Return to Transcripts main page

Glenn Beck

Economists Discuss Financial Crisis; Iran Still a Concern in Iraq War; Border Agent Still Behind Bars for Shooting Smuggler

Aired April 11, 2008 - 19:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLENN BECK, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, we`re in an economic crisis. From the housing market to the job market, the future looks bleak. I`ll ask two of Wall Street`s best what they see coming for the U.S. and the world.

Plus, tensions near a boiling point in the Middle East. Israel issues a stark warning after Iran says it`s upgraded its nuclear program.

Plus, a Hollywood legend who doesn`t lean to the left. Jon Voight on what it`s like to be a lone conservative voice in the liberal wilderness of Hollywood.

All this and more tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Well, hello, America.

I have to tell you, the media, I don`t think, understands the economy. I certainly don`t. The experts that you see talking about it on TV, the real experts, I think a lot of them are afraid to tell you some of the bad news. They think that Main Street will panic if they hear what they say, and the people down on Wall Street will be affected.

I disagree. You know some of the truths. You see the value of your house. It`s dropping. You know your kid, if they`re going into college next year, is having a tougher time getting a college loan. You know you`re having a tougher time getting a small business loan. You know that food prices is more expensive. You know that gas costs you more money.

So here`s "The Point" tonight. I`m not an economist. I don`t even play one on TV. I am a rodeo clown, man, that is just like you, just trying to make my way through this and find out what the truth is. I am a thinker. I`m smart enough to know that you need to understand the problem before you can do anything about it.

Now, in order for things to get better, we need to understand the warning signs that are there. You know, the signs both directions. Things are getting better, things are getting worse.

Barton Biggs is the former chief global strategist for Morgan Stanley. I`m going to say he`s kind of a happy guy today. He`s the author of "Wealth, War & Wisdom." And Professor Nouriel Roubini is a professor of economics at the Stern School of Business in New York University and chairman of RGEmonitor.com.

Nouriel, I`m going to start with you. You`re a little more pessimistic than I -- than you were when I saw you about a month ago. And I want to ask you about the stock market, because it seems to me that there`s a disconnect in the stock market. It seems like they`re on a sugar high of some sort, because I see -- I see signs of things not good. And then the stock market is just disconnected from all of that. And it goes - - it continues to go up. Right or wrong?

NOURIEL ROUBINI, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: You`re right. There is a bit of a disconnect between what`s going on in other financial markets. Still major credits, squeezing credit markets, in money markets, in bank markets.

The stock market is rotting right now. I think the part is the hope that it can avoid the recession. Same thing happened in 2001. The recession started in March. The stock market went up 18 percent in April and May. It was only in June when people realized that that could not rescue the current stock market crash again.

I call it a suckers` rally, the last leg -- last legs of the suckers are in the stock market.

BECK: OK.

ROUBINI: Once we realize it`s a severe recession, the market is going to fall again.

BECK: Now, this goes to my point, pardon. If Professor Roubini would be right and it would be a suckers` market -- do you agree or disagree with that, first, that it`s kind of a rally and it`s not really connected to anything?

BARTON BIGGS, AUTHOR, "WEALTH, WAR & WISDOM": I`m not sure whether it`s a suckers` rally or not. But it -- but I`m not nearly as pessimistic as I think the professor is.

BECK: OK. OK, so if -- let`s just say that Professor Roubini is right and it is kind of a suckers` market, and then it starts to comes down and it did what it did in 2001, where it was, you know, 40 -- what was it?

BIGGS: Went up 18 percent and then collapsed another 30 percent.

BECK: Another 30 percent. OK. So if that would happen, that would go to -- another thing that concerns me, I think we`re fine as long as nobody panics. As long as everybody just remains calm and is cool, we`ll get through everything.

But panic comes from people not knowing what the truth is and not knowing what`s really going on. People don`t -- either are not being honest or they don`t really know all of the cards that are out on the table. Right or wrong?

BIGGS: Yes, I think that`s probably right.

BECK: OK. So how do we -- how do we get to the truth? How do we know what to -- how do we know what`s right?

BIGGS: You want to know what I think the truth is?

BECK: Yes.

BIGGS: Well, the truth is that, yes, the stock market is still at relatively high levels. But when you adjust the stock market for inflation, it is down 35 percent from where it was eight years ago. So the stock market -- the stock market has really done nothing for almost a decade.

