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Glenn Beck

Scientist Shares Alternate View on Global Warming; Do Commercial Airlines Care More about Lawsuits Than Safety?

Aired January 17, 2007 - 19:00   ET

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

GLENN BECK, HOST: We are in the deep freeze here in the U.S. Where is global warming when you need it?
Also, what are commercial airline pilots afraid of more: extremists or lawsuits? The unfortunate answer, coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight`s episode is brought to you by the Barack Obama Presidential Exploratory Committee. Barack Obama: who needs experience when you have -- let`s see. I remember he did a speech one, and he wrote a book. And oh, yes, he`s got awesome abs. Wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: We have a great segment on Barack Obama coming up in "The Real Story". But first let me start here.

It is a huge understatement to say that we`ve had a mild winter in New York City. Just yesterday in one of the rare patches of grass that we actually have here, I saw crocuses pushing up through the dirt. It has been so unseasonably warm that flowers are beginning to bloom, yet they say an ice storm is coming tomorrow.

So here`s the point tonight. You`ve got to be a full-fledged moron to deny that something is going on with the earth`s temperature and weather systems. But opinions on why that`s happening change with the seasons. I`m not convinced that we`re to blame or that we can fix it before we all drown in one of Al Gore`s melting glaciers.

Here`s how I got there. For some across the country, it has been a tragic winter: brutal storms of ice, snow, flooding, tore through nine states from Texas to Maine, leaving 320,000 homes and businesses without electricity. Fifty-four people are dead. The president is set to address global warming in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night.

But here`s what I need to understand before I want George Bush or anybody else suggesting that we spend millions or billions of dollars. Is this strange weather man`s fault or is it more of a problem for man to fix?

Now, there are no shortages of opinions here. Do you remember last summer when you kept nodding off through "An Inconvenient Truth", an Al Gore documentary on global warming? I do.

And I want you to know straight up: I`m a conservative, but I`m not pig-headed. I went to that movie with an open mind. And you know what? There`s a lot in that film that I agreed with. But still, Al, there`s an awful lot of shaky science and just tons of spin in that movie.

Apparently, the nation of Scotland disagrees. They`re making it now mandatory for every student in the country to see that film. Ross Finnie - - he is Scotland`s environmental minister -- dismissed any suggestion that the film was political propaganda, saying that anyone disputing the film has got to be living on the planet Mars. Really, Ronnie? All the way on Mars? What if they`re just in, say, Seattle?

In fact, a suburban Seattle school board -- and remember, I grew up in Seattle. They`re not exactly conservative out there. They have ruled that teachers cannot show "An Inconvenient Truth" or even talk about it unless they devise a plan to present alternative points of view.

Well, that prompted Laurie David, "An Inconvenient Truth" co-producer, to respond, "I am shocked that a school district would come to this decision. There is no opposing view to science, which is fact."

Laurie, curb your enthusiasm for a minute. Because here`s what I know tonight. There are all sorts of opposing views to science. And I`m not talking about religion but other science. As scientific thought evolves, facts change.

Do you remember, Laurie, when Pluto used to be a planet? Have you ever heard of getting a second opinion? You know, if doctors can disagree with whether somebody should get laser eye surgery, then it isn`t insane to presume scientists everywhere totally agree about something as complex as the study of the earth`s minute climate changes over millions of years. Of course, that`s nuts.

I also know that a lab -- a white lab coat doesn`t come with a halo or wings. These are not gods; they`re men. And sometimes they`re right, and sometimes they`re wrong.

You know, let me give you a crystal clear example. It was 32 years ago that "Newsweek" magazine published the ultimate story on global cooling. This is where some scientists suggested -- you`re going to laugh when you hear this -- that they actually would put soot on the polar ice caps to expedite the melting of the polar ice caps, exactly the opposite of what scientists are trying to do today.

By the way, you can read that actual and entire article at GlennBeck.com. It`s on the front page.

As unthinkable as it may seem, some experts, including a Nobel Prize winner, are suggesting today that releasing a layer of pollution into the atmosphere could help cool a globally warmed planet. Welcome to Crazy Town, USA.

You think you`re saving the planet with your Prius. Right? That`s what you`ve been told. Guess again. By 2020, the Chinese will be pumping as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as three billion Ford Expeditions, each drive 15,000 miles a year.

Now considering that it takes five years to sell a million Expeditions, that means it would take 15,000 years to make, sell and drive enough Fords to equal China`s carbon dioxide output in the next 15 years. That`s a factor of 1,000 for just one country on planet Earth.

