diff --git a/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py
index 796a570ff52..959a3279f11 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/playbook/__init__.py
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ import os
 import collections
 from play import Play
 
+SETUP_CACHE = collections.defaultdict(dict)
+
 class PlayBook(object):
     '''
     runs an ansible playbook, given as a datastructure or YAML filename.  
@@ -75,7 +77,7 @@ class PlayBook(object):
         sudo:             if not specified per play, requests all plays use sudo mode
         """
 
-        self.SETUP_CACHE = collections.defaultdict(dict)
+        self.SETUP_CACHE = SETUP_CACHE
 
         if playbook is None or callbacks is None or runner_callbacks is None or stats is None:
             raise Exception('missing required arguments')
@@ -148,7 +150,6 @@ class PlayBook(object):
         # loop through all patterns and run them
         self.callbacks.on_start()
         for play_ds in self.playbook:
-            self.SETUP_CACHE = collections.defaultdict(dict)
             self._run_play(Play(self,play_ds))
 
         # summarize the results
@@ -219,11 +220,6 @@ class PlayBook(object):
         if results is None:
             results = {}
 
-        # add facts to the global setup cache
-        for host, result in results['contacted'].iteritems():
-            facts = result.get('ansible_facts', {})
-            self.SETUP_CACHE[host].update(facts)
-
         self.stats.compute(results)
  
         # flag which notify handlers need to be run
diff --git a/lib/ansible/playbook/play.py b/lib/ansible/playbook/play.py
index 39ca7ed58eb..a6fe723e2fa 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/playbook/play.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/playbook/play.py
@@ -178,14 +178,19 @@ class Play(object):
     def should_run(self, tags):
         ''' does the play match any of the tags? '''
 
-        if len(self._tasks) == 0:
-            return False
-
+        tags_counted = 0
         for task in self._tasks:
             for task_tag in task.tags:
+                tags_counted = tags_counted + 1
                 if task_tag in tags:
                     return True
-        return False                    
+
+        if tags_counted > 0:
+            return False  
+   
+        # didn't tag the play, and the play contains no steps
+        # so assume we just want to gather facts
+        return True                  
 
     # *************************************************