"Governor Palin has to assume that moderator Gwen Ifill will ask very specific questions. That's a scary proposition because the governor doesn't really know which areas Ms. Ifill will spotlight. Sarah Palin must relax and pound out two very specific themes: One, that she's fed up with corrupt politics and will expose the bad guys in Washington; and two, that the Obama-Biden ticket will spend the country into bankruptcy. If Palin can hammer home those two themes and reasonably answer direct questions, she can win. Senator Biden has a much easier road. With 35 years in the Senate, he can recite policy all day long. So all Biden has to do is make the case that things in America are bleak and Sarah Palin is clueless. Barack Obama is in a good position - the economy is a mess and people are angry. The only chance McCain has to regain momentum is for Sarah Palin to help him out tonight, and then for McCain to hammer Obama on his enormous spending track record. So there you have it, good luck to the contestants."

The Factor spoke with former Bush advisor Karl Rove about Sarah Palin's debate strategy and her recent poor performance in interviews. "People like the Sarah Palin that stepped out on the stage in St. Paul," Rove said, "but she's been stuffed too full of information and wired too tightly by people around her. I've met her a couple of times and my sense is that she's really smart and down-to-earth." The Factor added that "Sarah Palin has to be herself, but she does have to be more specific in her answers."

News Link: Palin steps up at debate

The Factor was joined by Geraldine Ferraro, the only other woman to participate in a vice presidential debate. "I was very well-prepared," Ferraro recalled. "I'd been in the Congress for six years and I was dealing with these issues. Sarah Palin knows the issues facing this country, and I assume that the McCain people spent time with her so she has answers to any potential question. It's Palin vs. Palin tonight, not Palin vs. Biden. She has to convince people who are saying she's not ready to be vice president." The Factor laid out the immense challenge and opportunity facing Sarah Palin: "If she does well tonight, she's back on track and it obliterates everything else."

The Factor has repeatedly denounced Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, for his role in the mortgage crisis; Frank was a major supporter of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and blocked efforts to reform those organizations. Frank entered the No Spin Zone Thursday, and the result was a gloves-off, no-holds-barred verbal shootout. Some excerpts:

O'Reilly: Shouldn't everybody in the country be angry with you right now?
Frank: No, you've misrepresented this consistently. I became chairman of the committee on January 31st, 2007. Less than two months later I did what the Republicans hadn't been able to do in twelve years, get through a very tough regulatory bill.
O'Reilly: This July you said everything was great at Fannie Mae and a lot of people went out and bought stock and lost everything they had.
Frank: Oh no. I said it wasn't a good investment.
O'Reilly. Stop the BS here! Stop the crap! None of this was your fault! C'mon, you coward! You blame everybody else.
Frank: Here's the problem with coming on your show - you start ranting and the only way to respond is to almost look as boorish as you. I didn't tell anybody to buy stock.
O'Reilly: The bottom line is that you were there two years and the stock dropped 90%. In any private concern you're out on your butt, but you make every excuse in the world.
Frank: You can rant all you want and you're not going to shut me up. This is when your stupidity gets in the way of logical discussion.
O'Reilly: You tried to put a happy face on this in July. At least Chris Cox is man enough to say he screwed up, you're not.
Frank: You distort consistently and you think toughness is ranting.
O'Reilly: That's a joke!
Frank: The joke is thinking I could have a rational discussion with you. You don't listen at all. Or maybe you listen and you're to dumb too understand.
O'Reilly: I'm too dumb? You're the brilliant guy who presided over the greatest financial collapse in federal history. So I'm the dumb guy, you're the brilliant guy!

News Link: O'Reilly roughs up Barney Frank

Planned Parenthood has produced an ad claiming that, as mayor, Sarah Palin forced rape victims to pay for emergency medical exams. The Factor provided this reality check: "Mayor Palin did not make any woman pay a dime in a rape case. The city of Wasila tries to get health insurance companies to reimburse for medical procedures done in criminal investigations. That's not unusual." Meanwhile, NBC has hired Rosie O'Donnell to host a variety show the night before Thanksgiving. The Factor's check: "We can foresee quite a lineup - Michael Moore, Joy Behar, Stuart Smalley, The Dixie Chicks, and a special guest star: Hugo Chavez singing a duet with Willie Nelson to raise money for 'Tyrant Aid.' I can't wait." Finally, The Factor summarized cable news ratings in the third quarter: "Once again Fox News Channel dominates, having nine of the top ten programs and finishing fourth among all cable channels in prime time. CNN was 9th, and MSNBC was a dismal 23rd."

News Link: Rosie headed to NBC

The Factor welcomed "Culture Warriors" Margaret Hoover and Tammy Bruce, who explained how Joe Biden can avoid any charges of sexism. "Joe Biden needs to look her in the eye," Hoover said, "address her as 'Governor,' and stick to the issues because there is so much gender sensitivity out there." Bruce offered a simple piece of advice: "What I recommend to men is that if wouldn't do it to a male colleague, don't do it to a female colleague. If you are not going to call Mitt Romney 'dear,' don't call Sarah Palin 'dear.' This is just about common sense."

The Factor was joined by political strategist Dick Morris, who predicted a stellar performance by Sarah Palin and a comeback by John McCain. "McCain is going to recover," Morris opined. "I think Obama is peaking too soon - he'll show a 10-point lead by Monday, then the voters will spend October saying do we really want this guy to be our president. I think he'll go down, down, down as the month goes on. And McCain has a second life coming." Morris also offered last minute advice to Sarah Palin: "Come out swinging against Washington, make the whole debate about Joe Biden and the culture of incumbency."