Next time, what do you say? Go with your gut. Get the Hummer H1. She`s sweet.

Here`s what I don`t know. When are scientists going to lose their arrogance? When are they going to -- when will we stop encouraging them? Remember, scientists are never wrong in the present. They`re only wrong in the past. Diversity of opinion isn`t just an ideal component of meaningful research; it is essential.

Bjorn Lomborg, he is a scientist. He`s an author of the "Skeptical Environmentalist".

Bjorn, you actually started as someone on the global warming band wagon and now environmentalists hate you. Why?

BJORN LOMBORG, AUTHOR, "SKEPTICAL ENVIRONMENTALIST": Basically, Glenn -- good to be back. Basically, because I keep telling them it`s not the only problem in the world.

Yes, climate change is a problem. But we`ve got to ask all the different problems in the world and we`ve also got to ask how much can we do about climate change?

You mentioned yourself, China is going to be a big factor in what`s going to happen in the future. And China is very unlikely to say, "Oh, yes, let`s cut our emissions dramatically so that you guys can live easier." They want to get rich first.

And so we`ve got to ask ourselves how much can we actually change the weather? And the answer is very little at very high cost...

BECK: OK.

LOMBORG: ... compared to all the other things that we can do.

BECK: OK. Now, tell me if this is true or not. I have heard that the largest paper in Denmark was supposed to do an interview with Al Gore. I think it was today, and ask the tough questions, when they were told the Al Gore camp first said, no, we won`t do it with Bjorn. Then they cancelled the interview altogether.

The question for you -- from you to me is, what are they afraid of with you? Why -- why isn`t there -- why isn`t there a willingness to debate this reasonably?

LOMBORG: That`s a very good question. Of course, I don`t -- I can`t answer for Al Gore, but I`d love you to ask him that question. We`re actually going to write an op-ed in the "Wall Street Journal" tomorrow, exactly asking him that question. And saying, "Listen, Al, we`ll meet with you whenever, wherever to ask you those questions, because isn`t that important to have this conversation?"

If he`s right, it should be a shoe-in. But if he`s not, at least somebody ought to ask him those questions.

BECK: Right. OK. Now...

LOMBORG: And one of the questions, just to give you a sense...

BECK: Go ahead.

LOMBORG: OK. One of the questions would be, obviously, he claims that sea levels -- and this is the only thing he talks about -- that sea levels could rise 20 feet. Now, the U.N. Climate Panel composed of thousands of scientists, the best thing we have as a consensus on what the scientists believe, tells us it`s going to be one foot.

How can you say something that`s wildly exaggerated and then yet still be used in school boards in Scotland, by the way also in Sweden and Norway?

BECK: OK.

LOMBORG: That doesn`t seem like informing us in the right way.

BECK: Let me -- let me go here with you. Because I believe something is happening. I mean, I`m not sticking my head in the sand here. Global warming probably is -- global climate change is real. But it probably is natural.

But what we`re talking about here is -- and correct me if I am wrong - - isn`t what we`re suggesting or what they`re suggesting kind of like saying, "Oh, you have cancer. I`m going to treat you with this new experimental medicine called chemo. But I can only treat part of your body, because I can`t treat the whole body. And it`s really only going to give you a couple of months extra to live. And it`s going to just ravage you in the meantime."

Isn`t that kind of the solutions that we`re talking about with Al Gore now?

LOMBORG: They`re certainly proposing that we should do very expensive solutions that will do very little good. Some -- some academics actually pointed out it`s a little bit like talking to a man who`s a beast, an alcoholic, smokes, and then you tell him the most important thing is that you put on your seat belt. It just simply doesn`t address the main issues that the world is facing.

The issue, of course, is to say, "Let`s fix all the important problems that we know how to fix that we can fix very cheaply."

Take, for instance, malaria, which Al Gore talks quite a bit about. He tells us global warming makes malaria worse, so we should do something about global warming. That sounds smart, but the point is, he could save two million lives with the malaria through climate change. We could save 28 billion lives. Isn`t that better?

BECK: Yes, it is. Bjorn, thank you very much. And we`ll look for your op-ed piece tomorrow.

