Wolf Blitzer Reports

Bill Maher on What's Funny About the Politics of the Day

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Tonight: In an unprecedented move, President Bush reaches out to congressional Democrats, then preaches tax cuts to the Republican faithful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to make that case over and over again until we get a bill through.

(APPLAUSE)

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BLITZER: Former President Clinton defends his controversial pardon of Marc Rich: the fugitive billionaire living in Switzerland.

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WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did what I thought was right.

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BLITZER: Still trailing badly in the polls, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak makes a last-ditch appeal to voters. I'll discuss Tuesday's election with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

And I'll discuss American politics with the always politically incorrect Bill Maher.

Good evening. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting tonight from Washington.

It clearly worked for him in Texas. Now he's trying to do the same thing here in Washington. President Bush is engaged in an extraordinary political-charm offensive. His mission: to seduce Democrats. And that's our top story.

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BUSH: I'm absolutely convinced that we can change Washington for the better.

BLITZER (voice-over): The president has now done something none of his predecessors has done in recent memory: go to a closed-door retreat with the opposition party. He has a deliberate plan: to show he can work with Democrats. Since taking office 13 days ago, he has already met with Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy, the leader of the party's liberal wing, five times.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I do.

BLITZER: And despite his controversial nomination of John Ashcroft for attorney general and his suspension of U.S. aid to international groups that provide abortion counseling, the strategy seems to be working. The Democrats, at this early stage, are sending strong signals they, too, want to work with the president.

SEN. JOHN BREAUX (D), LOUISIANA: I think the general impression that all of us come away with is that he's open. And that's why he's here. I mean, I think if he wasn't willing to compromise, he wouldn't be talking to us.

BLITZER: But schmoozing with Democrats is one thing. Winning their support for Mr. Bush's proposals on across-the-board tax cuts, school vouchers and Social Security reform is another. Still, all the talk of cooperation prompted this quip from the White House press secretary.

ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I noticed that people are referring to this as the hug-a-Democrat-a-day administration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: So is the president's charm offensive making a difference with the Democrats? Joining me now live from Capitol Hill is CNN congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl.

Jonathan, are the Democrats getting that warm and fuzzy feeling right now?

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the preliminary results are in. And they certainly are charmed. Talking to Democrats today after Bush addressed their retreat -- Democratic senators -- and they couldn't say enough nice things about President Bush.

As a matter of fact, I talked to Senator Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat. And he said of Bush -- and this is a direct quote, Wolf -- he said "He could go down in history as a great president," this after just 13 days of Bush at the White House. Of course, Bush did not talk any substantive issues at this retreat. He was only there for 30 minutes. But he did win points on style and especially on the issue of time. Bush has been on time today and on all of his meetings with congressional Democrats -- and with congressional Republicans, for that matter.

And punctuality is very important. It may sound trivial, but senators, especially, take their time seriously. I've seen right there in the Senate senators dress down very harshly senior members of their staff for bringing them to an event a few minutes before they have to be there. And you remember, Wolf, from all your years covering Bill Clinton, that Bill Clinton was perpetually late and always keeping these guys waiting at their meetings.

BLITZER: But, at some point, Jonathan, the honeymoon will end. Is there a special issue right now that people sense it will end over?

KARL: Well, clearly tax cuts. The Bush tax-cut plan is going to hit here on Capitol Hill with a big thud next week. Democrats are out here -- Democrats, by the way, are saying they want a tax cut. As a matter of fact, Tom Daschle is going to go on the radio tomorrow and call for a fair, responsible tax cut this year. But no Democrat up here in the Senate -- with sole exception of Zell Miller of George -- believes that Bush's $1.6 trillion tax cut is appropriate.

They are all saying it is too big and it also favors the rich too much. So you're going to see a partisan battle royale over the tax cut issue beginning as soon as next week.

BLITZER: Jonathan Karl on Capitol Hill, thank you very much.

Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton has taken a lot of heat for pardoning fugitive billionaire Marc Rich. Now he says he takes full responsibility for the move, insisting it was not political.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I still think that, on balance, it was probably the right decision. I wish we had more time to work it. But you should -- nobody else needs to be called about this. I am responsible for it. And I take responsibility for it.

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BLITZER: Joining me now live with more: CNN's Frank Buckley. He's been following the president in New York all day.

So, Frank, how significant are these latest Clinton comments on the pardons?

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, some people are suggesting that this would tend to trump what the folks on the Republican side are trying to do: that is, to hold hearings, to look into and try to determine exactly what happened. In a sense, the president is saying: Here's what happened. Here's what I did. And I take full responsibility. You don't have to the point the finger at anyone at Justice. You don't have to point the finger at Jack Quinn. This is right to me. And here's how it happened. And here's what's going on.

