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Glenn Beck

Presidential Candidates Riled Over Immigration Reform; Al Gore: Advocate for Clear Thinking?; Reagan Diaries Reveal the Man Behind the Politics

Aired May 22, 2007 - 19:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLENN BECK, HOST: Tonight, Mitt and McCain duke it out over immigration. With McCain behind in the polls, things are beginning to get ugly.

And Al Gore`s Assault on Reason. Yes, Al Gore has a new book. I`ll tell you why I actually agree with it.

Plus, Hollywood`s love affair with dictators. What makes Hollywood liberals team up with tyrants? It couldn`t have anything to do with this, now could it?

All this and more, tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: All right, I`ve got to start with this. First of all, I can`t let ten minutes go by without me explaining, I don`t agree with Al Gore but wait until you see what he said in his new book. At first, you`ll say, "Well, it`s reasonable," and then you`ll realize, "Wait a minute, it`s Al Gore saying that." I`ll give it to you in a second.

First, the immigration reform. It`s getting the presidential candidates all riled up, and I just wish they were as riled up as I am and as you are. Better late than never to have the politicians join us. Unfortunately, they still don`t get it.

John McCain and Mitt Romney have gone now tit for tat over the last few days, and it is starting to get ugly. So here`s the point tonight.

Sorry, but John McCain I don`t believe can govern, and he`s not alone. Neither can most of the people that are running for president of the United States. And here`s how I got there.

You want to see why I love politics? Here`s what Mitt Romney said about the immigration bill just a few days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And my fear is that McCain- Kennedy would do to immigration what McCain-Feingold has done to campaign finance and money in politics, and that`s bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK, I don`t -- I mean, I don`t know if he was going for a laugh, but I went, "Mm-hmm, that`s true." Doesn`t seem too bad. But look how John McCain has responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As I mentioned, maybe he can get out that varmint gun of his and chase those Guatemalans off his lawn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: John McCain is a great American who made incredible sacrifices for this country. I believe he gets what`s going on in the Middle East. But this is another long list of examples that shows me this guy may be better suited as the senator from Arizona than the leader of the free world.

Romney`s statements were pretty typical for the primary season. But what McCain said, even though I know exactly why he chose each one of those words, sounded like race baiting, plain and simple.

To me, this is a desperate attempt to, you know, gain or explain why he is supporting this bill, which he was heavily involved in crafting. He says that it doesn`t give 12 million illegal aliens amnesty. And he`s absolutely right, unless you know the definition of amnesty.

The voters didn`t seem to like that at all, which might explain why Mitt Romney is now leading John McCain by 12 points in Iowa and 15 points in New Hampshire. In those states, you know, and all across the country, voters are going to say, "You know what? It`s really about safety here, Mr. McCain."

Why are we giving free pass to millions of people who broke in here illegally without any real iron-clad guarantees on border security?

This story, please hear me in Washington, this story is and always has been about terror and nukes, not about Jose and Maria.

This is what Mitt Romney thinks. This is what he thinks about immigration reform, and thinking like that does not make him or me or you a racist. We just want to know who`s here so we can keep our country and our families safe. Is that insane? Is that hateful? Then we can worry about the illegal aliens.

So here`s what I know tonight. I know that John McCain`s remarks were well thought out. But they came across as angry, race baiting and desperate.

But it`s not his words that are going to prevent him from being elected president. It`s his actions. If this immigration bill passes, our borders, our country and our families will be in more danger, not less. And quite frankly, that`s pretty hard to accomplish.

Now here`s what I don`t know: what will happen next in this political battle royale? Do we really have to endure this for another year and a half?

Amy Holmes joins me now. She`s a Republican strategist.

Amy, McCain, he was not off the cuff. This was a very calculated move, wasn`t it?

AMY HOLMES, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I have to guess it was calculated, Glenn. I mean, it was a triple play. It was playing on Mitt Romney and gun control, and what it had to say about hunting varmints.

BECK: Yes.

HOLMES: It had to do with Guatemalan lawn workers for a company that he had hired that apparently hired illegals. And it had to do with, you know, slamming him on the flip-flopping accusation.

BECK: Yes.

