Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Illinois Governor Impeached
Aired January 09, 2009 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Making news right now incredible, never-before-seen home video from inside the street violence in Oakland.
And now, across the country, another police shooting, a 22-year- old shot 12 times in the back.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT: This must be a time when leaders in both parties put the urgent needs of our nation above our own narrow interests.
SANCHEZ: But it may not be a national problem. It may be a local problem. In city after city, will hard times cause more scenes like these?
Also now, Carter on Gaza.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Governor Blagojevich is hereby impeached.
SANCHEZ: Blagojevich impeachment.
And Palin talks Couric.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: Katie, you're not the center of everybody's universe. Maybe that's why they didn't think to ask that question.
SANCHEZ: And look what they're talking about at a consumer convention in Vegas. Cool, huh?
(on camera): Hey, do you Twitter?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I Twitter? Not since I'm 17. I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I take Clearasil for that now. I don't know what you're talking about.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): That's angry Bob. He's our Friday guy, proving sometimes the news can be funny.
This is your daily national conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and more. (END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. We welcome you to the world headquarters of CNN.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is going to be speaking at any moment now. There, you see the cameras are in place. He was called a liar today by members of his own party, a liar and a thief. Republicans then also chimed in. They say the evidence against him is -- quote -- "overwhelming." That is why, today, lawmakers decided to go ahead and impeach him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On this question, there are 114 people voting yes, one person voting no. The House does adapt House Resolution 1671, and Governor Blagojevich is hereby impeached.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And now the Illinois Senate is going to try Blagojevich and possibly throw him out of office.
No gesture in the way we chose that picture of him running. He's not running away from anything, as a matter of fact, just quite the opposite. It was yet another public humiliation for this defiant governor, who went for a jog in the snow again this morning, thereby that video.
And, now, instead of remaining silent, he wants to talk. This is an incredible story. What's he going to say? Is this going to be another act of defiance? Is he going to be taking questions this time? Or will he surprise everyone and just step down, a la Richard Nixon, and walk away?
Joining us now is Chris Fusco. He's going to be joining us from "The Chicago Sun-Times." Also, Bruce Dold, he's the editorial page editor of "The Chicago Tribune," and our Mark Preston, who is standing by to fill us on what could happen here, because remember there's another leg to this story, what's going on in Washington with Roland Burris.
What do you make of this? It almost seems like every time he calls a news conference, it's a bit of a surprise to everyone as to what this guy is going to say. But you can call him anything you want, but you can't say he's not defiant, Mark Preston.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, I will tell you what, Rick. He certainly -- you know, he gives us a lot to talk about, and he has given us a lot to talk about in the past few weeks.
But don't expect him to come out today, Rick, and say that he is stepping down as governor. I don't think that is going to happen. Of course, he faced a devastating setback today, though not unexpected, when he was impeached.
SANCHEZ: Well, why not? Why wouldn't he come out? Look, when the guys who you're supposed to be in charge of, the lawmakers, the Senate and the House of Representatives there in Illinois, say, we don't like you, we think you're dirty and we want to impeach you, why stay?
PRESTON: Well, he's got to prove his innocence. He says that he's innocent. And right now he hasn't been charged with anything. And all that has happened really so far is that we know there's an investigation. We know he's been impeached by the House. He hasn't been tried by the Senate yet. So, expect for the governor to come out and continue to profess his innocence.
SANCHEZ: What's to keep, though? I mean, from a credibility standpoint and from a political standpoint, you seem to be doomed or finished and you're caught on tape allegedly saying all these things, like I want to sell the seat and what's in it for me with a hospital for children, with contractors making a toll road, among others. What's to win here for him, Mark?
PRESTON: Well, I think the win for him right now is not really to look at the long-term political consequences, but it's to try to stay out of jail, if that's where it's going right now.
And if he comes out and steps down, he is acknowledging that there -- it was indeed some problems, Rick. So, I think that he's going to come out, continue to profess his innocence. And, look, it is going to be a colorful news conference. I can guarantee you that.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Yes. And there you are.
For those of you joining us now, I know sometimes some of those of you just come in a little later. That camera you see that's set up is for another news conference that's going to be held by Rod Blagojevich, present governor of Illinois. His -- the House and the Senate there -- or I should say the House today -- Do I have this right? Yes. The House announced they will impeach him, which now means the Senate will now decide whether to convict him of this impeachment, whereby he will be removed from office.
I know this gets a little confusing sometimes, when you use words like impeachment. I think we have a chance now to Chris Fusco with "The Chicago Sun-Times" and Bruce Dold, the editor with "The Chicago Tribune."
Are they both up?
All right, Chris Fusco, let me begin with you. Reaction there so far?
CHRIS FUSCO, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": Well, I think it's just an extraordinary day. But it's an extraordinary day that we saw coming, once the governor was criminally charged. And like you said, now we go over to the Senate for kind of this hybrid trial, where senators kind of act like judges and jurors all at the same time.
And maybe by Lincoln's birthday, like the lieutenant governor said, the governor might be out of office.
SANCHEZ: This is going to be good.
Bruce, what can they use, since, I mean, I would imagine that most of the evidence now being held by Fitzgerald and the federal prosecutors is stuff that's privileged, right? I mean, they can't share it with politicians.
BRUCE DOLD, "THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE": I'm not sure what they're thinking.
Rod Blagojevich has unified this state like nobody ever has before, I mean, 114-1 today, 21-0 yesterday. You got a unanimous Supreme Court saying they don't want to deal with the Roland Burris issue. You know, its just -- now there's a high bar in the Senate. He needs 40 of the 59 members.
But it's hard to see right now. There's nobody's standing up in the state, Democrat or Republican, to defend him. So, it's hard to see how the Senate does anything but convict him.
SANCHEZ: Mark Preston, let me bring you back into this, because I think Bruce just mentioned something about Burris.
The Supreme Court of Illinois decided today that he doesn't need a paper signed by the secretary of state which basically certifies him, that he could be a representative of the state without that. Does that mean now that Harry Reid, for example, will say, OK, then, you know what, he's got his paperwork in order; he's in?
