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Glenn Beck

Growing Anger Over Lack of Political Leadership; Can Third-Party Candidate Become Viable?

Aired October 04, 2007 - 19:00   ET

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

GLENN BECK, HOST (voice over): Tonight, dissension in America. Growing anger over our lack of leadership has citizens fighting back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I took this flag down in honor of my country.

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BECK: I`ll tell you why things are so bad there`s even talk of secession.

Plus, the U.S. and Russia may be headed toward a full-scale arms race. The Kremlin and our other friends might have found a winning strategy.

And Hillary cuts loose from the pack. New poll numbers show Obama falling back, while Mitt Romney`s campaign gains strategic steam.

All this and more, tonight.

BECK: Hello, America. We`ve got trouble in our country, and that starts with a capital T and rhymes with P and -- I don`t know the rest of the song. But there are three different stories that all speak to the same core issue. First up, you know the story in Reno, Nevada, the angry vet who cut down the Mexican flag, that was flying above the American one? I have him on with us, in about in 30 minutes, in tonight`s "Real Story".

But that story, in my head, is connected to the controversial civil libertarian Ron Paul and the story that he has raised as much money as mainstream Republican candidate John McCain. That`s just a little less than pretty boy John Edwards. And lastly, that story is connected to Chattanooga, Tennessee. They are hosting a two-day secessionist convention, a meeting of state advocacy groups who want to peacefully break off from the United States and be independent.

America, tonight here`s the point. These are all just warning signs of civil unrest if self-serving politicians keep pushing us to the outside edges of this country, the center can`t hold.

And here`s how I got there. You might have thought that the idea of secession ended with civil war. But today`s exclusionary political climate has revived it. Granted, it`s not sweeping the nation by any stretch of the imagination, but 25 states, half of the country, all have active secessionist movements, and it`s growing.

Listen to this. The Tennessee convention is dominated by two main groups. One is from Vermont, who feel that the American court system is "too conservative." I mean, I don`t know how many gallons of Ben & Jerry`s you have to eat in the lefty Mecca of Vermont to actually think that, but they do. The other group is a coalition of wildly conservative Southern states who feel the country is headed for socialism. These two groups have absolutely nothing in common politically, but their mutual frustration with the boneheads in Washington.

Political discontent makes for strange bedfellows. Tonight, here`s what you need to know. United we stand, and divided we fall. Call me naive, but I thought our leaders were supposed to bring us all together and remind us that the whole of our country is greater than any sum of its parts. Sadly, the strategy of most American politicians today is to divide and conquer.

We have to stop dwelling on what separates us and start celebrating what unites us, from many, one, e pluribus Unum. This list is much longer. Of course, there`s going to be strong differences. We don`t agree on everything, but it`s the diversity of ideas is what built this country into the greatest the world has ever known. We`re supposed to melt that together.

At the end of the day we`re all just people trying to live our lives, raise our families, just watch a stupid television show and not blow our heads off. We`re doing the best we can. Even though there have been times when I just wanted to get a big saw and just slice off California from the left side of the continent, and just float it towards Hawaii. I don`t really want them, or any other state, to secede. I believe there is a noble moral center in this country. And we have to reconnect with it and the sooner the better.

Remember, when push comes to shove, Democrats and Republicans and Independents, we are Americans first, last, and always.

Michael Hill is the president of the League of the South, and Thomas Naylor is the head of the Second Vermont Republic.

Let me start with you, Thomas. Your website says that you are opposed to the tyranny of the U.S. government and corporations and you want to peacefully dissolve the union. Tell me about that.

THOMAS NAYLOR, SECOND VERMONT REPUBLIC: Basically, our concerns are twofold. We feel that, first of all, that the U.S. government has lost its moral authority. Our government is corrupt to the core. It`s owned, operated, and controlled by corporate America. Second, we feel that the United States as a nation-state is basically unsustainable. By unsustainable, I mean economically, politically, militarily, culturally, socially, and, of course, environmentally.

We are ungovernable and therefore fixable -- unfixable. So the question is do you go down with the "Titanic" or do you seek other alternatives while there are still other options on the table?

BECK: Are you guys -- and Mike, let me throw this to you. Are you guys taking words from Thomas Jefferson, or are you saying break up the whole thing? Are you saying the country needs to be reset, or are you saying dissolve it entirely?

MICHAEL HILL, LEAGUE OF THE SOUTH: Well, Glenn, I don`t think we`re talking about dissolving the important things here entirely. If you had each of the 50 states to secede tomorrow, all those states would still be here. All the people would be in them.

