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Glenn Beck

Making Sense of the Russia-Georgia Conflict; MIT May Have Solution to Solar Energy; Modern Day McCarthyism; Raising McCain; Pages of Hope

Aired August 12, 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, the Georgia/Russia crisis continues. Is the evil empire back in business? You bet.

Plus, actor Jon Voigt tells me what it`s like to be the lone conservative voice in the liberal wasteland that is Hollywood. Is there a new kind of black listing and McCarthy era? And this time it originates from Hollywood? You bet. And his thoughts on the election, the fighting in Georgia, and so much more.

And country superstar himself John Rich stops by to tell me why John McCain should be the man who leads this country. He`s going to have to be pretty convincing.

All this and more, tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Well, hello, America. This morning, if you listened to the radio program, I told you we would have the president of Georgia on the program. This is the "New York Times" today. That`s him underneath a bunch of flack jackets, being protected, as Russia is targeting him and his country. Because war is a tricky business, at the last minute, he couldn`t make it. We hope that he is well, and we understand and we hope to have him on the program tomorrow or in the next few days.

In the meantime, let me give you an update. Russia says they have halted the military activity in Georgia. That seems to be news to a lot of Georgians, who say, "I`m still getting shot by the Russian army" However, it does look like Russian aggression is starting to slow down, at least, for now. So here is "The Point" tonight.

The evil empire is back, and it is back with a vengeance, with a message to the entire world. And here`s how where got here.

If there`s ever been any doubt that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was still in complete control of his country -- you know, I think maybe his presence on the Georgian border, directing the military operations should have cleared that whole thing up. Make no mistake about it: no matter whose office door says "president, Russia`s iron fist belongs to one man, and it is former KGB man Vladimir Putin.

After a two-decade nap, both over in Russia and, quite honestly, here, Russia is back and in better financial and military shape than ever before. We thought we won the Cold War. I don`t think we did, now looking back on it.

President Bush says he`s looked into Putin`s eyes and saw sunshine and happiness and Bambi talking to little -- the little skunk. He said he saw a true friend in there.

Truth is, Russia has been quietly rebuilding itself in the KGB way, bigger, stronger than ever before, to the point to where now John McCain says when he looks in Putin`s eyes, he sees the three letters, K-G-B. And you know what? He`s right.

OK. Here`s what you need to know. This time around, Russia`s strength lies not in its past nukes, but in its present oil and gas. Over the last five days, they have brought Georgia to its knees. The violence also forced British Petroleum to close half of its pipeline in the region, and mark my words. This Russian war game was a signal to America, to NATO, to Georgia and its allies and the west.

Russia is wide awake and they are looking to control the world`s energy supplies, and once they do that, they will control the world.

Dimitry Sidorov is a D.C. bureau chief of a Russian business newspaper, Commersant (ph), and Ilan Greenberg is the journalist that covered President Saakashvili for the "New York Times."

Ilan, let me start with you because we were supposed to have the president on tonight. You actually call President Saakashvili, the Reagan of the former Soviet Union. Why?

ILAN GREENBERG, "NEW YORK TIMES": Well, that`s a loose analogy. But Saakashvili, when he took power in 2004, after the Rose Revolution, he really imbued the country for the first time with a sense of hope that things could move forward.

He had a platform that was targeting corruption and, to a great extent, was able -- was able to get at corruption in the country. He was able to increase foreign investment into the country, stabilize the economy, and -- and encourage a democratic culture in the country. And so, to oversimplify things, there was morning in Georgia.

BECK: OK. Dimitry, let me go to you. Most Americans don`t even have any idea what this -- I mean, they don`t even know where this country even is. I mean, I don`t, really. Didn`t know what this story was all about.

And I have been following Georgia for the last couple of years and what`s going on with the new petro state of Russia. Explain this as simply as you can to Americans, what this -- what the message really is that Russia is trying to send?

DIMITRY SIDOROV, D.C. BUREAU CHIEF: I think the message that Russia is sending is they -- they really want to control the Caucuses they lost in the `90s, and they want to control not only the region itself but basically the pipelines. You mentioned BP pipelines. I should mention also the Bakku and Chehan (ph) pipelines, and then -- I`m sorry.