And the way I look at it is, this is not 2001 or 2000 when stocks were selling at very high-price earnings ratios. The stock market is selling at about 13, 14 times earnings, not 21, 22, 23 times earnings.

The -- sure, we have a -- we have a serious problem in the credit markets. But the authorities and the authorities are, first of all, the Fed and secondly the federal government -- are on the case. And they`re pumping massive amounts of liquidity into the system and massive amounts of stimulus.

And that`s going to keep us from going into a depression, and it`s going to probably keep us from going into a severe recession. Eventually, it will give us higher inflation, but I don`t think we`re faced with the abyss.

BECK: OK. But you said last time I was -- last time you were here -- I don`t even remember what number it was -- I know that we`ve heard 200 -- oh, this problem is only a $200 billion write-off. Then $400 billion. Then it was $600 billion. I heard last week it`s a trillion-dollar write- off now, I think, from the IMF. You say a trillion now. You think that`s the floor.

What -- what does that actually mean to the average person? What would a trillion-dollar write-off or $2 trillion write-off mean to the economy, to the average person?

ROUBINI: It means that the home prices are falling another 10 percent after having 10 percent last year and maybe going to fall eventually by 30 percent. The value of your housing wealth is lower. And many houses, millions of them right now are underwater. The value of their home is less than the value of their mortgage.

If the stock market, like if the recession falls not by 12 percent like now but 28 percent, the value of your stocks will be reduced. Means that if you`re in a recession because of a credit crunch, people lose jobs; they lose their incomes. So you`re going to have a reduction in income, a reduction in wealth. And that`s going to hurt a lot of people.

BECK: We`re already seeing the reduction of income. We`re already seeing -- well, I`m trying to remember what it was. It was like $30 or $400 billion in tax revenue from the largest corporations here in New York at this time last year. It`s down to like $40 -- these numbers I`m pulling out of the sky here. I`m trying to remember. But it`s a dramatically different story. It`s now like $40 billion in tax revenue.

Everybody, all these politicians are talking about raising taxes, et cetera, et cetera. You can`t keep taxing these companies and the rich, et cetera, et cetera, and expect to turn the economy around, can you?

BIGGS: No. But that`s not -- that`s not what we`re doing. I mean, we`re doing the opposite of that. The federal government is pumping money into the economy through this stimulus program, and the Federal Reserve is pouring massive amounts of liquidity into the economy.

BECK: Yes, but all of the politicians are talking about raising taxes. They`re all talking about letting the Bush tax cuts expire or adding universal health care or anything else. How can you borrow all of that money from China? How can you borrow all of this money, print more money, and then raise taxes and expect to turn around the economy?

ROUBINI: Well, the trouble is we`re facing a very rising budget deficit. This past year was $150 billion. Now the administration is going to say this is going to be $410 billion. Doesn`t even include Afghanistan and Iraq. That`s going to be $500 billion.

If you add to that the more severe recession and other fiscal problems by the end of the year it will be $600 billion, $700 billion. And this is even before we`re bailed out the borrowers that are in distress.

So, you can have a trillion-dollar deficit in a matter of years. So you`re right, that taxes might be dangerous, but what to think, if we`re going to spend so much as we are, maintain a badge of discipline.

So part of the solution, unfortunately, in my view, is going to be, regardless of whether it`s McCain, Hillary or Obama elected, that some of those tax reduction have to be reversed. Not all of them, but fiscal discipline applies to have enough revenue. Otherwise, we`re going to go bankrupt eventually.

BECK: I mean, the problem is, everybody is talking about spending even more money. I mean, you talked about pumping in more -- more money into the system. Doesn`t that add to the falling dollar, and doesn`t the falling dollar then -- I mean, what I`m talking about here is contagion. Doesn`t -- what we do here, if we tube our dollar and things start to fall apart, doesn`t that affect the rest of the world?

BIGGS: Yes, but our dollar -- it`s a question of what markets have already discounted. The dollar has discounted a tremendous deficit. That`s why it`s come down so much. The stock market has discounted a lot of this bad news.

And, you know, capitalist free market economies from -- are prone to bubbles and the bursting of bubbles. And you have to bet that the system is always going to prevail. And that`s what -- that`s what I`m inclined to bet.

Now, should you take out some insurance and cut back your spending, as you say, on fancy TV sets and things like that? Absolutely. But, nevertheless, I`m not willing to bet that the system is going to go down and that we`re going to have a depression.

BECK: You`re not -- you`re not willing to bet that either?

