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CNN Crossfire
CROSSFIRE in Las Vegas; Interview With Wayne Newton
Aired April 19, 2004 - 16:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: CROSSFIRE. On the left, James Carville and Paul Begala; on the right, Robert Novak and Tucker Carlson.
In the CROSSFIRE: rolling the dice in presidential politics. Will George Bush or John Kerry be the big winner in swing states like Nevada? And what's a trip to Las Vegas without Wayne Newton? The legendary entertainer joins us live -- today on CROSSFIRE.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: LIVE FROM Las Vegas, Nevada, Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST: Welcome to CROSSFIRE.
CNN's Election Express has turned into Las Vegas. And, of course, what happens here stays here, except today. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge was in town this morning speaking here at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention.
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST: Meanwhile, the president, of course, is betting his presidency on the war in Iraq. A year after the invasion, it looks like it's coming up craps.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: High stakes, as CROSSFIRE comes to you from the freest city in the free world, Las Vegas.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: In the CROSSFIRE today, Republican Congressman J.D. Hayworth of the equally beautiful state of Arizona and the innovative, imaginative, wonderful mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman himself.
Thank you both very much.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Now, Mayor Goodman, John Kerry, who you have, despite all your many good points, sort of unaccountably endorsed, keeps telling the American people that we're essentially in a recession, moving toward another Great Depression. And yet Las Vegas kind of refutes that. It's the fastest growing city in this part of the country, if not the whole country. I was at a craps table this morning. It was crowded not with rich people, but with ordinary people, what John Kerry calls working people. And they were betting thousands and losing thousands. They had a lot of disposable income.
This is not a country facing recession, based on my experience here, is it?
OSCAR GOODMAN (D), MAYOR OF LAS VEGAS: Well, the country may be facing recession, but Las Vegas is booming. We have 6,000 people come in a month. We build a new home every 23 minutes. It's just a phenomenal place. And our economy is great. Everybody has a job. The weather is like this everyday, even when it rains.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: Well, then I don't think -- A, there's no question that Bush is going to win. And, B, if we are facing a recession, don't you think you personally ought to go down to the casino floor and tell these workers, these working Americans, don't spend your money on craps; we're in deep trouble economically?
GOODMAN: No.
Las Vegas is the kind of place that you want to leave your cares and woes away, when you come in from places like Scottsdale, with all due respect, my friend.
(LAUGHTER)
GOODMAN: You
(CROSSTALK)
REP. J.D. HAYWORTH (R), ARIZONA: ... everybody back down to Scottsdale real soon to spend a lot of their own money there.
GOODMAN: Particularly after 9/11.
You know, the country was in such doldrums, as well we should have been. We needed a place like Las Vegas, where people can put their cares and woes away, come out here, have a great time, have an experience where they don't really have to worry about going to the cusp or whatever. As long as it's legal, we welcome it here.
And you can -- as you said, what goes on here stays here. It's a great motto. We believe in freedom. It is the freest city in the free world. It's the greatest. And people should have a good time here. Go home if you want to have a bad time.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: But, Congressman, I want to ask you about -- here in the mayor's city -- it's probably the same in Scottsdale -- I notice gasoline prices out of control. In Las Vegas, they're paying $2.25 a gallon for gasoline, which brings us to the news of the day.
Bob Woodward has got a new book out about President Bush leading us into war in Iraq. And he writes this. Let me read you what Woodward reports: "Prince Bandar" -- that is the ambassador from Saudi Arabia -- "wanted President Bush to know that the Saudis hope to fine- tune oil prices to prime the economy in 2004. What was key, Bandar understood, were the economic conditions before a presidential election."
That's what Woodward writes, that our president is allowing the Saudis to jack up the price of oil now, rip us off for the summer driving season, so long as he cuts them just before the election to help President Bush. Isn't that an outrage?
HAYWORTH: No, I think what's an outrage is really interesting, the gamble John Kerry is taking that the American people will develop instant amnesia, when John Kerry has called for an extra half-dollar tax per gallon on gasoline.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HAYWORTH: That jacks up prices here in Vegas up to $2.75.
BEGALA: I understand.
HAYWORTH: And so talk all you want. We'll get a book of the month thing. It's the bash book of the month club. We had Dick Clarke last month. Now it's Bob Woodward.
I'm sure, Paul, you're going to pen something else before this election comes along that will bash everything.
(CROSSTALK)
HAYWORTH: But the fact is, let me speak for myself. I wrote Prince Bandar back when he had the temerity to compare the terrorists to freedom fighters in our American revolution. And I said he was dead wrong.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: Good for you. What I'm asking you is, why isn't President Bush standing up to him, instead of cutting corrupt deals to manipulate the gas prices?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HAYWORTH: Because -- because
(CROSSTALK)
HAYWORTH: I don't believe -- I don't believe -- if you want to know corrupt deals, I'd refer you to a previous administration. This president is guts up. And he is not going to sacrifice American security for any short-term gain.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: And you're not troubled by Bush cutting a secret deal with the Saudi Arabians on gas prices?
HAYWORTH: You know, I admire Bob Woodward. He's a tremendously creative writer.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Now, Mr. Mayor, you've just -- you've heard the allegations that Paul just leveled. You've heard a lot from others in your
(CROSSTALK)
GOODMAN: Right. And I find them impossible.
CARLSON: Of course you do.
I want you to comment on another example of your party having gone completely insane. And that is the
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
GOODMAN: I'm not partisan.
CARLSON: I'm talking about the Democratic Party in the state of Nevada finished its convention...
GOODMAN: Nevada.