And then it`s sending a clear message to the neighboring countries such as, for example, Azerbaijan, an oil-rich country, as well as to Ukraine, that annoys Russia pretty much, and other CIS neighbors.

BECK: Let me -- let me ask you this, Dimitry. Do you think that -- first of all, you`re a newspaper guy from Russia. Are you ever worried about breaking out with a case of hair falling out? I mean, they tend to kill people that speak their mind against Russia. I mean, has that ever bothered you, being a newspaperman from Russia?

SIDOROV: Well, not that much. The only concern is my parents. They live over there, but otherwise, no.

BECK: OK. Let me -- let me take you -- let me take you to the other message that I think that Russia may be sending. And that`s not only to NATO, basically saying, "You`ve got nothing on us. You`re not going to be able to bully us around."

More importantly, do you think they`re trying to send a message to the new allies of Cuba and Venezuela and Iran and Libya and China and saying, "Don`t worry, guys. We`re not afraid of America. We`ll take them on"?

Are they trying to send that message, as well?

SIDOROV: I think they`re trying, rather, to send a message to the west. They`re trying to send a message to the CIS countries, and they got -- they were well prepared to send this message because the U.S. is busy with Iraq. The Europeans are supplied by the Russians, and I think the Russia -- Russia supplies close to 40 percent of gas to Europe.

And basically, there`s another very important issue, Iran, and there will be discussions in regard to the tougher sanctions on Iran in the U.S. and U.N. Security Council. So in a way, it was a right moment for the Russians to step in. And I was really -- I was not surprised with the U.S. and the European response.

BECK: Yes. Ilan, this has been coming for a while. And Barack Obama, I mean, he had it wrong on day one. Now he`s finally, you know, saying the things that he should have been saying the whole time.

This has been coming for long time. Most of the world didn`t even pay attention to it. I don`t mean shlubs like me; I mean -- I mean world leaders didn`t see this one coming, even though it was very obvious. Agree or disagree?

GREENBERG: I agree completely. It`s hard to make the case that Georgia has been getting the attention it needed over the last few years. Otherwise, what we`ve seen over the past few days surely wouldn`t have happened.

Georgia, whether it`s been getting good advice or bad advice, apparently hasn`t been getting enough advice. The -- Georgia was -- applied for NATO membership, was turned down recently and was, to some extent, set up for a fall.

BECK: That was really -- that was really the critical moment, when we said, hey, we invited them in for NATO membership, and Putin saw at that point, "Oh, my gosh. They`re not all behind Georgia." That`s when he really -- that`s when he saw his golden opportunity of, "Oh, I can mess with these guys."

GREENBERG: Yes, perhaps. You know, it`s hard -- it`s hard to underestimate how much Putin hates Saakashvili. You know, his animus toward President Saakashvili is pretty visceral and well-documented.

BECK: Yes.

GREENBERG: You know, and when we were speaking before about messages Russia wants to send, we shouldn`t overlook the message they want to send specifically to Russia.

BECK: Oh, yes. Yes.

GREENBERG: It`s a very emotional issue.

BECK: That`s why I said at the very beginning I don`t think this thing is over when they say the hostilities are over. It will be over when the president of Georgia is dead, unfortunately, I believe.

One last question, Dimitry. Russian peacekeepers are probably going to be a part of this deal inside the boarders of Georgia. Wouldn`t that be a little like Mexican peacekeepers being stationed in Los Angeles?

SIDOROV: I don`t think that the presence of the Russian peacekeepers is acceptable. I think -- I think rather the compromise would be if the European police forces will end up there because the Russians will never agree to the U.S. presence.

BECK: OK, thank you very much, gentlemen. I appreciate it.

We`ll be coming back with John McCain. He offers tough talk on Russia.

Meanwhile, Obama is -- I don`t know where he is, except now he`s with John McCain. Is John McCain overplaying his national security hand, or is this exactly the attitude that we need from the next administration?

Plus, it looks like conservative actor John Voigt has caught a bad case of cold shoulder. Did his negative remarks about Barack Obama being a Marxist get him black-balled behind the scenes in Hollywood? We`ll ask him in tonight`s "Real Story."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: The thing that you really have to understand about Georgia, I think, is that this is really all about sending messages. That`s what this is about.

