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Glenn Beck

Is White Guilt a Factor in Obama`s Rise?

Aired April 02, 2008 - 19:00   ET

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

GLENN BECK, HOST: Well, hello, America.
Issues of race, rarely black and white. This presidential election, as it has progressed, we`ve -- we`ve heard from people like Bill Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro -- what a racist she turned out to be, huh? -- and Reverend Jeremiah Wright. They chime in with their opinions on the meaning of Barack Obama`s candidacy and potential presidency.

Well, now a United States congressman is suggesting white guilt is what`s going to send voters into the booths and Obama to the Oval Office. So here`s "The Point" tonight.

I hate to tell you this. I think he`s right. And here`s how I got there. America has made mistakes in the past, from slavery through Jim Crow, African-Americans have suffered and, in some ways, they still are. Many Americans, no matter is the past is past. I`m not responsible. Neither are you. Unless you own slaves, and you would have to be really old. Unless you ordered Rosa Parks to the back of the bus or insisted on separate drinking fountains, it`s not your fault. Let it go.

I mean, unless you`re one of those weirdoes wearing the pointy hoods right now, then it really is your fault.

I don`t know if Jeremiah Wright ever took a break from the -- you know, from the hate that he was spewing all the time to read some actual scriptures from the book I like to call the Bible. But if he did and Barack Obama happened to be at that sermon, they would both know that the son cannot be held responsible for the sins of the father, or in this case, the great, great, great grandfather.

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver is a Democrat from Missouri who also just happens to a Clinton super delegate. In an interview with Canadian radio, he spoke about Barack Obama and what is the motivation to vote for him behind many voters?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER (D), MISSOURI: I think for many white Americans, they are looking at Barack Obama and saying, "This is our chance to demonstrate that we have been able to get this bogeyman called race behind us." And so they`re going to vote for him, you know, whether they he has credentials or not, whether he has any experience. I think all that`s out the window.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK. There you have it. An African-American congressman and a Hillary Clinton super delegate calling this election for Barack Obama. Now, I`d love to say that he`s dead wrong in his opinion, but I`m afraid he`s absolutely right.

Abraham Lincoln said that our country`s sin of slavery was washed clean with the blood of the Civil War. Just like you, I can only take responsibility for my actions and what I have done in my lifetime.

Plus, the legacy of strong black leaders, from Colin Powell to Condoleezza Rice to Barack Obama, stands as evidence at how far we`ve come in the struggle for civil rights here in America. So tonight here`s what you need to know.

I got to tell you, I think we are living some twisted version of America these days. It doesn`t seem to matter how kids actually do in school. You better not hold them responsible. Some kid could kill somebody else. Whoa, they`re under age. You can`t hold them responsible. Doesn`t matter if you bought a house, too much house that you can`t afford and we don`t hold you responsible. Here, let us help you with your mortgage.

Bear Stearns, they took a big risk. They lost. Is there any personal responsibility there? At the same time, too many Americans are not only getting blamed for things they didn`t do, but they`re getting blamed for things that they find reprehensible, like slavery. Get past the excuses and also get past the guilt.

We`ve got a whole new batch of problems here in the country that I think we need to address. What do you say we work on today? Come November, do the right thing in casting your vote. Cast it for America`s tomorrow. Yesterday is already out of our hands.

Amy Holmes is a CNN political contributor, and Reverend Al Sharpton is a radio talk show host, founder of the National Action Network.

Al, let me start with you. What is white guilt, and should we feel guilty?

REV. AL SHARPTON, FOUNDER, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: Well, I don`t know what white guilt is. I would assume that it is those that feel that they have some kind of reason to repair damage that was done.

I would agree with you, Glenn, that people ought not feel responsible for what they didn`t do. I think that what we can deal is the inequities that still exist and how we correct them.

I think, frankly, that it`s a waste of time to be guilty about the past. It`s like everything is fair, equal now. There`s enough stuff going on right now to correct that we don`t have to go back 50 years or 100 years. We`re living in a time now of inequities.

BECK: You`ve got it. And inequities, I mean, if you`re talking about racism -- Amy, let me go to you -- I mean, racism is one thing. Racism exists on both sides.

I mean, I think Jeremiah Wright is a racist. But that`s just my opinion. A lot of people apparently disagree with me.

Inequities is another thing. There will always be inequities in life -- Amy.

AMY HOLMES, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think that there are serious things that we need to do to address that, and I don`t know if Barack Obama is talking seriously about how to do that.

For example, out of wedlock childbirth is what`s driving a lot of the problems in inner city communities in terms of educational attainment, the education gap, the income gap, black on black crime, high incarceration rates. That`s something we could tackle.