HOLMES: So Glenn, come on. Let`s have a sense of humor here. We know that politics ain`t beanbag. John McCain has never been accused of being a ray of sunshine. I thought it was a pretty good line, and you know what? Here we are, and we`re talking about it.

BECK: It is a very smart line, but I`m telling you, a lot of the country wouldn`t take it that way because they don`t read politics that much. And they`re like, what? A lot of people say, "Oh, gee, I`m going to be called a hatemonger, a racist that wants to just kill a bunch of Guatemalans."

The second thing is you got it. I mean, Romney is right: McCain with the McCain-Feingold bill, and now this bill, this is going to kill this guy`s presidential hopes.

HOLMES: Well, you know, immigration is such a tough issue, and you know, my former boss, the former Senate majority leader, Senator Frist, he did border security first. And a lot of Americans, they want to see that we can protect and control our border.

BECK: Indeed.

HOLMES: Before we are incorporating yet more illegal immigration.

BECK: Amy, God bless your little Republican heart. But I`m not a Republican, nor a Democrat. I`m a common sense thinking conservative. This border issue is not that hard. It is all about security first. If they would just fix the security, we could move on.

HOLMES: I think that`s right, and I think that John McCain was making his remarks because this immigration bill, we know, is being, you know, pulled from a vote for this week, not till June. It`s a lot more controversial than some of these so-called moderate bipartisan senators, you know, want to confess.

BECK: I find it interesting, and maybe you can help explain this to me. I find it interesting that I read, and I don`t remember where it was - - maybe it was "The New York Times" today -- that, you know, they didn`t understand why McCain was turning his guns on the third place guy. You never do that.

I mean, where people are seeing Romney, where they`re actually campaigning, he`s blowing past Giuliani and McCain. He`s 12 and 15 points ahead in the two states where they`re really taking a close look at him.

The other thing in the media is remarkable on, here`s another first. We have a first black presidential candidate, first women candidate -- woman candidate, and first Mormon candidate. And yet he`s not the media darling.

HOLMES: Well, I think that`s partly because he`s a Republican. But you know, Glenn, I think that -- I think that there are other explanations for New Hampshire and for Iowa. Mitt Romney is getting a lot of credit for his organizational skills in Iowa.

BECK: Sure.

HOLMES: He`s been spending a lot of time, a lot of money there. New Hampshire is right next store to where he was governor. And he got a bump in New Hampshire after that second -- second debate before the whole immigration thing blew up. But the immigration position that John McCain is...

BECK: No, no...

HOLMES: It really is a liability when it comes to Republican and conservative voters.

BECK: Absolutely. Yes. Amy, I wasn`t saying that it was because of the immigration thing. I`m saying people are tired of the same old-same old and then ready to move on. And he seems to be a reasonable candidate, at least at this point.

Amy, thanks a lot.

HOLMES: Exactly.

BECK: Meanwhile, immigration debate continues. Today, the Senate is supposed to debate and perhaps vote on two new Democratic amendments, both of which would alter the compromise significantly.

The Dorgan amendment is going to eliminate the guest worker program entirely. Listen to this. I mean, this is insane. Get rid of the guest worker.

The Bingaman amendment is going to reduce the annual number of guest workers from $400,000 to $200,000. That`s great and everything, but Washington is still missing the point.

Washington, let me break it down for you. Democrats and Republicans, you too are like McDonald`s and Burger Kings. You`ve got -- you`ve got the Democrats saying it`s flame-broiled, and you`ve got the McDonald`s people or Republicans saying no, no, no, it`s not -- the clown makes a better burger.

You know what? Meanwhile, everybody in America is saying I just want a salad!

Amnesty is not the issue. Security is! This is what the American people talk about and care about. Politicians, stop your bickering and listen to us.

Joining me now is Ira Mehlman, spokesperson for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Ira, how is this not about trying to make a better burger when we all want to just focus on the salad?

IRA MEHLMAN, SPOKESPERSON, FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM: Well, obviously, everybody is concerned about national security, and probably the first concern is terrorists coming across that border, taking advantage of the open door.

But it`s also about economic security. Americans are concerned about their jobs, about their livelihoods. And what the guest worker program does is it allows employers to bring in millions of unskilled workers to compete with workers who are already struggling in the United States.