CARLSON: Nevada.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: ... here yesterday.
And they called for at that convention the impeachment of the president of the United States. Don't you think that a party in the state of fever like yours, really deep into insane conspiracy theories, can't win in November?
GOODMAN: Oh, no, I think we're going to win.
I think that the Democrats will definitely carry the state.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
GOODMAN: We have a -- we've got a very issue, that we are having a real problem with the good president. And I would never say anything about the office of the president, but this president came out and he made promises to Nevada about Yucca Mountain. That's a nuclear waste dump which is 90 miles away from the city of Las Vegas.
And this administration has not taken care of the issue as far as the transportation, the safety of the transportation of nuclear waste.
CARLSON: Well, wait.
(CROSSTALK)
GOODMAN: No, seriously. So we have to -- we have to -- we have to really vote for a Democrat, because Kerry has taken the position that he would not be supportive of a high-level nuclear waste dump here. That dump was planned many, many years ago.
CARLSON: It would be interesting to
(CROSSTALK)
GOODMAN: Before Las Vegas became the kind of city that we are right now. We're a major metropolitan area. And we have 1.6 million people
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: I would love to see where Senator Kerry would actually put the nuclear waste. But my question is, should the president be impeached? Do you agree with your party that he ought to be impeached?
GOODMAN: No. No, he should not be impeached, no. That's a
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Do you tell your fellow Democrats that here in Nevada?
GOODMAN: I would certainly -- I would certainly tell anybody that. He has deserved nothing that I know of which would deserve impeachment. You vote against him if you don't like what he did. That's the way the process should work.
BEGALA: Well, let me show you another reason, because I don't like what he's doing, another revelation about the president's relationship with the Saudis.
This is deeply troubling, particularly to a patriotic American like you, who has spoken against Saudi Arabia, which is a medieval dictatorship that hates Israel. Many of their people hate America. And it turns out that our vice president brought the -- Prince Bandar, Saudi prince, into his office and show him secret battle plans that said nonforeign, which is a classification which means you can't show it to any foreigner, and, in fact, according to Woodward, informed this Arab prince about our war plans before the secretary of state himself even knew.
Now, that is an outrage, isn't it?
HAYWORTH: Well, it were true, sure. But the problem is, Condoleezza Rice and everybody else said, no, that didn't happen that way.
BEGALA: They didn't deny that. Dick Myers was on Wolf Blitzer's show yesterday, the chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff. Wolf Blitzer interviewed him and he said, yes, I think he got that right. That's how it happened.
That's what General Myers said.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: I think it's an outrage that a foreigner is being shown our secrets at all.
HAYWORTH: So basically, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, jack Kennedy shouldn't have had dinner with David Ormsby-Gore and talked about any response the United States would make to the Soviet Union.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: I think there's a great difference between Great Britain and Saudi Arabia.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: Britain is a democracy. And Saudi Arabia is an anti- woman, anti-Israel
(CROSSTALK)
HAYWORTH: You know, this is interesting. I don't know if you can have it both ways in terms of multilateralism...
CARLSON: Exactly.
HAYWORTH: ... when you talk about, oh, let's wait and let's sacrifice our American security to the folks at the U.N. All I know is I take my oath of office to the Constitution of the United States
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: And not to Prince Bandar. Not to Prince Bandar and the Saudi princes.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: That's right.
(APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Mr. Mayor, you're seeing right here, I think, sort of a preview of the way the Democrats are going to conduct their campaign.
John Kerry, whatever his personal charms may be, none are on display.
(LAUGHTER) CARLSON: He's sour. He's sanctimonious. Hold on. He's the least charming -- it's true. In person, I think he's pretty charming. In public, he's the least charming person in America. He's not a Vegas kind of man.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: And I'm wondering -- and I'm wondering -- I'm wondering, what advice would you give to him to make him more sort of more Vegas, much more optimistic, more appealing? Because he's not appealing. What would you
(CROSSTALK)
GOODMAN: A bigger nose?
CARLSON: Really? You think that would work?
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
GOODMAN: No, in all sincerity, I had the privilege of meeting the senator when he came here to visit about two months ago. And he's a very nice guy and a regular guy, very interested in our community here, looked around. He had visited here when he was in the service and said that he has a great deal of affection for Las Vegas.
But the truth of the matter is, he doesn't portray...
CARLSON: He's a little tightly wound, isn't he?
GOODMAN: Doesn't convey the niceness that you see when you're with him in person when he's doing things publicly. And he has to learn how to be a little bit like myself, laid-back and maybe have a drink or two, who knows.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Congressman, same thing, a different critique of President Bush. You were a professional broadcaster. You are as articulate a Republican as there is in this country. I love when you come on our show, because you're so good at what you do. It must have broken your heart to watch our president asked a simple question of what he's learned from his mistakes and sit there like Ralph Kramden. That must have broken your heart.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HAYWORTH: You know what I thought was fascinating? First of all, two things here, two things here. Paul, I think this is truly a storied day, because it sounds like you're endorsing me for president, which I think is just amazing.
(LAUGHTER)
HAYWORTH: But, secondly here, the fact is, I think the press conference said a heck of a lot more about the state of the fourth estate or broadcasting, the fifth estate, in terms of this -- how do you feel about this. Rather than who, what, when, where, why and how, it came down to the press corps talking amongst itself: How do you feel? What mistakes have you made? How do you feel on all these issues?
What we should do is deal with facts. And, quite frankly, had I been giving the president advice, I would have said go directly to the American people and talk directly to them, utilizing broadcast equipment and then come out for a press conference.
(CROSSTALK)
HAYWORTH: But he decided to do it that way.