PRESTON: Well, not quite so fast, because the secretary of state just said in an interview this week that he still will not sign that paper. And he appears to be sticking by his word. We have phone calls out to his office. We're waiting to hear if he will change his word.
But it does put Senate Democrats in a pickle here in Washington. The fact is, is -- and they have said this all along, Rick. They have no problem with Burris. They have a problem with Blagojevich and the fact that he made the appointment. This would be a tainted appointment.
So, Senate Democrats, as our Capitol Hill team is reporting, are right now huddled. They're trying to figure this out, what to do next. We know Harry Reid just left the Senate floor and did not say anything about this matter. But we should hear from them in the next couple hours.
SANCHEZ: That's amazing.
By the way, those of joining us, what you're looking at there on the right side of the screen is a news conference that's about to begin any moment now. Governor Rod Blagojevich is going to be talking again to reporters, after the announcement was made today that he is impeached.
Thereby, the Senate will now act as to whether or not they will try him, convict him, and essentially throw him out of office.
Let me go back to Chris and Bruce.
Is it fair in Burris' case, if nobody in Illinois wants to give him the proper paperwork, he's going by all the legal means to get it, and now the Supreme Court says he doesn't even need the paperwork, for the U.S. Senate to still exclude him?
FUSCO: Well, I mean, another Claussen in the pickle jar, so to speak, is Burris's testimony yesterday before the House impeachment committee.
And in this affidavit that Burris submitted to the House impeachment committee, he said he talked to no representatives of the governor. Well, then upon questioning yesterday, he tells them that he actually did talk to Lon Monk, who is the governor's former chief of staff, in July or September.
So, now you have got the question now. Now the Senate's not only got kind of the Illinois Supreme Court throwing the hot potato back in its lap there in Washington. You have also got this additional question about whether Burris was completely truthful in his affidavit...
(CROSSTALK)
FUSCO: ... early on and whether he changed his story.
SANCHEZ: Let's bring the viewers in on this conversation, just in case they're not following it.
You're talking about a guy who's being appointed by a guy, in this case Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is alleged to have tried to sell that very seat. So, obviously, it's a very pertinent and salient question that needs to be asked: Have you been offered anything in exchange for that seat?
And, so far, there had been absolutely no evidence that there had even been conversations. But what you're telling us now is that a representative of Burris may have had a conversation with a representative of the governor, but we don't know what was said?
DOLD: That Burris approached a lobbyist who is connected to the governor in August and said he would be interested in the seat.
I think what the Illinois Supreme Court today said is, we're not going to resolve this for you. And, you know, the Senate is not going to resolve this on a technicality. I think they are going to have to decide if this process ever became untainted with the appointment of Burris.
And I think you could argue that, no, that, once the corrupt process started, you can't put that back in the bottle. That's the decision that the Senate's going to have to make.
SANCHEZ: While we're having this conversation, a lot of folks are chiming in here. As you know, when we do this show, it's more of a national conversation than a newscast at times.
We have people on Twitter, on Facebook, on MySpace, about 65,000 of them, who are following along at home as well.
And Joel Andersen is watching. He's sending us this on Facebook. "I am so sick of watching our Illinois governor. In fact, that he is being impeached the way that our news is reporting it, he is going to be thrown out of office anyway. I don't know why they're going through the ropes. No one in the Senate can stand the man. They already have their minds made up. He is gone."
Is that the kind of -- this guy's obviously a Chicagoan. Is that the kind of frustration that is being felt around the state there, Chris, Bruce?
DOLD: Oh, I think absolutely. There's no question about the state is entirely against Blagojevich.
You know, there's some more of a mix on the question of Burris. But I think the political equation maybe changes a little bit today, too, because you now have a governor who is impeached. You can no longer argue that he has not faced any kind of a real charge. He is on impeached. He is on his way out. You could see this, the Burris appointment, delaying until, you know, Blagojevich is out of office.
I could see Pat Quinn trying to make his own appointment before all that's resolved.
SANCHEZ: Well, he should be coming out any moment now. Every other time, he was going to hold a 3:00 news conference, he came out literally within minutes of saying so.
But I'm interested, because there's a lot of scenarios here. Will he take questions? Will he step down? Will he be combative? You know, you guys follow this guy all the time. What -- best guess?
FUSCO: Well, we will see about -- my best guess is, he's going to be combative. He's not going to step down. He's shown no sign of doing that. He's probably not going to take questions. Maybe some of his lawyers will.
DOLD: Nobody's making a lot of money predicting accurately what Rod Blagojevich is going to do.
SANCHEZ: Would you explain to us and the rest of the country why he's holding this news conference? What's the exigence for doing this?
FUSCO: Well, I think he wants to get -- I mean, the governor still has a message to get out there. And he hasn't even been indicted yet. I know that we have got this criminal complaint, but he hasn't been indicted. He's still the chief executive of the state of Illinois until the Senate takes action otherwise.
And I think his spin on this so far has been, hey, these are conversations. America and the state of Illinois and the taxpayers haven't heard my side of the story.
And I think he just wants to reaffirm, to come out today to say this process so far has been kind of like a kangaroo court.
DOLD: And he does still have a fight to fight. He still has the Illinois Senate, which hasn't taken a vote. As I said earlier, that is a fairly high bar. So, he may think if there's any last chance of saving his office, he has to start making that argument to the Senate right now.
SANCHEZ: All right, we're seeing some movement there.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: They should be -- by the way, just to let the viewers know, they should be coming in any moment now. You will see somebody raised two fingers, which means there's a two-minute warning from when Rod Blagojevich is going to come in.
Bruce, I'm sorry. I interrupted you. Go ahead and finish your point.
DOLD: You know, another point, Rick, the Illinois Senate has always been more favorable to the governor than the Illinois House has been. We were pushing hard on the editorial board to get a recall amendment, so the voters could have done this some time ago.
The Illinois Senate blocked that. The Illinois House passed it. So, Blagojevich may be figuring, I still have some friends in the Senate who are going to save me.