But going back to Congressman Cleaver`s statement, I think the first half of it does have some truth to it. That white voters see Barack Obama as an opportunity to start -- or not to start but to continue the progress of -- the process of racial healing.

I don`t think it`s because of no matter what his credentials, no matter what his experience. I think his accomplishments are -- he`s getting dangerously close to saying that Barack Obama is a token, and I would really disagree with that.

BECK: I will tell you that I think that it`s just like a Prius is a token in some ways for this global warming movement. I mean, the No. 1 reason people buy a Prius, the No. 1 reason is because it says a lot about me.

I think there are a lot of Americans that are just that shallow that will say I want to be a part of history, or -- and they won`t look into any of his -- any of his real credentials.

SHARPTON: I don`t agree. I think Amy is right. Glenn, first of all, I think it is to imply that he has no credentials.

BECK: No, no, no, it is not. It is not.

SHARPTON: May I finish my point, though? I think that to say that is to imply he has no credentials, and that is not true. And there is no hard evidence that people are saying that I don`t care whether he has credentials, background or not. I`m voting for him. There`s no evidence for that. There`s no polling that shows that.

I think a lot of white Americans and black Americans are voting for Barack Obama because they agree with him and they think he does have the credentials.

BECK: Right. I think -- you`re exactly right. There are a lot of Americans that feel that way. There are also a lot of Americans, white, black, doesn`t matter what color, that want to be a part of history. They also want that Prius feel of it will say something about me. Look, I`m not a racist. I voted for Barack Obama. I think that will happen.

Now, the reason that I say that is not that he doesn`t have credentials. I`m not implying that. Don`t put words in my mouth. What I am implying is that his credentials are so far at the end of the spectrum, and nobody is really talking about it. He is this far left, as anyone is right now in the Senate, in the U.S. Senate. He is uber liberal, which is not in step with the United States of America.

HOLMES: Glenn, there`s a reason for that, because right now we`re still in a Democratic primary. And Hillary Clinton is not going to be attacking him for being a liberal to Democrats.

BECK: I disagree with you.

HOLMES: So I think in a general election, Republicans, John McCain, the RNC, will certainly, if Barack Obama is the nominee, will certainly be going over Barack`s record.

BECK: Absolutely. The Republicans will. But Reverend Al, if -- if I happen to go to a church and I was running for president of the United States, and this guy said, "You know what the problem is? The problem is poor black Americans. The roosters came home to roost on 9/11."

I said any -- I said half this stuff that Jeremiah Wright said, would I be elected president of the United States? Or would you, sir, lead a march to shut me down?

SHARPTON: There were -- first of all, John Hagee has said a lot of things. There`s been a lot of local church evangelists in the white community that have said a lot of things that we have not led marches to shut down.

Pat Robertson said things about heads of states that I think is crazy. I just did a commercial for Al Gore. So show me where we matched up any minister for what they said.

BECK: I`m not saying -- I`m not saying any minister. If I were the candidate, if I were the candidate, wouldn`t you at least demand of the media -- this is what kills me, Amy. Black liberation theology, you don`t think that says a lot about someone`s...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: That`s the question, sir. Doesn`t it -- wouldn`t you question that black liberation theology, if it were reversed, if -- wouldn`t you demand that the media expose that and say that should tell you something about this candidate. It may not, but you should at least look into it and understand it?

HOLMES: It certainly would be demanded of a Republican candidate to explain -- to explain a connection to, you know, a controversial perspective on race and religion and so forth. And Glenn, we have seen that happen to Republicans. If they have even the most tangential relationship to a controversial pastor, the media hammers them on it.

BECK: Right. And so...

HOLMES: John McCain gave a speech at the university -- I`m sorry I`m not remembering the name, but where they didn`t allow interracial dating, that story went on for weeks. We even talk about it now.

BECK: OK.

HOLMES: One thing, Glenn, I really want to add about this story, because this really frustrated me, that NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll last week that was, you know, how is Jeremiah Wright, the controversy, impacting Barack Obama`s candidacy?

One of the statistics that was buried and not talked about was the approval rating of Jeremiah Wright among African-Americans. It was 15 percent, only 2 points higher than George Bush. So this argument that blacks don`t see this, and it`s a black thing, and this is how we really think, this is what we really say when we`re in private, that`s simply not true. And African-Americans, they saw the same thing as all other Americans. And they were not impressed and they were not happy with what they were watching.

BECK: All right. So Reverend Al, I`ll leave you with the final word. Wouldn`t you demand that that be exposed? Don`t you think that says something about a man`s character?