You know, a lot of people say that the planet is doomed. And global warming is here to stay. I don`t know. There`s bound to be a solution to this. I think we just need to start looking outside the box.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: While scientists argue about who`s responsible for global warming, only one person has the courage to actually do something about it, to come up with a logical, fool-proof plan that once and for all will put an end to global warming. His name is Glenn Beck, and his plan is quite simple. Just eliminate the source of the problem. Yes, blow up the sun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is GLENN BECK.

BECK: Coming up, when did the airlines` fear of getting sued trump passenger safety? Oh, the good news is it may have already happened, my friend. I`ll talk to one pilot about how his hands may be tied when it comes to keeping you secure.

And the hill is alive with Obama buzz. The Illinois senator makes his presidential aspirations official. And nobody is really surprised, but he may be. Senator, a little tip, the media is a very fickle mistress.

Plus, one Tennessee legislator`s bid to ban Girls Gone Wild from the airwaves. And one show`s shameless attempt to show you lots of that same video. It is shameful, lots and lots of that video.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLER: You`re talking about things being upside-down. Recently the CEO of Home Depot was released from service.

BECK: I love this story.

CALLER: And on his way out, just to show how much they really wanted to get rid of him, they said, "Here`s $210 million. I hope that gets you through." It absolutely amazes me that you can do a less than adequate job but get set up for, you know, five lifetimes.

BECK: If that`s not just quintessential bad, stupid business, I don`t know what is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Ten days ago a group of 40 Muslim-Americans were denied boarding a flight from Frankfurt to Detroit. That much just about everybody can agree on. After that, things start to get a little murky.

Airline says the passengers arrived about 20 minutes before the flight, which is too late to board. But the passengers say, "No, we were there 90 minutes early. Others also came later and they boarded the plane. How come we weren`t allowed?"

Well, the group is now trying to organize a protest of Northwest Airlines over what they say is a clear case of discrimination. Meanwhile, you probably also remember the incident a few months back in which U.S. Airways removed six Muslims from one of their planes after multiple passengers became concerned about their alleged suspicious behavior.

All of that comes as a federal jury in Boston has now awarded $400,000 to a man who claimed racial discrimination after being removed from an American Airlines flight a couple of years ago.

It seems as though we are at a breaking point. Two of the world`s strongest forces, personal security and attorneys, about to collide. And something has to give, and it just doesn`t seem like it won`t be the attorneys.

How can an airline or anybody else win trust with our safety, put our security first, if they`re constantly worried about the next lawsuit or the next boycott?

First Officer Dean Roberts, he`s a spokesperson for the Airline Pilot Security Alliance and a commercial airline pilot.

Dean, do you think that our safety is going to be put in jeopardy by people like you thinking, "Guys, we`re going to be in trouble if we do this"?

DEAN ROBERTS, SPOKESPERSON, AIRLINE PILOT SECURITY ALLIANCE: I don`t think the traveling public`s safety is going to be put in jeopardy. I think the crews and the companies are going to stand behind the crews that make the final decision to put these people off the airplanes.

BECK: So you`re -- wait, wait, wait. So you`re saying to me you don`t think after a company pays out $400,000, you don`t think that they`re going to get any pressure from their company: "Hey, let`s just be really, really careful next time"?

ROBERTS: Well, I think they will say, "Let`s be very, very careful." But they`re also going to say, "Let`s be very, very safe." And the wants of a few should not trump the wants of everybody on the airplane.

There`s hundreds of passengers that are inconvenienced when there`s one or two people acting up or acting suspicious on the airplane. We -- somebody has got to make the ultimate decision on what we do with these people.

If you act up and misbehave in a restaurant in America, you`re asked to leave. You act up and misbehave in a theater, you`re asked to leave. And the same thing happens on these airlines. When people act up and behave inappropriately, they`re asked to leave. They`re given their money back, and they`re asked to leave.

Traveling in this country on a commercial airlines is not a privilege -- or not a right, it`s a privilege. And if they can`t behave themselves, then they need to take the bus or find another form of transportation.

BECK: OK. Now, the question is, look, you know, I don`t want my airline to be Denny`s. I want my airline to be safe. And you`ve got -- you`ve got organizations like Denny`s that -- you know, they were making judgments based on skin color.

When it comes to the airlines, it`s stupid to judge people on their skin color or what they look like. It is not stupid to judge people on what they`re doing.

Are you convinced that the people that are in your industry are doing just that: they are looking not at the skin color but the actions of those individuals?

ROBERTS: Yes. I`m convinced that the flight crews and the companies are doing a good job of looking at behavior, not skin color or ethnicity. It`s -- it`s behavioral profiling, and that`s what went on in this case, I believe.