(CROSSTALK)
HAYWORTH: And I still think there's something that says it may not be really very sweeping, high-flown rhetoric, but he speaks truth to power. He says what he means and he means what he says.
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: We are going to have to take a break, Congressman Hayworth. Hold your seat. We're going to come back here.
You know, tourists, when they come to Las Vegas, are looking for a good time. But will terrorists instead come here and attack? We will put that question to our guests next.
And then later, when you think of the Vatican, of course you think of the pope. When it's London, the queen. When you think of Las Vegas, of course, one man comes to mind, William Bennett.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: No, actually, someone even bigger, Mr. Las Vegas himself. Coming up, the one, the only, the man's threat, the lady's pet, Wayne Newton, will join us here in the CROSSFIRE.
Stay with us.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE.
Time for "Rapid Fire," where the questions are fast, sort of like blackjack, but even faster. We're talking about the tight race between President Bush and Senator John Kerry here in Nevada and other Western states.
GOODMAN: Nevada.
CARLSON: Nevada or Nevada, or both.
In the CROSSFIRE, the mayor of Los Angeles and noted grammarian, Oscar Goodman.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: And Republican Congressman J.D. Hayworth of Arizona.
BEGALA: Congressman Hayworth, as Tucker said at the top of the show, our homeland security director, Secretary Tom Ridge, is in Las Vegas today. It's no secret that terrorists would love to attack a place like Las Vegas. I wonder if you still feel proud that you voted to cut $3.5 billion in homeland security aid for first-responders that the mayor said he needs help with?
HAYWORTH: I didn't vote to cut aid. What I voted to do was to make sure that the quibbles of collective bargaining would not get in the way of national security, both at the federal, state and the local levels. And the fact is, we have to make sure we have money both for our troops in the field and for our first-responders. And we're going to make sure it's there.
CARLSON: Mr. Mayor...
GOODMAN: Yes.
CARLSON: ... when you -- the Democratic Party of Nevada had its recent convention here, the keynote speaker was Bill Richardson, who is not from Nevada. He's from a state called New Mexico, which is not the same state. It's kind of pathetic they had to import someone from another state. Why weren't you the addressing...
GOODMAN: Well, I was.
CARLSON: As the keynote.
GOODMAN: Because I was down in San Diego on vacation.
HAYWORTH: Oh.
GOODMAN: No, just kidding.
(LAUGHTER)
GOODMAN: Just kidding.
But I want to talk about something serious, this historically. I think we're the safest city in the world. I think Las Vegas is as safe as they come. Each one of these hotel and casinos, they have their own miniature police force, as well as our metropolitan police department.
BEGALA: Is Washington giving you the aid you need?
GOODMAN: No, absolutely not. That's something the Conference Of Mayors is dedicated to getting on. And that is the first-responders that are the cities, our police officers, the cities. We're the ones who have to address an event, God forbid that it takes place. And we're the last ones to get the money. It comes from the feds. It goes to the state. It goes to the county and then down to us.
(BELL RINGING)
GOODMAN: And by the time it gets to us, we don't have it.
CARLSON: OK, well, that's an entirely different show. And, unfortunately, we are out of time. I'd like ask you more questions about where all the money goes here in Nevada.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: But thank you very much, Mayor Goodman.
Congressman J.D. Hayworth, thank you very much.
HAYWORTH: Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Well, of course, Las Vegas is all about gambling and entertainment. Next, we have one of the most famous entertainers there is in America or the world. That is of course Wayne Newton. Who does he like for president? We'll ask him.
And, right after the break, a famous POW joins the fight to free another American being held in Iraq. Wolf Blitzer will fill us on the details.
We'll be right back.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Coming up at the top of the hour, the administration responds to Bob Woodward's explosive new book. Is the White House working secretly with Saudi Arabia to spring an October surprise?
The latest polls on Iraq and 9/11. What do the new numbers mean for the presidential candidates? We'll have them for you. Hopes and prayers for a captured U.S. soldier, what Jessica Lynch and the Reverend Jesse Jackson are trying to do themselves.
Those stories, much more, only minutes away on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS."
Now back to CROSSFIRE.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Welcome back.
Well, when you think of Las Vegas, besides gambling, one thing comes to mind, Wayne Newton, Mr. Las Vegas.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: He is known as a total entertainer. He's with us here now. We're honored.
Welcome.
WAYNE NEWTON, ENTERTAINER: Thank you. Great pleasure.
BEGALA: Thank you very much, Wayne. Thanks for joining us.
NEWTON: Thank you. Great pleasure to be here.
BEGALA: Back in Washington, they say politics is show business for ugly people.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: You've been in real show business and really at the top since you were 4 years old. What's the secret?
NEWTON: Well, it's fear.
You know, we -- when we walk out on stage, we walk out not to change people's political beliefs, not to change their religious beliefs. We walk out to entertain them. And that's what we strive to do every single night. And I've been doing that since I was 4. And I don't suspect it will ever change, you know.
CARLSON: Amen.
Well, you obviously know a lot about charm. You're one of the most charming people anywhere. We were talking right before you got here with Mayor Goodman about the charm deficit with John Kerry. I mean, listening to a John Kerry speech is like going to the proctologist.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: You may have to, but you don't want to.
And I'm wondering, what advice would you give him to make people like him more?
NEWTON: I think the best thing he could do would be get out of the race.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Yes, that's good advice.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
NEWTON: I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: I have to say, President Bush is terribly charming. I don't think that's his problem. He's just not terribly good at being president. We now have the economy in trouble. We have health care in trouble, and Iraq. Do you ever talk to him? Do you ever say, hey, ease off, like, bashing entertainers, which he seems to love to do? And his party loves to beat up on performers and artists and entertainers. Do you ever ask him to stop that?
