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American Morning
'Gimme a Minute!'
Aired February 28, 2003 - 08:35 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: Time for our weekly "Gimme a Minute!" segment. Our fast-talking panel races the clock on three big stories of the week and three we missed.
Joining us now in New York, Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker," from Washington this morning, Jonah Goldberg of the National Review Online, and Michelle Cottle of "The New Republic."
Welcome, trio. Glad to have you all with us this morning.
Let's start off by talking about the estimates of waging a war and the cost of the rebuilding and its aftermath. Those numbers anywhere we've this week heard from 60 to $100 billion.
Ladies first today -- Michelle, who is telling the truth about the numbers?
MICHELLE COTTLE, "THE NATIONAL REPUBLIC": Nobody knows. That's the problem with war, it's unpredictable. I think the 60 million was seven months, but you got to factor in rebuilding and having troops stationed there afterwards. And this morning, there's a piece in the paper about how these generals are fighting over how many troops it's going to take. Bottom line, it's going to be extremely expensive, but they can't tell you how much it's going to cost.
ZAHN: You wouldn't know that by listening to some of the folks in Congress yesterday. Jonah, you had some blistering attacks of the administration coming from people like James P. Moran, who says, I think you're deliberately keeping us in the dark. We're not so naive to think you don't know more than you're revealing. Does he have a point there?
JONAH GOLDBERG, THE NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: I think he probably does. I think that the Pentagon, as part of a larger political strategy, trying to figure out how to roll out its plans for Iraq. I think Michelle is right, the numbers aren't quite there yet. It's going to be expensive, and the antiwar people who are complaining about the price would be against the price if it cost $1.
And from my perspective, I would rather it be expensive, because every dollar you spend means that you're probably going to save an additional American life, and who among us really thought this was really going to be cheap?
ZAHN: What about that, Andy?
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": I think the administration's numbers are off. They've calculated the cost of removing Saddam Hussein, but not of finding new jobs for his 5,000 look-alikes.
ZAHN: I know. A reporter actually did a piece on that, right?
BOROWITZ: Absolutely.
ZAHN: All right, you really saved yourself some time there, Andy, so you get 20 seconds back with this next response. And there were nine. Now Senator Bob Graham says he's entering the crowded field of Democrats running for president. Does this mean, Michelle, that they really -- the Democrats really believe that one of them can beat President Bush?
COTTLE: Bottom line -- they think that, but it's too early to tell. What they're looking at is back in '91 when everybody was talking about how Bush Senior was so unbeatable and a lot of people didn't jump in, and suddenly, they turn around, and they find themselves with a candidate who is this nobody from Arkansas. I think nobody's going to take the chance to miss the opportunity this time around. So everybody and their uncle is going to be in this race.
ZAHN: So, Jonah, how vulnerable could the president be at election time?
GOLDBERG: Well, if the economy is good, he won't vulnerable at all. If the economy is bad, he'll be extremely vulnerable. But it is pretty clear that the first Democratic debate in New Hampshire is going to look like the cover album of the Sergeant Pepper's album at this point. You know, we've got almost more Democrats in the race than out of it. I think Michelle's right about the Clinton effect. I also think part of the reason is that you have the Democrats out of power in all three branches of government, and the only way you're going to get a senator -- only way anyone is going to care what a Democratic senator has to say is if he claims he's running for president, so they're all running for president.
ZAHN: For a very good reason, right, Andy?
BOROWITZ: Well, I think President -- Oh my God, I don't get to say anything.
ZAHN: No, no, no, that was Jonah's time us.
BOROWITZ: OK, I just wanted to say that I think President Bush must be vulnerable, because last night, Robert Blake said that he was going to run. I think that says it all.
ZAHN: Back to the issue of Iraq now, Michelle, on a Wednesday night speech, the president painted an optimistic picture of a Democratic Iraq. Is democracy a real possibility there?
COTTLE: Maybe. It's going to depend on how much time, energy and money they're willing to sink into this. But he didn't just paint a picture of a Democratic Iraq. He's talking about democratizing the entire region with, you know, removing Saddam Hussein, including a Democratic Palestine. I mean, he essentially has thrown everything into this, except, you know, any kind of lingering tensions in Ireland, for Heaven's sake. He really wants us to believe this is the big deal here.
ZAHN: Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Well, 50 years ago, people said that democracy was impossible in Japan and Germany; 30 years ago, they said it was impossible in southern Europe, they said it was impossible in South America. It's all taken root there. I think it's going to be hard to have it grow in the Middle East, especially the Islamic world, which has some serious problems about separating church and state, or mosque and state, but ultimately, I think the realists have realized that democracies don't go to war with each other, and it's only way to go for a stability in the future.