ROUBINI: No, I don`t believe we`re going to have a depression. I think that we`re going to have a very severe recession, much longer, more protracted than the last couple of...

BECK: The IMF...

BIGGS: I wouldn`t disagree. That`s certainly a possibility.

BECK: The IMF came out and said this is the worst situation we`ve failed -- we`ve faced since the 1930s. So I mean, that`s, you know...

BIGGS: The IMF and these -- the IMF are a bunch of losers on this stuff. They always come out with these statements at the end of a cycle when everybody is in despair.

BECK: So they`re just following.

BIGGS: Yes.

ROUBINI: Yes, but they`re signaling really concern about the U.S. and the global economy and financial markets. When the IMF says the losses are going to be at least a trillion dollars, what I said a few months ago, to signal this is really a ceiling. It could be much higher than that.

BECK: OK.

Coming up, we have a stark warning from Israel as Iran ups the ante. What eventually could be a nuclear showdown -- wouldn`t that be great -- in the Middle East. I`ll have all the details.

Then, we`ll revisit the story of America`s first political prisoners, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, border agents jailed for doing their jobs. How are they doing? We`ve got the update coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Washington`s been waiting for progress on Iraq. Today they got some news on progress. Today, they got some news on progress. General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander over there, told Congress that security gains were, quote, "fragile and reversible." Despite the improvements, the job ain`t close to over.

And all three presidential candidates had some time to meet with the general today to ask him all kinds of questions, and quite honestly, between you and me, that`s why I haven`t been watching.

With all the Washington weasels involved, I mean, this is political showboating. We`re not really getting any answers. You didn`t think we would, did you?

You can`t stay sheltered in the District of Colombia, you know, make a bunch of speeches on the campaign trail, and then expect to know what it`s like for American troops on the ground, let alone for the Iraqi people. So, that`s why I stopped listening to Washington.

I start listening to the surveys over from Iraq. Almost twice as many Iraqis now feel it was absolutely right for the U.S. to invade Iraq, as it did in August of last year. That`s a good thing. I don`t know why that`s not on the -- well, sorry, I do know why that`s not on the front page of "The New York Times."

Now things aren`t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The general did have some bad news and, as always, the bad news starts with Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCES IN IRAQ: Iran has fueled the violence, as I noted, in a particularly damaging way through its lethal support to the special groups.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK. But here`s where it gets worse. Earlier today on The Drudge Report I saw a story that Ahmadinejad has announced that he`s installing 6,000 new advanced centrifuges at his leading nuclear facility. For some reason, it seemed like those -- those really tersely written letters from the U.N., not working.

Joel Rosenberg is the founder of the Joshua Fund and author of a great new book I just finished about a week ago, "Dead Heat."

Hello, Joe. How are you, sir?

JOEL ROSENBERG, AUTHOR, "DEAD HEAT": I`m doing well, Glenn. How are you?

BECK: I`m good. I want to talk to you a little bit about, first, the centrifuges over in Iran. Is this more bluster from him? Because I should have started with this. Happy National Nuclear Day. That`s what it is in Iran. Is this just more bluster from him today?

ROSENBERG: I don`t think so. I think Iran is the most dangerous nation on the face of the planet right now. I think it`s the epicenter of evil. And I think that what you`ve got is a situation in which Iran is actually feverishly trying to build, buy or steal the nuclear weapons it needs to accomplish two objectives: to annihilate Israel, whom he calls the Little Satan, and to annihilate the United States, whom Ahmadinejad calls the Great Satan.

I`m in Jerusalem with 2,000 Christian leaders and we`re having a conference on epicenter. What are the dangers of this country, Israel faces? I think it`s existential. I think Iran is the most dangerous country on the planet, and its danger is getting worse. And I don`t think Washington fully gets it.

BECK: Well, I don`t think -- you know, Joel, you and I talked about a year ago on this very issue. And I have to tell you, I think there are those in Washington that do get it.

But I don`t think they have any power to do anything anymore. I mean, at the time, I thought that George Bush was going to take action against Iran before he left office. I no longer think that`s true. Because I don`t think he has the political clout to be able to pull it off, especially with that report that came out last year. But that leaves that in the hands of Israel, and they will do something.

ROSENBERG: I don`t know if they will, actually. I agree that the window of opportunity for the United States to take military action against Iran`s nuclear facility is rapidly closing. I mean, it`s almost inconceivable right now to imagine the United States launching a preemptive war against Iran in the middle of a presidential campaign. And then, of course, you`ll have a new administration. Who knows where that will go?