(APPLAUSE)
NEWTON: Well, you must understand that what I do with the USO really is nonpolitical. And we have performers who are Democrats and we have performers who are Republican.
And one speech I give them is that, when we go to entertain the troops, we're not delivering a message of politics. There's nothing political about it. We're there to bring a touch of home to these men and women who are taking care of freedom and democracy for the rest of us. That's that hat. As an American, no, I would never presume to tell the president what to do or how to do it. God knows, he knows a lot more about all of that than I
BEGALA: I don't know about God, but I would kind of dispute that, actually.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: I'd rather see you sitting in that room than Mr. Bush.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Wayne, tell me, who are you going to vote for, do you think, and why?
NEWTON: Let me put it this way. Rather than tell you who I would vote for, with all due respect to our mayor, who was here and whom I have a great deal of respect for and love as a human being -- and I respect his opinions -- I just know that all of us -- I, too, as a Nevadan am unhappy about the administration's stand on Yucca Mountain, because that affects all of us here.
(APPLAUSE)
NEWTON: I think we, as Americans -- and that is the catchphrase, I believe -- that we as Americans have to look at bigger picture. And we have to look at homeland security. And we have to look at the people who are looking to do us harm and decide which man is going to fight those people better. And, as far as I'm concerned, the gentleman running for your party's nomination is not the man. And so that leaves us with the other man.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Bush?
NEWTON: Yes.
BEGALA: Let me come back to that. You sort of slipped the punch admirably.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: And that is this. Our president
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: That is called charm, yes.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: It is charm. You're terribly charming. You're an entertainer. And it must bother you -- and I've talked to some entertainers -- when the president of the United States, who ought to be attacking terrorists, is attacking the Dixie Chicks. That's beneath him, isn't it? Why does this guy bang on entertainers?
CARLSON: He didn't beat up on the Dixie Chicks.
BEGALA: Yes, he did.
NEWTON: As I remember, I thought they pretty much beat up on him.
CARLSON: Exactly.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: He works for them. They have a right to.
NEWTON: I guess that's probably the truth, and -- but I do believe that in a time of national emergency, which is wartime, which is what we're in, all of us have to move to what's important for our country, not what's important to Wayne Newton or the Dixie Chicks or Barbra Streisand or anybody else. BEGALA: Or Saudi Arabia.
NEWTON: Or Saudi Arabia or anybody else.
CARLSON: But especially Barbra Streisand, don't you think?
NEWTON: What's important -- yes.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: Prince Bandar.
NEWTON: What's important to America? And what's important to America's is keeping America safe.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Amen. God bless.
Keep your seat. Hey, gang, do you want to hear Wayne sing after this commercial break?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: We're going to have to talk him into it. When we come back, we're going to try to convince Wayne to do a little singing for his supper.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEGALA: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE. We are live in Las Vegas with Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton.
OK, gang, you want to hear Wayne sing?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Take it away, Wayne.
NEWTON: OK. Now, watch this. What song would you like to hear?
CROWD: "Danke Schoen." "Danke Schoen."
CARLSON: "Danke Schoen," yes.
BEGALA: "Danke Schoen."
CARLSON: "Danke Schoen."
NEWTON: You've got to help me.
(singing): Danke Schoen, darling Danke Schoen. Come on. Thank you for all the joy and pain. Picture shows, second balcony, was the place we'd meet, second seat, go Dutch treat. You were sweet. BEGALA: Yes!
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: All right. Outstanding.
NEWTON: Thank you.
CARLSON: That was outstanding. Tell us....
NEWTON: Thank you.
CARLSON: I'm sorry to be so shameless about it. What time are you on here every night and where?
NEWTON: I work at the Stardust Hotel six nights a week. And the show starts at 8:00. And we would love to see you all. Come over and say hello.
BEGALA: Outstanding.
One last thing. You are the head of the USO. They have a terrific, Operation Phone Home. I'd like you to be able to tell people how they can help our troops.
NEWTON: Well, actually, just -- and I would never correct you -- I'm simply the chairman of the celebrity circle.
BEGALA: But you are the USO in the eyes of millions of Americans.
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: It's a job I love. And Ned Powell, the honorable Powell, is actually the CEO and president of the USO.
The phone home idea is, you simply send money to the USO, whether it be $5, and they will supply a phone card for our troops overseas to give them a chance to call home to their loved ones. And it's paid for with that money.
CARLSON: Now, you have been over to visit the troops?
NEWTON: We've been to Iraq three times in the last year. I was in...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: So what was your impression of it, of Iraq?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
NEWTON: The impression, fortunately and unfortunately, I guess, is that our men and women are doing an incredible job for us over there. We have every reason to be proud of them. And they're going to the schools. They're rebuilding the schools. We went to some of the schools that our soldiers had rebuilt, and the kids just love them. And Gary Sinise has started a program to send books and supplies to the Iraqi children. And we're making incredible headway over there. And, unfortunately, the bottom line is that some of the negative stuff doesn't -- it takes precedent.
BEGALA: God bless you for the work you're doing. It's USO.org, USO.org.
CARLSON: Wayne Newton, thank you.
BEGALA: Spend a couple of bucks.
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Thank you, Wayne Newton, Mr. Las Vegas.
From the left, I am Paul Begala. That's it for CROSSFIRE.
CARLSON: From the right, from Wayne Newton's side, I'm Tucker Carlson.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: Join us again tomorrow for more CROSSFIRE. Good night.