The first message is the one we`re supposed to receive, the west, but in particular, America, that Russia is back in military terms. It`s no longer going to tolerate, you know, its former satellite countries joining NATO or housing antiballistic radar or missiles.

Putin is telling, "The west back down with NATO. Back down with your economic expansion programs. We are not to be kicked around any more."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Coming up, I don`t know about you, can you even imagine what it`s like to be a conservative in Hollywood? I mean, I walk down the streets here in New York. I can feel the hot breath of the liberals right on the back of my neck. It`s pretty spooky.

Jon Voigt, I would imagine the dirty looks and the hot breath would be the easy part, living there in Hollywood. Apparently, the Oscar-winning actor has been blacklisted now for speaking his mind. He`ll join me in tonight`s "Real Story" to explain.

But first, while pockets of fighting continue today, Russia has called for an end of their military operations in Georgia. Mm-hmm, I trust them.

It`s great news for Georgians, but I think the entire purpose of this conflict was to send a message to America and the west. We just talked about it in that radio bump there you just saw. We have a couple of choices here. I don`t -- I don`t know what the right choice is. Is there a right choice on how to deal with Russia in this?

Jonathan Allen, he is a reporter for the "Congressional Quarterly."

Jonathan, first of all, let me just say this: this has been a good week for John McCain, because he`s had this one nailed since Friday.

JONATHAN ALLEN, "CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY": That`s right. On Friday morning when this news first broke, John McCain came out and had a real harsh condemnation for the Russians, basically said they were the aggressors here, that they needed to get out, that the international community needed to call on them to get out.

What we saw from Senator Obama and actually from the White House, as well, was a more measured approach that really sought to put blame on both sides. Since that time, we`ve seen the White House and Senator Obama move more in John McCain`s direction. And now, at this point, it`s hard -- hard to see the big difference between Senator Obama and Senator McCain.

BECK: You know, I have to tell you, John. The interesting thing on this to me is that, I mean, name the time that Obama, especially when it comes to foreign policy, has been consistent. He always says one thing, and then he continues to drift. Where John McCain came in and said, "This is who the aggressor is. These are the bad guys."

And I mean, you know, Obama always says, "Oh, look it. Look, McCain, it`s like another term of George Bush." In this particular scenario, Obama looks like a third term of George W. Bush.

ALLEN: Well, Glenn, without sounding like a campaign spokesman for Obama, he`s been pretty consistent on his timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, that 16-month figure that he`s talked about. So there certainly is a place where he`s been consistent on foreign policy.

BECK: You`ve got to...

ALLEN: however, your point is well made...

BECK: Yes.

ALLEN: ... that there really was a window of difference here between McCain and the Bush White House on this particular foreign policy issue, where it looked like McCain really had a lot more familiarity with the issue or certainly, maybe, a better sense of where it was heading over the weekend.

BECK: It`s my understanding that, and I don`t have this confirmed. I have several sources on it who have told this, but that we scrambled jets on Friday up to Alaska.

When the United States is scrambling jets because we`re worried about Russia, that makes the guy with little foreign policy experience kind of look like, ooh, maybe not.

Do you think any kind of affect of this, if it settles down, would last for John McCain, or is this just a, you know, a blip that people go, "Oh, wow, wait a minute. We should have somebody with experience in this particular field," and then it`s over and we forget about it?

ALLEN: Right now, it`s a minor issue in a part of the world that most Americans don`t understand, especially compared to gas prices and health care and even the Iraq war.

I think Senator McCain would like to make it a bigger issue. If this is something that Americans are focused on, concentrated on, I think he`s got a strong advantage on it. I think he would have liked to have seen this happen, if it was going to happen, maybe a little closer to the election. I know that`s kind of a terrible thing to say about war, but from a political standpoint, this happening in August and not happening in October...

BECK: Yes.

ALLEN: ... means that by the time the election happened, it probably will be off the plate.