Israel, I don`t think that they`re -- I don`t think -- they will never say it. But I don`t think they`re capable of launching a massive attack. But they are expecting war to be coming.

BECK: You know what? Yes, you tell me, then, if they`re not -- if they`re not going to do something, what are the emergency drills all about?

ROSENBERG: Well, this -- for five days now, Israel is involved in a worst case scenario drill. How would it respond to a massive salvo of missiles, whether it`s from Lebanon, Syria, or Iran?

Israel is preparing for war. Syria is preparing for war. Iran is preparing for war. Lebanon is preparing for war. I think war is coming. Can I tell you when, Glenn? No, I can`t. But I`ve got to tell you, this is the most dangerous moment the Middle East has faced since the beginning of the 2003 war in Iraq.

BECK: Yes. I will tell you, Joel, your book, which is "Dead Heat," which is on this, I just finished, and it`s absolutely fantastic. I have to tell you, it is the first time that I`ve ever heard anyone explain to my satisfaction why, in the Book of Revelation, America does not play a role in the end days.

I think that you solved that problem and explained it quite plainly. I think you could have gone in another direction, which was economic meltdown, which would also explain it. But it`s some spooky stuff.

ROSENBERG: It is spooky. And the first line, of course, as you know, of the book, Glenn, and I say -- I pray to God this never comes true. The Bible doesn`t explain why the United States is not in end-times prophesy, but it isn`t.

"Dead Heat" is a fictional scenario. But it`s the worst-case scenario, in which we don`t really deal, ultimately, with the radical extremists in the world, and we get hit with a series of cataclysmic attacks the likes of which we`ve never seen before. I pray to God it`s fiction. But Iran wants it to be fact.

BECK: I know. Joel, thank you very much. Stay safe, my friend.

Now, where am I wrong? I don`t think that President Bush will act on Iran before leaving office. And that means Israel will. Joel says no. I think they will act. Agree or disagree? Go to CNN.com/Glenn right now and cast your vote.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Regular viewers of this program know the story. The border agents, Ramos and Compean, brave men who tried to keep you and me safe from gun-toting smugglers and keep them out of the country. But instead of praise, our country gave them jail time. Over ten years apiece.

Tara Setmayer has been on this story with us for a very long time. She`s communications director for Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. She also met with Agent Ramos in prison yesterday.

How`s he doing?

TARA SETMAYER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR REP. DANA ROHRABACHER: He`s hanging in there. I mean, I can -- we can only imagine what it`s like in solitary confinement 23 out of 24 hours a day. He`s mentally exhausted. Physically, he looks a little bit better. But he`s just mentally exhausted.

And he wanted me to send you a quick note. He`s not allowed to have anything on him, so I took notes. And I just want to read this to you really quickly.

BECK: Sure.

SETMAYER: He says, "Our sincerest thanks to you, Glenn, for keeping the story going and fighting for us. You keep this story alive. Please don`t let anyone forget us. Waiting inside this box is just unimaginable. Please, don`t let anyone forget us. And God bless you."

BECK: Well, we`re not alone in trying to help people make sure that they remember both of our border agents. I think they`re our first political prisoners. What is it actually like in solitary confinement?

SETMAYER: You know, this is my fourth visit. I visited him twice when he was in Mississippi and twice now in Phoenix. And I`ve actually seen his cell. I`ve seen the segregation unit. And it`s -- it`s -- he`s in a box, literally. He has about a six-inch window. He -- his rec time is at 6 in the morning, when it used to be during the day so at least he had sunshine. Now it`s at 6 in the morning. So he`s essentially in his cell all day and all night.

BECK: What is his -- what are the guards like with him? Does he -- you know, are the guards sympathetic or not?

SETMAYER: Well, unfortunately, his guards that he -- we`ve run into some trouble where they`ve editorialized at times, saying things like, "We`re sick and tired of this guy thinking he`s special." And as his advocate, I`ve made sure that the Bureau of Prisons is aware of this type of treatment and that we don`t appreciate it.

BECK: Didn`t you just have the director of the Bureau of Prisons out just the other day and...

SETMAYER: Yes.

BECK: ... he wasn`t really sympathetic?

SETMAYER: No, he wasn`t. And he actually had no plans on visiting Mr. Ramos. He was going there on a routine staff workshop, and I found out. And I said, "Wait a minute. You need to tell me the director is not going to go and visit one of the most high-profile prisoners in custody right now?" And told me no.

