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American Morning

'Gimme a Minute'

Aired February 20, 2004 - 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: Every Friday around this time, we put a spin on some of the week's big stories in a segment that we like to call "Gimme a Minute." Joining us this morning from Washington D.C. is Jonah Goldberg. He's the editor of the National Review Online. Also this morning from New Orleans is CNN's political analyst Donna Brazile joining us. And as well, here in New York City, Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker."
To all of you, good morning, thanks for being with us.

All right, let's begin, first and foremost, with Jonah. Senator Edwards concession speech, strangely enough, sounded actually like a little bit of a victory speech. Do you think, Jonah, that he is possibly still in this race, or do you think it's over for him?

JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Well, I can't think of a pundit who's been right in his predictions over the last year in terms of this race, so I might take the Fifth on that.

O'BRIEN: You can't take the Fifth. There's no taking of the Fifth.

GOLDBERG: If I was a betting man, I would say it's all wrapped up and Kerry's got it. But if Edwards gets one bounce in one of these big states, they might be able to spin it and turn the thing into a race. The delegate count is still so low.

O'BRIEN: Exactly, in fact, Donna, maybe people have said if you look at the number of delegates that remain, frankly, John Edwards could, if he got some momentum, wrap this up. Do you think it's over?

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No, it's not over yet, because I believe that John Kerry must continue to unify the party. You know, one John will walk away with the prize, the other John will have to relieve himself.

O'BRIEN: Well, I guess I'll just guess which Johns you're talking about, and that's a weird choice of words.

So let's move right on. Andy, how do you follow that?

ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Well, I'll tell you, I think these two knock each other out on Super Tuesday, leaving the door open for Dennis J. Kucinich.

O'BRIEN: You think so?

And Al Sharpton, to finally make their moves as well. Interesting theories there.

All right, let's talk about this movie that has gotten so much notice, and yet not even out to be seen yet, "The Passion of the Christ." It's going to debut actually on Wednesday in 2,800 theaters, which makes it a pretty big, wide release there.

Donna, why don't you tackle this one for us -- does it surprise you at all that all this attention is going to draw the audience in? Some people are predicting $25 million in Mel Gibson's pocket at the end of the day.

BRAZILE: I think this is a clever idea. Instead of going to church on Wednesday to get their ashes, they are going to line up to see the movie and do their confession there. So I am ready to go and stand in line myself.

O'BRIEN: You want to see it. You know, Bill Hemmer keeps telling everybody he is going to see it as well. Jonah, are you?

GOLDBERG: Oh, I think I have to see it, if for nothing else, because of the controversies raised about it. I think it's probably unfair to suggest or say that Mel Gibson is doing this for the money. I mean, clearly, this was the passion of Mel Gibson in a lot of ways. I am looking forward to the sequel, though, which I hear is a lot more uplifting, "The Resurrection."

BRAZILE: That's called "The Resurrection."

O'BRIEN: That will be interesting to see where he goes with that. Andy, what do you think? Are you waiting to see "The Resurrection," the follow-up to "The Passion of the Christ."

BOROWITZ: Well, Jonah seems to have forgotten, the New Testament is a sequel.

O'BRIEN: Ooh, good one.

All right let's talk about A-Rod, because you all know, I know so much about baseball. But here's what I do know, the guy makes 252 million, and under this new deal with the Yankees, he's going to get a suite when he travels. The Rangers still actually have to pay a huge chunk of his salary already, and I think they have to pay the mortgage on his house as well. Do you think, Donna, that this whole deal basically wrecks baseball for everybody else.

BRAZILE: First of all, is he single?

O'BRIEN: No, he's not. To make it all worse, he's not single.

BRAZILE: Well, in that case, I hope he pays for himself. But I feel for those kids who go to baseball games and have to pay $10 for a hot dog and $15 for a soda.

O'BRIEN: Well, now it's $75 for a hot dog and $25 for the soda.

Jonah, what do you think? I mean, at the end of the day, right, they still lost to the Marlins, so I guess there is hope that it could all work out in the end.

GOLDBERG: Yes, and look out and the Oakland A's, which is a small market club, has done pretty well over the last few years, but generally speaking, the Yankees are doing what God put them on earth to do, which is to win as many games as possible, and to annoy Boston Red Sox fans. But baseball has an antitrust exemption for a reason, and we should have revenue sharing to make the field a little more competitive.

O'BRIEN: Andy, what do you think.

BOROWITZ: I really can't comment on this, because George Steinbrenner bought me yesterday. I'm a Yankee now. I'm playing second base.

O'BRIEN: Are you getting 252 million.

BOROWITZ: A little under that.

O'BRIEN: You can't comment on that, can you? All right, let's talk undercovered stories of the week?

Jonah, why don't you start for us.

GOLDBERG: Sure, Gallup has come out with a new poll that shows that despite the relentless and malicious drumbeats, often unfair from both the media and the Democrats on the Bush National Guard story, most Americans either don't care or don't think it's a big deal at all.

O'BRIEN: Donna, what do you think we missed this week?

BRAZILE: Well, this week the Republicans have outlined their strategy. It's called BBC -- blame Bill Clinton for just about everything. I think they need to find another strategy before the end of the year.

O'BRIEN: And, Andy Boroitz, you will get the final word this morning. What do you think was the undercovered story of the week?

BOROWITZ: Well, this is a big scoop here. In the final episode of "Sex and the City," the entire series turns out to be a dream, Bill Clinton's dream.

BRAZILE: Blame bill Clinton.

O'BRIEN: See, BBC, once, again, right, Donna? All right, as always, you guys, Jonah and Donna, Andy, nice to see you. Have a great weekend. We will see you back here next week.

