the president called the picture because he is a huge white sox fan. thank you for being with us. we will see tomorrow for part two of rush limbaugh. s on tonight. >> i know not having been here and not seeing all the facts what role they played in that. the cambridge police acted stupidly. >> we weren't there, we don't know what happened, but neither does the president. so why is he picking sides in the case of a harvard professor accusing a local cop of racism? >> if he would tell the truth about what he did, i would be prepared as a human being to forgive him. >> we'll have a debate. >> you accept the premise that other than some tax increases on the wealthiest americans, the american people are going to have to give anything up in order for this to happen? >> did mr. obama make his case on health care last night? we have overnight reaction. >> part of the stick seems to

me a little bit out there in a way that you encouraging the complete nut case to throw a hole in your room. >> and why some are accusing her for being the victim of a peeping tom. [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute ---www.ncicap.org--- monica: hi. i'm monica crowley reporting live for bill cassidy. thanks so much for watching us. -- for bill owe rilely. thanks so much for watching us. the first stop is cambridge, massachusetts, which is now getting national attention because president obama has weighed in. henry lewis gates, a renowned african-american professor at harvard, was arrested at his home last week by a white police sergeant named james crowley, an officer with a

solid record. a third party had called 911 reporting a burglary at mr. gates' home. when sergeant crowley, no relation to me, by the way, arrived on the scene, the incident apparently got very heated. according to the police officer's report, "as i stood in plain view of this man, i asked if he would step out onto the porch and speak with me. he replied, no, i will not. he then demanded to know who i was. i told him that i was sergeant crowley from the cambridge police and that i was investigating a report of a break-in in progress at the residence. while i was making this statement, gates opened the door and exclaimed, why, because i'm a black man in america? as i descended the stairs to the sidewalk, gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that i had not heard the last of him." crowley says he warned gates he was becoming disorderly, but

the professor continued yell and the dispute spilled outside the home. crowley then arrested gates for disorderly conduct. the charges were later dropped. but now mr. gates is saying he was the victim of racism and is demanding an apology from the sergeant. >> what it made me realize was how vulnerable all black men on, how vulnerable all people of color are and all poor people to capricious forces like a rogue policeman. it was the fault of the policeman who couldn't stand a black man standing up for his rights right in his face and i would do the same thing exactly again. monica: now, we weren't there. we didn't know what happened and we're not taking sides. but you know what, the president wasn't there either. so why did he respond to a question about this incident this way at last night's presser? >> now, i don't know, not

having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in it. but i think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry. number two, that the cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. monica: joining us from los angeles is the author of the book "how obama won," and from boston is bob parks, he's the member of project 21, a black conservative leadership group. gentlemen, welcome. thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. monica: earl, let me begin with you. again, none of us was there, none of us knows what happened, including president obama. and yet as president he's the nation's chief law enforcement officer. so he really shouldn't be in a position of prejudging a case like this, right? >> well, i don't think it's so

much prejudging. i think there's two things that were probably going through president obama's mind. one, he was asked a question, and certainly in a public press conference you're asked a lot of questions, including presidents are asked a lot of questions. so it came up. he responded. and i think he's looking at it from this point of view. racial profiling beyond just the gates' case, racial profiling has been a major point of contention, a major point of really the vision in this country and also, remember, presidents say a lot of things at press conferences. they give opinions all the time off the cuff. as far as racial profiling goes, if memory sembts me correct, president bush, who also is no liberal, and president clinton addressed the issue of racial profile many times and also condemned it. monica: earl, this is an ongoing investigation. as i pointed out, the president of the united states is the nation's chief law enforcement officer. so shouldn't he have given a more value-neutral statement last night about the

investigation and saying, look, i'm going to withhold judgment until i have all of the facts? >> well, without second guessing, certainly what the president should have said or should not have said, what he said was about acting stupidly. i think basically he was giving a personal reaction to a question that was acted impromp tuesday and probably -- impromtu and probably the president coming from chicago, having dealt with this issue many times as a community organizer was probably very mindful and very concerned about the issue of racial profiling. so i'm really not surprised that he would respond very passionately and personally to it even though he's, yes, the commander in chief and the president. monica: bob, let me bring you in. bill cosby, who has spoken out in the past on race relations and spoken directly to the black community said today that he was, "shocked" by what president obama had to say seemingly in taking sides yesterday against the police. are you surprised, are you