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Aired April 19, 2004 - 16:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: CROSSFIRE. On the left, James Carville and Paul Begala; on the right, Robert Novak and Tucker Carlson.
In the CROSSFIRE: rolling the dice in presidential politics. Will George Bush or John Kerry be the big winner in swing states like Nevada? And what's a trip to Las Vegas without Wayne Newton? The legendary entertainer joins us live -- today on CROSSFIRE.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: LIVE FROM Las Vegas, Nevada, Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST: Welcome to CROSSFIRE.
CNN's Election Express has turned into Las Vegas. And, of course, what happens here stays here, except today. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge was in town this morning speaking here at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention.
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST: Meanwhile, the president, of course, is betting his presidency on the war in Iraq. A year after the invasion, it looks like it's coming up craps.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: High stakes, as CROSSFIRE comes to you from the freest city in the free world, Las Vegas.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: In the CROSSFIRE today, Republican Congressman J.D. Hayworth of the equally beautiful state of Arizona and the innovative, imaginative, wonderful mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman himself.
Thank you both very much.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Now, Mayor Goodman, John Kerry, who you have, despite all your many good points, sort of unaccountably endorsed, keeps telling the American people that we're essentially in a recession, moving toward another Great Depression. And yet Las Vegas kind of refutes that. It's the fastest growing city in this part of the country, if not the whole country. I was at a craps table this morning. It was crowded not with rich people, but with ordinary people, what John Kerry calls working people. And they were betting thousands and losing thousands. They had a lot of disposable income.
This is not a country facing recession, based on my experience here, is it?
OSCAR GOODMAN (D), MAYOR OF LAS VEGAS: Well, the country may be facing recession, but Las Vegas is booming. We have 6,000 people come in a month. We build a new home every 23 minutes. It's just a phenomenal place. And our economy is great. Everybody has a job. The weather is like this everyday, even when it rains.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: Well, then I don't think -- A, there's no question that Bush is going to win. And, B, if we are facing a recession, don't you think you personally ought to go down to the casino floor and tell these workers, these working Americans, don't spend your money on craps; we're in deep trouble economically?
GOODMAN: No.
Las Vegas is the kind of place that you want to leave your cares and woes away, when you come in from places like Scottsdale, with all due respect, my friend.
(LAUGHTER)
GOODMAN: You
(CROSSTALK)
REP. J.D. HAYWORTH (R), ARIZONA: ... everybody back down to Scottsdale real soon to spend a lot of their own money there.
GOODMAN: Particularly after 9/11.
You know, the country was in such doldrums, as well we should have been. We needed a place like Las Vegas, where people can put their cares and woes away, come out here, have a great time, have an experience where they don't really have to worry about going to the cusp or whatever. As long as it's legal, we welcome it here.
And you can -- as you said, what goes on here stays here. It's a great motto. We believe in freedom. It is the freest city in the free world. It's the greatest. And people should have a good time here. Go home if you want to have a bad time.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: But, Congressman, I want to ask you about -- here in the mayor's city -- it's probably the same in Scottsdale -- I notice gasoline prices out of control. In Las Vegas, they're paying $2.25 a gallon for gasoline, which brings us to the news of the day.
Bob Woodward has got a new book out about President Bush leading us into war in Iraq. And he writes this. Let me read you what Woodward reports: "Prince Bandar" -- that is the ambassador from Saudi Arabia -- "wanted President Bush to know that the Saudis hope to fine- tune oil prices to prime the economy in 2004. What was key, Bandar understood, were the economic conditions before a presidential election."
That's what Woodward writes, that our president is allowing the Saudis to jack up the price of oil now, rip us off for the summer driving season, so long as he cuts them just before the election to help President Bush. Isn't that an outrage?
HAYWORTH: No, I think what's an outrage is really interesting, the gamble John Kerry is taking that the American people will develop instant amnesia, when John Kerry has called for an extra half-dollar tax per gallon on gasoline.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HAYWORTH: That jacks up prices here in Vegas up to $2.75.
BEGALA: I understand.
HAYWORTH: And so talk all you want. We'll get a book of the month thing. It's the bash book of the month club. We had Dick Clarke last month. Now it's Bob Woodward.
I'm sure, Paul, you're going to pen something else before this election comes along that will bash everything.
(CROSSTALK)
HAYWORTH: But the fact is, let me speak for myself. I wrote Prince Bandar back when he had the temerity to compare the terrorists to freedom fighters in our American revolution. And I said he was dead wrong.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: Good for you. What I'm asking you is, why isn't President Bush standing up to him, instead of cutting corrupt deals to manipulate the gas prices?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HAYWORTH: Because -- because
(CROSSTALK)
HAYWORTH: I don't believe -- I don't believe -- if you want to know corrupt deals, I'd refer you to a previous administration. This president is guts up. And he is not going to sacrifice American security for any short-term gain.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: And you're not troubled by Bush cutting a secret deal with the Saudi Arabians on gas prices?
HAYWORTH: You know, I admire Bob Woodward. He's a tremendously creative writer.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Now, Mr. Mayor, you've just -- you've heard the allegations that Paul just leveled. You've heard a lot from others in your
(CROSSTALK)
GOODMAN: Right. And I find them impossible.
CARLSON: Of course you do.
I want you to comment on another example of your party having gone completely insane. And that is the
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
GOODMAN: I'm not partisan.
CARLSON: I'm talking about the Democratic Party in the state of Nevada finished its convention...
GOODMAN: Nevada.
CARLSON: Nevada.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: ... here yesterday.