FUSCO: However, Blagojevich's best friend in the Senate was the outgoing Senate president, Emil Jones. And he's being replaced by Senator John Cullerton when the next General Assembly seats next week. Now, that could change the calculus in the Senate a little bit. Senators don't feel as much, I think, pressure to go along with what Senate President Jones might have wanted, given that he was such a close ally...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I'll tell you, this is going to be fun to watch. And I guarantee you we're going to showing a lot of it as -- I'm sure it's going to be seen part in live there in Illinois. And we will be showing some of it here on CNN.
I want to go to Mark Preston with a question. But, before I do that, here's another comment coming in from one of our viewers. This is MySpace, by the way. "It's about time that Blago got what was coming to him. He has shown his people can't trust him. I only have one question. What took so long to get it done?" Mark Preston, the question is, at what point does this fiasco, scandal, whatever it is that you want to call it, start to affect the Democrats in Washington? I mean, I think it's already had an impact on Harry Reid. At what point does it start to smell enough to affect the president-elect, for example?
PRESTON: It already has. I think you're absolutely right. Right now, Rick, the issues that they should be talking about and they want to talk about is trying to pass this stimulus package, that they want to try to get it done by the first, second week in February.
At the same time, you and I are talking about what is going to happen about this open Senate seat. And, of course, there's this whole other issue, the fact that Mr. Burris is African-American and there's a lot of pressure to put him in that seat because he is African-American, and there is no other African-Americans in the Senate.
So, there's all these little side stories that are going on that the Democrats would just choose -- would choose not to have, quite frankly.
SANCHEZ: We have got some sound coming in. I want to get your reaction to it. This is one of the lawmakers. This is Betty (sic) Currie, apparently, making a comment about the governor not speaking. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA CURRIE (D), ILLINOIS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: His silence in this grave matter is deafening. He declined our invitation to testify and tell his side of the story. He scarcely addressed the citizens of Illinois, the people who elected him and put their trust in him to faithfully execute the duties of his office. All he's offered is the claim that he's done nothing wrong and he will have his day in court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Well, there you go, one of the comments that was read today. Apparently, there was much worse than that. There was at least one Democrat in a report I have here in front of me somewhere where he was called a liar and a thief, in those words, quite directly.
And a lot of comments coming in to us, as you might imagine. The Twitter board is all but all lit up.
Patriot is writing to us saying: "Blago should just resign already, leave with some dignity."
Wordspirit comes right after that.
Michael, would you bring that down just a little bit?
Wordspirit: "Honestly, no me importa," meaning, "I don't care." "We have more important things to tend to in Illinois."
And that's interesting, because that's the point that Mark Preston was making just moments ago about this.
Gentlemen, in Illinois, you know, there was -- Mark Preston moments ago raised the point about the race issue here. And in his last news conference, when Mr. Rush stood up, took the podium and said that this was a modern-day lynching, or something akin to that, what was the reaction, I'm curious, in Chicago to that?
DOLD: I think there was a lot of anger about it in some quarters. I think a few people did agree with it.
But I think a lot of people also said, look, wait a minute, this is the state that elected Carol Moseley Braun the U.S. Senate. This is the state that elected Barack Obama to the U.S. Senate. This state has been progressive in that regard. And this is not about Roland Burris. This is about the governor who was making the appointment and whether that appointment is legitimate or not.
And I think that's what -- one thing that still sticks in my craw is Blagojevich will be gone pretty soon, but we're still dealing with the Senate issue. The Democrats in Illinois refused to allow the people to choose their own next senator. We could be having an election in a matter of weeks. We're having an election for Rahm Emanuel's House seat. Why aren't we having an election for the U.S. Senate seat? Instead, the Democrats want to protect that seat.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: By the way, we have just now -- we're getting some action there.
Let's go in full on that, if we can, Roger.
Those of you joining us right now, you see all the commotion the , all the reporters scurrying about. That's because they have just now been given a two-minute warning for Rod Blagojevich to come out and address the media. This is a news conference we were told about several hours before we went on the air that he would be holding.
And it comes as a result of him being impeached today by the House of Representatives there in Illinois. Impeached means that he will now be tried by the Senate, and as a result possibly kicked out of office.
So, you can see that there's plenty of anticipation there in Chicago, as folks get ready to see what the governor is going to say this time, whether he will take questions.
We have heard from our panel, Bruce Dold, editor of "The Chicago Tribune," and Chris Fusco with "The Chicago Sun-Times," our own Mark Preston, all of them put on the spot. And all of them have said on the record that they don't expect that this guy is going to be stepping down. It's just -- it -- it doesn't seem to be in his DNA. He's been combative, and he's been almost somewhat forceful throughout all of this and defiant might be a better word. And there's every indication that he will continue to do so now.
Do you think he will come out by himself in a situation like this? I know his chief of staff is gone. Who's sticking next to him, Chris?
FUSCO: Well, he's still got some staffers in the office. His spokesman has been sticking with him. He does have an interim chief of staff who went out and tried to give the Burris paperwork to the secretary of the Senate in Washington, only to be rebuked.
There are people sticking by him. But, yes, John Harris is gone. His chief counsel, Bill Quinlan, resigned. And it is kind of a grim situation over there in the governor's office, which is one of the arguments for impeachment, quite frankly.
SANCHEZ: A lot of folks are watching. And I think everyone's as mystified as we are that he's making these comments.
In fact, here's a viewer, Carlos. He is watching us now, and he says: "What can he possibly say about all of this." This is on Twitter, guys. Thanks, Robert, for picking that up. "Is he going to defend himself like Kwame of Detroit? That went well for Kwame -- not."
Interesting how people around the country have been following this case. It may be a local story there. But it certainly has taken national import.
We see some movement there once again.
How is this being followed in Washington, Mark?
PRESTON: Well, I think that every television set here in Washington is tuned into CNN right now, Rick. And they really want to see what Blagojevich says, what Blagojevich does.