BECK: You know what kills me is the Muslims who are speaking out, and not -- you know, it`s just a few vocal Muslims that are speaking out, and they don`t want to be profiled, et cetera, et cetera.

You know, I was thinking about this morning I`m a Mormon. And I hate the jokes about, how many wives do you have? Oh, no keeper that joke; that`s funny. I hate that joke. But you know what? The ones that make that joke are responding to something that they believe about my religion.

I`m not mad at the people who were making that joke. I`m mad at the people who forward by claiming to be Mormon and go out and have a whole bunch of wives.

The same thing with the Muslims, and my question to you is, Muslims want to arrive home alive, as well. Wouldn`t you think that Muslims, for the most part, don`t mind the extra security because they also are just like me and you: they want to arrive home safely?

ROBERTS: Well, I think -- I think that`s accurate. But I think there`s a segment of the group that wants to make a point. And I believe these people are among us that are testing the system, and they`re continually testing airline security and -- for future acts of terrorism.

BECK: Dean, thank you very much. And best of luck up in the skies.

ROBERTS: Thank you very much.

BECK: Coming up, we`ll tell you about one lawmaker`s effort to ban "Girls Gone Wild" ads from the airways. Ads just like this one. This is shameless. I mean, do we have no shame on this program? These are ads they`re thinking about banning. And I`ll give you my opinion on this as we talk to the lawmaker, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Last night "American Idol" kicked off its sixth season. And Kim Caldwell is her with us. She`s from the TV Guide Channel.

Hi, Kim.

KIM CALDWELL, TV GUIDE CHANNEL: Hi, Glenn. Did you miss me?

BECK: I missed you so much.

CALDWELL: I missed you, too.

BECK: You`re doing the TV Guide Channel thing, which is great.

CALDWELL: "Idol Chat".

BECK: And I don`t know -- I`d like to know what`s -- I`d like to know what`s on the TV Guide Channel, but I -- I`d have to find out.

CALDWELL: Why do you always make fun of me and my job?

BECK: I`m not.

CALDWELL: I`m very nice. I`m a...

BECK: I`m sorry.

CALDWELL: I`m a friend, and I come and see you all the time, hope to come back every week and all you do is make fun of me.

BECK: OK. All right. No, I`m not making fun of you.

CALDWELL: That`s OK. Liar.

BECK: Listen, Kim -- what? I swore off "American Idol" this year.

CALDWELL: Why? What happened?

BECK: I got a life. You know what I mean?

CALDWELL: You got a life?

BECK: I thought I would spend some time with my family this year. It`s just too much. And you know what? Ryan Seacrest and I have this thing going. We`re trying to see which one of us...

CALDWELL: Really? That`s a little awkward.

BECK: No. All right. That did sound bad.

CALDWELL: I know you missed me.

BECK: You come on my show and you`re making fun of me like that? So we have this -- we have this thing going on which one of us can put more people out of work, and so far he`s winning. I`ve got to go to work while he`s making that show to win.

CALDWELL: Yes.

BECK: So last night I`ve seen clips of this. And I think that the show is becoming almost "The Gong Show", in a way. Everybody is in on the joke, don`t you think?

CALDWELL: Well, the thing is that more and more and more and more people are trying out. And so more and more and more crazy people are getting on the show.

And the thing is I really would have liked to have seen a couple more really talented people last night, even though I thought it was really hysterical watching the show, and there was a lot of characters.

But why aren`t they going to put them, you know, in the show? They`re ridiculous. And they`re hysterical. And you don`t want to believe it`s real, because it`s really that far out.

BECK: Wait, wait, wait. Let me -- let me show this guy who I describe as the Amish guy from last night. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): ... can be mean to me, mean as you want to be. Just say anything that you like. You can be nasty and catty and cruel and unusual. Twist my nose with your fingers, trip me as I carry liquid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK. Stop. Stop. That guy really thinks he`s going to be on "American Idol"?

CALDWELL: Yes

BECK: That`s a plant.

CALDWELL: And he had -- and he sang something about spitting in his mouth, which was, like, totally unnecessary.

BECK: It was horrible.

CALDWELL: Change the lyrics. Come on.

BECK: But wait. But wait. Do you really think that that`s just somebody at home going, "I could get on the" -- you know, it`s somebody looking for their 15 minutes of fame.

CALDWELL: Yes. I think that some people do show up there just to be on camera and go over the top to do it. But I mean, you really have to be crazy enough to go on there and do that. You know?