shocked? >> well, not really surprised but i find it very ironic that the same president who let him compose himself and gather his words for five days after the aftermath after the election violence in iran took an opportunity to make a statement that he proceeded by saying that he didn't have all the facts. and then turn around and said that the cambridge police acted stupidly, it would be me being on a boston talk show saying that the red sox played last night, i didn't see the game, the red sox played stupidly. i would be taken to task by the local sports crowd. if you are president of the united states, you would choose your words more carefully. i understand this is a news conference. there is a phrase people use quite often in press conference. the phrase is no comment. that would have been quite apropos in this situation.

monica: robert gibbs tried to back peddle a little bit and saying, no, he wasn't calling the police officer stupid. he thought the police was stupid, not the officer himself. perhaps this might raise questions as to whether or not president obama sees things through the prism of race or perhaps his liberal ideology? >> that could be the case. i am not going to prejudge his thoughts -- let me rephrase that. i'm not a mind reader so i am not going to try to interrupt what i think he may or may not have been thinking at the time he said that. but that being the case, as president of the united states, he's the president of all people and he should have thought about his words carefully before he made the statement he made. we can call it a rookie mistake. but at the same time his words have -- come with a megaphone that none of us can imagine. and these kind of things, especially i used to live in los angeles as well a few years ago and we know how quickly

words can be inflamed in the community. these things can escalate. and you have to be very careful, especially plea as the president of the united states of the words that you choose. monica: earl, here's the thing i see for president obama. when he was campaigning, he presented himself as a transcended figure, someone who would bring to america a postprarblee era. and yet i saw what he did yesterday and he waited unnecessarily and irresponsibly knee deep into racial politics. why? >> well, you know, i don't agree with that. i don't think it was irresponsible, and i think certainly when you talk about an issue of racial profiling. it's not new. it's been out there for a long period of time. certainly bush, certainly clinton talked about it and a number of elected officials up to and including the president. i think if anything i would turn it around. i think the president would be remiss if he ducked and dodged a very sensitive, a very hard question.

yes, he does have a responsibility of bringing people together, but he also has a responsibility to also give an opinion, give a view, certainly if that view is on an issue which many people are deeply concerned about. i don't think that's irresponsible at all. monica: i don't think this issue is going to go away. maybe the president may be forced to apologize for his comments. gentlemen, thank you very much. and directly ahead, a he said he said situation in that harvard prays controversial. but who was really out of line here? we'll investigate. and later, president obama admits his health care d

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monica: continuing now with our lead story. as we told you, president obama weighed in on the harvard controversial last night saying the cambridge police acted, "stupidly." sergeant crowley, the officer in question, reacted. >> i think he's -- monica: and in a separate interview, the sergeant was asked if he would apologize. >> there will be no apology.

that was it. >> now and never no apology? >> yes. >> what if it means discipline or your job? >> it won't. i have the support of my organization, which i'm very grateful for, and it's not a consideration. it's not going to happen. monica: now, again, here at "the factor," we don't know what happened. we were not there. to discuss the investigation from two different per expectives, eric adams is a former new york city police officer and co-founder of 100 black law enforcement who care. and also pat brosnan, he's also a former nypd detective who served on the robbery unit. this is a classic he said he said situation . i'm sure over the course of your law enforcement careers you've come up against this. pat, let me start with you. what do you make went down? >> it's critical we divorce a

motion from intellect in this matter and view the facts in its totality through the career eye of rational. what we have here are certain indisputable and irrefuteable facts. there was a 911 call through emergency systems with a credible ear witness and eyewitness who met the responding sergeant crowley at the scene. there was two individuals with backpacks on a porch shouldering, trying to force a door open, the rear door of a primary residence in a residential neighborhood with their shoulders. when they refused -- rather, when one individual, gates, refused to produce identification to a uniformed police sergeant, there's no ambiguity, it might be that he might be anti-crime or undercover or somebody misrepresenting himself law enforcement, it was clearly he was given a lawful order. he set into motion a sequence of very, very significant events of which resulted in his arrest. he had presented valid