But, more importantly, for the senators and certainly for their staff as they try to figure out what to do about the Burris situation, they want to hear what Blagojevich does, what he says. The best-case scenario for them is that Blagojevich would walk out today and say, look, enough's enough, and I'm going to resign.
I don't expect that to happen. I don't think any of us do. But for the most part, they -- what happens in Illinois with Blagojevich, unless he resigns, really doesn't affect them in the short term here in Washington. They need to figure about their own pickle, their own jam that they're in.
SANCHEZ: But, you know, it's -- I'm reminded of something. Look what Murray writes. Go to our Twitter board, if you could, Robert. Go to the bottom one there, not the first one. I was going to read the first one, but look at the Bottom. "Can't wait for today's display of classic Blago hubris."
There is a certain part to people like this -- Clinton showed it in his defiance after the Monica Lewinsky thing -- where you can almost become a victim, thereby garnering support. And we have seen it time and time again. Is this the ultimate goal here, guys? Chris? Bruce? Mark?
FUSCO: Well, I think one of the things that's been front and center in the investigation of Governor Blagojevich in stories in both "The Tribune" and "The Sun-Times" is the involvement of the governor's family here. And the governor's wife has been under widespread scrutiny for her real estate dealings.
SANCHEZ: But what I mean is, he's a tough -- people are going to look at him and say, you know what? This is a tough guy. Look at everything they're throwing at him and he's hanging in there. You know what, I'm starting to like him.
(CROSSTALK)
DOLD: Rick, we have been -- in Illinois, we have been dealing with this for four or five years now. It's been nearly that long since the investigation started. And the governor has never given an inch on any of this. So, I don't think we're surprised to see that he would carry this out to the bitter end.
FUSCO: And there could be some sympathy. The reason I brought up his family, because I think there could -- he might be trying to garner some support, the sympathy card, so to speak, for himself.
SANCHEZ: Yes. And you know what, occasionally, you go back all the way back to the Checkers speech, guys, this kind of stuff can be effective, not to say that...
DOLD: I think people are...
SANCHEZ: Go ahead.
DOLD: I think people are probably wondering, all right, if he's come out today, if he's willing to talk publicly, why wouldn't he go before the committee, why wouldn't he go before the Illinois House and defend himself when he had a chance to actually affect the vote?
And I guess the next question will be, will he appear before the Senate? Will he defend himself there?
SANCHEZ: Is what we're about to see here -- what have you advised your reporters, I'm wondering, Bruce? I mean, it's not like you hammer the guy, but he's in a situation where he should be taking questions at this point. Will they shout them out if they have to?
DOLD: I think -- I will say this, I think he will get a completely fair trial before the Illinois Senate. It's going to be presided over by Tom Fitzgerald, who's the chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, who's one of the best jurists, I think, in the country. SANCHEZ: Not to be confused with the other Fitzgerald, Not to be confused with the prosecutor, so...
(CROSSTALK)
DOLD: Patrick Fitzgerald is the U.S. attorney. Tom Fitzgerald, no relation, is the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
SANCHEZ: Here's a comment that is coming in right now. It's from MySpace. Let's go to that, guys, if we can, as we wait. In the corner of my eye, I'm looking to see if Rod Blagojevich walks out any moment now.
"Blago should have stepped down whether he was guilty or not. With such implications on him, he brings a sense of suspicious nature. Even if he's found innocent, the American people will always have doubts about him now."
Great point.
Now let's go back to the one on Twitter, if we can, Robert. This is Danielle Ricks, who is writing to us, follows our show daily. "It is rather odd that Blago has not been convicted of anything. Why is that? What are they waiting for?"
Well, actually, there's a very good explanation for this, I imagine, guys, right? Any one of you want to explain this to Danielle. Usually, federal cases move as slow as molasses, right?
DOLD: The U.S. attorney brought the criminal complaint because -- at the time that he did because he said he was afraid that the governor was going to act on two things.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Here we go. Here we go.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I'm going to cut you off for just a moment, if I can, Bruce, because he has just reached the podium. I'm sorry. I may have been a little too quick there. Looks like he's ready to go.
Let's do it.
GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH (D), ILLINOIS: Thank you for being here. I won't be that long.
Let me say, to begin with, that the house's action today was, of course, not a surprise. It was a foregone conclusion.
In fact, what the House did today, they have been talking about doing for the last couple of years. In fact, the first discussion of doing what they did today, they started talking about back in the summer of 2007, when they failed to pass a budget and we were facing a government shutdown and I was calling the House into special session to try to work to get a budget so we can keep government operating.
So this is not something that came as a complete surprise to me. It happened kind of fast. But, again, kind of expected, and part of the process that has essentially been the dynamic in Illinois since I was reelected governor in November of 2006.
From the very moment of my reelection, I have been engaged in a struggle with the House to try to get things done for people. I have worked very hard, and continue to keep pushing and prodding the House to pass a capital construction program, a public works program, a jobs program, one that would create anywhere from 500,000 to 750,000 jobs. The House has stood in the way of letting that happen.
From the moment I was reelected governor, I wanted to build on the historic progress we made in Illinois by giving all of our kids access to health care, and giving more adults access to health care than any other state in America, by providing more health care to those remaining who couldn't afford to see the doctor.
In my view, those of us who make the rules ought to be able to follow a simple lesson that I was taught to believe in Sunday school called the Golden Rule: that you should do unto others as you would have others do unto you. And for those of use who make the rules, and we can provide health care to ourselves and our families, then we should be able to provide the same kind of health care to the rest of the citizens who hired us to represent them.
And so, from the moment of my reelection, I have been pushing and prodding the house to expand health care. And unfortunately, they have consistently stood in the way of those expansions.
Since my reelection in November of 2006, I have pushed and prodded the house for real and meaningful property tax relief for homeowners here in Cook County. The House stood in the way of that. In fact, they passed a law that actually is taking property tax relief away from homeowners in Cook County.
I have pushed and prodded the system and tried to encourage the House to pass an expansion of the Illinois breast and cervical cancer programs so that the 261,000 uninsured women in Illinois can have the same access to routine mammograms and pap smears, breast and cervical cancer screenings that those women who have insurance have, so we can save lives and keep moms alive to care for their children. The House failed to act.
