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CNN Live At Daybreak

Interview With Neal Boortz

Aired October 01, 2002 - 06:36   ET

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

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Torricelli's withdrawal, weapons inspections and Iraq, and the mom who used a BB gun to her son's attention -- I don't even know about this story, Neal...
NEAL BOORTZ: I love it. It's a great story.

COSTELLO: ... all on the mind of our next guest, nationally- syndicated radio talk show host, Neal Boortz.

Good morning, Neal. It is a bizarre story.

BOORTZ: The kid wouldn't come...

COSTELLO: What is up with that?

BOORTZ: OK, so the kid wouldn't come out of a tree.

COSTELLO: Yes.

BOORTZ: So, she said, "If you don't come down, I'm going to shoot you down." So, she goes in the house, gets a BB gun and comes out and nails him, and brings him out of the -- she's...

COSTELLO: This is not a good thing, Neal!

BOORTZ: Look, so, I'm a little strange.

COSTELLO: Parents shouldn't shoot their children!

BOORTZ: It's a BB gun!

COSTELLO: Well, it would hurt!

BOORTZ: But she's up on charges now. And the kid is saying, "She didn't do it, I jumped in front of the BB." Well, he's...

COSTELLO: So, the kid is standing up for the mom.

BOORTZ: Oh, yes, absolutely.

COSTELLO: Well, see, now the story gets sad.

BOORTZ: Oh, yes. But he jumped in front of the BB to save the tree.

COSTELLO: Where did this happen?

BOORTZ: I think it happened up in Ohio, Indiana, somewhere.

COSTELLO: Oh, in the Great Midwest...

BOORTZ: Oh!

COSTELLO: ... the land in which I was born.

OK, Neal, let's talk about something else, this New Jersey race, which has just gotten...

BOORTZ: Isn't that wonderful stuff?

COSTELLO: Oh, it's just gotten much more interesting.

BOORTZ: Is my job going to be easy today?

COSTELLO: Well, yes, I think many conservative talk show hosts are going to have a field day.

BOORTZ: Libertarian.

COSTELLO: Sorry, Libertarian.

BOORTZ: Yes. No, but this is wonderful. I love the new Democratic standard here. If you have a candidate behind in the polls, just pull him out, stick in another one, and you know, just keep doing this until you find one that works in the polls. And...

COSTELLO: Well, part of you should be happy that the Democrats kind of forced him out of the race, because he had problems with ethics charges.

BOORTZ: Carol, he said yesterday, that they were trying to talk him out of quitting.

COSTELLO: No, no, no...

BOORTZ: You don't think they forced him out, do you?

COSTELLO: ... there's a behind-the-scenes effort to oust him.

BOORTZ: Of course there was. And it is nice to see ethics count, but they really didn't count until he came -- you have to have a combination of ethics and a lag in the polls for it to work. I mean, ethics charges and a lead in the polls don't count, probably for either of them.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if the Democrats can get someone on the ballot legally, because this thing is going to go to court.

BOORTZ: Yes, absolutely. I hope the courts can work fast. The voters, they need to have some sort of a clear choice up there.

COSTELLO: Yes. It's only a couple of weeks until the midterm elections.

BOORTZ: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about Iraq. And the question of the day, and we wanted our viewers to respond to it, is: Should those three congressmen have gone into Iraq to check things out?

BOORTZ: I don't see any problem, really, with them going over to check, but when "Jihad Jim McDermott" -- when this guy sits over there and accuses the president -- standing in Baghdad and accusing the president of the United States of lying in the home of Saddam Hussein!

COSTELLO: It's not lying; misleading, Neal.

BOORTZ: OK, OK, so, we'll be politically correct about it.

COSTELLO: Well, on the subject of that, I want to read one of our e-mails.

BOORTZ: Yes.

COSTELLO: This is from Penny from Park Ridge, New Jersey. She says: "Bonior, McDermott and Thompson were right. They were courageous. They are men of integrity. Their trip to Iraq was in vain, though. Bush has the mindset of a dictator. He talks compassion, but has none."