It seems to be an attempt to say: Here's the final answer. This is where it stops.

BLITZER: It is certainly in advance of scheduled hearings on that issue later this week. He's also engaged, Frank, in some other damage control with that $700,000 office space that he's now leased in New York. Is that -- what is his latest strategy on that front? BUCKLEY: Well, on that story, the amount of money that he is expected to use -- government money -- to lease this office space in New York City is more than all of the living presidents combined who have office space as well. He's expected to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $700,000 for his office space. President Reagan has one that next year he's allocated some $350,000 or so.

And the president is now saying, after a barrage of controversy about this, today he said: Look, I will actually use my foundation to pay for whatever the difference is between about what President Reagan is using for his office space and what I plan to spend for my office space so that the taxpayers wouldn't get, as he put it, "gigged" in this whole process.

BLITZER: And one footnote, Frank: The wire services are now reporting on another front of damage control. The president is offering to pay for half of those $190,000 in gifts that he took and the first lady took in those final days just before leaving the White House -- Bill Clinton almost two weeks out of office, but still engaged in damage control.

Thank you very much for joining us tonight from New York.

Let's turn now to the U.S. job market. The nation's slowing economy appears to be taking a heavy toll on labor. The unemployment rate jumped to 4.2 percent in January, its highest level in 16 months. Hardest-hit was the manufacturing sector. But economists say they're encouraged overall payroll rose over the same period by 268,000 new jobs, three times what was expected. That's the strongest showing in nine months.

Whatever the reason, the markets tumbled again today. The Dow and Nasdaq both plummeted more than 100 points, their largest drops in almost a month.

Joining us now live to discuss the state of the economy and some issues affecting jobs: our own Brooks Jackson.

Brooks, what is going on with all these mixed messages we're getting?

BROOKS JACKSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It seems contradictory, doesn't it, Wolf?

The manufacturing takes a 65,000 job hit. Autos are hard-hit. There really is a recession in the manufacturing industry. But a lot of the rest of the economy is growing: 145,000 jobs added in construction alone. Some of that may be a little bit of a statistical fluke. But it still is a big surprise. That was triple the number economists were looking for. So what we're seeing here is really surprising resilience and growth in the job market.

BLITZER: You know, the headlines -- the newspapers headlines -- there's been a lot of people worried about all these thousands of layoffs. Are these reports overblown? JACKSON: Well, they are dramatic reports. And they are newsworthy reports. But things you have got to keep in mind about these layoffs is, number one, many of them are phased in over months, sometimes years. So they haven't hit yet. And they will be spread out. A lot of people are taking early retirements. They won't come back onto the job market.

And there's also kind of a natural tendency to overemphasis these things because -- think about it -- when one company lays off 1,000 workers and puts out a press release, that's big news. But when 10 companies hire 100 people each, they don't put out a press release. That's not news. And yet it all levels out.

BLITZER: OK, Brooks Jackson, explaining a complicated situation for us very succinctly. Thanks for joining us.

Still to come, I'll talk with Bill Maher, the host of "Politically Incorrect." But up next: Just days before Israel's election, polls show challenger Ariel Sharon maintaining a big lead over Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

We'll get the latest from CNN's Christiane Amanpour in Jerusalem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Let's take a look at some other top stories we're covering tonight.

There were clashes today throughout the West Bank and Gaza. And Israel reimposed a partial blockade on Palestinian towns following the ambush killings of two Israeli civilians -- all this four days before Israel's election. Prime Minister Ehud Barak is trailing challenger Ariel Sharon badly in the polls.

Mr. Barak spoke today with CNN's Christiane Amanpour about his handling of the peace process.

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EHUD BARAK, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Maybe I made a few, maybe many tactical mistakes. But I did not make a mistake in the very essence of what I have chosen to do, namely to do -- to leave no stone unturned in order to find a way to put an end to this conflict.

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BLITZER: I spoke with Christiane Amanpour earlier about the upcoming Israeli election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Christiane, thanks for joining us.

Did you get a sense from Prime Minister Barak today that he's almost resigned to losing and that Ariel Sharon will be the next prime minister of Israel? CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes and no -- no in that he remains incredibly feisty, incredibly self- confident -- those were his own words -- committed to this process that he started. And, really, he comes across as a true believer. He simply says that this is the only way. He has done what nobody else has done, he says. And that is unmasked all the parties, all sides of the spectrum here in Israel, plus the Palestinians.

And he says, win or lose, what he's done is change the dynamic here forever. He has basically said that this is the price to pay. This is how difficult it's going to be. The violence that we're seeing right now, he says, is inevitable. This he expected almost, he said, to come with the last final painful step towards a full agreement. And he insists that a full agreement is within grasp.