So the House's action today and the causes of the impeachment are because I have done things to fight for families who are with me here today. And I'm going to talk about some of the examples that I would like you -- to share with all of you, and some of the counts that the House is actually choosing to impeach me on.
For example, the I Save Prescription Drug Program is among the things the House said I should be removed from office for.
That was a program that we began back in, I believe it was late 2003 or early 2004, an idea that was brought to me by then-Congressman Rahm Emmanuel, who suggested that since the big pharmaceutical companies had a tremendous amount of sway with the FDA, that too many senior citizens were being forced to ration their medicine or couldn't afford to buy their medicine, and had to choose between whether they could afford their medicine or afford the groceries at the grocery store that they needed to live on, and that maybe we should try something different and go to Canada, and go to the place where you make the same medicines for the exact same companies. Only, if you have free and open trade and go to Canada, you can help our senior citizens save up to 30, 40, 50 percent on the cost of their medicine.
We did that in Illinois, being the first state in America to defy the FDA and the big drug companies. And, I'm happy to say, we were joined by the state of Wisconsin, the state of Kansas and the state of Vermont. And a lot of senior citizens in Illinois have had the benefit of being able to afford their medicine at prices they can afford.
The House is impeaching me for that. Is that an impeachable offense?
I met a woman not long ago from the Humboldt Park area who was not feeling well, and was in a great deal of pain, so she went to see her doctor. And her doctor didn't know what was wrong with her. The best he could do for her was to prescribe Tylenol to ease her pain.
But then she came to one of our Pink Potluck programs in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. That's a program that we have to go out pro-actively and find women who don't have insurance and encourage them to get mammograms to screen for the possibility that they may have breast cancer.
This particular woman was at that Pink Potluck. And it was discovered after her screening that she not only had breast cancer, but it was stage 4 breast cancer.
And, fortunately for her, she got the mammogram that we provided. And, fortunately for us, we have the Illinois breast and cervical cancer program, the only one of its kind in America that allows for all 261,000 uninsured women in our state to get those mammograms, get the cervical cancer screenings. And, God forbid, cancer is found, like it was with that woman in Humboldt Park, then we'll treat that cancer and then try to help save her life.
That's a lifesaving program the House would not act on. I found a way, with our lawyers, to do it around the legislative process. My question to you: Is that an impeachable act?
We're joined here today...
(CROSSTALK)
BLAGOJEVICH: I will be happy to talk to you.
We're joined here by several families who've benefited by some of the programs and some of the initiatives, because I wouldn't take no for an answer from a House that was designed to block everything that could help people for whatever their motivations.
Omar Castillo is a young man who was on the All Kids program. He was 17, 18 years old. And then it was discovered that he had a rare liver disease -- kidney disease. And, as a result of that, his life was in peril unless he could have a surgery and get a kidney that his brother was going to provide for him -- his loving brother was going to provide for him. But he couldn't get the surgery that would save his life because his parents didn't have health insurance and he was no longer 18. He was 19 and he wasn't eligible for the ALL Kids program.
We intervened and acted in a way, with legal advice, around the legislature. Omar Castillo got that surgery. He got his liver. He's now alive and well and he's going to live a long and full and happy life.
Is that an impeachable offense?
And so what we are here today to talk about and what I'm here to talk about is the fact that I understand the House's actions.
I'm not at all surprised by it. But I took actions, with the advice of lawyers and experts, to find ways -- creative ways -- to use the executive authority of a governor to get real things done for people who rely on us. And in many cases, the things we did for people have literally saved lives. I don't believe those are impeachable offenses.
So we're going to move forward. And I'm going to continue to fight every step of the way.
Let me reassert to all of you once more that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. That issue will be dealt with on a separate course and in an appropriate forum -- a federal court. And I'm confident that, at the end of the day, I will be properly exonerated.
In the meantime, I have a job to do for the people. They hired me to not just say that I'm for things that can help them, but they hired me to fight for them. And I'm going to fight for them every step of the way. Because if I didn't fight for them, the results that we've provided for people would not have happened.
And by the way, there's a bill that passed the Senate that the House has yet to act on. And I would suggest that while they're busy trying to throw me out of office, they may actually want to stop families from being thrown out of their homes. Because when every day passes after Christmas, 400 families are being thrown out of their homes because of the foreclosure crisis.
The State Senate passed the bill in November. The House is sitting on it and hasn't acted. I'd respectfully encourage them to feel free to pass that bill and keep those 400 families in their homes, who every day are being kicked out of their homes.
With that, let me close by doing something that I probably won't do much after this. But I feel like doing it again, since I did it not too long ago. I want to quote another British poet. And I'm inspired by it because it was something that Ted Kennedy talked about in 1980 at the Democratic Convention in New York, after Jimmy Carter won the nomination. And I remember seeing that and I remember going to the library and getting that poem and memorizing it. And it kind of reminds me a little bit about the situation that I'm in and all the men and women who have supported me and given me a chance to be their governor and given me a chance to be able to fight for families like the ones who are here today.
And fight for families like the one I came from -- an immigrant father who was a factory worker and a steelworker, who worked 40, 50, 60, 70 hours a week, who sacrificed; a working mom, who worked for the Chicago Transit Authority and passed out transfers at the subway station.
They never owned a home. They were all about sacrificing so their kids can have a better life. That's what most parents want for their kids. There hasn't been a day that's gone by since I've been governor that I haven't thought about my parents, their struggles and their sacrifices, and have tried to fight a system that listens to special interests and lobbyists and puts the burden on all of the troubles in our state on the backs of the hardworking people, who are the ones who should be looking to government for help, not the other way around.
And so I'll leave you with this poem by Tennyson, which goes like this: "Though we are not now the strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are -- one equal temper of heroic hearts made weak by time and by fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield."
Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: As expected, he is not taking questions.
An amazing -- an amazing moment in the political arena of Chicago.