BECK: I`m asking specifically about the Constitution. Are you saying dissolve everything down to the Constitution, or let the Constitution stand and just reset?

HILL: No. I think we need to dissolve the entire union because I think the Constitution is not being served by the present system. But what I was saying is you could take the central government in Washington out of the equation tomorrow, and have 50 separate states. Those states are still there. The people in those states are there and the North American continent is here. The only thing missing is the imperial government in Washington. I think that would be a good thing.

BECK: Thomas, you said that you were basically talking to yourself four years ago. Now your groups together have about 20,000 members. And you say that it is growing. You have this convention. You had one I think last year. Now you`re having it again this year. Should we be afraid of you guys?

NAYLOR: Oh, absolutely not. We are perfectly harmless. In fact --

BECK: Well, you`re talking about dissolving our government. And don`t get me wrong. There`s part of me that says, mm-hmm. There`s another part of me that says, wait a minute, hang on, I really like the Constitution. I`d like to see it enacted. Let`s fix it and get closer to where our Founding Fathers were.

NAYLOR: We certainly considered that option. But our view is that it really is not fixable. The problem is your typical liberal Democrat in this country thinks that all you have to do is elect the next liberal Democrat and all of our problems are going to be solved. The problem is to be elected president of the United States, today, you have to sell your soul to corporate America. You are owned by corporate America.

So the idea that there will be some kind of campaign finance reform, we`re going to fix it all, is utter fantasy. The system is beyond being fixed because the people who control the government like the system exactly the way it is. They have no incentive whatsoever to change.

BECK: So were you guys -- have you guys always been the hey, you know, America stinks, and we`ve got to dissolve it, or is this a new thing for you? Or who are you? And who are your members?

HILL: Well, I`ve never thought America stinks. There`s a big difference between America and this corrupt government that`s running this country today.

BECK: I know, but what you`re saying is --

(CROSS TALK)

HILL: America is the people and the 50 states.

BECK: I understand that. But you`re saying we should dissolve the United States of America. There is a difference, gang, between resetting our government -- because I agree with you, our government has lost its founding principles. It is not being guided by the Constitution in many ways. But there`s a huge difference between, get back to our principles, and dissolve the Constitution and end it. That`s huge.

NAYLOR: We don`t think it`s possible -- we don`t think it`s possible to get back there because what we`ve got now is an empire. En empire whose foreign policy is based on full-spectrum dominance and imperial overstretch and --

BECK: But guys, you have to be smart enough to know that we tried a very weak central government and that turned into chaos as well. Have you war-gamed this out at all in your head, that if people would start jumping onto your bandwagon there would be great overpowering civil unrest?

HILL: Well, that`s not necessarily true. I think all of this could be done rather peacefully if the powers that be, wanted it done peacefully. But let me address this from the Southern point of view. We have a Southern culture that`s under assault today and has been for a number of years by the proponents of political correctness. We have been legislated for in the South by the likes of Teddy Kennedy, and Southerners are traditional conservatives, Christians. We`ve had abortion pushed down our throats --

BECK: I mean, look at you two, though.

HILL: We`ve had gun control pushed down our throats.

BECK: Michael, Thomas.

HILL: And if we had our own separate nation, it wouldn`t be that way.

BECK: Look at the two of you. You can`t agree with each other on what you just said. You just are in bed together, but

HILL: But that doesn`t matter.

BECK: That`s amazing. Absolutely amazing.

HILL: I`ll tell you why -- Glenn, I`ll tell you why it doesn`t matter. Because we are talking here about a process, the process of secession, which leads to liberty for Vermont. It leads to liberty for the South. Then we can sort out our own problems --

BECK: Guys, I appreciate it.

HILL: By our own world views.

BECK: I have to run. I thank you very much.

So where am I wrong here? If our politicians in Washington don`t wake up, more and more Americans are going to dissever themselves from our government. Agree or disagree? Go to cnn.com/glennbeck to cast your vote.

Coming up, time to go "Poll Dancing". A new survey shows Hillary Clinton has taken a huge lead over Barack Obama. And what`s the deal with Fred Thompson? Is he even in the race, or is it just me?

Plus, some in America angry. We pick our conversation right back up at the bottom of the hour. They`re taking matters into their own hands. The "Real Story" behind the angry vet`s decision to rip down a Mexican flag that was flying above the American flag. He`ll be with us, coming up.

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BECK: Coming up, outrage in Canada. A Toronto mosque is telling Muslims not to say Happy Thanksgiving or invite friends into their homes for a turkey dinner. In fact, they`re telling them to avoid everything that is a celebration that is not of Muslim descent. I`ll have more on that in just a bit.