BECK: It was also interesting to me -- do you know anything about John McCain`s relationship with the president of Georgia? He seems to -- I mean, he knew him, he knew him while he was going to college here at Columbia University, which I won`t hold against him. He -- he seemed to have some -- he seemed to have a handle on this one quickly and in a personal way.

ALLEN: Yes. I mean, John McCain has been -- been over to Georgia several times. He talks with a lot of experience about the country, about the situation over there, and clearly, obviously, knows Saakashvili, if I`m pronouncing that right. If I`m not, I`m one of the many people who is mispronouncing it. But he clearly has a lot of familiarity with this particular part of the world and this particular leader.

BECK: With Obama on vacation, is that a good thing for Obama to be kind of out of the spotlight, especially with the John Edwards thing that broke last week. Between John Edwards and this, is it a good thing or a bad thing that he`s kind of away?

ALLEN: I think it`s probably a necessary thing. You know, Senator Obama has been campaigning for well over a year now. I can`t imagine anybody keeping up that schedule. Obviously, no matter when you leave, something is going to happen. Sometimes it will be a world event. In the case of John Edwards, I`m sure he was happy not to be giving press conferences.

BECK: Are you -- wait a minute. Are you a member of the press that`s actually saying that the young man needs to sit it out while the old man continues to go on the campaign trail?

ALLEN: All I`m suggesting, Glenn, is that this is -- we don`t give them enough credit for their endurance.

BECK: All right. Thanks a lot. Appreciate it, Jon.

Coming up, solar energy. Cheap, we have plenty of it. Right? I mean, that big, flaming orb up in the sky. The problem is the storage. Now that may have been solved by a group of Americans at MIT. We`ll find out after the break.

And later, Oscar-winning actor, fellow conservative John Voigt. Few less friends in Hollywood. Is he facing a modern-day blacklist? McCarthy era had nothing on Hollywood today. We`ll ask him. Tonight`s "Real Story" coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: The science is settled. Experts agree that just one hour of sunlight hits the earth, enough to provide the earth`s energy needs for one year. Wow. Why aren`t we using solar energy? The problem with solar energy has never been the supply. It is the storage of all of that potential energy. But here`s some good news. Scientists may finally have found a solution and leave it to the Americans.

Researchers at MIT say they have made a breakthrough that could solve the storage problem and take solar power from an alternative energy to a mainstream source of energy.

Dan Nocera, he is the Henry Dreyfuss (ph) professor of energy at MIT and a researcher on the project. Daniel, this is -- this is pretty groundbreaking stuff. How exactly does it work?

DAN NOCERA, PROFESSOR OF ENERGY, MIT: The way it works is you take photovoltaics, and they take sunlight and change it into electricity. You can feed it to this new compound we made, and then it splits water to hydrogen and oxygen.

BECK: So this is basically -- this basically makes hydrogen power?

NOCERA: Yes. It makes hydrogen power, and then you can put it downstairs, use it when you want.

BECK: OK. And how long can you store it? For as long as you want?

NOCERA: Yes, as long as you want. When the sun is out, you use the electricity and that powers into the catalyst. But once you store it, it`s in the tank and use it when you need it.

BECK: If we -- if we all had hydrogen cars, I could go home and just plug in my car, as well, fill it -- fill it up with hydrogen.

NOCERA: Might want to do that or you might want to feed it to a fuel cell because fuel cells take oxygen and generate electricity. So when the sun goes down, you power your house and recharge that battery in the electric car.

BECK: How much is this going to cost?

NOCERA: Well, that`s a good question. I mean, these are basic science discoveries right now. But this is as simple as simple can be. You just need a glass of water, some earth-abundant materials, phosphate and cobalt, and you`re ready to go.

So in terms of the catalyst part, it`s really cheap, but we still have the photovoltaics, the fuel cells. So in total integrated design, it`s going to have a lot of engineering still to do.

BECK: I lost you at the phosphate. Where did I put my phosphate? But the -- you say that in eight years, that this is possible, that everybody has one of these things on their house, et cetera, et cetera.

My question is, who`s -- who`s helping you on this? Is there anybody that is -- I mean, I don`t -- this story, I think, broke last week. I haven`t seen anybody on this story yet. I haven`t seen Congress. I haven`t seen Al Gore. I haven`t seen RFK Jr. I haven`t seen, you know, Barack Obama or John McCain, anybody saying, "This is it."

