. And the USA is the oppressor."

Candy Davis, St. Paul, MN: "O'Reilly, quit being rude to Glenn Beck. It is unbecoming!"