But first, not only is Hillary Clinton way out in front when it comes to campaign fund-raising, she`s also got a dominating lead in the approval polls as well. Obama is in a distant second.

According to a new ABC/"Washington Post" news poll Hillary`s husband is actually helping her candidacy, which tells me that wow, we have a short memory in this country. On the Republican side of things Rudy Giuliani is barely holding on to his lead. Mitt Romney is ahead in three of the four key primary states.

And Fred Thompson is -- I mean, I don`t know. Is he even in the race still? He seems to be running out of gas. Maybe he`s forgotten. It`s a little harder getting a leading role in Washington than it is in Hollywood.

Joining me now, with the facts, is Scott Rasmussen. He`s the president of Rasmussen Reports.

Scott, let me start there, with Fred Thompson. Is Fred -- am I just missing something, or where Fred is down on the ground making speeches do you see his poll numbers going up or down?

SCOTT RASMUSSEN, RASMUSSEN RESEARCH: Well, you know, his numbers haven`t moved a whole lot since he made his announcement. He got a nice little bounce. But Fred Thompson is seen as the most conservative candidate in the field right now. Rudy Giuliani is seen as most elect able, as you said, and Mitt Romney is leading the early states. There is no frontrunner and none of those three are slipping. In our daily presidential tracking poll they`re all within five points of each other today.

BECK: OK. Giuliani is -- I mean, how is he doing in the first primary states? I mean, I know we`re a ways out and so you can`t really say because Howard Dean was leading in the primaries, you know, at one point.

RASMUSSEN: Right.

BECK: But Rudy Giuliani is getting beat by Mitt Romney where they`re both down on the ground.

RASMUSSEN: Well, Mitt Romney`s been ahead in Iowa from the beginning. He put in a serious effort there early on. He`s been the only candidate to spend a lot of money early in both Iowa and New Hampshire. What we`re seeing is Romney is still having a good lead in Iowa. But in New Hampshire it`s been slipping.

And in fact, our latest poll shows Romney ahead of Giuliani only by three in New Hampshire. The CNN poll shows him up by just a single point. And that`s down from a double-digit lead for Romney in midsummer. So there has been some slippage.

What`s really interesting is if you take a look at those early states you`ve got Romney ahead in New Hampshire, Thompson ahead in South Carolina, and Giuliani ahead in Florida.

BECK: When it comes to Giuliani with the Christian base, I know that a group of Christians got together and said they`re just not going to -- they`ll run a third party if it`s Giuliani. What do you see down South? Do you see -- or these real conservative -- you don`t even have to be a Christian, just real conservative -- areas of the country. Could he hold his own against a Democrat in conservative parts of the country?

RASMUSSEN: Well, the question is how badly do Republicans really want to win? I think Hillary Clinton unites Republicans more than just about anything else, and if Rudy Giuliani is on the ticket, he will do fine against Hillary Clinton in the South, but he won`t win Arkansas, because that`s her former home state.

Virginia`s going to be in play no matter what. Even a state like Tennessee could at least be competitive with Rudy Giuliani on the ticket. Having said that, again, it comes down to what do Republicans really fear the most? Is it a candidate with a pro-choice background or a candidate named Hillary Clinton, or some other Democrat?

BECK: Do you sense -- but see, I think if you run Giuliani, I think you are going to have that third candidate. I think Ron Paul could run as a third candidate, even if it`s not Giuliani. I think there`s discontent with the conservatives --

RASMUSSEN: Right.

BECK: They haven`t felt a pivot point. I mean, speaking as an alcoholic, I know the moment that I knew I had to stop drinking. And I haven`t seen that moment from the Democrats -- or from the Republicans yet, that they have said, oh, wow did we screw up! Do you sense, is there anything that shows you in polling numbers about the discontent, about the unhinging, if you will, of conservatives from Republicans?

RASMUSSEN: There`s a great deal of discontent and dissatisfaction out there. People are not happy. You know, immigration was the issue of the summer that people saw a huge gap on. There have been concerns on spending. And it shows in a general -- I think it`s a dispiritedness you`re seeing about the choices in the field.

And the question is will it just be unhappiness, or will it really turn to anger? And the other issue, Hillary Clinton is likely to get between 45 and 49 percent of the vote. You know, she`s not going to go into the -- well above the majority level. And that means if there is a splintering, if there is a small party that takes two or three points away from the Republicans, that could tip an election.

BECK: Any idea -- I know you don`t do this kind of stuff. Any idea whether it was Giuliani-Clinton who would win if it were held today?