ZAHN: Andy, it's your turn.
BOROWITZ: Well, Democratic institutions don't happen overnight. And I think we're going to have to send some American experts over there to teach the Iraqi people how to make negative campaign ads.
GOLDBERG: And count chads.
BOROWITZ: Absolutely.
ZAHN: Dangling chads, hanging chads, every kind of chad you find.
OK, finally now, Michelle, the under-covered story of the week.
COTTLE: I love what's going on in the house with this whole Representative Oxley thing. Basically, Michael Oxley has been accused of possibly going to mutual fund industry and saying, you know, we've got this congressional hearing going on, and we're looking into any kind of shenanigans you guys have been up to. But if you will fire some prominent Democratic lobbyists and hire a Republican, we might be able to soften our probe.
And of course this went over really badly with House Democrats who have threatened to open an investigation of this themselves, and Tom DeLay's response was, oh, no, if you do this, all bets are off; we're going to destroy comity, and we're going to start filing charges against Democrats. I say, let it rip. If we're overlooking these kind of shenanigans for the sake of a little comity, that's ridiculous. It's time to start filing some charges.
ZAHN: Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Kim Jong-Il, who's the Pillsbury Doughboy from Hell who runs North Korea, has just announced that his son, Kim Jong-Chul (ph), will replace him as the third dictator of North Korea. That would be bad enough, because the Kim's are a brutal tyrants, but it turns out that this Kim actually studied in France, which spells real trouble for us.
ZAHN: Andy, your partner's ate up your time. But because you were so disciplined on your first three answers, you get 20 seconds back here. BOROWITZ: Thank you, Paula.
I want to say that yesterday, the terror threat level was dropped to yellow, and right after that, Tom Ridge got on TV and urged all Americans to go out and buy scotch tape now.
ZAHN: We're so relieved, aren't we, Andy?
BOROWITZ: I feel safer.
ZAHN: Jonah, do you any feel safer?
GOLDBERG: Absolutely.
ZAHN: Michelle?
COTTLE: Absolutely.
ZAHN: Andy Borowitz, Jonah Goldberg, Michelle Cottle, thank you for helping us wrap up the week here in our "Gimme Me a Minute!" segment.
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 February 28, 2003 - 08:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time for our weekly "Gimme a Minute!" segment. Our fast-talking panel races the clock on three big stories of the week and three we missed.
Joining us now in New York, Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker," from Washington this morning, Jonah Goldberg of the National Review Online, and Michelle Cottle of "The New Republic."
Welcome, trio. Glad to have you all with us this morning.
Let's start off by talking about the estimates of waging a war and the cost of the rebuilding and its aftermath. Those numbers anywhere we've this week heard from 60 to $100 billion.
Ladies first today -- Michelle, who is telling the truth about the numbers?
MICHELLE COTTLE, "THE NATIONAL REPUBLIC": Nobody knows. That's the problem with war, it's unpredictable. I think the 60 million was seven months, but you got to factor in rebuilding and having troops stationed there afterwards. And this morning, there's a piece in the paper about how these generals are fighting over how many troops it's going to take. Bottom line, it's going to be extremely expensive, but they can't tell you how much it's going to cost.
ZAHN: You wouldn't know that by listening to some of the folks in Congress yesterday. Jonah, you had some blistering attacks of the administration coming from people like James P. Moran, who says, I think you're deliberately keeping us in the dark. We're not so naive to think you don't know more than you're revealing. Does he have a point there?
JONAH GOLDBERG, THE NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: I think he probably does. I think that the Pentagon, as part of a larger political strategy, trying to figure out how to roll out its plans for Iraq. I think Michelle is right, the numbers aren't quite there yet. It's going to be expensive, and the antiwar people who are complaining about the price would be against the price if it cost $1.
And from my perspective, I would rather it be expensive, because every dollar you spend means that you're probably going to save an additional American life, and who among us really thought this was really going to be cheap?
ZAHN: What about that, Andy?
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": I think the administration's numbers are off. They've calculated the cost of removing Saddam Hussein, but not of finding new jobs for his 5,000 look-alikes.
ZAHN: I know. A reporter actually did a piece on that, right?
BOROWITZ: Absolutely.
ZAHN: All right, you really saved yourself some time there, Andy, so you get 20 seconds back with this next response. And there were nine. Now Senator Bob Graham says he's entering the crowded field of Democrats running for president. Does this mean, Michelle, that they really -- the Democrats really believe that one of them can beat President Bush?