NOCERA: Yes, well look, there -- a lot of them know that solar has got to be it. And I have heard that. These are science discoveries that then have to get translated into technologies. And there, the commercial market really will drive it.

And look, if you have something cheap and easy to use, there`s a lot of money to be made. So these -- the commercial market will drive it, and I`ve talked to lots of companies with some great technologies.

BECK: OK. Real quick, Ray Curswell (ph) says that he`s working on nanobot technology with the Google people for he says that he`ll change in five years, he`ll change everything. The paradigm will switch on solar energy, as well. How do we know which one we should be pursuing here?

NOCERA: Well, that`s where I really think the commercial market is going to drive it. It`s going to be technology issues. What I have, it turns out it interfaces with a number of big companies. What they do is used to make hydrogen in a big way. This allows them to do it in a small way.

BECK: Great. Daniel, thanks. Back in a second with "The Real Story." Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: We interrupt tonight`s regularly scheduled the "Real Story" segment to bring you a special message from State.

GLENN BECK, ANCHOR: Comrades, tonight, I bring you sad, sad news from our western front. No, no. Not the one in Georgia. No, no, the real western front, the one in the United States. I`m sad to report that we have lost another great foot soldier in our war on American ideals in culture.

No, no, not John Edwards. He was pretty much useless anyway. I`m talking about the Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight. This former Soviet patriot, this now, trader has revealed all our classified plans to the plans to the American slime riding in the disgusting propaganda rag of the "Washington Times."

Trader Voight revealed that electing Obama would result in quote, "A socialist era that America has not seen before, that would weaken their country in every way."

Oh how true it is. Comrades, you and I both know that Comrade Obama, the things he talks about like universal health care, free college tuition, free child care, universal pre-school, universal national service, universal 401ks, you know those things, would definitely weaken America. But why would our former brother in arms, Jon Voight, betray us by advertising them?

Comrades, if we lose the hearts and minds of our foot soldiers in Hollywood, what`s next? Do we lose, Broadway, the universities, the media? This has got to stop.

We have the traitor here himself, Mr. Jon Voight.

Sir, guilty as charged?

JON VOIGHT, ACTOR: I am guilty, comrade.

BECK: Yes, you are.

VOIGHT: I am guilty.

BECK: I got to tell you, Jon, I am amazed at the story and the vitriol that has come out at you for writing that Obama is going to bring Marxist policies or use Marxist propaganda to bring us into a socialist stage. It`s almost like in Hollywood the reverse McCarthy age is going on, that you`re blacklisted if you`re not a Marxist.

VOIGHT: Yes. Well, I have a little familiarity with the tactics and stuff, but I am really shocked at this kind of behavior. Obviously, it`s very pernicious, it`s very anti-American that you have strong opinions that are well thought out, I think, and I think entirely true, of course. But stating my case brings on, you know, attacks against my person and the threat of taking work away from me.

BECK: You know, I find it amazing, Jon, that they didn`t -- they didn`t argue, but this is the way the left is now. They don`t argue the issues.

They went right for an attack on you with your family. They went right for an attack on you and your intelligence, and then they said somebody -- who after they accused you of having no intelligence -- as smart as you, should know that you can`t speak out if you`re a conservative in a liberal town in a liberal business and be able to have jobs.

What is that? What kind of America is that?

VOIGHT: Yes, and the statement that I just felt as Jeff Wells he said something about doesn`t he have any sense of expediency in a town that`s full of left-thinking people. And it`s quite shocking that people would recommend some behavior not out of principle but out of expediency.

But when you see that the way certain things are going in the Democratic campaign here, you can see that their focus is really on expediency. That`s where the decisions are made.

BECK: You and I spoke earlier today on my radio program, and you know, I like a guy who has a pivot point in their life. I like a guy who is not -- you know, I don`t mind flip-floppers as long as they can tell me why they changed their mind and when they changed their mind.

You actually must be extraordinarily frustrated with the college students and the young crowd and young Hollywood because you were part of that in the `60s and you were caught up in this Marxist movement back in the 1960s.