RASMUSSEN: Well, the latest polling that we have shows that Clinton has moved ahead by about 5 points. What has been interesting, the two of them have been a tossup for most of the year, but lately the news has been very good for Senator Clinton, not so good for Giuliani. So she would be the favorite.

BECK: Anybody that you see could beat Hillary Clinton that is currently in the field?

RASMUSSEN: Well, let me tell you, in May of 1992 when Hillary Clinton`s husband was running he was third in the polls, behind not only the first President Bush but Ross Perot. That was just five months before the election and he won. It is still a chance for anybody to beat Hillary Clinton. It`s still a chance for somebody else to be the Democratic nominee. We have a long way to go until election day.

BECK: Scott, thanks a lot.

Now, yesterday I told my radio listeners about a fantastic website that will match you up with a perfect presidential candidate. All you do is enter your stance on all of these important issues, from abortion to immigration to water boarding, and it then spits out who you should vote for. What`s more American than that? Not actually have to engage your brain or doing any work? To find your perfect match and to see the surprising candidate who I apparently should be voting for, go to Glennbeck.com and sign up now for my free e-mail newsletter.

We will include all the details in tomorrow`s edition of the newsletter. But you have to get on the list tonight. It is completely free at glennbeck.com.

Now, coming up, a mosque in Canada is telling its members not to participate in Thanksgiving or any other non-Muslim celebration. I`ll explain why this is a recipe for disaster, coming up.

Plus, the Kremlin threatens retaliation over the new missile shield. Could we be headed toward another full-scale arms race with Russia? They say so. Details in tonight`s "Real Story."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Oh, Allah humbug. A Toronto mosque is telling Muslims not to say Happy Thanksgiving or invite friends over for turkey and all the trimmings for the holiday. They also say you should avoid participating in parties or greetings during thanksgiving because it is a qaphar (ph), a non-Muslim celebration.

And just to make sure that nobody has any fun, the mosque`s website says that Muslims should stay completely way from Halloween, Christmas, New Year`s, anniversaries, birthdays, and Earth Day. Damn it, not Earth Day!

Say what you will about religious tolerance but anybody that tells me I can`t have pumpkin pie and a drumstick, you`re an extremist. Sharida McKenzie joins me now. She`s a regular American practicing Muslim.

And if I`m not mistaken, Sharida, last time you were on it`s because you were inspired partially by this program to get out and march against those who hijacking your own religion?

SHARIDA MCKENZIE, MUSLIM-AMERICAN: Yes, you were an inspiration to me on that peace march.

BECK: OK. Sharida, your thoughts on this?

MCKENZIE: This is actually a very difficult topic for me because I do believe that everyone can believe what they want to believe, as long as they don`t hurt anybody. And for example, I called a Jehovah Witness organization today in Austin, Texas, and they, too, don`t celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving, holidays or birthdays.

BECK: OK.

MCKENZIE: And I respect that. I do. But it is -- it`s difficult for me because I want to build bridges instead of barriers, as a Muslim.

BECK: OK. So help me out, Sharida, because the difference between the Jehovah Witness and those in other religions that are blowing themselves up, namely Islamists, is quite stark. When the Jehovah Witness starts to say I`m going to start blowing things up when you don`t agree with me or I`m going to behead you, when you don`t agree with me, the problem is how do we know what`s extreme and what`s not?

MCKENZIE: Well, that is extreme. Like I said, if it`s going to be hurting somebody then I have --

BECK: Well, no, but this is -- but hang on. This isn`t hurting anybody. They`re also banning watching sports or soap operas, walking dogs, family photos, wedding bands, Western hats, mingling, shaking hands with the opposite sex. They are banning all of these things, which will completely separate us. Are these the kind of people that will say the U.S. Constitution is a good thing or the U.S. Constitution is a bad thing?

MCKENZIE: Well, I`m not going to stand in judgment on Toronto, but what I would like to do is offer a personal perspective on this. And so I`m an American. I grew up celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. My family, it`s a time for us to get together. We invite Christians. We invite our non-Muslim friends. And it`s a time for to us get together and in that time we take an opportunity to thank God for all of our blessings.

BECK: So --

MCKENZIE: So.

BECK: But how do we know the difference -- I mean, you`re reasonable. How do we know the difference between you and those that are trying to kill us?

MCKENZIE: Well, maybe open some more lines of communication. Get out there and meet Muslims. And I encourage Muslims to be more open and build bridges instead of barriers, also.

BECK: So are these policies building bridges?

MCKENZIE: No, I personally don`t believe they are.

BECK: OK.