SHARPTON: I think what we should demand is the man to explain his views, which Barack Obama did, and I think did with great pain, saying, "Here`s someone that I felt was a member of my family, but I disagree." I think he showed great courage to say, "This is my position" so everyone is clear.

I think that what a lot of people are saying is that Reverend Wright was mischaracterized. You talked about race hatred and the statements of Reverend Wright, but then you questioned him on statements you made about the government. It is a real world of a difference.

BECK: Come on Reverend.

SHARPTON: Well, explain to me the race.

BECK: It is black liberation theology.

SHARPTON: What is...

BECK: If I had white liberation theology...

SHARPTON: You`re not answering the question. What is the racist statement that you`re saying that Reverend Wright said?

BECK: The U.S. KK of A.

HOLMES: That the government invented AIDS.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: That is not. That is not Reverend Al.

SHARPTON: To attack the government is not to attack the white race.

BECK: The government is not the USA. We are the people are the USA.

SHARPTON: That is not a race-based statement, I`m sorry.

HOLMES: Reverend Sharpton, he said that white people control the government, rich, white, greedy people control the world.

BECK: It`s black liberation theology.

SHARPTON: He said rich white males, which talks about the fact -- and he went into detail about Roe v. Wade and white women, as well as blacks. I mean, so to defend white women and blacks is a racist statement?

BECK: Well, as a rich, white male, I ain`t feeling comfortable with it. But maybe that`s just me.

SHARPTON: We`re not talking about comfortable. We`re talking about whether it was racist.

BECK: It is, but we always disagree on race.

Amy, Reverend Al, thank you very much.

Now, just a reminder, tonight`s show is brought to you by the Sleep Number bed by Select Comfort. Sleep Number Select Comfort is the bed that counts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: During that little streak of Hillary, you know, losing primary after primary after primary after primary, the media seemed to get a little bit bored. Did you notice? Coverage became -- I don`t know -- less about what the voters thought, what you thought about the candidates, and more about what the media thought of the candidates. And I don`t know about you, but that`s what I really wanted to know.

They quite obviously took sides in newspapers across the country, from the "New York Times" to "The Los Angeles Times." There were stories about Barack Obama that I swear to you read more like love letters than hard news.

To put it mildly, the liberal media has been fawning over Obama just like a teenaged girl at a rock concert. And it hasn`t even changed after Texas and Ohio. It`s still going on.

Bill Clinton, the media`s darling in the 1990s, has taken issue with the way his wife has been treated in the press. Not only has he blamed the press for ignoring his wife, something he might know something about. But this past weekend he had one of his trademark meltdowns at a meeting of California super delegates, ranting about bias until he was red in the face.

Then said that Governor Richardson had lied to his face five times. And I went, "Hmm, where have I heard that before?"

Bernard Goldberg is the author of "Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right: How One Side Lost Its Mind and the Other Lost Its Nerve." It`s a fantastic book, and it`s got some new chapters in it. We`re going to talk about it in a second.

I want to -- I want to start where I just left off with the Clintons. I can`t believe these guys. Do you think they -- do you think they notice that this is karma coming back at them? That they see, wait a minute, hold on, you guys loved me a little while ago and now you hate me, and I`m doing the same thing.

BERNIE GOLDBERG, AUTHOR, "CRAZIES TO THE LEFT OF ME, WIMPS TO THE RIGHT": No, the Clintons don`t get that kind of stuff.

BECK: Does the media see it at all?

GOLDBERG: No, the media has chosen sides in this matter and as far...

BECK: Do they -- see, and this is the thing I can`t decide, if they actually get it, if they know -- the swear to me -- they don`t see it. And I kind of believe them.

GOLDBERG: You could hook reporters and their editors up to a lie detector machine and ask them if they have a bias against this person or that person. They would say no, and the needle wouldn`t move.

BECK: Right. Here`s the thing. We have had quite a few discussions about Barack Obama in this building. On the coverage of Barack Obama, specifically Reverend Wright. I think Reverend Wright and Barack Obama going to that church and paying $27,500 to that church says a lot about him.

GOLDBERG: Oh, absolutely.

BECK: And you understand his views on victimization and everything else if you listen to his preacher, but nobody in the media sees it that way.

GOLDBERG: Yes. But there`s a reason for that. And we tend to think of the media as some separate entity. They`re just one more element of the liberal coalition. I mean, they have the same positions on civil rights, on women`s rights, on abortion, on global warming, on a million other things.

And liberals in general speak to black people in a very interesting way. It`s a liberal paternalism type of way. So they hear the Reverend Wright say racist things. America -- white people created AIDS in order to kill black people. That`s not only racist; that`s stupid.

BECK: Right.