BOORTZ: Oh, that's proof that computers are just getting easier and easier and easier to operate.

COSTELLO: Oh, come on, Neal! I mean, why shouldn't the American people know everything that is going on in Iraq...

BOORTZ: No, they should.

COSTELLO: ... whether it's positive for the United States or negative?

BOORTZ: They should. But "men of integrity?" I'm sorry, back to this again. A man of integrity does not stand outside the home of Saddam Hussein and say the president of the United States is the dishonest one. You don't do that if you are a man of integrity.

COSTELLO: Well, maybe he was just giving the American people food for thought. Now, I'm just debating here. I'm not taking sides, because...

BOORTZ: Yes, I've been thinking about him a lot since he said that.

COSTELLO: Most of the people e-mailing us this morning actually agree with you. But I want to read this e-mail from Steven...

BOORTZ: You just have to be contrarian with me, don't you?

COSTELLO: I know. I have to debate.

BOORTZ: I know. COSTELLO: It's my role in life as a reporter.

This one says, "I know that the hoss (ph) in Washington take a dim view of such actions, but the fact is that the United States needs to realize in a profound way that it is no longer the center of the universe."

Which means, he is glad that those congressmen went over there, and gave us a taste of what's -- some of what's actually happening in Iraq, according to them, anyway.

BOORTZ: No, I agree. The universe doesn't revolve around the United States. We may not be the center of the universe, but we still are entitled to defend ourselves.

COSTELLO: That's true.

BOORTZ: Any nation is entitled to defend itself, including...

COSTELLO: Yes, but guess what?

BOORTZ: And just because we're big doesn't mean that we don't have that privilege.

COSTELLO: Now, see, that starts a whole another part of the argument, and unfortunately, we don't have time for that right now.

Neal Boortz, thank you very much.

BOORTZ: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: You'll be back on Thursday.

BOORTZ: Thursday morning.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it, as always.

BOORTZ: Bye-bye.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired October 1, 2002 - 06:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Torricelli's withdrawal, weapons inspections and Iraq, and the mom who used a BB gun to her son's attention -- I don't even know about this story, Neal...
NEAL BOORTZ: I love it. It's a great story.

COSTELLO: ... all on the mind of our next guest, nationally- syndicated radio talk show host, Neal Boortz.

Good morning, Neal. It is a bizarre story.

BOORTZ: The kid wouldn't come...

COSTELLO: What is up with that?

BOORTZ: OK, so the kid wouldn't come out of a tree.

COSTELLO: Yes.

BOORTZ: So, she said, "If you don't come down, I'm going to shoot you down." So, she goes in the house, gets a BB gun and comes out and nails him, and brings him out of the -- she's...

COSTELLO: This is not a good thing, Neal!

BOORTZ: Look, so, I'm a little strange.

COSTELLO: Parents shouldn't shoot their children!

BOORTZ: It's a BB gun!

COSTELLO: Well, it would hurt!

BOORTZ: But she's up on charges now. And the kid is saying, "She didn't do it, I jumped in front of the BB." Well, he's...

COSTELLO: So, the kid is standing up for the mom.

BOORTZ: Oh, yes, absolutely.

COSTELLO: Well, see, now the story gets sad.

BOORTZ: Oh, yes. But he jumped in front of the BB to save the tree.

COSTELLO: Where did this happen?

BOORTZ: I think it happened up in Ohio, Indiana, somewhere.

COSTELLO: Oh, in the Great Midwest...

BOORTZ: Oh!

COSTELLO: ... the land in which I was born.

OK, Neal, let's talk about something else, this New Jersey race, which has just gotten...

BOORTZ: Isn't that wonderful stuff?

COSTELLO: Oh, it's just gotten much more interesting.

BOORTZ: Is my job going to be easy today?

COSTELLO: Well, yes, I think many conservative talk show hosts are going to have a field day.