MCKENZIE: In Austin we have a lot of interfaith activities that we do here with Jews and Christians.

BECK: All right. Sharida, I`ve got to run. But thank you very much. I appreciate it. And we`ll see you again.

Up next, we have a "Real Story" behind one of the angry veterans` decision to tear down a Mexican flag that was flying above an American flag. He`ll be with us in just a second. Don`t go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right, welcome to "The Real Story." This week in Reno, Nevada, a local television station was tipped off that a business was flying a Mexican flag above the U.S. flag. The station decided to check out the rumor, and kudos to them for that. I mean, I just would have run with it, but they`ve got standards apparently. So they sent a camera guy out to film it, you know, and this is what they caught. But while the camera guy was there, something extraordinary happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM BROSSARD, TORE DOWN MEXICAN FLAG: That is what happened, right there. I`m Jim Brossard, and I took this flag down in honor of my country, with a flag -- with a knife from the United States Army. I`m a veteran. I`m not going to see this done to my country. If they want to fight us, then they need to be men, and they need to come and fight us. But I want somebody to fight me for this flag. They`re not going to get it back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: All right. When I first heard this story, I tried to decide, is this guy a patriot or a vigilante? You know, I`m thinking he`s a veteran, he seems sane on one hand, but then you can`t have people running around and doing this. But then I realized: What are they doing? That`s not the point of the story.

The "Real Story" is that Americans are sick and tired of our government not enforcing our own laws. We are tired as Americans of being told that the country that we love, the values that we stand for need to change, or that we`re the ones who are out of step, we`re the ones that have to give up our traditions and bow to political correctness.

You know, there is a poem engraved on the base of Statue of Liberty that immigration activists love to recite. "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled blahdy blahdy blahdy blahdy." The important part of that poem, the part that nobody ever wants to repeat, is the last line, "For I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

The golden door, man, you don`t put a golden door on a shack or a Port-a-Potty. You put it on a special, revered place. How many of us are sick and tired of hearing that our country is not a special place, that we`re just no different, we`re just like every other country? Who are you to say we`re not worth fighting for, we`re not a special place?

Well, I say, damn it, yes, we are! Jim Brossard heard a story about America once again being thrown into the corner like a dirty rag, and he snapped. Well, I`ve got news for you, gang. Unless we start reconnecting with common sense and values, unless all Republicans and Democrats stop acting like political operatives and start acting like Americans, there`s much more of this to come.

Jim Brossard is the U.S. Army veteran that you saw in that clip, and Bill Manders is the radio talk show host in Reno for KKOH. And, Bill, you were on the air, right? So you`re the hate-mongering racist. And what were you...

BILL MANDERS, RADIO HOST: Oh, yes, I`m the racist, the hatemonger. You know the names.

BECK: I know. I hear them all the time. So what were you saying? What were you saying on the air that caused this?

MANDERS: You know, what started all this, Glenn, was -- and, by the way, thank you very much for having us on your program. We appreciate it. But the whole thing started several months back when I made the announcement that I thought all radio and television stations in the United States of America should speak English. And, of course, at that point I was called a racist.

And then, the other day, I got an e-mail from someone who showed me this flag being flown above the United States flag. It was the Mexican flag. And they`re all over this city, by the way. Wannabe car lots are putting them up. I mean, it`s crazy here, Glenn.

And I`ve got to tell you something. When I talked about the story, the next thing I knew is this guy sitting next to me here called and said that he had gone over and taken down the Mexican flag and took the American flag with him.

BECK: All right. Jim, listen, I appreciate your service to our country. I really do, sir, sincerely. I thank you. And I can understand your frustration. But doesn`t this make you in a way a vigilante? I mean, is it -- I understand your frustration. Help me understand that you`re not a guy who just goes out and does this stuff.

JIM BROSSARD, TORE DOWN MEXICAN FLAG: You know, Glenn, it`s a pleasure being and an honor being in your presence on this show. I find that it`s just intolerable the way the laws are misconstrued and changed to accommodate those who would just love to break our laws. You know, it`s consistently that identity theft is a problem, these flags are being hoisted, and they`re not hoisted out of good intention. They`re hoisted in intent to solicit a reaction.

BECK: Are you the kind of guy that does this? I mean, what was it that said...

BROSSARD: You know, I`m not.

BECK: ... "I`m getting into my car, and I`m going to take care of it myself"? What was it?

BROSSARD: What it was is it`s just that I`m fed up, like you said earlier. I have had enough of people just stepping on our laws, on our beliefs of our nation. We`re a nation of people. We are talking English and able to have this program right now as a result of our forefathers who have fought diligently and died for this flag. I have a mother that called me, Joy Marisco (ph), Raul Bravo, (ph) son died on 3/3/01 (ph) in Iraq. She`s livid that they did this.