GOLDBERG: The government is giving drugs -- giving drugs away to black people so we can lock them up. That`s stupid. If a white person said this, the media and other liberals would say, this is both -- this is stupid, this is dumb.

But the way liberals speak to black people, it`s -- they say, well, let`s minimize this, because you`re not black and you don`t quite understand it. And what they`re really saying is, look at me. I`m one of the good white people. You see, I`m not a bigot.

BECK: But there is a case to be made that a lot of white people will do the same thing, where they`ll vote for Barack Obama without -- it`s -- it`s -- it is -- it is a distortion and a slap across the face to Martin Luther King to vote for somebody on the color of his skin, not the content of his character. And a lot of white people will say, "But I want to -- look, I`m not racist. I voted for Barack Obama."

GOLDBERG: And there`s been talk and there will be more talk about whether America is ready to elect a black person. In a country -- it`s ridiculous. They would have voted for Colin Powell in a second.

BECK: Yes.

GOLDBERG: In a country of 300 million people, are there some white people who won`t vote for a black person? Yes, but there are more, I believe, there are more who will vote for a black person precisely because he`s black and liberal, to try to get this whole thing behind us. So if race is a factor, arguably it`s a factor that will help, not hurt Barack Obama.

BECK: Doesn`t this, though, actually hurt Barack Obama that, for instance, the media -- I mean the media, PBS did like 1,400 days on the Mormons. And, you know, he had to answer everything from 1881. They won`t address black liberation theology, but I can tell you, the 527s will.

GOLDBERG: Yes, they will, sure.

BECK: So doesn`t that sanitize him and hurt him...

GOLDBERG: It might not toughen him up enough. But that`s -- that`s his problem and the media`s problem.

My point is that liberals speak to black people in a certain way, and the way they do it is to show how good they as white people are. It`s to cleanse themselves of America`s racial history. It`s to show their racial virtue, it`s to say, if you`re a black person and I`m patronizing you and letting your racism go by and letting your stupid remarks go by.

BECK: Will you stick around for a second? We`ll be right back with more with Bernard Goldberg here in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. We`re back with Bernie Goldberg. He is the author -- it`s now on paperback -- of "Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right." Let me -- let me just finish talking about the crazies to the left of you here for just a second. One of the things that I think is going to be the death of the Democratic Party -- I said this to the Republicans, you know, when they were just, you know, signing up for prescription drugs and everything else, you`re going to lose the soul of your party.

GOLDBERG: Right.

BECK: The same thing is happening to the Democrats. They have lost it, however, to significant left. I mean, hard core Marxist. When are they going to wake up to this?

GOLDBERG: Well, first of all you`re right, but there`s a reason that you`re right. And that is, they`re fortified of the hard left.

MoveOn.org, there`s a brand new chapter in the book which I call MoveOn.jerk. They take a full-page ad in "The New York Times," the infamous ad, General Betray Us. When you talk -- when you use the word "betrayed" with a man in a uniform, that`s different than using it, if I say it about you or you say it about me.

Most decent people watching us, whether they`re on the right or on the left, condemn that kind of stuff. You know who didn`t condemn it? And she had every chance to. Hillary Clinton refused to condemn it and so did Barack Obama.

BECK: Right.

GOLDBERG: Why is that? Because they`re deathly afraid that the ATM machine of MoveOn.org will shut down, that the sugar daddy will stop being the sugar daddy.

BECK: They are being enslaved. They`re being hijacked. All the power, really, is going to the left.

GOLDBERG: Hijacked is the exact right word. American liberalism. You see, I started out on the left.

BECK: I know you did. I know you worked for Jimmy Carter, and I lost a lot of respect for you.

GOLDBERG: I know. I don`t blame you, looking back.

American liberalism has been hijacked by the crazies on the left. Because it`s not just MoveOn.org that does crazy things. It`s Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, two mainstream liberals who are running for president, who are afraid to condemn it.

BECK: OK. So where are the people, like my grandparents? My grandfather was a blue dog Democrat. I mean, he was an FDR kind of guy. But he had common sense. And that`s still who I believe most Democrats are.

When you -- when you go out into America, you`ll find these Democrats, and they`re normal people. They`re not the crazies that are living here in New York. They`re not MoveOn.org. That`s not who they are.

When do they say, you know what? You guys, really, I don`t agree with you on everything. When do they separate themselves? When do they figure that out?

GOLDBERG: I`m not sure they do. And I`ll tell you why. And this is -- this is a discouraging statistic.

After the last election, presidential election, Rasmussen, very reputable guy, did a poll, asked just two questions. Do you think America is a good and decent place? And do you think the world would be better with more countries like the United States of America?