VOIGHT: Well, I know how it functions, anyway. And Ho Chi Minh was right when he said we weren`t going to win this with bullets and bombs. We`re going to win it in the streets of American and the colleges and schools. And he was right unfortunately, and not much has changed.

THE people who were in the streets are now in the schools teaching our children. So we have a lot to address here. In the safety of -- to they think of the safety of our kids, we`ve got to be very careful right now.

BECK: I have to tell you, John, and this is awful, awful, awful to say --

VOIGHT: Maybe I should say we shouldn`t be careful right now. We should be a little braver and know what the threat is and stand up and face it, you know face it down.

BECK: I have to tell you, when I first read your editorial last week, I thought the first phrase that came to mind was a Son of the Republic. Somebody who understands the Republic and somebody who, like the original Sons of the Republic, like the original founding fathers, they knew that they were signing their own death warrants.

I mean, Benjamin Franklin, they didn`t think that they could actually do the Declaration of Independence until merchants came to him and said, you know what Ben, we know this is going to hurt our business. We know -- I may die penniless, but it`s the right thing to do.

And that`s the attitude that people used to have. And you demonstrated last week that you`ve got -- it doesn`t matter. You`ve got to stand up for what you believe in.

VOIGHT: Oh it`s really -- it`s so important right at this moment in time. And most of what I wanted to do was expose the fact that nobody knows who this fellow is who is running for president. No one cares to look into his background. He`s not vetted in any way.

If he was running for a lesser Office, if he was putting himself in position for a lesser Office, he would be thoroughly vetted out and would be found wanting because after all, he has really no qualifications.

BECK: Yes.

VOIGHT: But running for president, he can hide all of the background. Now, when I -- when you ask people who are enthusiastic about Obama what they know about him, they have very, very little to say.

And they`re going on his looks, the way he carries himself, this idea of change, which by the way, is, if you look at change, the word change is very key to the Marxist organizers.

What they do is they dismantle the system that they`re focusing on and they bring in change. And he studied the style of Sol Ilinsky in Chicago, who was a Marxist organizer, and he`s been a teacher of that method, too. And so he knows exactly what he`s going to do.

What is he going to change? When people said, "I want change." And so what is he going to change? Is he going to change America from what we love? From what we -- from the freedoms we have, from the independence, from the economic opportunities that we offer to people? Yes, he`s going to change that.

BECK: His wife said at one point, one of my favorite quotes from his wife, she said, "My husband will not allow you to go back to sleep. My husband will not allow you to be uninvolved in America." And I thought, ok, I want to be involved in America, but I don`t want to force anybody to be in. That is un-American in of itself.

Let me ask you this, the Democratic Party, I said this four years ago when I was also warning the Republicans that they were losing their soul and they needed to find what they really stood for and not just you know try to appease everybody. I said it at the same time, the Democrats are getting into bed with Marxists and they don`t know who they`re getting into bed with.

They have still not done anything about that. And now, at the convention with Barack Obama, one of the performers is Kanye West, who is the guy who came out and said Bush hates black people. The military is killing blacks in New Orleans. I mean, where does this platform of hate come from?

VOIGHT: Well, listen, it`s a mixture of quite a lot of things, but it`s not good. It doesn`t bode well.

You know, it`s very interesting about this idea of the racial stuff, that they try to pin on the Republicans and on John McCain. And you have this little mantra. He is very clever, Obama, at speaking, of course and he knows how to get people`s attention, and he say, he has this little mantra.

He says, they`re going to tell you a lot of things about me. They`re going to say I`m risky. They`re going to say I`m not patriotic. They`re going to say I have a funny name. They`re going to say I don`t look like the fellows on the dollar bills.

Well, and he had a little bit of an adjustment from the prior time that he used the same mantra where he said -- he said they`re going to say, oh, by the way, do you know he`s black? Well, they`re suggesting, you know, they`re trying to take things off the table. They`re also implying that the Republicans are using a racial charge against them.

BECK: What I find interesting is --

VOIGHT: And it`s very covert and --

BECK: Yes. It`s always them. Jon, thank you very much. We`ll talk to you again soon, my friend.

VOIGHT: Ok.