BECK: Yes.

CALDWELL: They`ve already gone through the producers and the executive producer to get to the judges.

BECK: OK. Now Diana Ross announced yesterday on David Letterman that she`s going to be...

CALDWELL: Well...

BECK: I mean, she`s a little nuts, though, don`t you think?

CALDWELL: She`s going to be a mentor. But I don`t know. It`s Diana Ross. Who cares? She`s amazing.

BECK: She`s nuts. I mean, you know?

CALDWELL: I don`t know her personally, so I`m not going to -- I`m not going to speak. Thanks, Glenn.

BECK: I made you uncomfortable from start to finish, haven`t I?

CALDWELL: You couldn`t make me uncomfortable if you tried.

BECK: Really?

CALDWELL: No.

BECK: Come next week. I`ll try a little harder.

CALDWELL: But I actually, you know, I think that that`s really cool that Diana Ross is going to be a mentor. I think it`s going to be really intimidating for the idols, but it will also prepare them to go in front of, you know, their other celebrity guests or judges that they`re going to have.

BECK: All right. Kim, thanks.

Up next, "The Real Story" on both Barack Obama and the falling oil prices. Have you noticed that? Coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Welcome to "The Real Story."

Have you ever noticed how the people who are vilified when things go wrong usually are not celebrated when those same things go right? For example, do you have any idea what the name of the CIA director is right now? Yes, I can`t really remember, either. You know why? Because there hasn`t been a terrorist attack in about five years. But trust me, if it happens, oh, you`ll know his name very, very well, because he`s going to be torn apart by every politician and columnist looking for a scapegoat.

Now, I make that point because it`s exactly what`s happening right now with President Bush and oil prices. Last summer, oh, in the heat of the election, gas was $3 a gallon, and everybody was saying, "George Bush is in bed with the oil companies, giving special favors to his Texas oil buddies," and then there was that big uproar over the huge profits that the oil companies were making. How can they live with themselves, making so much money over our backs when we can`t even afford gas for our cars?

But now gas prices have dropped. In fact, they`ve dropped 17 percent since New Year`s Day. And all of that noise, hello, all disappeared. I guess there`s nothing like a little going out of business sale to make everybody pipe down, huh?

But the real story tonight, the president was not responsible when gas was $3 a gallon. And he`s not really the hero now. Not that, you know, anyone in the press would ever accuse him of being one, but that`s a different story.

The people who were responsible are all the dopes who look at cheap gas and say, "Gee, I should have bought that personal aircraft carrier after all." It`s that kind of short-term thinking that gets us into this mess every single time.

The people who rejoice every time gas drops 10 cents are the dopes who haven`t figured out yet that we have a long-term crisis on our hands and it`s not going to be solved by closing tax loopholes or cutting CEO pay.

On Tuesday night, in the State of the Union address, the president will call again for this nation to work towards energy independence. It`s that same call that virtually every president has made virtually every year, going all the way back in the time tunnel to 1979, when Jimmy Carter made, in what in retrospect is perhaps the most ridiculous prediction ever made by a sitting president. It was this, quote: "Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977, never."

Yes. Wrong again, President Carter. We`re now importing 63 percent more oil than we did back then. But you know what? It`s not Jimmy Carter`s fault; it`s not Ronald Reagan`s fault or Bill Clinton or the Bushes fault. It`s our fault. We`re the ones who say, "Oh, yes, oh, yes, I understand it`s our national security, it`s our environment. We shouldn`t be on this, nuh-uh." And then we don`t want to sacrifice it.

We want the cheap oil, oh, but we won`t drill in ANWR. Oh, no. The caribou might have to move and frolic elsewhere. We want clean, cheap electricity, but we don`t want to build those wind farms off our coast because it might ruin Ted Kennedy`s ocean view.

Well, you know what? Me, personally, I`d eat grilled caribou on a wind-powered stove in Ted Kennedy`s back yard if it would shut Al Gore up and get us out of the Middle East. I may be the only person in America who wakes up in the morning and says, gee, today would be nice to have $100-a- barrel oil, wouldn`t it?

You know why? Because that`s the only thing that is going to wake this country up. It`s the only thing that will motivate us to find a real long-term solution. After all, money doesn`t talk. It screams.

Oh, by the way, the director of the CIA, his name is General -- say it with me -- Michael Hayden.