Over 80 percent of the people who voted for George Bush said yes. Under 50 percent of the people who voted for John Kerry said yes. Now, those aren`t the crazies. These are the people you`re talking about. These are regular, run-of-the-mill liberals.

But under 50 percent could say that America was a good and decent place and that the world would be a better place with more Americas. That`s discouraging.

BECK: Yes.

GOLDBERG: That`s very discouraging.

BECK: Real quick. How long? We have, like, 30 seconds, real quick. Wimps to the right.

GOLDBERG: We totally agree on this. The wimps to the right are not conservatives but Republicans who don`t have the guts to stand up to their conservative values.

BECK: ... John McCain in that? Because I don`t know how I`m going to vote for John McCain.

GOLDBERG: I am so on the fence with this guy.

BECK: Yes, I don`t think I can do it. I don`t think I can do it.

GOLDBERG: If you don`t, you understand -- well, you know the argument.

BECK: I know. But I don`t know if I buy into that argument anymore. Thank you, sir.

GOLDBERG: Thanks a lot.

BECK: Appreciate it.

We`ll be back with "The Real Story" in a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: In my special commentary last night on the latest children`s video from Hamas TV, I made a public plea to all sensible Muslims, and specifically mothers, to stand up and stop this brainwashing of the Islamic youth. Well, tonight we`ll continue that conversation with the author of "Infidel," Ayaan Hirsi Ali, in just a bit.

If you haven`t met this woman, please stick around. She`s amazing.

But first, welcome to "The Real Story." Put your hands together. Give a big round of applause to Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, who, after months of denial, is finally starting to move into the acceptance phase of his recovery process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: It now appears likely that real gross domestic product will not grow much, if at all, over the first half of 2008, and could even contract slightly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Look who`s finally joining the recession club. You are. Yes, you are.

Keep working the program, Ben. It will be OK.

While Bernanke was trying to harsh Wall Street`s mellow just a little bit, it was still too high from yesterday`s nearly 400-point gain to really care about his testimony at all. Which brings me to the trillion-dollar question -- why?

If you look what`s happened since the bad news started pouring out late last year, almost every market in America has suffered. The market for credit virtually shut down. The labor market expected to have lost another 50,000 jobs in March. The housing market is making historic lows almost every month.

The list goes on and on and on, but "The Real Story" is that through it all, one market has remained virtually unscathed -- the stock market. Hmm.

From March 1st, a day when most Americans still believe that the collapse of a major U.S. institution like Bear Stearns was impossible, through yesterday, a day when we all now realize that`s really not the case, the Dow was actually -- wait for it -- up 3.2 percent. Now, obviously, if I knew why that was, why the stock market does anything it ever does, I wouldn`t be here on TV talking about it, I would be on my mega yacht. Oh, yes. I`d probably own the New Orleans Saints too.

But I do have a few questions and a few guesses for you. Well, here`s one guess at what`s really going on.

First, there`s a psychological side to investing. Nobody wants to bet against the U.S. That includes me. But, you know, sometimes you do it. It runs counter to everything you believe and love about our country.

The second thing is the practical side. Average investors like us don`t have access to things like hedge funds or international currencies, so we do what we`ve always been taught to do -- we buy mutual funds, we cross our fingers. You know, we put it in the 401(k) and just hope for the best.

Finally, there`s a profit side.

When you strip all the emotion and psychology away, the stock market goes up or down based on earnings. Corporate earnings, they`re pretty good, right?

Those earnings are really nothing more than prediction by analysts, some of whom are the same analysts that have been telling us that pets.com is the next Microsoft. And that didn`t work out so well.

So what is the consensus of analysts -- and remember, a consensus can never be wrong -- say about earnings for later this year? You are not going to believe this.

Bob O`Brien, stocks editor at Barron`s Online, is here.

Bob, tell me about -- tell me what the analysts are saying now about corporate earnings.

BOB O`BRIEN, STOCKS EDITOR, "BARRON`S ONLINE: Oh, Glenn, they`re looking for a huge recovery in corporate earnings in the second half of this year.

BECK: Right.

O`BRIEN: The forecast at this point is that we`re going to see something on the order of -- and I`m not exaggerating -- something on the order of a 300 percent improvement in corporate earnings in the fourth quarter of this year.

BECK: How is -- how is that going to happen?

O`BRIEN: Well, now, some of it is based on comparisons, because obviously the fourth quarter of 2007 was a disastrous period for earnings. So you`ve got some easy comparisons. Look, if every actor looked like Paul Giamatti, I would get cast in action movies.

BECK: Yes, OK. All right. But hang on just a second.

If you look at the last recession that we had, which was 2001, we went down -- I believe the S&P went down, like, 30 or 31 percent. It went down 31 percent. And that was, you know, just a regular recession.