BECK: OK.

MANDERS: You know, Glenn, one of the things that`s happening...

BECK: I`ve got to run -- go ahead.

MANDERS: He`s not a nut case, OK? I want you to know that. I want everybody else to know that. What he is, is an American patriot. And there are millions of them out there. He just happens to be the one in the limelight right now, but there will be more, the more we have to put up with this, because we`ve gone way past tolerance.

BECK: OK. Bill, Jim, I`ve got to run, guys.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: But I`m telling you, buckle up. The ACLU is coming for you.

Now, we`ve got to switch to the threats coming out of Russia. Lately they`re pretty hard to keep up with, so let me recap the last year for you quickly. They`re killing journalists and government dissenters. They are resuming long-range nuclear bomber flights. They`re buzzing our Air Force bases. They`re claiming that the North Pole is their territory.

They`re threatening to cut off oil and gas to their neighbors, which has caused an energy panic in Europe. They are blocking our sanctions on Iran. They`re testing the father of all bombs, the biggest bomb now in the world. They`re pulling out of NATO arms treaties. They`ve dropped dud missiles on their neighbors as a warning. They have launched cyber attacks against one of their former republics.

And now, after the U.S. successfully completed a test of our national missile defense program, Russia is threatening us with a full-fledged arms race. Most experts will tell you that this is just empty threats and more propaganda. The "Real Story" is, why listen to the experts when you`ve got a bozo like me?

I believe that this proves that Russia has learned their own history. They understand that we won the Cold War with dollars, not soldiers. We bankrupt them. Now, our economy is teetering; our debt is piling up; our people are divided. Did you see the last segment? Our armies are involved in controversial wars, and they are using the playbook written by Ronald Reagan against us. The sad part is, we`re just too damn arrogant to recognize it.

Paul Joyal is the vice president of National Strategies and an expert on Russia. Paul, please tell me, I mean, are you a sunshine and lollipop guy tonight? Are you going to say, "Oh, Glenn, this is no big deal, don`t worry about it"?

PAUL JOYAL, VP, NATIONAL STRATEGIES, INC.: No, it`s a serious deal, because the other part of the equation, which you didn`t mention, is that Mr. Putin accused us of imperialism, the U.S. is an imperialist country, and they`re starting the arms race. So this cuts both ways.

BECK: OK, but this is also -- I mean, even those people who say this is just propaganda, it`s not just propaganda. I mean, I can understand it as propaganda in their own country to ratchet up jingoism and nationalism, et cetera, et cetera, but this is empowering our enemies. Tell me, Paul, that it doesn`t empower Venezuela, it doesn`t kick up everything in the Middle East a notch to have this superpower stand against us and show this power, whether it`s real or not?

JOYAL: Glenn, you`re absolutely correct. It does empower our adversaries. And as a matter of fact, it`s also directed to intimidate Europe. When you say "arms race," it scares the Europeans. When you call the U.S. imperialist, it empowers Iran to pursue their nuclear ambitions because they`re just trying to protect ourselves. And Russia will use this effectively in the U.N. to dilute, if not stop, any efforts to stop the Iran nuclear program.

BECK: OK. Paul, I`m not an expert on, well, quite frankly, not a damn thing. But I`ve been thinking recently, and you`re the guy to explain it. See if you can do it in a minute. Where did all the communists go? I mean, I`ve been thinking about this. In the world`s history, when has a country this size and with this much love for it inside and the love for the system just collapsed without any kind of bloodshed? There were no communists on the streets trying to get communist Russia or the Soviet Union back together. We just woke up one day and it was over, and everybody was a social democrat. I don`t think communism ever went away; it just renamed itself and restarted. Wrong?

JOYAL: Communism did not go away. The mentality, the totalitarian mechanism did not go away. It collapsed under its own weight. But the Russian people never saw themselves or the communists never saw themselves as defeated by the U.S. They just thought that they couldn`t manage their books any longer. So the mentality is still there, and now that they`re getting stronger, they`re moving back to their old ways.

BECK: OK, Paul, thanks. That`s "The Real Story" tonight, gang. Yes, yes. Maybe we should have a spoonful of sugar, you know, to make all the Russian medicine go down. I`m just saying, brought to you tonight by Travelers Insurance.