BECK: Coming up, a judge on the hit show, Nashville star, one half of the country music Super-duo Big & Rich, John Rich, is stopping by to talk about his new song. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: I was in the Mountain West a couple months ago and I was driving with a friend and there were like 16 country music stations on the air, and I said you know I just don`t think I can live in a place that doesn`t have country music, and then I realized, ooh I do, New York.

In the world of thug rappers and sissy pop stars, I take the guys in the big hat and buckles everyday of the week but you know that`s just to me.

The next guy is part of country music`s new guard. He`s half of the chart- topping duo, Big & Rich, a judge on CNMP`s "Nashville Star." He is John Rich. Welcome to the program.

JOHN RICH, COUNTRY SINGER: Thank you, how are you doing today?

BECK: Have you made a decision on who you`re going to vote for?

RICH: I don`t know. It`s a toss-up between John McCain and John McCain, but you know, I`m still undecided. Can`t you tell?

BECK: Yes, no, is it true you`re actually for John McCain, but Big Kenny is actually supporting Obama?

Big Kenny? I`m not sure who big Kenny is for, but I think he sent a little money Barack Obama`s way. So I would say, he`s leaning in that direction. But then that what makes it a great conversation.

BECK: That`s what makes it obnoxious. It`s like, oh, how can you be so stupid?

RICH: Well, I don`t think I would say anybody supporting him is stupid.

BECK: I would.

RICH: And you can say whatever you want. It`s your show, man. You know, for me, for me, Glenn, it`s one of those things where as an entertainer, I watch shows like yours and I watch all these shows and I`m trying to figure out what I`m looking at here. I`m looking at John McCain, Barack Obama.

I`m a fairly young guy and I`m going, this is really important and I want to understand these two guys. I`m online looking up people`s voting records and I`m reading their stories and biographies and learning about them. And as an entertainer, I can tell you people I`m in business with go, what are you crazy. You`re talking about politics. What are you doing?

For me, it`s okay for people to talk about who they`re supporting and why they`re supporting them. You don`t have to bash somebody. But you can talk while you`re supporting somebody. I see no problem with that at all.

BECK: I think I could handle going to a concert where the two guys are on the opposite side of the spectrum because I`m only going to be pissed off half of the time.

You did a song for John McCain. Is he going to use this as his campaign theme song?

RICH: He`s free to use it as much as he can. It`s called "Raising McCain."

BECK: Play a little bit of it.

RICH: Play a little bit. It rocks, it rocks.

BECK: All right. I have to tell you something. I don`t know if this is true, but I have heard that the song that this may replace is "Take a Chance on Me" by Abba.

RICH: Well, my gosh. I can`t imagine me replacing them.

BECK: Who would. What is John McCain thinking, going for the Mama Mia crowd? What is that?

RICH: The reason I wrote that song and why I wrote it so rocking like that, one thing about John McCain that I really identify with is his independent mindset. He`s upset as many Republicans as he has upset Democrats over the years. He always makes the decision based on his conscience. He votes his conscience. Sometimes that`s not even the best thing for himself.

And as an entertainer and as a songwriter, Lord knows I have had part in country music in writing songs and being a part of things, movements that people went, I don`t know if I`m all about that, but you know it`s what I felt like I should be doing.

And supporting McCain to me after I really got to know what this guy`s about, it`s a no-brainer for. I`ll point out something to you. I`ve never heard anybody talk about this but you know how John McCain holds his mike like this, and his arm is stiff looking. Everybody goes, he`s old. John McCain`s old, he`s stiff, whatever.

You know what, thank God he has got some age on him. And you know why he`s stiff? He`s stiff because when he was in Vietnam and they were breaking his bones, torturing him, trying to get information out of him so they could sucker punch the United States one more time. And he wouldn`t say anything. He had to reset some of his own bones and they never grew back right. If that`s not a patriot, I don`t know what is.

BECK: I agree with you. I just wish I knew who you were voting for.

John, good talking to you, man. Thanks a lot.

RICH: Thank you, Glenn.

BECK: Time now for tonight`s "Real America" brought to you by CSX.