This one we`re expecting the S&P, analysts are saying, will be up 74 percent.

O`BRIEN: Again, this is two things. Number one, the easy comparisons with a year ago, but more importantly, Glenn, these analysts just really have to get a clue.

I mean, you usually, as you project out two or three-quarters, you expect to see a little bit of inflation in the numbers. And as you get closer to them, they`ll naturally come down, come back to earth.

BECK: OK. But when they start to -- when you adjust them, that`s when the stock market will react and go, what? We were supposed to be up 74 percent. What do you mean we`re going to be down? And then it causes stupid panic from stupid people.

O`BRIEN: Well, and that`s because the analysts thus far don`t really -- I mean, part of it is the blame of corporate America itself, because the analysts are not being given very good information, particularly if you`re covering financial services.

BECK: Right.

O`BRIEN: Those financial services companies just are not being very transparent about the amount of write-downs and losses that they are going to be taking.

BECK: Yes, but do some of them know? I mean, I talked to one of the big, big guys at one of the big financial houses recently. And he said, "Glenn, I`ve got to be honest with you, we`re not really sure what`s happening. People have pieces here and pieces there, and we`re not really sure who owns what and what the real value is at this point."

O`BRIEN: Absolutely. There is no -- there is no mechanism in the market right now that`s setting the actual price for things.

If you are, for example, Goldman Sachs, with a big holding in mortgage-backed securities, the market is simply saying, we don`t know what the price of these things is, so we can`t tell you what they`re worth to you.

BECK: OK.

O`BRIEN: You can`t tell how much you`re going to have to write them down.

BECK: Bob, I want to go to Lehman Brothers here for a second, because this is one of the things where the people who are just following it at home, and they`re like, oh, well -- no, wait, the stock market was up. Lehman Brothers, that was the one that was supposed to be shaky, and it`s fine.

Actually, once again the big guy makes it, but they screw the little guy. If you actually had stock in Lehman Brothers yesterday, you were screwed to the wall, weren`t you?

O`BRIEN: You absolutely were. You were immediately worth 10 percent -- your stock holdings were immediately worth 10 percent less than they were when the stock closed on Monday, simply because the company announced this plan to sell these preferred shares to institutional investors -- that`s effectively bondholders -- and that meant that there is going to be dilution to your equity stake, probably to the tune of about 10 percent. So you basically took a dime off every dollar you`ve got in Lehman Brothers.

BECK: I mean, I`m looking at this whole situation, and it is the case of the rich getting richer, at least right now, and the poor getting poorer, because most people don`t have any clue as to what`s going on.

Bob, thanks.

O`BRIEN: Thanks.

BECK: Now, there`s a development in a story I told you about last night with a Wal-Mart employee who was left permanently brain damaged after a horrible car accident with a truck eight years ago. After the accident, the woman was paid $470,000 by Wal-Mart`s health plan.

The family then sued the trucking company and settled for what amounted to $417,000 after the attorneys took their share. Well, Wal-Mart, enforcing a clause that is in almost every corporate health plan in America -- check yours, it`s probably there -- asked the woman`s family to return the money that they paid her for the care since she now had been paid twice for the same medical treatment.

Well, the family refused. Wal-Mart sued them and won. The family appealed. The family lost.

They took them all the way to the Supreme Court. Lost again. Then they took them to the court that trumps all of them -- the court of public opinion.

And last night after weeks of people like -- well, you know, really smart people like Keith Olbermann, who just knows better than you, after weeks of people like that painting Wal-Mart as nothing but black-hearted evil corporation, the verdict of the people`s court finally came in. The family gets to keep all the money.

Finally, a victory for common sense, right?

I`m sorry to say -- and it kills me to say this because I know it`s unpopular, but it`s true -- as tragic as this family`s ordeal has been, the real story is this is a victory for extortion by the media. Let me give you a quick parallel.

Last week, a group called Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America -- that sounds nice and happy -- they stormed the lobby of Bear Stearns here in New York City to demand that their low-income members get as much financial help as Bear did. Well, don`t miss tomorrow`s "Real Story," because in tomorrow night`s program, I`m going to explain who this group is.

They`re not a bunch of distressed homeowners. It`s a group that gets the media to attend all their protests with the goal of publicly embarrassing the companies and their children into meeting their demands. It is trial by the media, and unfortunately right now it works.

Now, the family in the Wal-Mart case is nowhere near this malicious or evil. That`s not what they are. They`re just grieving victims who have endured horrible, unthinkable tragedies. But sometimes it`s the grieving who also are the most vulnerable. And I believe that`s what`s happened here.