Next, as you may have heard, President Obama came out yesterday and -- what? He`s not -- I`m sorry -- apparently, he`s not our president. We still -- we -- I didn`t know this. We still have to elect him. You know what? Did you know that? He was on the cover today of the "New York Post," the "Times," "USA Today," "Washington Post." I thought he was already in office. Sorry. I didn`t know. But I`m not a journalist.

The real story today, it`s not that he`s just on the front page of all the papers. It`s why he is. It has nothing to do with him forming an exploratory committee. After all, nine other Democrats have also declared themselves possible candidates. But I didn`t really see any front page articles about Tom Vilsack or Mike Gravel when they decided to run.

The reason that Obama is on those he front pages, the reason he`s so seemingly universally popular right now is not because of who he is or what he`s done, because most people don`t even have a clue about those things. It`s because of what he represents.

Right now, Obama embodies the hopes and the dreams of people who still believe in that vision of a young charismatic president who can cut across those party lines while still seeming almost larger than life. Barack Obama right now, he`s a blank canvas. The whole country is drawing their own personal masterpieces on him.

Since he hasn`t been forced to stand for something, right now he`s able to stand for everything and everyone. So a lot of people think that he`s this generation`s JFK. That may or may not change in the coming days, because there`s one small problem. You know, it might get in the way of the next Obama White House, and it`s called a campaign.

Now I know this because, man, I hate to admit this on national TV, but I was one of the guys who plastered a Ross Perot bumper sticker on my car in February 1992. I know, dumb as a box of rocks. But I`ll have you know, by Valentine`s Day, I was trying every chemical known to man to get that sticker off. My intoxication was so -- it seemed like he could bring together everybody blinded me to the fact that I didn`t know the first thing about this guy.

And when I finally, you know, did see him stand there under the bright lights of the campaign trail, I realized this guy is crazy town nuts. Well, over the next 22 months, Barack Obama is going to face those same bright lights, and we`re all going to learn about, you know, a lot about what he stands for.

Unfortunately, not all of it is going to look exactly like that masterpiece many Americans have painted in their heads. Mike Allen is "Time" magazine`s White House correspondent.

Is Barack Obama the non-crazy Ross Perot, and we`re just on a first date with him?

MIKE ALLEN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, all this talk of grilled caribou is making me hungry, but I`ll try to focus on the matter at hand. Glenn, you`re right. Senator Obama is smoking right now, no doubt about it. You`re right that none of those other candidates, Republicans or Democrats, are getting their picture with no shirt in "People" magazine, as they try to have a beach vacation.

And I think the Ross Perot analogy is a good one. You`re right that right now people are projecting onto Senator Obama what they hope to see in a politician. But, you know, that`s not a bad thing. And it`s certainly not a bad place for Senator Obama to be positioned.

The question, Glenn, is whether people like the idea of Senator Obama in the way that you`re describing, this sort of post-partisan, after November `06, why can`t we get along. How will they feel as they learn more about Senator Obama, as they fill in the strokes, as you say? And, Glenn, that`s already starting to happen today.

There was an Associated Press story today about the liberal votes that Senator Obama took when he was a state senator in Illinois. Now, one of his colleagues points out to me that none of these are likely to hurt him in a Democratic primary, but there`s probably not many people who watched that clip of Senator Obama saying at the convention, "We worship an awesome God in the blue states, too," who know that Senator Obama had 100 percent from Planned Parenthood when he was in the state legislature.

BECK: You know, it`s really interesting to me that we have Mitt Romney, who is a Mormon, who everybody said, oh, there`s no way he can -- and I think Mitt Romney is being surprised by how many people who are traditionally against Mormons have come out and said, "Whatever, man, I`ll just take a good man."

And could it be the same thing with Barack Obama, that you might not necessarily vote for him, you know, based on everything traditionally, but you`re so sick of Washington politics -- when you A.B. him (ph) to Hillary Clinton, she looks like the old guard and he looks likes, "You know what? Let`s just give it a whirl, man. I just want somebody who can cut through and not be the old political that we`ve seen over and over own."

ALLEN: Well, Glenn, I think that`s a smart point. Governor Romney, you`re right, many, many of President Bush`s supporters, staff are going to work for him. And he has very strong support in that community, a very strong support from a number of evangelical leaders that I`ve talked to who said that he should be given a chance.