This is the world`s grits-eating championship from Louisiana Downs. The winner is the guy right there in the center with the Mohawk. Are you ready for this? You`re going to have a hard time with this one. He was able to keep down 21 pounds of grits in 10 minutes. And I don`t know why they`re always so skinny. He has received $4,000 in the form of a giant 21-pound check, so there you go. His family must be so proud. Tonight`s spoonful of sugar sponsored by Travelers Insurance, in-synch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: If we flip the switch on this country, and I could shut all of America`s power off, I could just hit this button, and all power would stop here in America, the goal is we have to decrease between 50 percent and 80 percent of all the CO-2. If I shut America off, how far have we come? About 20 percent. Sound like a solution that you`re willing to possibly risk our economic security on?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Well, I want to introduce my next guest by reading to you some of his best quotes. See if you can figure out who this is. Quote, "I once paid over $30 million in taxes over two years. I was so proud." "George Walker Bush is one of the best presidents we`ve ever had in the history of this country." And finally, my personal favorite, "Martin Luther King took us to the mountain top. I want to take us to the bank."

You know who it is? Don King, boxing promoter. And you know, Don, good to see you.

DON KING, BOXING PROMOTER: Glenn, it`s a pleasure. I`m delighted to be here.

BECK: I have that same jacket at home. I almost wore it today.

KING: He told me he only made two, one for me and one for you.

BECK: Yes, it`s wild. You were just at the White House, hanging with President Bush.

KING: Yeah, oh, I love President Bush. Let the word go forth (INAUDIBLE) that I was with him when he came in, I`m going to be with him when he go out, and I`m with him because he has the word "inclusive" that many presidents have talked and they`ve prophesized and they`ve said. Lyndon Baines Johnson said we`ve got to be able to recognize all of the Americans. John F. Kennedy, he said that everybody`s equal in America except the negro. You say now, who would change places? Is any one of you willing to change places? He made a tremendous speech. You know what I mean?

But at the end of the day, no one was included. You know, they all had to keep fighting for visibility and being able to be seen, heard, and get their rights in this great nation called America. So I love George Walker Bush. He`s revolutionary.

BECK: May I just -- I`m sorry. I just -- can I lean in just a little bit?

KING: Yes.

BECK: It`s not like hairspray or anything.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: It`s natural.

BECK: I know what you`re saying was important or something, but...

KING: I understand that.

BECK: And you just, every day you get up and it`s like that?

KING: It pops up -- even when I put water in the shower and it mats down, it pops back up, because God is likening me to Sampson. I mean, I just don`t have a Delilah to be able to betray, but I go out and deal with people like this. Walter Cronkite say, "And that`s the way it is." And Sergeant Friday said, "Just the facts, just the facts."

BECK: Did you feel a little weird telling me before we went on the air that I was a controversial figure?

KING: No, I thought that was just what it should be. You are a controversial figure. You are iconoclastic. You`re a guy who tells people what they don`t want to hear, but you be telling the truth. You exemplify George --what is it? Colin Bryant (ph). He says that the truth questioners will rise again. And then Thomas Galal (ph) said no lie can live forever. So you exemplify that, because you don`t just come out there and patronize and pander to the whims and caprices of those. You just tell it like you see it from the perspective of Glenn Beck.

BECK: Now, you are -- you`re in town, and he invited me to the fight...

KING: Yes, the heavyweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden. I do want to thank Jim Dolan, because he stepped to the plate. You know, this is what makes it remarkable, when you have -- I named this fight "Faith, Hope, and Glory."

Faith, because you`ve got to have faith. If you believe in the (INAUDIBLE) and the prince of peace and the prince of principality is Jesus Christ, you can do anything. You can remove mountains. Now, how do I say that and I`ve got to prove that? On September the 8th, I had a fight scheduled for Mayorga and Vargas. The guy got a stomach ache. The fight couldn`t come off. I had to reschedule that fight. I did. And I saved the fight rather than cancel it.

July 22nd -- September 29th, Chad Dawson was to fight Diaconu from Canada. All of the Canadians came. Everybody there. He got something. He got incapacitated by some mental translation. But anyway, he didn`t fight. A guy named Ken Hershman broadcast it anyway. We`ve got another guy to fight, Epifanio Mendoza. Saved two fights.

Then here in New York, the Russians, they`re afflicted with a back disease. Vitaly Klitschko pulled out of five fights. You know what I mean? Oleg Maskaev pulled out of two. So this disease, and I`m just hoping it don`t plague America, but nevertheless, we saved the fight again for Ken Hershman, allowed me to find another opponent for the nightmare, Samuel Peter. And the WBC, in its infinite wisdom, made him champion.

BECK: May I just...

KING: Oh, yes, Glenn, just go ahead anytime you want. You`re my guest here, so anything you want to do is all right with me.