And I think what you`re seeing are a few of the Democrats stepping forward and saying, hey, this is going to hurt labor in the United States, and maybe we should take a closer look at it.

BECK: But Ira, do you really truly believe, really truly honestly believe -- because I`m with you on this. I don`t know why we would want to open up for unskilled labor for people that don`t speak English. I mean, let`s be a little choosey. Geez, let`s try to help out the future of our country.

But do you really, truly believe that that`s what the American people are talking about tonight?

MEHLMAN: Yes, I think they`re talking about, obviously, as you point out, our national security. But people really are concerned about their jobs. Look at any election poll...

BECK: I agree with you.

MEHLMAN: What concerns people is the future, is their jobs, is their economic security. This is a direct threat to the economic security of the United States, not just the guest workers but the millions of people who are going to get amnesty if this bill should ever pass.

This is really going to hurt American workers and cost American taxpayers not billions but trillions of dollars in the out years.

BECK: There was a story in "The Washington Times" today that shows every poll is saying this is about security first. And then I`ve got to take it here, 25 states, half of the states now have banded together to stop this. They have done this, state legislators for illegal immigration. And since Washington, D.C., remains AWOL on fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities to secure our nation`s borders against foreign invaders, it is not only incumbent but the obligation for state lawmakers to step up and do the job that the federal government refuses to do.

Apparently, this is one of the jobs that some Americans just won`t do, and that`s secure our borders. What does this mean with the states?

MEHLMAN: Well, this is a trend that`s been growing in the United States for years. It is at the local level that the costs are incurred. It`s local governments, state governments that have to pay for education, have to pay for health care, have to deal with the crime that comes along with illegal immigration.

And finally these legislators are stepping up and saying hey, you know, the federal government is not going its job. They can borrow money endlessly. They can ignore the problem. We actually have to live within a budget. We have to deal with the consequences on a day-to-day basis. And they want it stopped.

And you know, if this amnesty should ever go through, it`s going to grow even more. We have no idea how many people are going to be coming in.

BECK: Yes. Ira, thanks a lot.

Coming up -- no actually, I should say we do. Of course, we`ll know how many people are coming in. We`ll have that big fence.

Al Gore`s new manifesto, "The Assault on Reason", pretty much blames Bush for everything wrong in the world. Clear thinker, sore loser or unbelievably crafty man? We`ll see.

Plus, another new book you`ll actually enjoy reading, "Reagan Diaries", hits the shelves. What it means for the candidates who hope to model themselves after his legacy. And it`s a match made in hell.

A report out of London says Iran is planning an allegiance with Al Qaeda to force us out of Iraq. We`ll have the details in tonight`s "Real Story".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Al Gore has written a new book. It`s called "The Assault on Reason". Amazon.com describes it as, quote, "a visionary analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism and blind faith has combined with the degradation of the public`s fear to create an environment of dangerously hostile to reason. Al Gore has written a far-sighted and powerful manifesto for clear thinking."

Wow! Does the Bible even get that kind of write-up?

I`m not exactly sure how it`s happened, but these days Al Gore has been seen as -- less as a reasonably smart politician and more like some all-knowing guru, a yogi for the NPR set.

Didn`t this guy do little else than spend eight years in the White House, essentially going to funerals of dead foreign leaders, keeping a look out, you know, while Al -- while Bill Clinton was tutoring the interns? And then he lost an election to -- who`s supposedly the dumbest guy on the planet. He put on 60 pounds, made a slide show.

How is he now writing manifestos on clear thinking?

It is amazing how we can mythologize somebody in this country. We take their public losses and color them as symbolic victories in the embodiment of virtue. But before anybody, you know, takes out the old, you know, thorny crown for Al, let`s look at the facts of him as a man, not the God that he surely is.

I mean, let`s be honest, would God use as much electricity in one month as most Americans do in a year? I`m just saying.

Peter Fenn is a Democratic consultant and advisor to Mr. Gore during his 2000 campaign.

Peter, here`s the thing. I mean, I`m really trying to hold my temper here on this, because this drives me nuts. I read his manifesto, and I read -- I read part of it where he`s talking about how we`re polarizing ourselves. And you know what? Before I knew it was Al Gore I called my producer and I said, "Look at this. This is absolutely dead on."