And they called for at that convention the impeachment of the president of the United States. Don't you think that a party in the state of fever like yours, really deep into insane conspiracy theories, can't win in November?
GOODMAN: Oh, no, I think we're going to win.
I think that the Democrats will definitely carry the state.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
GOODMAN: We have a -- we've got a very issue, that we are having a real problem with the good president. And I would never say anything about the office of the president, but this president came out and he made promises to Nevada about Yucca Mountain. That's a nuclear waste dump which is 90 miles away from the city of Las Vegas.
And this administration has not taken care of the issue as far as the transportation, the safety of the transportation of nuclear waste.
CARLSON: Well, wait.
(CROSSTALK)
GOODMAN: No, seriously. So we have to -- we have to -- we have to really vote for a Democrat, because Kerry has taken the position that he would not be supportive of a high-level nuclear waste dump here. That dump was planned many, many years ago.
CARLSON: It would be interesting to
(CROSSTALK)
GOODMAN: Before Las Vegas became the kind of city that we are right now. We're a major metropolitan area. And we have 1.6 million people
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: I would love to see where Senator Kerry would actually put the nuclear waste. But my question is, should the president be impeached? Do you agree with your party that he ought to be impeached?
GOODMAN: No. No, he should not be impeached, no. That's a
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Do you tell your fellow Democrats that here in Nevada?
GOODMAN: I would certainly -- I would certainly tell anybody that. He has deserved nothing that I know of which would deserve impeachment. You vote against him if you don't like what he did. That's the way the process should work.
BEGALA: Well, let me show you another reason, because I don't like what he's doing, another revelation about the president's relationship with the Saudis.
This is deeply troubling, particularly to a patriotic American like you, who has spoken against Saudi Arabia, which is a medieval dictatorship that hates Israel. Many of their people hate America. And it turns out that our vice president brought the -- Prince Bandar, Saudi prince, into his office and show him secret battle plans that said nonforeign, which is a classification which means you can't show it to any foreigner, and, in fact, according to Woodward, informed this Arab prince about our war plans before the secretary of state himself even knew.
Now, that is an outrage, isn't it?
HAYWORTH: Well, it were true, sure. But the problem is, Condoleezza Rice and everybody else said, no, that didn't happen that way.
BEGALA: They didn't deny that. Dick Myers was on Wolf Blitzer's show yesterday, the chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff. Wolf Blitzer interviewed him and he said, yes, I think he got that right. That's how it happened.
That's what General Myers said.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: I think it's an outrage that a foreigner is being shown our secrets at all.
HAYWORTH: So basically, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, jack Kennedy shouldn't have had dinner with David Ormsby-Gore and talked about any response the United States would make to the Soviet Union.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: I think there's a great difference between Great Britain and Saudi Arabia.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: Britain is a democracy. And Saudi Arabia is an anti- woman, anti-Israel
(CROSSTALK)
HAYWORTH: You know, this is interesting. I don't know if you can have it both ways in terms of multilateralism...
CARLSON: Exactly.
HAYWORTH: ... when you talk about, oh, let's wait and let's sacrifice our American security to the folks at the U.N. All I know is I take my oath of office to the Constitution of the United States
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: And not to Prince Bandar. Not to Prince Bandar and the Saudi princes.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: That's right.
(APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Mr. Mayor, you're seeing right here, I think, sort of a preview of the way the Democrats are going to conduct their campaign.
John Kerry, whatever his personal charms may be, none are on display.
(LAUGHTER) CARLSON: He's sour. He's sanctimonious. Hold on. He's the least charming -- it's true. In person, I think he's pretty charming. In public, he's the least charming person in America. He's not a Vegas kind of man.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: And I'm wondering -- and I'm wondering -- I'm wondering, what advice would you give to him to make him more sort of more Vegas, much more optimistic, more appealing? Because he's not appealing. What would you
(CROSSTALK)
GOODMAN: A bigger nose?
CARLSON: Really? You think that would work?
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
GOODMAN: No, in all sincerity, I had the privilege of meeting the senator when he came here to visit about two months ago. And he's a very nice guy and a regular guy, very interested in our community here, looked around. He had visited here when he was in the service and said that he has a great deal of affection for Las Vegas.
But the truth of the matter is, he doesn't portray...
CARLSON: He's a little tightly wound, isn't he?
GOODMAN: Doesn't convey the niceness that you see when you're with him in person when he's doing things publicly. And he has to learn how to be a little bit like myself, laid-back and maybe have a drink or two, who knows.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Congressman, same thing, a different critique of President Bush. You were a professional broadcaster. You are as articulate a Republican as there is in this country. I love when you come on our show, because you're so good at what you do. It must have broken your heart to watch our president asked a simple question of what he's learned from his mistakes and sit there like Ralph Kramden. That must have broken your heart.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
HAYWORTH: You know what I thought was fascinating? First of all, two things here, two things here. Paul, I think this is truly a storied day, because it sounds like you're endorsing me for president, which I think is just amazing.
(LAUGHTER)
HAYWORTH: But, secondly here, the fact is, I think the press conference said a heck of a lot more about the state of the fourth estate or broadcasting, the fifth estate, in terms of this -- how do you feel about this. Rather than who, what, when, where, why and how, it came down to the press corps talking amongst itself: How do you feel? What mistakes have you made? How do you feel on all these issues?
What we should do is deal with facts. And, quite frankly, had I been giving the president advice, I would have said go directly to the American people and talk directly to them, utilizing broadcast equipment and then come out for a press conference.
(CROSSTALK)
HAYWORTH: But he decided to do it that way.