BECK: Do you realize that you have the ultimate Alzheimer`s outfit? If you ever get Alzheimer`s, you`ll know who you are. You`ve got "Don" on your pocket there on your shirt.

KING: Yes.

BECK: Right there, it just says "Don." So you`ll at least be able to say, if you`re just wearing your white shirt, you`ll at least be able to say, "I`m Don." And then you`ve got it all around -- is it...

KING: Yes, you know what it is?

BECK: Do people recognize you when you go out?

KING: The most important thing that you recognize is to support our troops. You know, they are the vanguard of our nation. They`re the protectors of our soil. They`re the protectors of our liberties and freedoms that we enjoy at Glenn Beck, who can speak out audaciously without, you know, unmitigated temerity. You know what I mean? To be able to do what he says and do it like he does it, them soldiers -- the women and the men that wear their uniform are the embodiment of this great nation called America. So let`s salute our troops. Let`s support our troops. Let`s support America.

BECK: What do you think about, in a match, Giuliani-Clinton? Which one would win?

KING: Well, you know, that`s going to be a contest...

BECK: No, no, no, I mean, in an actual boxing match.

KING: In an actual boxing match?

BECK: Yes.

KING: Well...

BECK: We could start with Nancy Pelosi and George Bush.

KING: Hands down with George Bush and Nancy, George Bush. Now, but Nancy`s OK. I understand that. Nancy`s out from California, speaker of the House, one of the first women that can get up and be the speaker, whatever it is. She did it...

BECK: Giuliani and Clinton, I`m not sure which one would fight more dirty.

KING: Well, I -- you didn`t say that, now. See you keep adding in words. You see what I`m saying? You said a fight, a match. Now, if you`re just going to have a match now, it`s got to be Hillary.

BECK: Good luck, sir, on the fight this weekend.

KING: Yeah, we`re going to do the fight this weekend. But you keep fighting for America, because that`s what`s most important. And I like your candor.

BECK: Thank you.

KING: Your veracity is unparalleled. It is incomparable.

BECK: Thank you.

KING: Glenn Beck, baby. All-American man Glenn Beck, dog!

BECK: Back in just a second.

KING: Glenn Beck, this is what it`s all about!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, I will be the first to admit that working in the news business ain`t easy, and I should know, because I`m not actually in the news business, but I work around it. I`m constantly being subjected to the most atrocious stories of human depravity. Fortunately, every once in a while, a long while, a story comes across the desk that tells us that all hope is not lost.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the story of Shannon Whisnant, a selfless man who wanted nothing more than to give something back to his small North Carolina community. So when Shannon bought a barbecue smoker at a public auction and found an amputated leg inside, he knew at that very moment that this was just the type of tourist attraction that could bring badly needed revenue to his hometown of Maiden, North Carolina.

SHANNON WHISNANT, FOUND LEG: I mean, a real foot with five toes. People call from all over the world wants to see it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Maiden would soon be known as the town where you could look close up at an amputated leg for just three dollars, one dollar for kids under 12. Shannon`s dream was about to become a reality. Nothing could stand in his way, except perhaps the person to whom the leg actually belonged to.

Meet John Wood, a selfish man who apparently would rather get his own leg back than see much-needed tourist dollars pouring into Maiden, North Carolina. Wood originally lost his leg in a plane crash, along with his father.

JOHN WOOD, LOST LEG: I`ve lost my father, and my life savings, and my home, my family, and now I`ve lost my leg again at this public auction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Apparently, Wood fell behind on payments to the storage space where the leg was kept.

WOOD: The Maiden mini plaza storage, as well as anybody in Maiden who knew me, knew that leg was in that building. This sale should never have taken place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shannon, of course, was sympathetic to Wood`s dilemma.

WHISNANT: Why didn`t you take it with you if it was such a personal effect?

WOOD: It was under lock and key I assumed in a safe position.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still, Shannon was willing to compromise.

WHISNANT: Maybe if I have it in my custody for every Halloween and a month there before, we may have split custody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, perhaps there will be a happy ending after all.

WHISNANT: One time I traded for a shrunken human head, but this is off the wall, man.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: There it is. Don`t forget, free e-mail newsletter. Tomorrow we`ll feature the presidential matchmaker. You tell how you feel about issues, and it will tell you who to vote for. I`ll also show you who my perfect candidate apparently is, and his name`s not Mitt, Rudy, John, or Fred. That`s in tomorrow`s free e-mail newsletter. So get on the list tonight at glennbeck.com. It is, again, free.

From New York, good night, America.

END