So we made some phone calls, and we -- miraculously, a visit was put on the director`s schedule. And he was less than accommodating. Nacho told me he talked down to him.

BECK: He looks so warm there, standing behind the podium. He looks like a warm chum.

SETMAYER: Well, you know? I thought it was important for Director Lapin, Harvey Lapin, to go and see Nacho so that he can look into the eyes of an innocent man, who he`s directly responsible for keeping in solitary confinement.

BECK: Is -- is there any chance -- what`s the status on the appeal? I know it`s going to the Fifth Circuit -- Circuit Court. Any chance?

SETMAYER: Well, we`re still waiting. And unfortunately, it`s difficult. Nacho actually says that patience has been a forced virtue for him. And that`s pretty much for everyone. We`re just waiting patiently, and we think that`s a good sign. That means that the judges are really taking a hard look at this. And we think that that means they`re looking to either overturn the entire case or remand it back to trial.

BECK: Well, that`s good news, if that actually happens.

SETMAYER: Sure.

BECK: Tara, thank you very much. We`ll talk again.

Don`t forget, America, border agents Ramos and Compean, I believe they are our nation`s first political prisoners. And as long as they stay wrongly imprisoned, we will stay on this story and bring you the truth behind the politics of this nightmare.

And make sure you look for my special, "On the Border." For more details, logon to GlennBeck.com. It`s coming soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, welcome to the "Real Story." When Charlton Heston died last weekend, America not only lost a great actor but they lost a great conservative as well. In a city that has become synonymous with anti-war, anti-president, you know what, sometimes anti-American rhetoric, Charlton Heston was the exception.

He was fearless, confident, larger than life. But the "Real Story" is Mr. Heston wasn`t the only conservative in Hollywood. It`s just that most of them have decided that speaking out isn`t worth the price. There is a new McCarthyism that goes on in Hollywood.

Actors and actresses just earn a paycheck all the time just as much as you and I do. It`s no different than somebody who works at a -- you know, some sort of a coal company deciding really probably it would be a bad career decision to go on TV and speak about the dangers of global warming and coal.

But there are a few people in Hollywood who have the stature to overcome the usual hesitations. I want to introduce you to one of them you probably know. In fact, I know you do. Jon Voight, Oscar-winning, probably know from his films "Mission: Impossible," "National Treasure," yadda, yadda, the list goes on and on.

Jon, how are you, sir?

JON VOIGHT, ACTOR: I`m great, Glenn, thank you.

BECK: Yes. Good to have you. You know, we just had Marcus Luttrell on a few minutes ago. And I know you`re one of the guys that is actually trying to have this made into a movie.

VOIGHT: Yes. That`s -- well, it`s being made into a movie by some very good people, I believe. And, you know, I`m happy to see that event happen. All too few films deal with the subject matter in the proper way.

BECK: It really amazes me how Hollywood just seems to just constantly beat the drum of negativity. And yet, if you look at the box office numbers, all of the stories that have done well, especially recently, are hero stories. We`re looking for a hero. We have got "Spider-Man," even your movie "Transformers." We`re looking for good winning over evil kind of stories.

VOIGHT: I agree with you. It`s very interesting the phenomenon that has happened. I think it comes from trying to be politically correct that we don`t want to offend any murderers, so we try to make the villains in these pieces nondescript. Sometimes we go back to the Germans or the Russians.

We can`t say it as it is, you know what I`m saying, saying, listen, there are Islamic extremists out there who want to kill us. We can`t say that. So we`ve turned to other villains. And over the years we`ve identified people in -- let`s say, in our intelligence services as the villain or this or that.

And recently, of course, as you mentioned, in the last year or so, we`ve had some very anti-American films as a result. I think they start believing their own stuff and then they say, oh, I see, we are the villain.

But of course, the good news is that the American people seem to understand and stay away from these pictures.

BECK: Yes, but you know, the rest of the world doesn`t. I mean, the rest of the world is watching these films. And I have to tell you, I mean, I`m sure you know about the Oliver Stone film that`s coming up about George W. Bush that is, I mean, so full of untruths on just what little I`ve seen. And, you know what, that`s going to be gobbled down by so many people as actual fact.

VOIGHT: Yes, I`m very sorry to hear about that. You know, it`s an interesting thing. When I was growing up -- I was born in 1938, so you can figure out how old I am. And when I was a young boy, I remember the victory gardens and I remember the patriotism that surrounded that effort.