It`s hard to meet a person that hasn`t somehow or another been affected by cancer. We all know somebody who has it even if we haven`t had it ourselves. That includes one woman from Pittsburgh. She turned that seemingly sad fact and turned it into a positive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELSEY BARNER, STUDENT: Jill Aufwitch (ph) was the principle at my brother`s middle school, and she had battled cancer for five years.

BECK: Kelsey and Taylor Barner so firsthand when they watch their middle school principal battle colon cancer.

KIM BARNER, KELSEY`S MOTHER: I think that made them think about most teenagers don`t realize how short life is. I think for them, that was eye- opening.

BECK: So the kids got involved with the American Cancer Society`s relay for life; a 24-hour event that raises money for the organization. It was there that 15-year-old Kelsey came up with an idea.

KELSEY BARNER: We did seminars there. I was actually in a fund-raising seminar. One of the ideas that was talked about was sharing cancer survivors` stories with other people. I thought it would be cool to put in a book format so it`d be easier to share.

BECK: That was eight months ago, and since then, the entire family has been working to make it a reality. Kelsey even contributed $1,500 of her own money.

KIM BARNER: She`s very ambitious; always doing something, very active. When she had the idea, although it sounded ambitious, it was her typical let`s come up with something new and exciting. And it was.

BECK: The book "In Their Own Words" was published last month. It`s 30 personal accounts of how patients and loved ones have dealt with a devastating disease.

KELSEY BARNER: They`re really sad, but they`re inspiring to read. So it`s hard to read them, but you feel better. And they help other people.

KIM BARNER: The interesting thing is, even though they`re sad in their content, they all end with optimism, with a purpose. There is some purpose behind what they went through with cancer.

BECK: Though her school principal lost his battle to cancer, Kelsey hopes this book will inspire others to continue their fight against the disease.

KELSEY BARNER: Knowing people enjoy sharing their stories and it helps other people with cancer to know that other people are going through the same thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: As you know, if you were listening to my radio program today, we were supposed to have the President of Georgia on. Looks like we`re going to have him on or we`re working hard to have him on tomorrow for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, this is what came up.

Oh, I`ve got to go talk to the masses and celebrate that the war is over. Sure, sure if that`s your priority. I mean, we`re a very low-rated cable news program, Mr. President. Hopefully we`ll have him on tomorrow and he can give us some perspective on this.

Now let me talk to you about Nancy Pelosi. If you`re Nancy Pelosi then you think that it was the goodwill of the Iranians that was the big factor in our improvements in Iran. I`m just guessing here. That may be her plan for the drilling as well. Eventually the goodwill of the Iranians, they`ll just come out and give us oil.

What she overlooks in the Iraq war is that the coalition military that had given enough breathing room for the people of Iraq to come out and actually make an important comparative judgment, the judgment was, huh, the U.S. troops don`t seem to be killing people for no apparent reason, and Al Qaeda is.

But it`s not just the killing that bothered the people of Iraq. New reports now out show that the whole picture of why the Iraqis turned against those wacky Al Qaeda members is a little dicey.

For example, they had a ban on women purchasing suggestively shaped vegetables like cucumbers. I`m not joking. They actually were killing female goats because their tails were pointed up and, therefore, their private parts were not covered. Oh, those dirty goats. In fact, they even banned ice cream.

Now, I don`t know about you, but I don`t think you can win the hearts and minds of the people by taking away their mint chocolate chip. Don`t even think about coming for mine.

Yet even after the Iraqis have recognized who the real bad guys are, our own country is seemingly tougher to convince. For example, there`s a new Coney Island art display in New York that depicts water boarding. Why? Well, because we`re evil for doing it, of course.

Forget that we`ve done it to a total of three people. Forget that one of them was the architect of the 9/11 attacks. Forget that the other one planned the "USS Cole" attacks and forget that the third one was the head of logistics for Al Qaeda and that a CIA officer said that his water boarding may have stopped a dozen attacks itself.

Forget that we do it to our own special forces to train them. Yeah, you`ve got to forget all of those things. Because if you remember them, then you`ll have this magic little thing called perspective.

For all of our problems, we are still the best this world has got. Just ask the people in Georgia.

We`ll see you tomorrow night. From New York. Good night, America.

END