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American Morning
'Gimme a Minute'
Aired January 31, 2003 - 08:40 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We turn now to our weekly segment, "Gimme a Minute." We take three people with three very different perspectives, we give them one minute each to talk about the big news of the week, and I will be ruthless today, and not let them take a second over that.
Let's introduce our panel now, Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker," Jacob Sullum, a columnist for "Reason" magazine, and Jake Tapper from Salon.com. Do you guys hear the clock ticking in your head?
Jacob, let's start off with a story that surprised people yesterday, when the president said for the time publicly at least that he would welcome the idea of exiling Saddam Hussein. How do you feel about that prospect?
JACOB SULLUM, "REASON": I think that the point of this is not to bring Saddam to justice; the point is to neutralize the security threat to the United States. And if that can be done without war, I think war is going to kill a lot of people who are not Saddam Hussein. It seems preferable to go for an exile.
Jake Tapper, do you agree?
JAKE TAPPER, SALON.COM: I do agree. One thing, though, is I think, obviously, he needs to be monitored. This is a guy who if he is exiled, potentially, could emerge as a charismatic figure opposing the United States. So, obviously, in exile, he would need to be closely monitored.
ZAHN: Oh, boy, you two have been so disciplined so far. Andy Borowitz gets an additional 10 seconds to answer that question.
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Good morning, Paula.
I agree that Saddam should be exiled. I think he should be exiled to MSNBC. I think that he should take Phil Donahue's timeslot, someplace where he would do harm. That's my feeling.
ZAHN: Ouch.
SULLUM: And obviously, a place where no one will ever see him, absolutely.
BOROWITZ: Well, that's the danger, he would not be monitored.
TAPPER: Right, he would not emerge as a charismatic figure on MSNBC.
SULLUM: We have a guest room in our house, but I'd have to check with my wife. I don't think we'd have room for the henchmen.
ZAHN: Let's move to the economy now, Jacob. Where do you think things stand right now, Jacob, and will the president's plan bring us out of the slump?
SULLUM: I think the tax cuts make sense on their own terms. I think it makes sense not to tax corporate profits twice, which is what happens when you tax dividends. I think it makes sense to make the current tax cuts permanent, which eliminates a lot of uncertainty and creates more stable environment, and I think it's good that people get to keep more of their own money rather than have the government control it. But I don't think you're going to see any kind of noticeable impact anytime soon.
ZAHN: Jake, your opinion?
TAPPER: Well, I think this is the least convincing section of the president's State of the Union Address, not just according to polls of the American people, but according to the response from Republican leaders and Congress, whether Senator Pete Domeneci, or congressman Bill Thomas of the House Ways and Means Committee. There was a very underwhelming response to that.
ZAHN: Andy Borowitz.
BOROWITZ: Well, to me, the least convincing part of the speech is when he said the economy was already recovering. I think that would come as a lot of news to a lot of Americans. I wish the president could show you satellite proof of that, maybe show a photo of somebody being hired somewhere. That would be great.
ZAHN: You're all laughing at that one.
Let's move on to the president's idea of hydrogen-powered cars. Are you going to go out and buy one anytime soon, Jacob?
SULLUM: I don't think anytime soon, but they sound pretty cool, don't they? I mean, if they were available for not very much more money than what a conventional car cost and they were right size, I would buy one. I think, initially, assuming they can be developed, it's basically going to be people like Arianna Huffington and Ed Begeley (ph) Jr. who are going to be interested in them. But they're, you know, they're the early adopters, and they're wealthy people, they're highly motivated, and once they test them out, test out the beta version, I think they'll be available to the rest of us at an affordable cost.
ZAHN: Jake, would you take the hydrogen-powered plunge?
TAPPER: No, not particularly, but I think they won't be available for 10 or 15 years. What's interesting about this point is that it's so nakedly political. It might be smart political, but it's so nakedly political. Obviously, this was the exact same thing that the Republicans slammed Al Gore for proposing in "Earth in the Balance," and which the Republicans very, very deftly made sure that every voter in Michigan, and West Virginia and Tennessee knew that Gore had proposed phasing out the internal combustion engine and embracing new technologies.
ZAHN: So, Andy?
BOROWITZ: I would definitely get one. Hydrogen has always been one of my favorite gases. It's right up there with helium. I think it's fabulous.
But you know, I don't think we're going to have a lot of hydrogen cars in this country until we have a hydrogen lobby that's as powerful as the oil lobby. That's kind of where stand.