verifiable photo i.d. it would have come to a grinding halt, the investigation would have ended then. monica: now the details as you just recounted them, pat, are detailed in the police report. but, again, that is the police officer side of the story here. but, again, it does look like we have witnesses, neighbors and others in the community who are standing on the sidewalk who watched a lot of this transpire. >> precisely, there's eight eye and ear witnesses. one of which is the next door neighbor who furned out to be credible and reliable and to the extent which she conviewed a fax uble burglary in progress. i don't think there'sage individual in america who would contest that those series of facts would certainly seem to represent a statistical probability of a burglary in progress. monica: what do you make of this? >> you have to separate the two incidents and you can't put them together. they be separate. i commend the officer responding to the burglary. he thought he had a burglary in pro agrees.

-- progress. the problem after he found it wasn't a burglary. you cannot arrest a person for disorderly conduct unless it's in the public place. inside your home, on your front porch, it is not a law. monica: didn't he make the arrest outside on the sidewalk? >> no, i read the report. in the report it was stated he walked up the stairs onto the porch and placed him under arrest. it is not a crime to be discourteous, to be disrespectful and even to be foolish to a police officer. that's not a crime. monica: now, according to the police report, eric, mr. gates was belligerent. >> not a crime. monica: he was yelling. >> not a crime. monica: he was causing a ruck us in the community. >> not a crime. monica: if that's the case, wouldn't the police, wouldn't they be justified in arresting for disorderly conduct? >> no. the penal law is extremely clear. the reason we have these documents in books because it

teaches us the difference between stupidity or bad actions and criminal actions. anyone is going to be irritated if they feel as though they have an intrucive behavior in their home. not on the street, in their home. the penal law is very clear. in order to arrest a person for disorderly conduct you must be in a public place. monica: pat? >> senator adams brings out an important point. i had an opportunity to not only review the details of the police incident report, but also took a very close and analytical review of the laws of massachusetts as it relates to crimes involved with disorderly conduct. and what the components and elements are as it relates to individual behavior in a public place, as the senator pointed out, and that's the critical linchpin, the arrest was -- happened after he had the loud and tumet behavior which translates in the penal law and massachusetts general law as disturbing the peace. monica: and this investigation does continue. in fact, we have word today

that the cambridge police commissioner said he was deeply pained by president obama weighing in against the police officers yesterday but they will be conducting an investigation. also, the fraternal order of police weighed in today saying they also disagreed with president obama seeming to prejudge this case against it. eric? >> i don't think this was prejudged. what the officer did, he requested that mr. gates come outside. he identified him as a person that resides there. he was leaving. a trained officer doesn't allow himself get hooked, he leaves. there's no reason to continue a dialogue with mr. gates. you saw he was irritated. don't leave. don't invite him outside. this is not a ballroom brawl. you are a professional. don't get upset. leave the scene and keep it moving. monica: i noticed that president obama today said that he wishes cooler heads had prevailed on both sides. i'm sure we haven't seen the end of this case. gentlemen, thank you very much. >> thank you. monica: and coming up, the

hottest factor segment of the week. we'll bring you the interview everybody is talking about. but first, it may have been his last chance to make his case, but did the president convince you he's got a plan to fix our health care problems? health care problems? next. in a long line of amazing performance machines. this is the new e-coupe. this is mercedes-benz.

monica: and in the "impact" segment tonight, it doesn't like that president obama's push for health care reform was enough to help congress. harry reid says a vote won't take place until after the august recess. and the president is acknowledging his deadline will be missed. joining us from washington, the former head of the american red cross, and pollster scott russ

mussen. scott, let me ask you. you're polling on health care all the time. can you tell me what kind of trends you're sealing? >> well, the trend is not good for the president and his plan. there was some generous, modest support for the plan. 50% in favor, 45% opposed. coming into last night's speech, 53% of americans were opposed to the package working its way through congress. only 44% were in support. and a couple of the details make those numbers even tougher for advocates of this reform plan. first of all, the intensity is with those who are opposed to the plan. and secondly, what we're seeing is 68% of democrats want this to go through, but 60% of independents and 80% of republicans are opposed. and that means the president has a hard time pleasing his base without antagonizing everybody else. monica: scott, this slippage of public support has been really dramatic and really fast. does that tell you that the more people know about what's