Chris Fusco is still with us, Bruce Dold.
I know if we were to focus -- are the guys still with us?
Guys, I know if we were to focus on this from Chicago's standpoint, you guys would be able to probably find some deeper meaning to it. But from a national perspective and just reading what the reaction has been from thousands and thousands of people who are watching this around the country, I think the only question I can ask is what the hell is he talking about?
DOLD: It sounded like he's planning his re-election, like he's going to run for a third term. You know when he was talking -- I can tell you about some of the specifics. He was talking about health care. One of the things he did was he tried to get the legislature to spend money on an expansion of health care. The legislature refused. The governor went ahead and spent the money anyway. And the courts have said that was illegal.
So there are now a lot of people who signed up for health care who are going to lose it because what the governor did, the court said, was illegal.
SANCHEZ: So what -- so I guess what -- DOLD: If he didn't deal with...
SANCHEZ: So what he's trying to say is that, really, I'm such a great governor and my governance has been so good and they have been so rotten over there in the Senate and in the House, they just don't get me and that's why they're really trying to throw me out?
Is that what he's saying?
DOLD: That's what he'd like to focus. I wish he would have talked about some of the criminal complaints. The second article of impeachment was that he tried to get me fired and my editorial board fired by offering a $100 million deal to the -- the company to get rid of us. So he never addressed any of that.
He'd like to focus on his political enemies in the -- in the Illinois House.
(CROSSTALK)
FUSCO: ...curious. I mean this -- this is right out of Governor Blagojevich's political playbook. He's famous for having press conferences and bringing up people and telling a few anecdotes about how he helped people. And he may very well have helped those people.
But when he talks about the prescription drug program of Congressman Emanuel -- and I find it interesting that he raised Rahm Emanuel's name here, perhaps, in a little mini ding at the Obama people.
But, you know, he...
SANCHEZ: Really?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Wait. I missed that.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: OK. Now you -- now you've given me something that perks my ears. That's a national -- that's a national story. When -- and pardon me for interrupting...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But when he said Rahm Emanuel, what did you just say was the significance to that?
FUSCO: He was bringing up Congressman -- well, I shouldn't say former Congressman Emanuel in the context of a prescription drug program to import drugs in Canada -- from Canada and do kind of an online prescription drug program.
Yes, I believe -- in fact, I saw the picture in our library the other day of Representative Emanuel speaking at that press conference with him.
This was considered to be kind a pilot program and a test program. And very quickly thereafter, it was roundly criticized for not drawing in the kinds of people that were needed to make the program actually work. The FDA criticized it.
But, you know, he doesn't tell you that -- you know, exactly how many people are on this program. He doesn't bring up the numbers. He talked about All Kids -- a kind of a groundbreaking program to expand health care. And...
DOLD: Rahm Emanuel was once pretty tight with the governor...
FUSCO: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
DOLD: And Rahm Emanuel, I think, was one pushing him to -- pushed him to pick up health care as an issue. He thought it would be a good national issue because Rod Blagojevich wanted to run for president of the United States. He said health care would be the issue to get him.
I don't think Rahm Emanuel ever encouraged him to do anything illegal -- to spend money he wasn't allowed to spend. The governor wants you to think that he's being impeached because he's pro-health care.
SANCHEZ: Right. Which is -- which is probably as Felliniesque as just about anything we've seen coming out of this governor's office in the last month.
And you know what, last -- two weeks ago, we got a rendition of Rudyard Kipling -- if you can keep your head and all about -- when all about you are losing their heads and blaming it on you. This time we got Tennyson.
The last question for you guys, being experts of English literature, I'm sure, who do you think will be the next quoted English poet?
DOLD: I defer to Chris on poetry.
FUSCO: Boy, this is a really bad time to be asking this question. Maybe -- maybe he'll quote Roland Burris, who likes to talk about himself in the third person.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Gentlemen... FUSCO: You know, I...
SANCHEZ: Gentlemen, we thank you...
FUSCO: I guess...
SANCHEZ: Go ahead. Finish it up.
FUSCO: No, I guess just one last point. I mean, obviously, I raised the issue of Congressman Emanuel. And just to clarify. I mean, there's no connection of Congressman Emanuel being involved...
SANCHEZ: No, we -- we understand.
FUSCO: ...any wrongdoing regarding that program.
SANCHEZ: We understand.
FUSCO: But, I mean, Rod closed by saying special interests and lobbyists -- and, I mean, these are things he's accused of doing, is trying to work with special interests and lobbyists to get campaign contributions. So we've clearly got some spin going out here today.
SANCHEZ: Yes, well, I -- and I think our viewers, just judging from the reaction that we've been getting from all over the country, kind of got that -- wink, wink.
Guys, you know, job well done. Chris Fusco, "Chicago Sun-Times," Bruce Dold, editor of the "Chicago Tribune" and our own Mark Preston in Washington.
Thanks to all of you.
FUSCO: Thank you.
DOLD: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Cries of...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICIA GRIMES, VICTIM'S MOTHER: That's my baby!
(CRYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Cries of frustration and anger -- another police shooting. And this time, it's a 22-year-old -- and shot 12 times in the back. Now, the FBI, we understand, has been called in to investigate. And that's why we're going to have a special report for you on this story in just a moment.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back.
I'm Rick Sanchez here in the World Headquarters of CNN.
You've been watching what was a -- well, I said Felliniesque-like news conference being held in Illinois by the governor, Rod Blagojevich, there. And I can't help but have to share some of the comments that you guys have been sending in. There's been so many of them.
Let's start over here, if we can, on Facebook. Just a couple of them.
"Blago needs to stop acting like a tragic hero. He's just a tragic mess."
Stephen watching us says: "Ah, my ears! Tennyson, lalalalala."
Let's go over now -- over to Twitter: "Blago is so cute, with the British poetry. What a character."
And then finally Matt is also watching and he says: ""The Daily Show" clearly has some material for tonight thanks to this Blago conference. So bad. Ha-ha."