And thank God we had that patriotism because we would -- we certainly would have, you know, lost that battle with our allies. And I remember the core values that I was taught of love of God, love of country and allegiance to our president, who represented that country.

And if you say those same values today in Hollywood, unfortunately, they say, oh, you`re a Republican or you`re a conservative, as if it`s a bad mark against you. And it`s very sad that that has taken place. That.

BECK: Why, Jon? Why is it like that? Why?

VOIGHT: Well, I think that there are a lot of people who can, you know, give the incremental, gradual evolution of that -- the demise of, you know, those values. But it`s interesting to me, you know, when I think back to the great president John F. Kennedy -- and I actually brought his inaugural in case I wanted to quote it.

But you know, he said -- in that inaugural address, he said, "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." And when I look at the candidates on the left side -- and unfortunately I have to say that the Democrats have turned very far left in their platform, it seems like they`ve reversed that in a very short period of time since John Kennedy.

They`re saying, ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country can do for you. It`s quite disturbing, really. It gives me a great deal of fear and trepidation for the state of our country at this moment in time. Now, I went through.

BECK: You`re not alone on that one.

VOIGHT: Yes.

BECK: You know, we -- I don`t even know when we saw each other. What was it, six months ago we saw each other and we had dinner. And you were - - I have to tell you, having dinner with somebody from Hollywood is something that you`re like, oh, this could turn really ugly really fast.

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: It was really -- it was a great evening. But you told me -- and I don`t want to out anybody, but you told me that you were having dinner with people in Hollywood and you`re trying to build -- you`re trying to coax them out of the shadows and say come on, man, it`s OK.

VOIGHT: Well, you know, you really seek friends who are up on the important information of the day. You seek friends who are like-minded perhaps and recognize the dangers that are happening. And certainly -- and I found a lot of friends. I have to say I found a lot of friends. And perhaps little by little those people will be more and more vocal. But.

BECK: Is there real fear, Jon? I mean, is it -- because it sure sounds like McCarthyism.

VOIGHT: Yes, there`s something going on. But, you know, I have a little bit more insight than perhaps most, just because of my age. I went through the `60s. And I was a young actor who wanted to make a career for himself and I wanted to go to classes.

And I really wasn`t interested in going to war. And of course, you know, we had the Vietnam War. And I joined the Reserves. And then, you know, spent that time wondering whether I would be called up.

And then I was -- and then I made a success of myself and I was in Hollywood and I was with the young people in Hollywood. And there was this tendency in the young of Hollywood to be very left at that time and against the war. And we thought we were being very patriotic.

I was young. I was not so informed. And I went along with the program. And it is -- and by the way, Glenn, it was a party line. And the party was the communist party. They were backing a lot of those marches and organizations, the SDS, the student organization at that time had communist affiliations.

This is something I only realized much later. But then I -- then I saw -- you know, I was actually espousing some of those sound bites and points of view. And we were saying that, you know, we were the problem in Vietnam. If we take ourselves out of the mix, these people will come together, south and north and they will embrace each other and it will be peace. Well, we certainly know what happened there.

BECK: Yes.

VOIGHT: After we pulled out of Vietnam, forced to by the so-called peace movement, what happened was a blood bath, an unparalleled blood bath, 2.5 million people being killed in Cambodia and South Vietnam. And we did not one thing to help our allies in that part of the world, the people that have -- that we had supported all that time.

We didn`t even -- Congress didn`t even -- didn`t even sign off on bullets for them. We left them totally unprotected. And then you see the peace movement looked at that. And what did they do? They simply celebrated a victory. They never looked at the consequences of their actions.

BECK: Yes. It is really amazing to me how many people -- I mean, look, I`ve been wrong I don`t know how many times in my life.

VOIGHT: You have? Oh, my God.

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: I thought you watched this show, Jon. I`m wrong all the time. But at least I`ll have the courage to say, boy, it sucks to be me sometimes, boy was I wrong on that. If you don`t admit you`re wrong, if you don`t self-examine, you know, what you believed and then say, holy cow, I was wrong, you can make no growth.

And it seems like the extreme left of this country. I`m trying to think, probably the extreme right as well. But definitely the extreme left, they just never -- you know, for instance, last year we were talking about the minimum wage act. And I said, what`s going to happen are people are going to lay -- businesses will lay people off or they will cut back on hours. They`re not just going to manufacture this money. They`re not the U.S. Treasury.