included in the house bill and what the senate is debating here and what obama wants the more horrified they are about what might happen here? >> well, certainly the longer it's out there there's more time for people to find out things that they're concerned about. yes, the cost issue has become a big one. 78% of americans think it's likely if this goes through there will be a middle-class tax hike. about half of americans are concerned they have to change their own coverage. but the underlining dynamic, it's hard to pass health care reform. for most americans they think they have something at risk. most americans have insurance. they rate their own coverage as good or excellent. and they're concerned about what this program might do for their own insurance, their own fax bill and their own choice of a doctor. monica: it's amazing because neither the president nor anybody in congress can give the american people a straight answer about what it might mean. dr. healey, every doctor i talk to, and i know this is anecdotal but every doctor i speak to hates this and is

really, really concerned about what it might mean for the quality of medical care in this country. i want you as a doctor straight up to tell us, will it damage the quality of care? >> if this bill, the one that the big 6,000-page one were to go into law it would be very damaging. and it would be damaging not to 45 million or 46 million not insured but to 300 million americans. and i think that what we're not having is something you just alluded to, we're not hearing straight talk. and i think the president, i was so hopeful that the president last night would be using this full hour to tell americans, wait a minute. this is the situation. this is what this means for your health choices. but he didn't move the ball beyond what he's been saying for six months. i think it leaves people uneasy. does he really know or do we really know what he wants us to know? monica: doctor, i want to raise an issue that i don't think has gotten enough feanings in this

whole debate, how this would affect the medical profession. because it seems to me there's not really a decent amount of money or reward in medicine if this nationalization goes through. won't it disincentivize brilliant people like you from going into medicine and stuck with a bunch of yahoos as doctors? >> well, i have so much faith that will overwhelm, you know, the politics of this. but the bigger concern i have is for the patients, monica, and the dilemmas that doctors and patients will face when they know there is a good therapy or a good treatment and they have an option, no option to have it paid for and they would have to, you know, go into their private pockets. you know, there was one really critical thing yesterday in that someone stood up and asked the president whether or not he was in the public plan what would he do if it didn't cover what he wanted and he kind of wiggle around and said, i am

the president, i have my own private doctors. i am not worried about this. i am worried about you. when he was asked that question, you know what he said, i would want the best for my family. i would put my hand in my pocket and pay for it myself if it's not paid for in the public option. i think that's what he's really anything. we have to worry about that. monica: he really weaseled his way out of that question last night of whether the president or the congress would subject themselves to this public option. we didn't get a straight answer about that. scott, i'm telling you, that's working into your poll numbers too. >> yeah. monica: we have to run. thank you so much, guys. nice to see you. and plenty more ahead as "the factor" moves on. a democratic riff may sink obama's health reform plan. and blaming espn reporter erin andrews in her peephole scandal. you won't believe what some critics are now saying.

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shepard: in the unresolved problems segment tonight, with the obama health care reform in jeopardy, it seems like the democrats are doing the damage. the political insiding came up in last night's presser. >> if you don't get this, isn't this a fight inside the democratic party and that republicans really aren't playing a -- you can't really blame the republicans for this

one? >> in terms of democrats, the fact of the matter is that because this is a big issue, i think that a lot of democrats have a lot of different ideas. monica: with us now is fox news analyst and "new york daily news" columnist michael goodwin. hello, michael. >> hello. monica: it seems that the holdup is coming from the democrats. and in particular, those fiscally conservative deficit hogs known as blue dogs. >> i like to think of the blue dogs as the canaries in the coal mines. they're telling the president that the public is not with them. because most of them won in the last two elections, those are the districts that gave congress to the democrats, gave the president the white house. and so to ignore the blue dogs, to try to crush them as the president seems to be doing and force them to take this bad medicine, he runs the risk, i think, not only of putting out a bad plan but of losing congress in the next plex.