ZAHN: There you have it. Let's go to the uncovered story of the week.
Let's start with you now, Jacob.
SULLUM: There was an important development in gun litigation in Florida, where a judge dismissed a verdict that had held a gun distributor partly responsible for the murder of a teacher. I think this is significant because the people who are trying to hold distributors and manufacturers responsible for gun violence saw this as an important victory. Now, it's been a setback. Basically, the problem was that the jury tried to hold the distributor liable, even while conceding that the gun was not defective. In other words, it did what it's supposed to do, which is fire bullets.
ZAHN: Jake, it's you're turn.
TAPPER: Before I say anything, I just want to say this is a -- Jacob Sullum actually gave me my first job in journalism. He and I went to the same high school, and when he was the editor of the school newspaper, he let me be the art editor in 9th grade, so I just want to thank him publicly.
ZAHN: Yes, you've bee so nice to him today.
SULLUM: You're welcome.
TAPPER: But the story I think is interesting is Bush administration, it's proposing a rollback on a ban of pesticide called methyl bromide. One of the industries lobbying for permission to use this toxic chemical is the golf industry, and we have a story on salon.com today, talking about the power of the golf industry and its role in the environment.
ZAHN: Jack is shaking his head. He's a golfer.
All right, Andy, final thoughts this morning on the undercovered story of the week? And I have to say, Andy, you have been the most disciplined of our panelists today. You haven't cheated all this morning.
BOROWITZ: Well, thank you. That comes as no surprise.
ZAHN: So I'll give you 10 more seconds.
TAPPER: Why the playing favorites?
BOROWITZ: Well no, I think I mean these two guys are in the sort of high school reunion mode, and I hate to horn in on that, but if I could just speak.
Jack Cafferty actually mentioned that "National Geographic" is doing the first-ever swimsuit edition. I just got news this morning that the British magazine "The Economist" is also doing their first swimsuit issue. The cover is going to feature sizzling photos of Hans Blix in Tahiti.
ZAHN: Jack's going to be the first one at that magazine stand buying it.
BOROWOITZ: It's going to be a collector's item.
ZAHN: I bet it will. Andy Borowitz, Jacob Sullum, Jake Tapper, thank you very much for joining us this morning.
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 January 31, 2003 - 08:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We turn now to our weekly segment, "Gimme a Minute." We take three people with three very different perspectives, we give them one minute each to talk about the big news of the week, and I will be ruthless today, and not let them take a second over that.
Let's introduce our panel now, Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker," Jacob Sullum, a columnist for "Reason" magazine, and Jake Tapper from Salon.com. Do you guys hear the clock ticking in your head?
Jacob, let's start off with a story that surprised people yesterday, when the president said for the time publicly at least that he would welcome the idea of exiling Saddam Hussein. How do you feel about that prospect?
JACOB SULLUM, "REASON": I think that the point of this is not to bring Saddam to justice; the point is to neutralize the security threat to the United States. And if that can be done without war, I think war is going to kill a lot of people who are not Saddam Hussein. It seems preferable to go for an exile.
Jake Tapper, do you agree?
JAKE TAPPER, SALON.COM: I do agree. One thing, though, is I think, obviously, he needs to be monitored. This is a guy who if he is exiled, potentially, could emerge as a charismatic figure opposing the United States. So, obviously, in exile, he would need to be closely monitored.
ZAHN: Oh, boy, you two have been so disciplined so far. Andy Borowitz gets an additional 10 seconds to answer that question.
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Good morning, Paula.
I agree that Saddam should be exiled. I think he should be exiled to MSNBC. I think that he should take Phil Donahue's timeslot, someplace where he would do harm. That's my feeling.
ZAHN: Ouch.
SULLUM: And obviously, a place where no one will ever see him, absolutely.
BOROWITZ: Well, that's the danger, he would not be monitored.
TAPPER: Right, he would not emerge as a charismatic figure on MSNBC.
SULLUM: We have a guest room in our house, but I'd have to check with my wife. I don't think we'd have room for the henchmen.
ZAHN: Let's move to the economy now, Jacob. Where do you think things stand right now, Jacob, and will the president's plan bring us out of the slump?
SULLUM: I think the tax cuts make sense on their own terms. I think it makes sense not to tax corporate profits twice, which is what happens when you tax dividends. I think it makes sense to make the current tax cuts permanent, which eliminates a lot of uncertainty and creates more stable environment, and I think it's good that people get to keep more of their own money rather than have the government control it. But I don't think you're going to see any kind of noticeable impact anytime soon.