What did Hillary Clinton say in a speech this week? She was talking to a poor woman who just had to be cut back on her hours and she`s not making any more money. And Hillary said, we`ve got to solve this problem. And I`m like, you created this problem. And yet they won`t even self- examine.

VOIGHT: It`s an interesting thing about -- if I look at the platform of the Democrats right now -- and I was a Democrat for quite a long time, one of those that, you know, saw a different way and saw that -- as Reagan said, the Democratic Party -- I didn`t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me.

Well, I think there are quite a lot of people who went through the `60s and are saying that these days, some of them quite prominent. But when I see the Democratic platform today -- and, listen, I want the United States to be the United States of America, all of us coming together.

BECK: Right. We all do. We all do.

VOIGHT: There`s -- when I`m talking about these things, I`m talking about extremist positions that are dangerous to us and that have divided us as a nation. And when I see this platform and what is being suggested -- and most people who are into this battle, they`re into it for personalities. They don`t understand the issues. They don`t really know what these things foretell, these platforms.

And it`s very close to -- it is socialism, really, essentially at the base of it. And I -- and you say, well, what`s wrong with socialism? You know. Say, well, the government takes care of everything, what`s wrong with socialism? Well, socialism very.

BECK: You`re right.

VOIGHT: You know, it`s akin to communism. It`s a brother of communism. And I just had a very interesting experience. I went to Russia for the first time in 17 years. The last time I was there was 17 years ago. And I had done a film there about Chernobyl.

And I met the wonderful Russian people, Russian actors of course. But the tone there of -- right from the airport, nothing but -- there were weapons always visible. The people were frightened to speak, frightened to look you in the eye. Everything was drab. Everything was -- the people were without hope.

And this is the time of perestroika with Gorbachev, right? The hotels didn`t function. Nothing worked. If you asked somebody to think on their own, they wouldn`t answer for fear they that somebody else would criticize them and they`d be in a lot of trouble. It was a very, very bad situation.

Now I go back and this is after the fall of the Soviet Union, not too long after, 17 years is very little time. It was less than that really. And I go and I see what`s happening there, and it`s a different place.

You come off the plane, first of all, you see colors that you`ve never seen before in the place. The architecture is all updated in only a short period of time. Everything is updated. The people are cheerful, friendly, helpful. You go down toward the center of Moscow and you see nothing but shops full of articles, you know, clothing and foodstuffs or whatever it is. And it`s just a totally different place.

BECK: Jon, I tell you what, if you don`t mind hanging out for just a second more, I want to extend the break. We`ll be back with more thoughts from Jon Voight in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: We`re back with Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight, one the few conservatives in Hollywood that at least has the courage to stand up and call himself that. I`m going to make my executive producer`s blood pressure go through the roof. I just want to give you the rest of the half hour here, if you don`t mind, Jon, if you don`t mind hanging out because I have a lot of questions for you.

First of all.

VOIGHT: Let me say.

BECK: Yes, go ahead.

VOIGHT: Glenn, let me say this. We`re talking about going back to Russia and seeing Moscow in all its, you know, radiance right now. Everybody talks about it being the Paris of that part of the world. And it is very much like that. And the difference is what? The difference is freedom, which.

BECK: You know what, unfortunately, I think Putin is dragging her back. I think there`s a new kind of system that`s being created. It is capitalism and totalitarianism combined. And that is just a combination that you`re just not going to be able to fight. It`s happening in China and it`s happening in Russia.

VOIGHT: Well, let me say this, from the time I spent in Russia, I did some interviews in Russia, and the people were extremely open. And they also had a sense of humor. And they talked about, well, you know, this is the Putin press. They were laughing about it.

Well, this was impossible 17 years ago, the first time. So there`s a lot of freedom there. They`re able to express themselves properly. And I have great hopes for that country. The prosperity that I see there, the people know it comes from the influence of the United States and what happened with the dissolving of the Soviet Union.

BECK: Let me go back where we started, with Charlton Heston. Did you know him?

VOIGHT: No. I bumped into him a couple of times. I saw him on stage a couple of times. A very good stage actor, by the way. And, you know, he had a tremendous history of activism in the `60s.

He was very involved in the civil rights movement. He became the president of SAG. He contributed to our community out here. And then toward the end of his activism he stood up for the Second Amendment. He was an interesting guy, a great patriot.

BECK: I was amazed at the obituary that was in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, everywhere, that said, you know, he marched with Martin Luther King, but at the end of his life he started veering very right. As if, if you`re a conservative, you want separate drinking fountains. I found it so insulting.