COTTLE: Bottom line -- they think that, but it's too early to tell. What they're looking at is back in '91 when everybody was talking about how Bush Senior was so unbeatable and a lot of people didn't jump in, and suddenly, they turn around, and they find themselves with a candidate who is this nobody from Arkansas. I think nobody's going to take the chance to miss the opportunity this time around. So everybody and their uncle is going to be in this race.
ZAHN: So, Jonah, how vulnerable could the president be at election time?
GOLDBERG: Well, if the economy is good, he won't vulnerable at all. If the economy is bad, he'll be extremely vulnerable. But it is pretty clear that the first Democratic debate in New Hampshire is going to look like the cover album of the Sergeant Pepper's album at this point. You know, we've got almost more Democrats in the race than out of it. I think Michelle's right about the Clinton effect. I also think part of the reason is that you have the Democrats out of power in all three branches of government, and the only way you're going to get a senator -- only way anyone is going to care what a Democratic senator has to say is if he claims he's running for president, so they're all running for president.
ZAHN: For a very good reason, right, Andy?
BOROWITZ: Well, I think President -- Oh my God, I don't get to say anything.
ZAHN: No, no, no, that was Jonah's time us.
BOROWITZ: OK, I just wanted to say that I think President Bush must be vulnerable, because last night, Robert Blake said that he was going to run. I think that says it all.
ZAHN: Back to the issue of Iraq now, Michelle, on a Wednesday night speech, the president painted an optimistic picture of a Democratic Iraq. Is democracy a real possibility there?
COTTLE: Maybe. It's going to depend on how much time, energy and money they're willing to sink into this. But he didn't just paint a picture of a Democratic Iraq. He's talking about democratizing the entire region with, you know, removing Saddam Hussein, including a Democratic Palestine. I mean, he essentially has thrown everything into this, except, you know, any kind of lingering tensions in Ireland, for Heaven's sake. He really wants us to believe this is the big deal here.
ZAHN: Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Well, 50 years ago, people said that democracy was impossible in Japan and Germany; 30 years ago, they said it was impossible in southern Europe, they said it was impossible in South America. It's all taken root there. I think it's going to be hard to have it grow in the Middle East, especially the Islamic world, which has some serious problems about separating church and state, or mosque and state, but ultimately, I think the realists have realized that democracies don't go to war with each other, and it's only way to go for a stability in the future.
ZAHN: Andy, it's your turn.
BOROWITZ: Well, Democratic institutions don't happen overnight. And I think we're going to have to send some American experts over there to teach the Iraqi people how to make negative campaign ads.
GOLDBERG: And count chads.
BOROWITZ: Absolutely.
ZAHN: Dangling chads, hanging chads, every kind of chad you find.
OK, finally now, Michelle, the under-covered story of the week.
COTTLE: I love what's going on in the house with this whole Representative Oxley thing. Basically, Michael Oxley has been accused of possibly going to mutual fund industry and saying, you know, we've got this congressional hearing going on, and we're looking into any kind of shenanigans you guys have been up to. But if you will fire some prominent Democratic lobbyists and hire a Republican, we might be able to soften our probe.
And of course this went over really badly with House Democrats who have threatened to open an investigation of this themselves, and Tom DeLay's response was, oh, no, if you do this, all bets are off; we're going to destroy comity, and we're going to start filing charges against Democrats. I say, let it rip. If we're overlooking these kind of shenanigans for the sake of a little comity, that's ridiculous. It's time to start filing some charges.
ZAHN: Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Kim Jong-Il, who's the Pillsbury Doughboy from Hell who runs North Korea, has just announced that his son, Kim Jong-Chul (ph), will replace him as the third dictator of North Korea. That would be bad enough, because the Kim's are a brutal tyrants, but it turns out that this Kim actually studied in France, which spells real trouble for us.
ZAHN: Andy, your partner's ate up your time. But because you were so disciplined on your first three answers, you get 20 seconds back here. BOROWITZ: Thank you, Paula.
I want to say that yesterday, the terror threat level was dropped to yellow, and right after that, Tom Ridge got on TV and urged all Americans to go out and buy scotch tape now.
ZAHN: We're so relieved, aren't we, Andy?
BOROWITZ: I feel safer.
ZAHN: Jonah, do you any feel safer?
GOLDBERG: Absolutely.
ZAHN: Michelle?
COTTLE: Absolutely.
ZAHN: Andy Borowitz, Jonah Goldberg, Michelle Cottle, thank you for helping us wrap up the week here in our "Gimme Me a Minute!" segment.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
