Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
'Gimme a Minute'
Aired October 24, 2003 - 08:33 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is Friday, and you know what that means, "Gimme a Minute" time. So let's round up the usual suspects this morning.
In Washington D.C., we have Jonah Goldberg. He's the editor of the National Review Online.
Hey, Jonah, good morning. Nice to see you.
JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
Democratic strategist Donna Brazile joins us as well.
Good morning. How are you?
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I'm great, thank you.
O'BRIEN: Terrific.
And in Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker" is with us as well.
Hey, Andy. Good morning.
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Hi, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, guys, let's begin.
Jonah, we're going to begin with you.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, this infamous memo now. He's known for being outspoken, Jonah. So are you surprised by any of this?
GOLDBERG: I'm not surprised by it. In fact, I'm heartened by it. I think this controversy is kind of ludicrous. Imagine if the memo had said instead, the war on terrorism is going great, everything is just fine. There would be an even bigger scandal. You want the CEO of an institution like this to shake things up and get people to think outside the box. I think it's a very encouraging thing. and not bad news at all.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, Donna, there certainly are some people who are not happy in that, even if you are thinking it, do not go out and say it out loud kind of way. BRAZILE: Both members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, are a little upset that he didn't send the memo to them, so that they could help him devise strategy. Look, this administration continues to speak out of both sides of their mouth. It's time we had one message.
O'BRIEN: Andy, nothing particularly amusing about this memo, really? Do you see humor in it?
BOROWITZ: Not really. I though it was interesting he also said in the memo that the Pentagon isn't doing enough to win the war against Condoleezza Rice.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's turn to talk a little bit -- easy for me to say -- about General Boykin, that issue. If you listen to his version, this war on terror is really a war -- is a holy war essentially.
So, Donna, let's with you on this one -- what do you think is the big risk in framing it like that?
BRAZILE: Well, first of all, it alienates allies we need to win the war on terrorism, and secondly, it makes this general, who is supposed to be finding Osama bin Laden and Saddam look like he's a prayer cop. I think he should be reassigned to the chaplain's office off campus.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, Jonah, no plans to reassign him at this moment. Do you think there should be?
GOLDBERG: No, I don't. I mean, I don't think -- first of all, he didn't say this publicly. He said this in the confines of where he thought he was safe to say it, in his own church. And, look, we all think that terrorism is evil, or at least we all should, and all he really did was use a different vocabulary that a lot of people in the lead press don't like. I find it fairly encouraging that he thinks that this is a war against evil and that God is on our side, because that's the kind of thing you want someone like that to believe.
O'BRIEN: Andy, nothing funny about the guy named Satan, as General Boykin likes to put it.
BOROWITZ: Well, I know there's some talk about reassigning him, but I have a question -- do they still need a replacement host for Rush Limbaugh?
O'BRIEN: All right, you guys, let's turn and talk about Nathaniel Heatwole, as you well know, 20 years old, snuck on to at least two Southwest Airlines jets and brought box cutters, he is alleged to have at least, box cutters and some other things as well.
Jonah, let's begin with you -- what do you think should happen to this young man?
GOLDBERG: I don't know. Look, his heart was in...
O'BRIEN: I don't know. You can't say I don't know.
GOLDBERG: His heart was in the right place, but at the same time, he messed a lot of stuff up for a lot of people in this country on that day. I think they should -- I don't think he deserves to go to jail. He should probably do some community service think where he cleans up airplane bathrooms or something, and let's put it behind us.
O'BRIEN: He faces 10 years in jail, Donna. Donna, what do you think should happen to him?
BRAZILE: Well, as a member of the flying public, I agree with Jonah, they should assign him 10 years of community service of checking bags for the couple years of his life.
O'BRIEN: Andy, one congressman praised the young man. Where do you stand on this?
BOROWITZ: Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I think we should leave his punishment up to Liza Minnelli.
O'BRIEN: So not even going to touch that one, huh?
Let's move on. What do you think, Donna, has been the undercovered story of the week?
BRAZILE: Well, Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson is about to be discharged from the army, and she is rightfully complaining that she will only receive 30 percent of the benefits. On the other hand, Jessica Lynch will receive 80 percent of her benefits. I think they should be treated equally.
O'BRIEN: Well, not undercovered for long, because of course we're going to be chatting about that story a little bit more in our next hour actually, so thank you for raising that.
Jonah, what do you think we missed?
GOLDBERG: The story in Bolivia, I think, has been radically undercover. Here you have a democratically elected president who was hounded out by a left-wing mob for fear of life, and no one is talking about the stability of democracy down there, the way they did during the Venezuela coup. This is a terrible precedent for the continent and no one is talking about it.
O'BRIEN: And, Andy, final word from you this morning -- what would you like to see more about?
BOROWITZ: Well, as we speak, actress Joan Collins is on the final flight of the Concorde. But after the flight, Mrs. Collins will be put on permanent display at the Smithsonian.
O'BRIEN: You guys. As always, thank you for joining us. We appreciate it. We'll see you next week at this time.
