"After ten days of military action, the President finally addressed the nation on Libya. His main points were these: Qaddafi is a monster who has killed Americans and would have massacred thousands of people; America responded to pleas for help from the Libyan people; we do not turn a blind eye to atrocities around the world; and finally, we will not directly engage in overthrowing Qaddafi and nation-building because we tried that in Iraq and the price was too high. The President's explanation is logical - you may not agree with it, but he can defend his position. If the USA is indeed an exceptional nation and if we can save lives without harming our country, we should. There is a valid criticism that President Obama did not lead in this matter. If he feels so strongly about stopping Qaddafi from killing people, he could have acted quicker and more decisively. I want the United States to be seen throughout the world as a noble country that knows right from wrong and will protect innocent people if it can. The President seems to want that as well, but he is not loud enough about it. The speech tonight was good, but it should have been given earlier and with more passion."

The Factor asked Fox News political analyst Brit Hume to assess the President's speech. "I think the President did about as good a job as he could do," Hume said. "What struck me about the speech, though, was that the first part of it seemed to be an effort to praise American leadership, but before the speech was over he was telling us that the best part about this policy is that American leadership will end. So there is a contrast between what he said about American goals and the limited means he has proscribed for meeting those goals. Where I quibble with the President is that he has this idea that the American image around the world has been stained by prior interventions, and therefore the less visible the United States presence is, the better."

There is also turmoil in Syria, where dictator Bashar Assad has opened fire on protesters. The Factor asked Mary Katherine Ham and Juan Williams whether the U.S. will intervene. "I talked to some people at the White House," Williams reported, "and they said the rebel pressure is not in big cities like Damascus, and there is not the level of opposition that would force the U.S. to decide if it's our policy to go in." Ham accused the administration of denying reality. "Syria has been called the Grand Central Station of terrorism in the Middle East because everything goes through there. But Hillary Clinton called Assad 'a reformer' and the administration has suggested that Syria would be its foothold for diplomacy in the Middle East." The Factor contended that military action in Syria is not out of the question: "They support Hezbollah and Hamas and they're tied in with Iran. Syria is much more important to the United States than Libya, so the American people have to get ready."

Last weekend a distraught Libyan woman told Western reporters she had been raped by pro-Qaddafi forces; she was taken away and has not been seen since. The Factor discussed the incident with Wafa Sultan, a Syrian-born psychiatrist and author. "Her screams took me back twenty years," Sultan said. "I witnessed many crimes committed in the name of Sharia against women - in the Islamic culture men look for any opportunity to take advantage of women. Any sexual activity is seen as the given right of a male, women become the accused and blame is placed on them." Sultan contended that abuse of women is endemic to Islam. "A Muslim woman cannot report being raped because she will be asked to provide four witnesses. Otherwise she will be accused of committing adultery and she will be stoned to death." The Factor questioned whether any religion could be that depraved: "I find it hard to believe that Muhammad would preach a doctrine where women could be accused at any time."

The Factor was joined by author Del Quentin Wilber, whose book "Rawhide Down" documents the 1980 assassination attempt on President Reagan. "Ronald Reagan's life hung in the balance of a split second and an inch," Wilber said. "The bullet eventually lodged an inch from his heart and he lost more than half his blood that day - Secret Service agent Jerry Parr's decision to immediately take him to the hospital saved his life." The Factor groused that would-be assassin John Hinckley is living well in a psychiatric hospital: "The guy has girlfriends, he visits his mom, and he's getting a driver's license. I think he should be in prison."

Featured Book: Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan by Del Quentin Wilber

The White House dispatched Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates to Sunday political shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC, but conspicuously avoided Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. FNC media analyst Bernie Goldberg criticized the snub. "It was a dumb decision not to go on Fox," Goldberg stated. "The White House has to understand that this is the 21st century and there's a lot more out there than just ABC, NBC and CBS. Fox matters and it matters a lot. I think the war between the White House and Fox cooled down for a while, but it never went away. These 'smart' people at the White House don't seem to understand the distinction between partisan anchors on Fox and a straight-shooter solid journalist like Chris Wallace." The Factor was also dumbfounded by the administration's move: "The Fox audience is divided on the Libya action, so I don't understand why they want to stoke this up."

Geraldine Ferraro, who ran for Vice President in 1984, has died at age 75. The Factor's Check: "Geraldine Ferraro worked as an analyst here on FNC for many years, and she was a good one. She was a very good sport, never taking the back-and-forth personally, and she was a very nice person." That's in stark contrast to Malik Zulu Shabazz, head of the New Black Panther Party, who called President Obama an "Uncle Tom" and a "punk" for invading Libya. The Factor's Check: "That's free speech at work and there's nothing we can do about it. Try saying that in Libya about Qaddafi. Let us know how that turns out." Meanwhile, socialists and anarchists protested in London's Trafalgar Square, smashing windows and spraying graffiti. The Factor's Check: "There were dozens injured and millions of dollars in damage. Once again the world sees what the far left wants - to impose chaos."

Cosha Offenberg, Simi Valley, CA: "I am just outraged that General Electric pays nothing in taxes. My son makes less than $20,000 a year and owes $621 to the IRS!"

Sid Gull, Mattoon, IL: "Vice President Biden says it is patriotic to pay taxes. I guess he'll call GE unpatriotic any day now."

Andy Christensen, Bandon, OR: "Congress makes the tax laws. GE followed the law. Where does the blame fall?"

Monday's Patriot or Pinhead: Comedian George Lopez, who mocked Kirstie Alley's weight, then apologized. Is Lopez pinheaded for weighing in, or patriotic for trying to make amends? You make the call here on BillOReilly.com. Friday's P or P asked about Comedy Central's John Stewart, who compared his confrontations with Bill to a "giant trying to catch a fly." 53% of you, perhaps swayed by Stewart's apparent humility, labeled him patriotic.