BLITZER: I couldn't help but noticing, Christiane, that you interviewed Prime Minister Barak, as you have in the past, but you didn't interview his Likud rival, Ariel Sharon. Why not?

AMANPOUR: Well, certainly not for want of trying. Look, his campaign has taken a strategic decision that he will not hold any foreign-press interviews -- indeed, any interviews here in Israel anymore -- ahead of the elections. And we hope to be able to speak with him after the elections. But they are very concerned that he should not be put out before journalists and say something that may get him into hot water or may affect the huge lead in the polls that he currently enjoys.

And I suppose strategists in the United States would say the same thing: If your candidate is this far ahead, why mess with success?

BLITZER: Christiane Amanpour in Jerusalem, thank you very much for joining us. We will be watching your coverage over the coming days.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Let's take a look at some other top stories.

Two people are being held in Texas, charged with aiding the seven prison escapees. The father of fugitive Michael Rodriguez and a family friend are accused of buying the getaway vehicle, a 1989 Suburban, and driving it to a parking lot before the December Breakout. Both are being held on $700,000 bond.

An independent study concludes no single factor caused the failures of Firestone tires. Tread separation in several models has been linked to hundreds of traffic deaths and injuries. The report found several factors, including manufacturing problems at the Decatur, Illinois plant, heat build-up, and heavy loads contributed to the trouble.

Tonight on the "Leading Edge": E-mail addresses on the auction site eBay will no longer be public knowledge. EBay says it will soon hide customer e-mail addresses to wipe out spammers: companies which send unsolicited e-mail to its users. In an effort to clean up the streets of Barcelona, Spain, the city is using smart bins: high-tech garbage cans that contain microchips. Using a handheld computer, trash collectors can read how full a bin is and the last time it was emptied, optimizing their cleaning time.

Still ahead:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "POLITICALLY INCORRECT")

BILL MAHER, HOST: Unless you fall off a little once in a while, how do you know where the edge is?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He's always pushing the edge. I'll speak with Bill Maher of "Politically Incorrect" -- up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

He's better known as a host, but tonight he's my guest. I sat down earlier for a talk with Bill Maher of ABC's "Politically Incorrect."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Bill Maher, thanks for joining us from the set of "Politically Incorrect." That's a beautiful set you have. I have always admired your set. Compared to my set, I guess, it's -- your set is a lot nicer than mine. But...

MAHER: Well, hurry up because we're in California here and the light could go out anytime.

BLITZER: All right. You know, for those of us what watch your program regularly, you obviously come across with sort of a tendency towards being a liberal. I don't know if you voted for Ralph Nader or didn't vote for Ralph Nader.

MAHER: I did.

BLITZER: But the word is that you did, obviously. Was that a mistake now that you've seen people who are going to be in the Cabinet? I'm sure that Ralph Nader is not happy that Gale Norton is going to be the interior secretary, John Ashcroft the attorney general.

MAHER: Yes, well, that's the party line. First of all, I would object to being called a liberal. I'm a Libertarian. That's a little different. And I know Ralph Nader isn't. The point was to vote for someone who didn't make me cringe. And I felt like I accomplished that. Is the Bush Cabinet environmentally unsound? Yes.

BLITZER: Would it have been better with Al Gore's pick for an attorney general?

MAHER: Well, that's -- well, I think those of us who did vote for Ralph Nader felt that the Gore side walked not quite what they talked. And that's why we felt maybe it's better to just throw our lot in with Ralph, who had some integrity, so the rest of us didn't have to. And if things went a little downhill environmentally, maybe that would be the wake-up call that people needed, because, apparently in this country, they only do things when they absolutely have to.

We -- as I was joking before, we have this power crisis out here. But I haven't heard one politician who has the gravitas -- shall we say on CNN -- to just say to people: Hey, why don't you stop using so much? You know who had guts? Jimmy Carter. I mean, is the last guy I could remember who actually said to the American people: You're a bunch of pigs. Turn off a few lights.

BLITZER: Well, Ralph Nader was saying that, as well you know.

I want to play a clip from a recent show of yours dealing with Dick Cheney and his heart condition. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "POLITICALLY INCORRECT")

MAHER: Well, departing members of the Clinton White House -- did you hear this? -- played a prank on the incoming Bush people by removing the "w" -- get it? -- from every computer keyboard there in the White House. Well, you may think that is just a prank. But they also removed the numbers nine and one from Dick Cheney's phone. And that's dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Is it ever -- do you ever go too far in your jokes on "Politically Incorrect" and you say to yourself: Well, maybe I pushed the envelop a little bit too much?