This family didn`t use the media. They were used by them.

Hal Coxson is an attorney from management employment law firm Ogletree Deakins.

First of all, Hal, this exact clause is in almost every health care agreement that almost every American has at work, right?

HAL COXSON, ATTORNEY, OGLETREE DEAKINS: That`s correct, Glenn.

BECK: OK.

COXSON: It`s a pretty standard third-party recovery subrogation provision that exists in most health plans.

BECK: OK. And personally, I think it`s totally fair. I mean, if one insurance paid for it, and they just covered it so you could get your health care, then you had to sue, you sue the company and let that insurance company of the person at fault pay for the health care. I think it`s perfectly reasonable to ask.

Tell me why this isn`t basically extortion through the media?

COXSON: Well, it`s no question that there`s media pressure. I think the company did what it had to do. And that is defend the policy.

I mean, that`s why it`s called a group health plan, because it`s designed to protect the group. And if you start making exceptions for what clearly were extraordinary, unbelievably sad circumstances, then where do you draw the line? Who else and what types of extraordinary circumstances would justify the waiver of this recovery?

BECK: Yes, but what they`re going to do is they`re going to rewrite that and say that they`re going to look at it from a case-by-case basis. So, you tell me, how do you stop people who are now purple and footless from saying, oh, wait a minute, you gave it to the white woman and she at least has feet? What do you just hate people that are different than you?

I mean, how are they going to stop it? This is going to cost this company a fortune.

COXSON: Yes. The company, as I said, did what it had to do. But once it defended the principle -- and I don`t think it sets a legal precedent, because Wal-Mart won throughout the process.

But then they compassionately waived the requirement. And they are, you`re right, from my understanding, now considering modification of the policy.

Now, as to whether or not that would set a precedent, it depends on the extent...

BECK: Come on.

COXSON: ... it depends on the extent of the modifications. But you know, as well as I do -- and I agree with you -- that the press has attacked Wal-Mart, there are interest groups that have attacked Wal-Mart. It`s in their interest to do so. And this, I think, will subject other companies to the types of media pressure that Wal-Mart has experienced, but it doesn`t set a legal precedent.

BECK: All right. Hal, thanks a lot.

I`ve got to tell you, America, you know who`s paying for this. It ain`t Wal-Mart that`s paying for it. You`re going to pay for it in higher premiums.

This thing start spiraling out of control, you`re going to pay for it in higher premiums. What is the insurance company supposed to do? Just keep handing out cash?

Now, coming up, is there a reason to be worried about the lack of violence from that anti-radical Islam film "Fitna"?

Find out next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, it`s been a pretty big week for anybody who cares about censorship in the name of political correctness. First, there were the Dutch television stations that refused to show the anti-Islamist movie "Fitna." Then Internet host Network Solutions took the movie`s Web site off the serves. Then "Fitna" was posted and then removed from liveleak.com after that company and its staff were threatened.

Now we have also gotten word that another movie critical of Islam -- this one called "The Life of Mohammed" -- is going to be abandoned after it`s ex-Muslim creator also received death threats. So where does it leave us? Where are we?

Will all the discussion about Islam be banned? Will any discussion about any religion be banned? And most importantly, how do good people stand up for free speech and expression given that the threats they face are obviously real?

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is the author of "Infidel." She has seen firsthand how the violence can trump free speech.

We were just talking before we went on the air in the commercial break that I have so many friends that have come up to me and idolize you and just think you are one of the most brave people on the planet. I agree with that. You`re the one who had your name stabbed into Theo Van Gogh, into his chest, for basically the same kind of stuff that we`re seeing here, the movies that, you know, people don`t want other people to see.

AYAAN HIRSI ALI, AUTHOR, "INFIDEL": Yes.

BECK: When you saw the lack of riots from the -- from this movie last weekend, what did you think? Is that a good sign, or is this the quiet before the storm?

ALI: I thought two things. First, I thought criticism and confronting Islam`s flaws, it pays.

If you on the one hand shout "Islam is peace!" and on the other hand you threaten and you kill and you bomb and you behead people, you`re not really very credible.

The second thing I thought was "Fitna," the film itself, is not blasphemous. So the arguments to say (INAUDIBLE) has blasphemed against he Koran was not there.

He quotes literally from the text. And then he shows what people, believing, serious Muslims, should do with the message in the Koran.

And all the footage he used preexisted. So he didn`t use -- he didn`t make up anything.

BECK: Are you -- talk a little bit -- I don`t know if you have seen the latest video that came out of the Middle East where they have the puppets of -- the little puppet of the kid stabbing the George Bush puppet and saying that the White House has been taken over for Islam. What kind of -- because you grew up with this kind of craziness.