BOORTZ: Libertarian.

COSTELLO: Sorry, Libertarian.

BOORTZ: Yes. No, but this is wonderful. I love the new Democratic standard here. If you have a candidate behind in the polls, just pull him out, stick in another one, and you know, just keep doing this until you find one that works in the polls. And...

COSTELLO: Well, part of you should be happy that the Democrats kind of forced him out of the race, because he had problems with ethics charges.

BOORTZ: Carol, he said yesterday, that they were trying to talk him out of quitting.

COSTELLO: No, no, no...

BOORTZ: You don't think they forced him out, do you?

COSTELLO: ... there's a behind-the-scenes effort to oust him.

BOORTZ: Of course there was. And it is nice to see ethics count, but they really didn't count until he came -- you have to have a combination of ethics and a lag in the polls for it to work. I mean, ethics charges and a lead in the polls don't count, probably for either of them.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if the Democrats can get someone on the ballot legally, because this thing is going to go to court.

BOORTZ: Yes, absolutely. I hope the courts can work fast. The voters, they need to have some sort of a clear choice up there.

COSTELLO: Yes. It's only a couple of weeks until the midterm elections.

BOORTZ: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about Iraq. And the question of the day, and we wanted our viewers to respond to it, is: Should those three congressmen have gone into Iraq to check things out?

BOORTZ: I don't see any problem, really, with them going over to check, but when "Jihad Jim McDermott" -- when this guy sits over there and accuses the president -- standing in Baghdad and accusing the president of the United States of lying in the home of Saddam Hussein!

COSTELLO: It's not lying; misleading, Neal.

BOORTZ: OK, OK, so, we'll be politically correct about it.

COSTELLO: Well, on the subject of that, I want to read one of our e-mails.

BOORTZ: Yes.

COSTELLO: This is from Penny from Park Ridge, New Jersey. She says: "Bonior, McDermott and Thompson were right. They were courageous. They are men of integrity. Their trip to Iraq was in vain, though. Bush has the mindset of a dictator. He talks compassion, but has none."

BOORTZ: Oh, that's proof that computers are just getting easier and easier and easier to operate.

COSTELLO: Oh, come on, Neal! I mean, why shouldn't the American people know everything that is going on in Iraq...

BOORTZ: No, they should.

COSTELLO: ... whether it's positive for the United States or negative?

BOORTZ: They should. But "men of integrity?" I'm sorry, back to this again. A man of integrity does not stand outside the home of Saddam Hussein and say the president of the United States is the dishonest one. You don't do that if you are a man of integrity.

COSTELLO: Well, maybe he was just giving the American people food for thought. Now, I'm just debating here. I'm not taking sides, because...

BOORTZ: Yes, I've been thinking about him a lot since he said that.

COSTELLO: Most of the people e-mailing us this morning actually agree with you. But I want to read this e-mail from Steven...

BOORTZ: You just have to be contrarian with me, don't you?

COSTELLO: I know. I have to debate.

BOORTZ: I know. COSTELLO: It's my role in life as a reporter.

This one says, "I know that the hoss (ph) in Washington take a dim view of such actions, but the fact is that the United States needs to realize in a profound way that it is no longer the center of the universe."

Which means, he is glad that those congressmen went over there, and gave us a taste of what's -- some of what's actually happening in Iraq, according to them, anyway.

BOORTZ: No, I agree. The universe doesn't revolve around the United States. We may not be the center of the universe, but we still are entitled to defend ourselves.

COSTELLO: That's true.

BOORTZ: Any nation is entitled to defend itself, including...

COSTELLO: Yes, but guess what?

BOORTZ: And just because we're big doesn't mean that we don't have that privilege.

COSTELLO: Now, see, that starts a whole another part of the argument, and unfortunately, we don't have time for that right now.

Neal Boortz, thank you very much.

BOORTZ: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: You'll be back on Thursday.

BOORTZ: Thursday morning.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it, as always.

BOORTZ: Bye-bye.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.