ZAHN: Jake, your opinion?
TAPPER: Well, I think this is the least convincing section of the president's State of the Union Address, not just according to polls of the American people, but according to the response from Republican leaders and Congress, whether Senator Pete Domeneci, or congressman Bill Thomas of the House Ways and Means Committee. There was a very underwhelming response to that.
ZAHN: Andy Borowitz.
BOROWITZ: Well, to me, the least convincing part of the speech is when he said the economy was already recovering. I think that would come as a lot of news to a lot of Americans. I wish the president could show you satellite proof of that, maybe show a photo of somebody being hired somewhere. That would be great.
ZAHN: You're all laughing at that one.
Let's move on to the president's idea of hydrogen-powered cars. Are you going to go out and buy one anytime soon, Jacob?
SULLUM: I don't think anytime soon, but they sound pretty cool, don't they? I mean, if they were available for not very much more money than what a conventional car cost and they were right size, I would buy one. I think, initially, assuming they can be developed, it's basically going to be people like Arianna Huffington and Ed Begeley (ph) Jr. who are going to be interested in them. But they're, you know, they're the early adopters, and they're wealthy people, they're highly motivated, and once they test them out, test out the beta version, I think they'll be available to the rest of us at an affordable cost.
ZAHN: Jake, would you take the hydrogen-powered plunge?
TAPPER: No, not particularly, but I think they won't be available for 10 or 15 years. What's interesting about this point is that it's so nakedly political. It might be smart political, but it's so nakedly political. Obviously, this was the exact same thing that the Republicans slammed Al Gore for proposing in "Earth in the Balance," and which the Republicans very, very deftly made sure that every voter in Michigan, and West Virginia and Tennessee knew that Gore had proposed phasing out the internal combustion engine and embracing new technologies.
ZAHN: So, Andy?
BOROWITZ: I would definitely get one. Hydrogen has always been one of my favorite gases. It's right up there with helium. I think it's fabulous.
But you know, I don't think we're going to have a lot of hydrogen cars in this country until we have a hydrogen lobby that's as powerful as the oil lobby. That's kind of where stand.
ZAHN: There you have it. Let's go to the uncovered story of the week.
Let's start with you now, Jacob.
SULLUM: There was an important development in gun litigation in Florida, where a judge dismissed a verdict that had held a gun distributor partly responsible for the murder of a teacher. I think this is significant because the people who are trying to hold distributors and manufacturers responsible for gun violence saw this as an important victory. Now, it's been a setback. Basically, the problem was that the jury tried to hold the distributor liable, even while conceding that the gun was not defective. In other words, it did what it's supposed to do, which is fire bullets.
ZAHN: Jake, it's you're turn.
TAPPER: Before I say anything, I just want to say this is a -- Jacob Sullum actually gave me my first job in journalism. He and I went to the same high school, and when he was the editor of the school newspaper, he let me be the art editor in 9th grade, so I just want to thank him publicly.
ZAHN: Yes, you've bee so nice to him today.
SULLUM: You're welcome.
TAPPER: But the story I think is interesting is Bush administration, it's proposing a rollback on a ban of pesticide called methyl bromide. One of the industries lobbying for permission to use this toxic chemical is the golf industry, and we have a story on salon.com today, talking about the power of the golf industry and its role in the environment.
ZAHN: Jack is shaking his head. He's a golfer.
All right, Andy, final thoughts this morning on the undercovered story of the week? And I have to say, Andy, you have been the most disciplined of our panelists today. You haven't cheated all this morning.
BOROWITZ: Well, thank you. That comes as no surprise.
ZAHN: So I'll give you 10 more seconds.
TAPPER: Why the playing favorites?
BOROWITZ: Well no, I think I mean these two guys are in the sort of high school reunion mode, and I hate to horn in on that, but if I could just speak.
Jack Cafferty actually mentioned that "National Geographic" is doing the first-ever swimsuit edition. I just got news this morning that the British magazine "The Economist" is also doing their first swimsuit issue. The cover is going to feature sizzling photos of Hans Blix in Tahiti.
ZAHN: Jack's going to be the first one at that magazine stand buying it.
BOROWOITZ: It's going to be a collector's item.
ZAHN: I bet it will. Andy Borowitz, Jacob Sullum, Jake Tapper, thank you very much for joining us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