monica: what do you expect to happen to these blue dog democrats? do you think the enforcers in the white house like rahm emanuel and nancy pelosi and harry reid will twist arms and give them enough promises that they'll come around or do you think they'll stand firm? >> i think they'll come around in the end. we saw that with the climate change bill that went through the house. the president said it was great. next day he said, look, there are some things in in i don't like. those are things that got him over the majority. that's what's going to happen in health care, probably. you put together a very bad bill to get different constituencies lined up and it won't hold because it's a bad bill. monica: it wasn't supposed to be this hard, was it, michael? you have a democratic president, you have huge democratic jorts in the house and the senate. do you think that they expected this kind of resistance, especially from their own party? >> i think what happened is the spending, the deficit issue has caught everybody by surprise. the democrats believe they could get away with it. the public at large has turned

against the deficit issue. the public at large has gone alarmed by the bailouts, by all the free spending. and then scott rasmussen, you have upwards of 78% of people saying they like their health care. they don't see this as a great chaos and great crisis as they have to make sacrifices for. so the president's job last night was to sell it it. he obviously didn't do it so today you have harry reid saying we're not going to be able to do it. monica: and not do this until after the august recess. and obama was pretty firm on that deadline. what do you think all of this does to his credibility? >> well, it depends how it works out. i think in the short term, if he's interested in building coalitions he can do that. if he wants to try to ram this through and make it a democratic only bill, he may get that done. but i think there will be a political price for that because the deficit, it won't work the way they want it to. monica: last week rahm emanuel and david axelrod, two of his aid visors, say -- advisors says we're ready to go down this party line vote.

i don't think the president wants to. >> well, david axelrod and rahm emanuel seem to be running the government. depaved axelrod is the politics in this. he's the political operative in the white house. he seems to be setting policy. i'm not sure that's so good for the president and the country in the long run. monica: you know what, america is a very complex issue here, and i think the more time the public has time to examine the white house and the democrats want to do, they won't be pleased with it. he has a big challenge ahead. michael, thank you very much. directly ahead, the hottest, most prock tif factor segment of the week. and then espn reporter erin andrews videotaped naked in the

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go climb a tree. or discover things you've only read about. get the gear to get it done at bass pro shops. like the body glove method life vest for only $19.94. and take 33% off all remaining towables. monica: thank you for staying with us. i'm monica crowley in for bill o'reilly. and in the flashback segment tonight, the hottest segment of the week, we are going to show it again because we get so much buzz. by now you've probably seen the shootout between senator barbara boxer and harry allford, the head of the black chamber of commerce on the senate floor. >> he would be proud that you were here. he's proud, i'm sure. >> proud. >> that i am quoting him. >> that's condescending and i don't like it. it's racial. i don't like it.

>> excuse me. >> i take offense to it. >> ok. >> as an african-american and a veteran of this country, i take offense to that. >> offense at the fact that i would quote -- >> you're quoting some other black man. why don't you quote some other asian or -- you are being racial here. >> harry paid a visit to the no spin zone this week. bill: before we get to the racial aspect of this, why do you object to the climate industry that president obama is -- wants to build and senator boxer supports, why do you object to it? >> well, certainly i want a good, clean climate for the globe. but we want and the natural blake commameber of commerce has been aspowsing a policy that will make america self-sufficient and deliver energy to american families and businesses at an affordable rate. at the same time, help clean up the environment. an keep our position economically in the world. bill: all right. they say cap and trade and all

the green windmill stuff and all the stuff that they want to do will create more jobs, will help all americans, including african-americans, and you seem to object to their point of view. >> well, we got the charles rivers associates group to do a study for us. they are very reputable group. it shows in the end if this cap and trade hustle were to be delivered to the american people, in the end we would have 2.3 million less jobs than we do now. it does not make sense to have less jobs, higher cost of energy and still the world is in the same predicament carbon emissionwise. bill: your position mirrors my position, it's interesting. you are not an idea group? >> nonpartisan, not for profit. we aspire capitalism and entrepreneurship. bill: ok. you're presenting your objection, which i any is an

absolutely valid objection to the cap and trade, you call it a hustle, i call it cap and con. we're pretty much on the same page. and boxer, in order to debate you, puts up the naacp, a liberal group, who thinks that cap and trade and the other green industries is great. now you say that's a racial deal. explain that further. >> well, first of all, the naacp had a resolution saying they're for a better environment. i'm for a better environment. i'm sure bill o'reilly is for a better environment. bill: absolutely. >> it did not address cap and trade. it did not address the waxman-markey bill. and her with her usual embellishments that's trying to make this seem like it was something supporting the waxman-markey bill. it was not. bill: it was a general statement by the naacp. you seem to object to the fact that she was pointing out a black group was countermannering your black group, you didn't like it?