On Senator Obama, I think you`re right. A leading Democrat made the point to me that, in a way, supporting Senator Obama or voting for Senator Obama is the most selfish you can do because it makes you feel good about yourself to vote for him or say that you`re going to support him. For some people, it`s like driving a Prius or listening to NPR. You feel more virtuous just because you like Senator Obama, just as maybe when you had that Ross Perot sticker you were saying a little bit something about yourself then.

BECK: Saying I`m as dumb as a box of rocks back then.

ALLEN: I didn`t say what you were saying. I`m just saying.

BECK: No, no, that`s what it said about me. He still has to go through the fire that is Hillary Clinton. I mean, there`s not going to be a knife left in the drawer when you go up against Hillary Clinton.

And yet my gut tells me that, in the end, it`s going to end up Hillary-Obama as a ticket. I mean, wouldn`t that -- how do you...

ALLEN: So take that to Vegas, you all.

BECK: No, I mean, come on, Mike. You don`t see that? If this guy doesn`t disintegrate and he`s not -- and Hillary hasn`t disintegrated, who would be smarter for her to pick as a vice president than Obama.

ALLEN: Well, I`m not sure that picking a liberal is actually going to be what she winds up doing. But whatever the ticket is, you`re right that Senator Obama is about to go through the fire, from everything from what his name -- he used to be called Barry in high school to the fact that his middle name is Hussein. So it`s going to be an exciting campaign.

(LAUGHTER)

And this is not Senator Clinton`s first rodeo, I`ll tell you that.

BECK: All right. Mike, thank you very much.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: There`s like once a week that I sit down at the television, and I want to watch -- it`s usually on a Saturday night. And I want to watch something, and there`s never anything on, except a movie that I`ve seen 400 times and, for some reason, it`s on two different HBOs and translated in Spanish. After I`ve seen "Titanic" 400 times, you know what? I`ve actually considered watching the damn thing in Spanish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: All right. The other thing late at night, have you ever seen those commercials that feature the girls on spring break, you know, they`re all drunk on Jell-O shots, lifting up their shirts to flash the camera? I know, me neither, I have never seen -- but I hear they exist. "Girls Gone Wild," nothing short of a phenomena, racking up sales. That was a cheap joke. I just got that. Racking up sales figures that teeter on $40 million a year.

No mystery that T&A equals dollars and cents, but some feel that the commercials for these DVDs are obscene and don`t belong on the air. Now, what I`m going to say to you here is probably going to shock you, because I am a conservative and I`m a religious dude. But I`m also -- I mean, at heart, I`m a libertarian, if the system would work.

I say, I don`t want you to make these films, but you have a right to make these films. I don`t want you to air those commercials, but you have a right to do it. You know what? This is the debate we should be having in this country.

Dads, I`m a dad. I`ve got three girls, three daughters. Every father I know is always talking about protecting his daughter from the leering eyes of those creepy guys. I mean, I`ve said it myself. They come over for a date, you don`t have her back by 11:00, I`ve got a gun in the house.

Now, let me ask you dad, genius. The college girls on South Padre Island, do you ever think they`re somebody`s daughter? How would you happen to feel if you were watching one of these things and all of a sudden you went, "Wait a minute, that`s my daughter on the screen"?

Gentlemen, don`t preach protection and then go home and wear out the slow motion feature on your DVD player. I`m just saying.

Doug Jackson now, he`s a state senator from Dixon, Tennessee, Doug, you say these commercials should not be aired on broadcast television at night.

DOUG JACKSON, TENNESSEE STATE SENATE: I`m not referring to broadcast. I`m referring to cable and even satellite.

BECK: Cable? Cable isn`t even regulated by the FCC and neither is satellite.

JACKSON: That`s exactly correct. And I think it`s incumbent on these companies to do the responsible thing. And where companies are not being responsible themselves, I think they invite pushback from the public and also from government.

BECK: Wow, you know, that`s absolutely amazing to me, sir. You are saying -- half of what you`re saying is absolutely right. People, let capitalism work. People, if they don`t want to consume it, if they don`t want to see it, if they think it`s outrageous, you know what? Then they should stop. They should, you know, write letters or whatever or stop viewing that station. But then you take it the step further, and government should stop them if they don`t. How do you justify that, sir?

JACKSON: Well, Len, understand what we`re talking about are advertisements. You know, people like to say parents can just change the channel, parents can turn off the TVs. But the reality is, you`re sitting there watching a movie, and suddenly you`re ambushed by an obscene commercial. All states have obscenity statutes. And I think it`s time that we start looking at those statutes and asking our district attorneys across Tennessee and across this country to entertain showing these videos to grand juries.