What does that do to a kid?

ALI: Well, you believe the people you trust in -- your parents, your teachers, your neighbors, the adults. That`s the message that they give you.

They tell you Jews are our enemies, they`re pigs, they`re monkeys, Americans control the world. That`s what you start to believe. And what`s ironic in all of the outcry of the Muslim world is, they can do that. They can make puppets of the president of the United States being killed. But any time you say anything about their religion or anything critical about their regimes, then you`re blaspheming.

BECK: What was your turning point. Where did you -- where did you shake this off? Because I know that you were going off to be basically a mail order bride and you were told, the family will come down and hunt you down and kill you, and you were in hiding and everything else.

What was it that made you say, no?

ALI: Well, the tragedy is I became free, mentally free, sexually free, physically free in the Netherlands. It`s this country that has always preserved liberty and the liberty of its individuals, and really allowed to a great extent that is now being faced with the backwardness and with measures, really very serious measures, to silence people.

BECK: I don`t...

ALI: ... like the member of parliament, like (INAUDIBLE), who wanted to make "The Life of Mohammed."

BECK: These politicians over in the Netherlands are remarkable in their bravery. I don`t know how they survive. I don`t know how the Netherlands survives with what they have tolerated for so long without massive war.

Am I wrong?

ALI: Well, I think you could be right. You`re not right yet, but you could be right, because what the politicians and some of the elite in the Netherlands are doing is, they`re accommodating all of the violence and the threats on the misconception that, if you give them what they want, there will be no terrorist actions against the Netherlands.

BECK: Real quick, because we have to go to a break, and I would love to spend an hour with you some time, but you have to actually now pay for your own security. Is there a way if anybody wants to help you pay for your own security they can? Is there a Web site or anything?

ALI: Yes, there`s a Web site. There`s AyaanHirsiAli.org, and it`s just -- it`s self-explanatory. It tells you how you can donate.

BECK: America, I have to tell you, this is one of the most brave women you`ve ever met in your entire life. And now, because of all kinds of stuff, she has to pay for her own security. And it is absolutely remarkable what this woman has gone through and what she continues to go through.

Please, check out the Web site.

Ayaan, always a pleasure.

ALI: Thank you very much, Glenn. Thank you.

BECK: Thank you.

We`ll be back in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, yesterday we told you about the Great Depression that the media in the United Kingdom says we`re in the middle of. And as seriously as I take our economic solution, this is really quite ridiculous. The evidence they use is a recent food stamp hysteria which, as we found out yesterday in "The Real Story," is fueled by our government`s loosening qualification standards and actually advertising to get new people on food stamps.

Thanks government. Appreciate it.

But what makes the story even more ridiculous is this -- Jim Geraghty from National Review`s Campaign Spot noticed something interesting about the picture, so he tracked down the actual photo that they used for the cover. Here it is.

First of all, a picture was not taken in the Great Depression of 2008, but it was taken three years ago in 2005. Apparently, we have been in a Great Depression for a very long time.

Secondly, these people are not waiting in line for food stamps. They`re not waiting for any government help whatsoever. Even though everybody seems to be wearing a coat in the picture, they`re actually in line for new coats provided by a private charity.

Thirdly, let`s see the picture again. The guy at the front of the picture with his hands together seems to be fiddling with an MP-3 player or a Walkman of some sort.

Oh, I`m sure these people are poor by Americans` standards, but they`re wearing coats, getting new ones without any government help, and even listening to portable music while in line. This is not the situation in the rest of the world. Just so you know.

But luckily the government is there to help save the poor from those evil CEOs of oil companies. Congress is very concerned with the price of gas. And just in case you`re having trouble figuring out the relationship with energy companies, the government says prices are too high. But they won`t let us build any refineries or drill on our own soil.

Plus, the government deflates our dollar, making oil prices rise in the first place. Then they yell "big oil!" for any increases in production because of global warming.

Finally, while simultaneously complaining about the increase in costs, they`re threatening to increase their taxes and the taking of their profits. No, that`s sure to drive the gas prices down. No, it will.

But we are told that electing Democrats, if you remember right, would lower gas prices. Hillary Clinton said it. Well, they have skyrocketed since they took over Congress.

We have looked at the evidence and added some Al Gore-style projections. Yes, and now we can fairly project that the gas price will be $6.50 per gallon within two years.

And it`s -- I mean, it`s right there on the graph. I learned this from Al Gore. If it`s on a graph, it`s true.

I just need $300 million to advertise it like Al Gore advertises his graphs. But maybe I`ll donate all the proceeds from my book, which would leave us with only about $300 million left to raise.

From New York, goodnight America.

END