Guests: Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham

"Radio commentator Rush Limbaugh has put forth that liberalism has won the ideological struggle in this country. He believes the left controls the education system, pop culture, and the media, and he's not wrong about those situations. But I do not believe liberal thought is dominant, even though the country is changing quickly into an entitlement society. It's not so much that Americans are embracing the tenets of the left, it's just that they're selfish and they want money for nothing. However, there is a big shift in some social matters. In 2001 just 35% of Americans favored gay marriage; now 48% do. In 2003 only 34% of Americans thought marijuana should be legalized; now 48% do. But in 2002 Gallup asked if it's the responsibility of the federal government to provide all Americans with health care coverage. 62% of Americans back then said yes, but that number has dropped to 44%. So Talking Points believes we are now in a struggle to define America. The left has powerful agents in the media and pop culture, while the right is disorganized and lacks leadership. But if a charismatic conservative leader can emerge and can fight off the media jackals, that person can turn the country to the right. Why? Because America is inherently a place of achievement. President Obama and the Democratic Party want to take things away from successful Americans, which is not an attractive proposition to most people. But the right has not been able to articulate the danger of the nanny state and the socialistic philosophy. Once the nanny state victimization mentality gets hammered in an effective way, it will fall apart. Therefore, the left has not won in America, not yet."

The Factor asked Mary Katharine Ham and Juan Williams to assess Rush Limbaugh's declaration that the left has emerged victorious. "If you look at governors' mansions around the country," Williams pointed out, "there are more Republicans there, and there are more Republicans in state legislatures. I think what we're hearing from Rush Limbaugh is frustration, a lot of people on the right are frustrated that President Obama has won twice." Ham added that she and other conservatives have cause to be disheartened. "It's fair to be discouraged, and the histrionics over the sequestrations cuts is a good reason to be discouraged if you're someone concerned about spending. On both sides of the aisle people are freaking out over this miniscule cut that amounts to less than one month's deficit from last year."

Guests: Brit Hume

Author and Washington Post columnist Bob Woodward has reported that President Obama is directly responsible for the looming automatic spending cuts. Fox News analyst Brit Hume explained the disagreement between Woodward and the White House. "These automatic spending cuts," Hume stated, "are across the board cuts and a very crude way of reducing the growth of spending. The President and his staff have indicated that this idea came from Republicans in Congress, but Woodward says that is not true, that it was an administration idea that was passed into law by Republicans and Democrats alike. What's distressing is that the President, whose idea this was, is now going around talking about how absolutely draconian these cuts will be. It's a very unusual way for a President to behave considering that we're dealing with an idea he signed into law."

Guests: Sally Quinn

First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance via video Sunday night to present the Oscar for Best Picture. The Factor asked veteran reporter and columnist Sally Quinn about the blending of entertainment and politics. "It was a brilliant idea," Quinn said. "If you look around the world, the most important ambassador we have is American film. People in caves and huts and jungles see American TV and films, even if they hate America they love our movies, so this was a way to present a picture of America. We have a First Lady who is black and a very good ambassador for this country for other nations to see. I think it was a great coup." The Factor reminded Quinn that previous First Ladies have not been Oscar presenters: "This smacks of Hollywood left boosterism. There was never a Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush or Laura Bush, but here's Michelle Obama. It's a pure propaganda play."

Guests: Ken Stern

Former NPR boss Ken Stern, who has written a book about charitable giving, entered the No Spin Zone to critique a few specific charities. "The problem with the American Red Cross," he said, "is that you have to think of them as a supply line company. They're brought in during the biggest crises America has and their job is to move thousands of people and tons of material. They're not good in these critical situations." Stern was far more critical of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education charity, better known as D.A.R.E. "The problem with D.A.R.E. is that it doesn't work. Every test has shown that the program doesn't work and that it even has negative consequences, it's listed in a federal registry of charities that don't work. A lot of charities are in love with their own narrative, they aren't willing to be accountable and transparent."

Guests: Bernie Goldberg

MSNBC has done it yet again. The far-left cable network aired a deceptively-edited segment that made Senator John McCain seem insensitive to a woman asking about gun control. "Running doctored tapes is getting to be a bad habit at MSNBC," accused Bernie Goldberg. "Either they do the doctoring themselves or they run somebody else's edited tapes. I have long argued that liberal media bias is not part of a conspiracy, but this is intentional. They do this to destroy and smear their ideological foes, and they do it because it's part of a business model that works. Pander to your audience, give 'em what they want, and you can make a lot of money doing it. I blame top management for this."

Guests: Adam Carolla

The Factor asked Adam Carolla to opine on Sunday's award show, particularly a bit that poked fun at Jews in Hollywood. "The stereotype of running Hollywood is not too bad a stereotype," Carolla said, "and the irony is that Seth MacFarlane is running Hollywood. He's got like four TV shows, a multi-million-dollar deal with Fox, and his movie 'Ted' was one of the most successful R-rated comedies ever." Carolla also critiqued MacFarlane's joke involving domestic violence. "When you hire Seth MacFarlane and his team to do the show, this is what you're going to get. But it worked and the ratings were great."

If you get invited to an event filled with people you don't agree with politically or otherwise, it's usually worthwhile to go. The worst that can happen is that you make a quick exit; the best thing is that you may well learn something.