All right, here we go. It's the news as we bring it to you. Here's a very important story. It's taking place in Los Angeles. Pardon me, it's taking place in NOLA -- New Orleans, Louisiana. And it has to do with a 22-year-old being shot 12 times in the back. This is the result of a police shooting.
There's a lot of questions that are going to now be raised by the family and we have been able to put together this special report that you're about to see by our own Sean Callebs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As fireworks exploded near the French Quarter on New Year's Eve, 22-year-old Adolph Grimes, or Chris, as he's known to his family, just pulled up to his grandmother's New Orleans home after a five hour drive from Houston.
ADOLPH GRIMES, JR. VICTIM'S FATHER: He made it for 12:00 exactly, with seconds to spare.
CALLEBS: A scant three hours later, he lay dying on the sidewalk -- a half a block from his grandmother's front door -- fireworks giving way to the hue of flashing police lights.
The Orleans Parish coroner says Grimes was shot 14 times, including 12 times in the back.
P. GRIMES: The violence has to stop. My child's, it will not be meaningless.
CALLEBS: And Grimes didn't die at the hand of common street thugs. He was shot and killed by New Orleans police officers.
The family wants to know why -- why cops descended on a young man with no police record, who graduated from one of the most prestigious high schools in the city.
(on camera): Have the police told you anything?
P. GRIMES: No. I know just as much as you know.
CALLEBS (voice-over): The police department won't release the names of the officers involved or the shooting report, saying the investigation is ongoing.
But Police Superintendent Warren Riley says Grimes shot at police first when plainclothes officers surrounded Grimes' car. Riley says officers are trained to fire when fired upon and fire more than one shot.
The FBI is now investigating, following a request from the Grimes family.
SUPT. WARREN RILEY, NEW ORLEANS POLICE: We think that family should everything they can to make sure that this investigation is as thorough and complete as possible so that they know the truth.
CALLEBS: Grimes had a gun and a legal permit to carry the weapon. Authorities also say they found a shotgun in the car's trunk.
The 22-year-old, according to family members, had just walked out the front door and was in a car waiting for his cousin when the shooting started. Grimes' relatives don't believe for a minute that he opened fire first.
ROBERT JENKINS, GRIMES' FAMILY ATTORNEY: He collapsed right here.
CALLEBS: And the family attorney believes the investigation will show rogue cops and sloppy police work.
JENKINS: We know the FBI are going to do a full and complete investigation and we're hoping that criminal charges will be brought against all of these officers for the execution in this case.
CALLEBS: It doesn't make sense. The family says over and over a young man who has never been arrested or in trouble with the law, a loving father with a good job, a grieving mother and father say they won't be silenced and say they are not worried about a code of silence among officers -- the so-called blue wall.
A. GRIMES: The wall is going to tumble down just like the walls of Jericho came down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Good story put together there by Sean Callebs and Jason Morris. You know, you hear this family. They seem angry and frustrated.
What -- what is the source of that, beyond what we saw?
Because it almost looks like there's a lot more to this story than meets the eye here.
CALLEBS: Yes, there really is. Firstly, the reason he even got there at midnight -- he'd evacuated to Houston after Hurricane Katrina. And it's a tradition that he always spent new year's with his family. So he rented a car, got there just a few hours before the shooting.
The family is really upset because they've gotten absolutely no information from the authorities. They are not talking with the family. We know that Superintendent Riley, apparently, is now going to try and talk with the family tomorrow. We just got that word a short while ago.
But they have so many questions -- why all these undercover narcotics officers?
Why did they descend on this car?
They allege that there was a shooting in the area, but there's no record of gunshots being fired, no complaint that has been filed.
SANCHEZ: Well, and, you know, the sorest thumb of all in all of this, the thing that's in plain view that makes everyone probably wonder what the hell is going on, is the 12 shots in the back.
CALLEBS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: I mean how do you explain somebody being shot 12 times in the back?
CALLEBS: Look, it gets worse. I want to show you something. We bought these here in the city. These are the same kind of bullets that city police use. There are 48 here. This -- that's how many bullets were actually fired that night. That information coming from the defense attorney. He's been told 48 shots.
SANCHEZ: Wow!
CALLEBS: And we know that he was hit 14 times -- 12 in the back. The superintendent of police here takes issue with that. He says, well, some of them are actually in the side.
But, look, this information is coming from the coroner. The coroner got his information out there (INAUDIBLE) as quickly as possible because there are so many questions. There's a real controversy brewing here. The FBI is involved. Ministers are involved. The NAACP is involved. This is a story that isn't going away -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Stay on it for us.
We appreciate it, Sean.
Job well done.
(VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This is street violence not in some faraway place or some country. This is Oakland, California. The reason for it -- a different police shooting.
How many more could we see as our economy worsens, jobs are lost and budgets are being cut?
This is an important discussion coming out of Sean Callebs' piece. And we'll have it with you, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back.
I'm Rick Sanchez.
There is going to be a lot of tension tonight in Oakland California. There's a lot of angry people there over a police shooting. This is what happens in a community when budgets and frustrations and power and powerlessness suddenly collide. Two reports I want you to see. The first is just the incident as it happened. These are people going to the streets. And they are angry and they show it. The next one is a report that's filed by Dan Simon that shows how it happened, what the genesis is and where it's going.
Here's both.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY KTVU)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to do a fair and thorough investigation and then there is going to be -- justice will be done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People need to know that the police were wrong in what they did. So I'm going to lay here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shoot me! Go ahead! (INAUDIBLE) had no reason to shoot anything.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you do not do so, you may be arrested (INAUDIBLE) serious injuries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get yourself killed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We live a life of fear. And we want them to be afraid tonight.
(VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get away from the car. (VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pigs go home!
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was senseless and all caught on camera. These rioters busted windows, set fires and pounced on police cars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pigs go home! Pigs go home!
SIMON: One woman tried to defend the violence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We live a life of fear. And we want them to be afraid. We want them to understand we will mobilize, we are a community and we are a voice.
SIMON: The tension had been building for days -- the aftermath of a New Year's Day police shooting in an Oakland subway station that left an unarmed man dead.
(VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: The shooting may not have received national attention, except it was captured on video by several bystanders with cell phones. The disturbing images appear to show a man lying facedown, with two police officers over him, while a third officer stands up, pulls his gun and fires a shot.
(VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: Twenty-two-year-old Oscar Grant died several hours later. Transit police say he'd been involved in a fight aboard a train and that's why they wanted to arrest him.
The victim's family has already hired a lawyer and filed a $25 million death claim against the city.
JOHN BURRIS, GRANT FAMILY ATTORNEY: It is, without a doubt, the most unconscionable shooting I have seen ever.
SIMON: Some law enforcement experts have speculated the officer intended to reach for his taser, but accidentally grabbed his gun. But the officer, 27-year-old Johannes Mehserle, on the job for two years, won't agree to be interviewed by investigators or make any public statements under the advice of his lawyer. He has since resigned and also has been the target of multiple death threats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want justice now!
SIMON: Many in the Oakland community are pressing the district attorney to file criminal charges and march to his office.
DESLEY BROOKS, OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL: We are a community that will not tolerate -- will not tolerate those who are charged with protecting us executing our children in broad view for the world. SIMON: But what started as a peaceful protest turned ugly. Police responded to the violence in riot gear, fired tear gas and arrested more than 100 people.
(on camera): No word when the D.A. May decide whether or not to file charges against the officer.
Meanwhile, people have been dropping off flowers, cards and candles at the subway station where the victim was shot.
Dan Simon, CNN, Oakland, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And we will obviously be keeping an eye on that situation for you.
Let's go over to Wolf Blitzer now and find out what 's coming up next in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf, what you got?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Rick.
Two big interviews here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- some pretty extraordinary words from the vice president, Dick Cheney. I sat with him today one-on-one. He talked about his feelings about Barack Obama. It's definitely something you haven't heard before and you're going to want to hear what he's saying.
Also, my exclusive interview with the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. We sat down today on Capitol Hill, as well.
What she says about how Congress will deal with the new president and the one promise she's making to you, the American people.
Also, Barack Obama talks about the dire economic situation and the latest numbers show massive job losses.
All that and a lot more, Rick, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
And there's going to be a little surprise during the course of the next few hours, as well. I'll just leave it at that.
SANCHEZ: Whoa. That's a good tease. You've got me -- you've got me hooked, Wolf.
I appreciate that.
BLITZER: I think you'll like it if you like to see Wolf dancing.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Oh, my goodness. All right. We'll look forward to that.
What about this? There he is. There is no bigger name when it comes to political satire than Angry Bob. He's chewing at the bit to go after this Blagojevich thing, I can tell. Do your angry face. There you go. We -- the big guy, when we come back.
Don't go away.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Now to perform some British literature, perhaps some Rudyard Kipling or maybe Tennyson, is Angry Bob, joining us with his reaction to the Blagojevich news conference.
ANGRY BOB, POLITICAL COMEDIAN: How are you doing?
How are you doing, Rick?
SANCHEZ: Great material, huh?
ANGRY BOB: I've got to tell you something. I am amazed. This guy is a genius. He turned an impeachment into a poetry slam. It's amazing.
(LAUGHTER)
ANGRY BOB: I mean, come on. You've got to hand it to him. Next it's going to be limericks -- there once was a governor named Blagojevich.
But what the hell rhymes with Blagojevich?
Rick, help me out here.
(LAUGHTER)
ANGRY BOB: Unbelievable. The guy is amazing.
SANCHEZ: Yes, I'll tell you, you know, that whole Tennyson and then the cup -- then the Rudyard Kipling stuff. I mean you can't help but wait to see what he's going to come up with next.
And then there's the Burris thing. As a result of what this guy's done Burris, who may not have done anything wrong in his entire life, is suddenly being put back by the Democrats.
ANGRY BOB: Well...
SANCHEZ: And then you've got Franken in Minnesota who's being told by the GOP we don't want you.
ANGRY BOB: I have a solution. I have a solution, OK?
As you said, Illinois doesn't want Burris and Minnesota doesn't want Franken. You send Burris to Minnesota, because they're nice. They'll take him. You send Franken to Illinois. Illinois rhymes with annoy. He's a little annoying.
So that will work out, right?
(LAUGHTER)
ANGRY BOB: Coleman you make governor of Alaska...
SANCHEZ: Right.
ANGRY BOB: Because no, no, they love Republicans, right?
And what do you do with Sarah Palin, OK?
SANCHEZ: Yes, what do you do with Sarah Palin?
ANGRY BOB: Right. You've done stories about wolves and deer encroaching on civilization, right, right, right?
SANCHEZ: Yes.
ANGRY BOB: You get -- you get Sarah Palin in a helicopter, a high-powered rifle, flying across America, shooting the wolves and deers. It's a slam dunk. Angry Bob saved America.
(LAUGHTER)
ANGRY BOB: What do you think?
What do you think?
SANCHEZ: Do you know what I want you to -- save the Middle East, will you?
Because we've been reporting on this -- we're down to 20 seconds.
ANGRY BOB: All right.
SANCHEZ: Give me your material on the Middle East.
ANGRY BOB: OK. All right, here's the deal -- Arabs and Israelis, they like the same food, they like the same stuff. You flood the Middle East with hummus and cheap electronic discount stores.
(LAUGHTER)
ANGRY BOB: They'll be so easy eating and haggling, be no more war.
(LAUGHTER)
ANGRY BOB: Can you imagine?
iPod for you, sir. A thousand dollars. iBuds, another $200, my friend.
SANCHEZ: We've got it. ANGRY BOB: Would you like some hummus?
SANCHEZ: Angry Bob, you're good, man. I'll tell you what, every Friday right here, exclusively on the Rick Sanchez show.
ANGRY BOB: You got it. You got it, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Angry Bob.
Once again, say hi to Mrs. Bob, will you?
ANGRY BOB: I will.
SANCHEZ: All right.
Wolf Blitzer coming up now with "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Rick.