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 20, 2004 - 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: Every Friday around this time, we put a spin on some of the week's big stories in a segment that we like to call "Gimme a Minute." Joining us this morning from Washington D.C. is Jonah Goldberg. He's the editor of the National Review Online. Also this morning from New Orleans is CNN's political analyst Donna Brazile joining us. And as well, here in New York City, Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker."
To all of you, good morning, thanks for being with us.

All right, let's begin, first and foremost, with Jonah. Senator Edwards concession speech, strangely enough, sounded actually like a little bit of a victory speech. Do you think, Jonah, that he is possibly still in this race, or do you think it's over for him?

JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Well, I can't think of a pundit who's been right in his predictions over the last year in terms of this race, so I might take the Fifth on that.

O'BRIEN: You can't take the Fifth. There's no taking of the Fifth.

GOLDBERG: If I was a betting man, I would say it's all wrapped up and Kerry's got it. But if Edwards gets one bounce in one of these big states, they might be able to spin it and turn the thing into a race. The delegate count is still so low.

O'BRIEN: Exactly, in fact, Donna, maybe people have said if you look at the number of delegates that remain, frankly, John Edwards could, if he got some momentum, wrap this up. Do you think it's over?

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No, it's not over yet, because I believe that John Kerry must continue to unify the party. You know, one John will walk away with the prize, the other John will have to relieve himself.

O'BRIEN: Well, I guess I'll just guess which Johns you're talking about, and that's a weird choice of words.

So let's move right on. Andy, how do you follow that?

ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Well, I'll tell you, I think these two knock each other out on Super Tuesday, leaving the door open for Dennis J. Kucinich.

O'BRIEN: You think so?

And Al Sharpton, to finally make their moves as well. Interesting theories there.

All right, let's talk about this movie that has gotten so much notice, and yet not even out to be seen yet, "The Passion of the Christ." It's going to debut actually on Wednesday in 2,800 theaters, which makes it a pretty big, wide release there.

Donna, why don't you tackle this one for us -- does it surprise you at all that all this attention is going to draw the audience in? Some people are predicting $25 million in Mel Gibson's pocket at the end of the day.

BRAZILE: I think this is a clever idea. Instead of going to church on Wednesday to get their ashes, they are going to line up to see the movie and do their confession there. So I am ready to go and stand in line myself.

O'BRIEN: You want to see it. You know, Bill Hemmer keeps telling everybody he is going to see it as well. Jonah, are you?

GOLDBERG: Oh, I think I have to see it, if for nothing else, because of the controversies raised about it. I think it's probably unfair to suggest or say that Mel Gibson is doing this for the money. I mean, clearly, this was the passion of Mel Gibson in a lot of ways. I am looking forward to the sequel, though, which I hear is a lot more uplifting, "The Resurrection."

BRAZILE: That's called "The Resurrection."

O'BRIEN: That will be interesting to see where he goes with that. Andy, what do you think? Are you waiting to see "The Resurrection," the follow-up to "The Passion of the Christ."

BOROWITZ: Well, Jonah seems to have forgotten, the New Testament is a sequel.

O'BRIEN: Ooh, good one.

All right let's talk about A-Rod, because you all know, I know so much about baseball. But here's what I do know, the guy makes 252 million, and under this new deal with the Yankees, he's going to get a suite when he travels. The Rangers still actually have to pay a huge chunk of his salary already, and I think they have to pay the mortgage on his house as well. Do you think, Donna, that this whole deal basically wrecks baseball for everybody else.

BRAZILE: First of all, is he single?

O'BRIEN: No, he's not. To make it all worse, he's not single.

BRAZILE: Well, in that case, I hope he pays for himself. But I feel for those kids who go to baseball games and have to pay $10 for a hot dog and $15 for a soda.

O'BRIEN: Well, now it's $75 for a hot dog and $25 for the soda.

Jonah, what do you think? I mean, at the end of the day, right, they still lost to the Marlins, so I guess there is hope that it could all work out in the end.

GOLDBERG: Yes, and look out and the Oakland A's, which is a small market club, has done pretty well over the last few years, but generally speaking, the Yankees are doing what God put them on earth to do, which is to win as many games as possible, and to annoy Boston Red Sox fans. But baseball has an antitrust exemption for a reason, and we should have revenue sharing to make the field a little more competitive.

O'BRIEN: Andy, what do you think.

BOROWITZ: I really can't comment on this, because George Steinbrenner bought me yesterday. I'm a Yankee now. I'm playing second base.

O'BRIEN: Are you getting 252 million.

BOROWITZ: A little under that.

O'BRIEN: You can't comment on that, can you? All right, let's talk undercovered stories of the week?

Jonah, why don't you start for us.

GOLDBERG: Sure, Gallup has come out with a new poll that shows that despite the relentless and malicious drumbeats, often unfair from both the media and the Democrats on the Bush National Guard story, most Americans either don't care or don't think it's a big deal at all.

O'BRIEN: Donna, what do you think we missed this week?

BRAZILE: Well, this week the Republicans have outlined their strategy. It's called BBC -- blame Bill Clinton for just about everything. I think they need to find another strategy before the end of the year.

O'BRIEN: And, Andy Boroitz, you will get the final word this morning. What do you think was the undercovered story of the week?

BOROWITZ: Well, this is a big scoop here. In the final episode of "Sex and the City," the entire series turns out to be a dream, Bill Clinton's dream.

BRAZILE: Blame bill Clinton.

O'BRIEN: See, BBC, once, again, right, Donna? All right, as always, you guys, Jonah and Donna, Andy, nice to see you. Have a great weekend. We will see you back here next week.

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