(CROSSTALK)
HAYWORTH: And I still think there's something that says it may not be really very sweeping, high-flown rhetoric, but he speaks truth to power. He says what he means and he means what he says.
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: We are going to have to take a break, Congressman Hayworth. Hold your seat. We're going to come back here.
You know, tourists, when they come to Las Vegas, are looking for a good time. But will terrorists instead come here and attack? We will put that question to our guests next.
And then later, when you think of the Vatican, of course you think of the pope. When it's London, the queen. When you think of Las Vegas, of course, one man comes to mind, William Bennett.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: No, actually, someone even bigger, Mr. Las Vegas himself. Coming up, the one, the only, the man's threat, the lady's pet, Wayne Newton, will join us here in the CROSSFIRE.
Stay with us.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE.
Time for "Rapid Fire," where the questions are fast, sort of like blackjack, but even faster. We're talking about the tight race between President Bush and Senator John Kerry here in Nevada and other Western states.
GOODMAN: Nevada.
CARLSON: Nevada or Nevada, or both.
In the CROSSFIRE, the mayor of Los Angeles and noted grammarian, Oscar Goodman.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: And Republican Congressman J.D. Hayworth of Arizona.
BEGALA: Congressman Hayworth, as Tucker said at the top of the show, our homeland security director, Secretary Tom Ridge, is in Las Vegas today. It's no secret that terrorists would love to attack a place like Las Vegas. I wonder if you still feel proud that you voted to cut $3.5 billion in homeland security aid for first-responders that the mayor said he needs help with?
HAYWORTH: I didn't vote to cut aid. What I voted to do was to make sure that the quibbles of collective bargaining would not get in the way of national security, both at the federal, state and the local levels. And the fact is, we have to make sure we have money both for our troops in the field and for our first-responders. And we're going to make sure it's there.
CARLSON: Mr. Mayor...
GOODMAN: Yes.
CARLSON: ... when you -- the Democratic Party of Nevada had its recent convention here, the keynote speaker was Bill Richardson, who is not from Nevada. He's from a state called New Mexico, which is not the same state. It's kind of pathetic they had to import someone from another state. Why weren't you the addressing...
GOODMAN: Well, I was.
CARLSON: As the keynote.
GOODMAN: Because I was down in San Diego on vacation.
HAYWORTH: Oh.
GOODMAN: No, just kidding.
(LAUGHTER)
GOODMAN: Just kidding.
But I want to talk about something serious, this historically. I think we're the safest city in the world. I think Las Vegas is as safe as they come. Each one of these hotel and casinos, they have their own miniature police force, as well as our metropolitan police department.
BEGALA: Is Washington giving you the aid you need?
GOODMAN: No, absolutely not. That's something the Conference Of Mayors is dedicated to getting on. And that is the first-responders that are the cities, our police officers, the cities. We're the ones who have to address an event, God forbid that it takes place. And we're the last ones to get the money. It comes from the feds. It goes to the state. It goes to the county and then down to us.
(BELL RINGING)
GOODMAN: And by the time it gets to us, we don't have it.
CARLSON: OK, well, that's an entirely different show. And, unfortunately, we are out of time. I'd like ask you more questions about where all the money goes here in Nevada.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: But thank you very much, Mayor Goodman.
Congressman J.D. Hayworth, thank you very much.
HAYWORTH: Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Well, of course, Las Vegas is all about gambling and entertainment. Next, we have one of the most famous entertainers there is in America or the world. That is of course Wayne Newton. Who does he like for president? We'll ask him.
And, right after the break, a famous POW joins the fight to free another American being held in Iraq. Wolf Blitzer will fill us on the details.
We'll be right back.
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Coming up at the top of the hour, the administration responds to Bob Woodward's explosive new book. Is the White House working secretly with Saudi Arabia to spring an October surprise?
The latest polls on Iraq and 9/11. What do the new numbers mean for the presidential candidates? We'll have them for you. Hopes and prayers for a captured U.S. soldier, what Jessica Lynch and the Reverend Jesse Jackson are trying to do themselves.
Those stories, much more, only minutes away on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS."
Now back to CROSSFIRE.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Welcome back.
Well, when you think of Las Vegas, besides gambling, one thing comes to mind, Wayne Newton, Mr. Las Vegas.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: He is known as a total entertainer. He's with us here now. We're honored.
Welcome.
WAYNE NEWTON, ENTERTAINER: Thank you. Great pleasure.
BEGALA: Thank you very much, Wayne. Thanks for joining us.
NEWTON: Thank you. Great pleasure to be here.
BEGALA: Back in Washington, they say politics is show business for ugly people.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: You've been in real show business and really at the top since you were 4 years old. What's the secret?
NEWTON: Well, it's fear.
You know, we -- when we walk out on stage, we walk out not to change people's political beliefs, not to change their religious beliefs. We walk out to entertain them. And that's what we strive to do every single night. And I've been doing that since I was 4. And I don't suspect it will ever change, you know.
CARLSON: Amen.
Well, you obviously know a lot about charm. You're one of the most charming people anywhere. We were talking right before you got here with Mayor Goodman about the charm deficit with John Kerry. I mean, listening to a John Kerry speech is like going to the proctologist.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: You may have to, but you don't want to.
And I'm wondering, what advice would you give him to make people like him more?
NEWTON: I think the best thing he could do would be get out of the race.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Yes, that's good advice.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
NEWTON: I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: I have to say, President Bush is terribly charming. I don't think that's his problem. He's just not terribly good at being president. We now have the economy in trouble. We have health care in trouble, and Iraq. Do you ever talk to him? Do you ever say, hey, ease off, like, bashing entertainers, which he seems to love to do? And his party loves to beat up on performers and artists and entertainers. Do you ever ask him to stop that?