BECK: OK. Don`t you think it would be better to introduce shame to our society? I mean, my grandmother would say, "Shame on you."

First of all, let me tell you something. If you`re watching this -- if you`re seeing these commercials at night with your 8-year-old kid, you`ve got an issue with your 8-year-old kid being up watching TV. These things are not played at 8:00 family hour, are they?

JACKSON: To my knowledge, they`re not now. I believe they start at 10:00. But, you know, that`s a hollow defense on the part of the cable industry and satellite industry, because the fact is children all across America know all about "Girls Gone Wild" and those type commercials.

The reality is, children are seeing it. And the reality is, it does create an impression among children that this is acceptable behavior. You know, hard-working Americans all across this country, they`re going to factories, they`re going to their jobs, they`re trying to raise their children and their families, and they have to come home and see this interjected right into their living rooms. It`s wrong, and it`s time for America to push back.

BECK: I can`t believe I`m arguing with you, because I agree with you in principle. It is wrong; I get it. But it is the capitalist system that needs to make this thing work, not government. You`re a Republican, aren`t you?

JACKSON: No, sir, I`m a Democrat.

BECK: Well, OK, I`m sorry. I thought you were Republican. Now I understand why you want government to get involved. I apologize. I couldn`t understand you. Now I do.

JACKSON: No, sir, this is not a partisan issue at all. This is all about families and American values.

BECK: I get it. But it is when you`re introducing government. When you start to say, "Wait a minute, government should regulate," no. The capitalist system should regulate. Shame should be reintroduced in our society, and people should stand up and say, "You know what? Whatever that station is that`s playing it, I`m writing to your general manager and saying, `I`m not watching this anymore. Don`t take that money, it`s dirty money, and it`s wrong to do.`"

JACKSON: Len, look, those are great platitudes, and I applaud you for them. But the reality is, if it is, in fact, obscenity, if it is an illegal product, I think that people should be held accountable.

BECK: Now it`s an illegal product? I`m out of time. I`d love to spend more time with you. Sir, thank you very much.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. We get -- I can`t tell you the number of stupid e- mails we get. And typically they`re from the same people over and over again that see one sentence of mine taken out of context, and then they fire off e-mails laced with obscenity, threats and, oddly enough, misspellings. But today I thought we`d highlight a few of the stand-outs on our new segment called, "America`s Dumbest E-mails."

Here`s the first one. "Glenn Beck is one of many people on TV who uses smears and lies to continue to spread fear and further divide this country. Why CNN continues to use this type of person is beyond me. You should hold the people on your channel to higher standards. Please, don`t hire Glenn Beck."

Do you see the problem with that e-mail? I`m sorry to tell you that CNN Headline News has already hired me. You know, you might have understood that when you sent your e-mail to GlennBeck@CNN.com. I know. It`s kind of amazing, isn`t it? But, you know, what`s really fascinating is I apparently didn`t just break into the building, get in front of a camera, and start doing a show.

Our next stupid e-mail says, "I recently saw Glenn Beck`s interview with Vice President Cheney. I have a question: How long did it take to get Cheney`s crap off of Beck`s nose? Boy, his fawning and swooning over Cheney was disgusting and embarrassing."

Really? It was? Because I`ve never interviewed Vice President Cheney on TV. I`m not sure exactly how you saw that. But I think I interviewed him a long time ago on the radio once, but never on TV and definitely not recently. But I`m glad to see you`re looking at the situation fairly and honestly and not making any crazy judgments before you know the facts.

This next one may be my favorite. "President Tom from Iran, as you call him, is not a threat to America or his neighbors. He says himself he loves the Jewish people and doesn`t like the state of Israel. If the Jews were gone, there wouldn`t be any problems there."

I`m sorry. Did you just say if the Jews were gone there wouldn`t be any problems there? I don`t think I`ve heard that one since -- since that Holocaust denier conference in Iran, which was hosted by President Tom, by the way, the same guy who said anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of Islamic nations` fury. No, that sounds like a person who loves the Jewish people.

Doesn`t he look hot in that jacket? Did you see there? Actually, we just got in the mail from a viewer. It`s my very own members-only jacket. And you can see, it says President Tom here on the pocket. And there`s a little message on the back, too, which is honestly, it`s just unfortunate. It is. You can e-mail me your hate right directly to me at GlennBeck@CNN.com. We`ll see you here tomorrow, you sick, twisted freak.

END