VOIGHT: Exactly right. I absolutely agree with you. He was a patriot throughout. And it was interesting, I read one of the things they said, the reason why he got the role of Moses for Cecil B. DeMille is because Cecil B. DeMille thought he resembled the statue of Michelangelo of Moses.

And I thought that was quite wonderful because that statue is something that is very impressive to me as well. And I said, yes, you know, that`s right, he does look a little like that guy.

BECK: I saw that were you on the road with Rudy Giuliani before he lost.

VOIGHT: Yes.

BECK: Are you supporting anybody now or do you see any.

VOIGHT: Well, certainly I am supporting John McCain now since he has been the Republican nominee. And he`s a tremendous guy. And he`s certainly a genuine hero. And I spent a little bit of time with him. And he`s very humble. And he has got a great sense of humor, so many things.

Let me just tell you something that happened that might be very interesting to you. At the end of my time with Rudy Giuliani -- and I had never met Rudy Giuliani. I was just a fan because of what he did in New York and I saw that -- you know, I was a New Yorker and saw that extraordinary turnaround that he was responsible for in New York. And of course, the very extraordinary way he stood up after 9/11 and gathered us all behind him, and made us feel like one nation.

And so that`s why I was, you know, asked to campaign for him. And I went down a week-and-a-half before the end of his campaign. And he did an extraordinary thing at the end of the time when he gave that wonderful concession speech.

BECK: Jon, wait, wait, hold the thought. I`m sorry. I`ve got a hard network break. Hang on. Hold the thought. We`ll be back with that. I`m sorry to do that to you, right at the good part of the story. With Jon Voight in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: There`s nothing like television to wreck a good story for you. We were in the middle of a story with Rudy Giuliani that Jon Voight was telling us.

OK. So you`re out on the campaign trail, first time you meet him.

VOIGHT: So he gives the concession speech. And then, you know, everyone was kind of in a dark mood, a little bit of a dark mood. I went to cheer up some of the people -- the young people who had contributed to the campaign, telling them it was part of history and they were part of it and they did a great job.

And then Rudy wanted to see his close fellows and invited me in as well and we just, you know, had a little drink and some dinner. And he said, well, I should perhaps say a few things. And he said, you know, I`m sorry, I feel badly. It must have been something that I did that wasn`t enough for us at this time.

He said, but you know, I`ve been thinking about it, and I`ll bet that all those people who were the rivals to Abraham Lincoln thought that they would make a better president. But God has his way of delivering for the United States when they`re in need of leadership, just the right person.

And perhaps that`s what he`s doing now. And that was such a moving thing to me to hear this humility but also this kind of very high-minded patriotism of Rudy Giuliani.

BECK: I have to tell you, I hope he`s right, because if -- I mean, if he`s right, God is working in mysterious ways, because I can`t figure this one out. But.

VOIGHT: Well.

BECK: . oh, God knows better than I do.

VOIGHT: Yes.

BECK: You`re working on a movie -- we have a minute. You`re working on a new movie with Colin Farrell now?

VOIGHT: Colin Farrell and Ed Norton. We did a movie called "Pride and Glory." It`s a really terrific cop family movie. I say family -- a cop family, but not a family movie.

BECK: Not a family -- not a New York family.

VOIGHT: A good, tough movie, great acting.

BECK: Yes, OK. Jon, it is a real pleasure, just a real pleasure to speak to you. And God bless you and your courage. And anything I can do to ever help the people -- Hollywood, just come out of the shadows, man.

VOIGHT: Listen, you`re such a talented guy, Glenn, I think you`re so talented. And you know, when I met you, I was very, very impressed with you. People usually say to me, they say, gee, I didn`t know you were that tall.

And when I saw you, I said, I didn`t know you were that tall. You`re such a stately fellow.

BECK: That`s me.

VOIGHT: And you`re very gifted. I`m grateful for your presence on the airwaves.

BECK: Keep going. No, no, keep going. No, I mean it. You can give more compliments my way. That was kind of -- I didn`t believe that acting there.

VOIGHT: It`s real.

BECK: Jon, thanks a lot, man. I appreciate it. We`ll see you again.

VOIGHT: Thanks, Glenn.

BECK: Don`t forget, if you watched this program and you ask yourself, gee, how can I get some more of Glenn Beck, easy answer, Fusion magazine. Your only source for enlightenment and entertainment. You can order a copy and receive the latest issue by going over to glennbeck.com right now. From New York, good night, America.

END