MAHER: Yes. But, you know, that's what being on the edge means. Unless you fall off a little once in a while, how do you know where the edge is? I don't know if you're referring to -- I saw Katherine Harris on some -- I think it was an ABC show a couple of weeks ago -- complaining that what hurt her most about the whole ordeal that she went through -- never mind that most of it was self-inflicted -- was a joke that we did here. And I must say I was proud.

BLITZER: What was that joke?

MAHER: Well, it was something to do with when that Ryder truck, remember, was going up the highway to Tallahassee, and it was like the slow speed chase that we watched a few years ago with you-know-who.

BLITZER: With O.J.

MAHER: Yes. And it was something along the lines of hoping O.J.was going to kill her.

BLITZER: Oh, well, that sounds pretty rough. MAHER: Well, Wolf, if you would like me to come over there and hold your hand, I can.

(LAUGHTER)

MAHER: You'll get over it.

BLITZER: You are coming -- I know you are coming to Washington next week. What's the difference between a D.C. audience and an L.A. audience?

MAHER: Well, that's a good question. A D.C. audience of people is a great audience, because they're very hip, obviously, to politics. You can do national politics, and for them, that's a local story. A D.C. audience of politicians is the worst audience in the world -- we have all played for those people at time: correspondents' dinners and so forth -- because you have a room full of partisans who can't afford to be seen laughing, really, at very much.

And for some reason, they keep hiring political comedians to work rooms like that. And it's always a disaster. What they really need is a magician, or juggler, something they can all just go: Hah, hah, hah, yes, that doesn't affect what I do at all.

BLITZER: I've been to many of those dinners. And I think they're actually pretty good. They are pretty funny. I want to point out -- I want show the audience the full page ad.

MAHER: Yes, but you're not running for anything.

BLITZER: I know. Look at -- you remember the ad. This week's "Newsweek" magazine has this full page ad -- either "Newsweek" or "Time" -- one of those magazines -- "Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher." It shows you on the back lawn of the White House. I would say a presidential seal is in a strategically located spot. What's the purpose of this ad?

MAHER: Hey, you're the guy with the name "Wolf." You know, I have nothing to do with the publicity department here. They promote me however they see fit. I assume they meant to imply that we have nothing to hide.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That was Bill Maher, nothing to hide at all, the host of "Politically Incorrect."

Up next: We'll open our "Mailbag" -- lots of reaction to my interview last night with former Secretary of State James Baker. And one of you wants to know if I went to high school in Baltimore. Did I?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Welcome back. Time now to open our "Mailbag": lots of reaction to my interview last night with James Baker. Several viewers were quick to comment about his claim that John Ashcroft was confirmed by a 2-1 margin. The actual vote was 58-42, which, of course, is less than 2-1.

Fred Kuenzel e-mails us with this: "Perhaps now I know why, with arithmetic like he expressed on your show, James Baker thought the vote in Florida was clear-cut and should be ended with several thousand uncounted votes."

Suzanne Walsh from Coral Springs, Florida, sent us this note: "The Clintons remind me of the goo my children play with: Just when I think I've gotten rid of it, there is still some stuck to my hands."

And we received this interesting note from John Reed about our "Leading Edge" report last night that people attending the Super Bowl were photographed in a search for criminals: "Your report stimulated some thought. Apparently, the yield was very low. They might have improved their statistics if they had photographed the players involved in the game."

Finally, we told you of a false Wolf Blitzer sighting in Houston last night. Ron Thomas writes this: "I seem to recall a Wolf Blitzer in my high school class at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. Did you attend high school in Baltimore?"

Ron, I attended Kenmore West Senior High School right outside Buffalo, New York. Maybe it was some other Wolf Blitzer who went to high school in Baltimore.

Remember, you can e-mail me at wolf@cnn.com. I just might read your comments on the air.

And please stay with CNN throughout the night. Martha Stewart is Larry King's guest at the top of the hour. Up next: Greta Van Heis -- Great Van Heistrel.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Greta Van Susteren. She's standing by to tell us what high school she went to in Wisconsin -- Greta.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, "THE POINT": That's Xavier High School in Appleton, Wisconsin. And, Wolf, there's rumor that there may be a Wolf Blitzer in the Washington bureau sometime. You'll come off that roof sometime and join us.

But tonight on "THE POINT": citizen Bill Clinton. What is it about him? Whether he's accepting gifts or getting office space, we are still consumed with him. What is so fascinating about him? And why does he seize all of our attention? That will be the topic -- Wolf.

BLITZER: OK, Greta Van Susteren, we will of course be watching. And I'll see you Sunday on "LATE EDITION. Among my guests: the president's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, in her first Sunday news interview. That's Sunday at noon Eastern. And this note: From now on, we'll be replaying "LATE EDITION" every Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern for those of you who may have missed it earlier in the day.

Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

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