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 24, 2003 - 08:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is Friday, and you know what that means, "Gimme a Minute" time. So let's round up the usual suspects this morning.
In Washington D.C., we have Jonah Goldberg. He's the editor of the National Review Online.
Hey, Jonah, good morning. Nice to see you.
JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
Democratic strategist Donna Brazile joins us as well.
Good morning. How are you?
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I'm great, thank you.
O'BRIEN: Terrific.
And in Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker" is with us as well.
Hey, Andy. Good morning.
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Hi, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, guys, let's begin.
Jonah, we're going to begin with you.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, this infamous memo now. He's known for being outspoken, Jonah. So are you surprised by any of this?
GOLDBERG: I'm not surprised by it. In fact, I'm heartened by it. I think this controversy is kind of ludicrous. Imagine if the memo had said instead, the war on terrorism is going great, everything is just fine. There would be an even bigger scandal. You want the CEO of an institution like this to shake things up and get people to think outside the box. I think it's a very encouraging thing. and not bad news at all.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, Donna, there certainly are some people who are not happy in that, even if you are thinking it, do not go out and say it out loud kind of way. BRAZILE: Both members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, are a little upset that he didn't send the memo to them, so that they could help him devise strategy. Look, this administration continues to speak out of both sides of their mouth. It's time we had one message.
O'BRIEN: Andy, nothing particularly amusing about this memo, really? Do you see humor in it?
BOROWITZ: Not really. I though it was interesting he also said in the memo that the Pentagon isn't doing enough to win the war against Condoleezza Rice.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's turn to talk a little bit -- easy for me to say -- about General Boykin, that issue. If you listen to his version, this war on terror is really a war -- is a holy war essentially.
So, Donna, let's with you on this one -- what do you think is the big risk in framing it like that?
BRAZILE: Well, first of all, it alienates allies we need to win the war on terrorism, and secondly, it makes this general, who is supposed to be finding Osama bin Laden and Saddam look like he's a prayer cop. I think he should be reassigned to the chaplain's office off campus.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, Jonah, no plans to reassign him at this moment. Do you think there should be?
GOLDBERG: No, I don't. I mean, I don't think -- first of all, he didn't say this publicly. He said this in the confines of where he thought he was safe to say it, in his own church. And, look, we all think that terrorism is evil, or at least we all should, and all he really did was use a different vocabulary that a lot of people in the lead press don't like. I find it fairly encouraging that he thinks that this is a war against evil and that God is on our side, because that's the kind of thing you want someone like that to believe.
O'BRIEN: Andy, nothing funny about the guy named Satan, as General Boykin likes to put it.
BOROWITZ: Well, I know there's some talk about reassigning him, but I have a question -- do they still need a replacement host for Rush Limbaugh?
O'BRIEN: All right, you guys, let's turn and talk about Nathaniel Heatwole, as you well know, 20 years old, snuck on to at least two Southwest Airlines jets and brought box cutters, he is alleged to have at least, box cutters and some other things as well.
Jonah, let's begin with you -- what do you think should happen to this young man?
GOLDBERG: I don't know. Look, his heart was in...
O'BRIEN: I don't know. You can't say I don't know.
GOLDBERG: His heart was in the right place, but at the same time, he messed a lot of stuff up for a lot of people in this country on that day. I think they should -- I don't think he deserves to go to jail. He should probably do some community service think where he cleans up airplane bathrooms or something, and let's put it behind us.
O'BRIEN: He faces 10 years in jail, Donna. Donna, what do you think should happen to him?
BRAZILE: Well, as a member of the flying public, I agree with Jonah, they should assign him 10 years of community service of checking bags for the couple years of his life.
O'BRIEN: Andy, one congressman praised the young man. Where do you stand on this?
BOROWITZ: Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I think we should leave his punishment up to Liza Minnelli.
O'BRIEN: So not even going to touch that one, huh?
Let's move on. What do you think, Donna, has been the undercovered story of the week?
BRAZILE: Well, Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson is about to be discharged from the army, and she is rightfully complaining that she will only receive 30 percent of the benefits. On the other hand, Jessica Lynch will receive 80 percent of her benefits. I think they should be treated equally.
O'BRIEN: Well, not undercovered for long, because of course we're going to be chatting about that story a little bit more in our next hour actually, so thank you for raising that.
Jonah, what do you think we missed?
GOLDBERG: The story in Bolivia, I think, has been radically undercover. Here you have a democratically elected president who was hounded out by a left-wing mob for fear of life, and no one is talking about the stability of democracy down there, the way they did during the Venezuela coup. This is a terrible precedent for the continent and no one is talking about it.
O'BRIEN: And, Andy, final word from you this morning -- what would you like to see more about?
BOROWITZ: Well, as we speak, actress Joan Collins is on the final flight of the Concorde. But after the flight, Mrs. Collins will be put on permanent display at the Smithsonian.
O'BRIEN: You guys. As always, thank you for joining us. We appreciate it. We'll see you next week at this time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