>> it was pure race. it was like down there in mississippi back in the bad old days when one black preacher would rise up against the big boss, he'd go find another black preacher to fight against that black preacher. it is -- it was ugly, and she opened up a pit i wasn't going to jump through. bill: well, you shocked her, you stunned her with that analysis and she said, he'd be proud. you stunned her because i don't think, mr. alford, i don't think ms. boxer had any intent to bring race into the debate. she just wanted to win the argument and say, look, i'll use the naacp, i'll take it out of context to throw the guy off his game, i think that's what she was doing. >> i think it's her persona. when she gets caught up in a rut like it, race comes out. she was the brain child of

anita hill attacking lawrence was barbara boxer. the garbage against ken blackwell from ohio, that was barbara boxer. >> she said, i love latin people. i want the best for black people. now, the two people you mentioned, judge thomas and mr. blackswell, are conservatives. now, she will attack conservatives using any and all methods as many liberals will co. if you have barbara box sher says, i love black people. from affirmative action and down the line, whatever will help them. i don't think she feels it's a racial argument. it's an ideological argument. if you oppose her views, then we'll come get you but it doesn't have anything to do with race. >> she loves poor black folks and she loves black folks in their place. she does not love -- you take

conned lisa rice who i would love my grandchildren to emulate. and the way she treated conned lisa rice during her con-- condoleezza rice during her confirmation hearings was ferble. bill: i get what you're saying. i think boxer has it out for anybody who is in the right. now, after you took her down, and you did, mr. alford, what kind of reaction did you get? >> well, i've got a great fan club now. a lot of people don't like her. i've gotten about 7,500 emails and 98% are cheering me on. i think -- bill: after tonight you'll have 25,000 emails because, look, i respect you. you stood up for what you believe, you told her what you thought. she had no reply and then you came on this program to further explain and she would not. so i think that everybody knows what's going on here, mr. alford, and we appreciate you coming on very much tonight. >> thank you, bill.

monica: coming up, blaming the victim in the erin andrews peeping tom frofse. you won't believe what some -- controversy. you won't believe what some women are saying about the espn reporter. and now prame's tip for top doctor is being blamed for ♪ (announcer) introducing new tums dual action. this tums goes to work in seconds and lasts for hours. all day or night. new tums dual action. bring it on.

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monica: in the factor follow-up segment font, as you may know, espn sportscaster erin andrews was reportedly secretly videotaped while undressed in a hotel room. the video surfaced widely on the internet last week, and ms. andrews is considering legal action. by the way, that's all we're going to show you of that video. but now at least one female

sports writer is putting some of the blame for the incident on erin andrews herself saying, if you trade on your sex appeal you are almost provoking this sort of thing. >> she doesn't deserve what happened to her, but part of the schtick seems to me is being a little bit out there in a way that then you are encouraging the complete nut case to drill a hole in a room. monica: joining us now from denver is sharon, a defense attorney. sharon, i can't believe we're covering this in the year 2009. the idea that somehow a woman, by the way she presents herself publicly, she's inviting this kind of lewd and perhaps even criminal behavior. i thought we were beyond all of this. >> so was i. i think that statement is absolutely outrageous. i would be embarrassed to say something like that. it's air carke, it's chauvinistic and it's made --

it's archaic, it's chauvinistic and it's made by a woman. this is a woman sportscaster. she's young, she's attractive, she knows her field. it's entertainment. people want to see people that are beautiful and appealing. this -- the weirdos and the sickos follow these kinds of people. it comes with the territory. monica: i was so outraged when i heard her comments. i know she tried to dial it back a little bit. it seems like the bad old days when men used to say, if a woman wears a short skirt or tight dress she's asking to be raped. again, i thought we were way beyond this. and the thing that really bothers me is this kind of accusation was leveled by a woman. and it calls to mind all of the attacks on sarah palin most of which and the most vicious of which were leveled by women. >> yes. go figure. who are these women?