(APPLAUSE)
NEWTON: Well, you must understand that what I do with the USO really is nonpolitical. And we have performers who are Democrats and we have performers who are Republican.
And one speech I give them is that, when we go to entertain the troops, we're not delivering a message of politics. There's nothing political about it. We're there to bring a touch of home to these men and women who are taking care of freedom and democracy for the rest of us. That's that hat. As an American, no, I would never presume to tell the president what to do or how to do it. God knows, he knows a lot more about all of that than I
BEGALA: I don't know about God, but I would kind of dispute that, actually.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: I'd rather see you sitting in that room than Mr. Bush.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Wayne, tell me, who are you going to vote for, do you think, and why?
NEWTON: Let me put it this way. Rather than tell you who I would vote for, with all due respect to our mayor, who was here and whom I have a great deal of respect for and love as a human being -- and I respect his opinions -- I just know that all of us -- I, too, as a Nevadan am unhappy about the administration's stand on Yucca Mountain, because that affects all of us here.
(APPLAUSE)
NEWTON: I think we, as Americans -- and that is the catchphrase, I believe -- that we as Americans have to look at bigger picture. And we have to look at homeland security. And we have to look at the people who are looking to do us harm and decide which man is going to fight those people better. And, as far as I'm concerned, the gentleman running for your party's nomination is not the man. And so that leaves us with the other man.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Bush?
NEWTON: Yes.
BEGALA: Let me come back to that. You sort of slipped the punch admirably.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: And that is this. Our president
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: That is called charm, yes.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: It is charm. You're terribly charming. You're an entertainer. And it must bother you -- and I've talked to some entertainers -- when the president of the United States, who ought to be attacking terrorists, is attacking the Dixie Chicks. That's beneath him, isn't it? Why does this guy bang on entertainers?
CARLSON: He didn't beat up on the Dixie Chicks.
BEGALA: Yes, he did.
NEWTON: As I remember, I thought they pretty much beat up on him.
CARLSON: Exactly.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: He works for them. They have a right to.
NEWTON: I guess that's probably the truth, and -- but I do believe that in a time of national emergency, which is wartime, which is what we're in, all of us have to move to what's important for our country, not what's important to Wayne Newton or the Dixie Chicks or Barbra Streisand or anybody else. BEGALA: Or Saudi Arabia.
NEWTON: Or Saudi Arabia or anybody else.
CARLSON: But especially Barbra Streisand, don't you think?
NEWTON: What's important -- yes.
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: Prince Bandar.
NEWTON: What's important to America? And what's important to America's is keeping America safe.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Amen. God bless.
Keep your seat. Hey, gang, do you want to hear Wayne sing after this commercial break?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: We're going to have to talk him into it. When we come back, we're going to try to convince Wayne to do a little singing for his supper.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEGALA: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE. We are live in Las Vegas with Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton.
OK, gang, you want to hear Wayne sing?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Take it away, Wayne.
NEWTON: OK. Now, watch this. What song would you like to hear?
CROWD: "Danke Schoen." "Danke Schoen."
CARLSON: "Danke Schoen," yes.
BEGALA: "Danke Schoen."
CARLSON: "Danke Schoen."
NEWTON: You've got to help me.
(singing): Danke Schoen, darling Danke Schoen. Come on. Thank you for all the joy and pain. Picture shows, second balcony, was the place we'd meet, second seat, go Dutch treat. You were sweet. BEGALA: Yes!
(LAUGHTER)
BEGALA: All right. Outstanding.
NEWTON: Thank you.
CARLSON: That was outstanding. Tell us....
NEWTON: Thank you.
CARLSON: I'm sorry to be so shameless about it. What time are you on here every night and where?
NEWTON: I work at the Stardust Hotel six nights a week. And the show starts at 8:00. And we would love to see you all. Come over and say hello.
BEGALA: Outstanding.
One last thing. You are the head of the USO. They have a terrific, Operation Phone Home. I'd like you to be able to tell people how they can help our troops.
NEWTON: Well, actually, just -- and I would never correct you -- I'm simply the chairman of the celebrity circle.
BEGALA: But you are the USO in the eyes of millions of Americans.
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: It's a job I love. And Ned Powell, the honorable Powell, is actually the CEO and president of the USO.
The phone home idea is, you simply send money to the USO, whether it be $5, and they will supply a phone card for our troops overseas to give them a chance to call home to their loved ones. And it's paid for with that money.
CARLSON: Now, you have been over to visit the troops?
NEWTON: We've been to Iraq three times in the last year. I was in...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: So what was your impression of it, of Iraq?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
NEWTON: The impression, fortunately and unfortunately, I guess, is that our men and women are doing an incredible job for us over there. We have every reason to be proud of them. And they're going to the schools. They're rebuilding the schools. We went to some of the schools that our soldiers had rebuilt, and the kids just love them. And Gary Sinise has started a program to send books and supplies to the Iraqi children. And we're making incredible headway over there. And, unfortunately, the bottom line is that some of the negative stuff doesn't -- it takes precedent.
BEGALA: God bless you for the work you're doing. It's USO.org, USO.org.
CARLSON: Wayne Newton, thank you.
BEGALA: Spend a couple of bucks.
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Thank you, Wayne Newton, Mr. Las Vegas.
From the left, I am Paul Begala. That's it for CROSSFIRE.
CARLSON: From the right, from Wayne Newton's side, I'm Tucker Carlson.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: Join us again tomorrow for more CROSSFIRE. Good night.
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