are they frustrated housewives, that they've never been able to go out and do something on their own so they're living way back in the 1950's? it's really outrageous. monica: why are we seeing this thing by women by other women? >> jealousy. you know, a lot of women now have really obtained the status that a lot of men have and had. they have power, they have money, they have fame. and i think it's not just women but it certainly makes women a lot of aggressive since against it's -- the same sex. it's something they want. they feel powerless. and they see this happening around them and they don't have any part of it. so the only way they can reconcile themselves is to attack. monica: you know, sharon, i look at erin andrews. she is a gorgeous woman, and my feeling is if she's got it, flaunt it. and if her television career has been helped by her looks, so be it.

my god, she is on tv. they're not about to put a garr-goal out there on television, right? >> yeah. absolutely. i mean, you pay for entertainment. she's exactly what they're looking for. she dresses provocatively, says outrageous things, it's perfect. she's entertainment. she probably will get a raise out of this. espn will get a bump in the ratings. this couldn't be any better for them. monica: and finally, sharon, you know, i know a lot of people say she's a public person and she should expect even unwanted attention. but this really goes over the line because she was in a hotel room where there is a reasonable expectation for privacy. sharon liko, thank you so much for being with us. and up next, critics and comics are having a field day over president obama's pick for surgeon general saying she's too chubby for the job. that report when we come back. . they said it would never last.

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you have questions. who can give you the financial advice you need? where will you find the stability and resources to keep you ahead of this rapidly evolving world? these are tough questions. that's why we brought together two of the most powerful names in the industry. introducing morgan stanley smith barney. here to rethink wealth management. here to answer... your questions. morgan stanley smith barney. a new wealth management firm with over 130 years of experience. >> by the way, president obama has now nominated a candidate for the office of surgeon general, regina benjamin, and did you see the announcement? we have it right here. take a look. >> president obama is being criticized by those who say his pick for surgeon general is overweight. the president is ignoring the controversy, however, and instead focusing his energies on

getting congressional approval for his new drug czar. amy winehouse. >> in the "back of the book" segment he has nominated dr. regina benjamin to be the next surgeon general, but some critics think her weight might be setting a bad example for a nation where obesity is becoming an epidemic. with us now is mimi ross, the president of the national action against obesity. so, mimi, the new surgeon general looks like she enjoys some m and m's now and again. what's wrong with that? >> as long as you're mostly eating healthy, you can get away with an occasional indulgence. she clearly didn't meet the requisite of eating -- mindful eating and daily exercise. it should have precluded her from ever being in this really embarrassing situation. >> as i recall, some past

surgeon generals haven't exactly looked like kate moss. we had jocelyn elders who had some heft, and c. everett coop wasn't exactly speedo worthy, so do you think we're holding her up to a higher standard? >> as far as i know no one's asked her to win a miss bikini contest. it's not about race, sexism, or the past. we're faced with such a challenge in the twin public crises of obesity and diabetes. lifestyle choices play a great deal in that, and we need a role model who both understands the principles and practices those principles of promoting prevention and good health and exercising daily. she's failed to do that, and she has no track record of doing it professionally either. >> obesity is a huge problem, but how about she is exactly the kind of spokesperson we need

best for that message because she can say look, i'm right there with you guys, i've battled ben and jerry every night too, i hear the siren call of the frito, and we're going to do this together. >> i think we already have an oprah winfrey satisfying that requirement. this is not a role of entitlement. this is an honor. this is the position of our nation's top doctor, and with that comes obligations, and part of that is living a lifestyle -- not a get skinny kind of diet, we don't want her to do that, we wanted her already who understood the principles of daily lifestyle choices, and she had no track record of reducing obesity and diabetes anywhere in the state of alabama. >> and i remember when oprah went down to mississippi and yelled at the entire state. how do we know she won't take it

on and say it's my battle too and we're going to do it together? >> i don't think we want is to go on a diet with our surgeon general, we want a role model, and this is all about driving down not just the financial costs of sickness, this is drivinging down the cost of human suffering. we shouldn't talk about making sure people have health care, we should be making sure they have health, and african-american women are our nation's largest category of obesity. >> all right. mimi ross. the president is a skinny mini, so he might be a better spokesperson for that. that is it for us today. "the factor" continues 24/7 on billoreilly.com. we hope you check it out. also you can check out my column every wednesday in "the washington times" and my web site, monicamemo.com. sean hannity is next. i'm monica crowley in for bill o'reilly, hope to see you again