And then I realized it was Al Gore, and blood was shooting out of my eyes, because he`s partially responsible for what we`re seeing.

PETER FENN, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Look, I think it`s based, though, on substance is what I think. I mean, look, here`s a guy who spoke out early and often on the subject of global warming, through -- from when he first entered Congress as a House member, and then the Senate, and then the vice president.

BECK: Sure.

FENN: And so he has a certain degree of credibility on this. And I think a lot of people have come over to his side on this. Whether you call it global warming or climate change...

BECK: Sure.

FENN: ... as this administration calls it, you see folks coming around.

BECK: Here`s the thing. You know, he says that, you know, how have we got in a place where we can`t even talk to each other?

FENN: Right.

BECK: And I`m reading it and I`m like, absolutely right. You know, absolutely right.

But he`s the guy who leads the charge that there is no debate on global warming, and you`re demonized if you stand up and say, "Wait a minute, wait a minute. I can talk to you about climate change, global warming. I`ll even talk to you about what we`re going to do about it," but you can`t have that debate here and still, you know, walk away with any kind of credibility in Al Gore`s world.

FENN: Well, I`ll tell you, I`m not sure he`s saying that.

BECK: Oh, really?

FENN: I think he`s making -- no, he`s making his argument very strongly that we`ve got a crisis and we`ve got to solve that crisis. But what he`s saying is, look, let`s have this debate and let`s have this discussion.

When he goes out and speaks to 10,000 people in Boise, Idaho, you know, he`s getting -- he`s getting some blowback from folks all the time. But he wants to have that debate.

I think, look, where you and he are on the same page, it seems to me like, Glenn, is that you want to see a real discussion of issues, whether it`s global warming or health care or immigration, you know, retirement security. I mean, there are big problems out there, big issues.

BECK: Look, you know what? I am just as angry with the people on -- some people on the Republican side, because I just -- I just railed on John McCain for doing the same thing, trying to make the immigration thing into a racist thing. We`ve got to be able to sit down and talk to each other. But we don`t.

For instance, with Al Gore, he`s made this big thing that, you know, George Bush has made the biggest mistake. I heard the speech: "He played on our fears! He lied to us!"

Really? Then explain this for me. I`ve got a couple of quotes for you.

Al Gore, 2002: "We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." That was 2002.

Bill Clinton, "If Saddam rejects a peace, then we have to use force. Our purpose is clear: seriously diminish the threat posed by their weapons of mass destruction."

Ted Kennedy: "We`ve known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." Hillary Clinton said the same thing. I`ve got the quote right here. Now they`re all saying Bush lied.

If you`re going to be intellectually honest, shouldn`t you, on that case, say it wasn`t a lie: we were all misinformed by our own intelligence?

FENN: Absolutely. No question about it. And I think a lot of folks have said, "Look, you know, this is the intelligence we had in the `90s. This is"...

BECK: But Al Gore`s not saying that.

FENN: Well, you know, I think if you asked Al Gore on this program, you know, were you wrong about this, did you -- was that statement wrong? He would totally agree with that. I think what he`s talking about is the lead-up to the war, is the fear that`s been created after the war.

In his book, in the section that I read in "TIME" magazine today, he of course, is extremely critical about the use of fear and...

BECK: Fear. I`m with you.

FENN: ... and the link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11.

BECK: This is when television sucks, because I`ve got to cut this short. I`d love to continue and say, isn`t that what the global warming thing is doing?

Peter, thanks a lot.

FENN: Thanks.

Coming up, a closer look to the mind of a very skilled leader, "The Reagan Diaries", filled with wisdom and honesty in his personal thoughts, and they may truly astound you.

Plus, if you thought Michael Moore was the only sicko in Hollywood, wait until you hear about Danny Glover and who he`s hanging out with, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: I find it amazing, all the Republican candidates out there vying for president, they`re all saying the same thing, I`m the next Ronald Reagan. But to me, it seems that they`re missing something. Ronald Reagan wasn`t a magician; it wasn`t his slick dialogue, his ability to connect with the camera, you know, a great group of political consultants whispering in his ear. It was the values.

And those values were not Republican. They were not Democrat. They were American values. I haven`t seen them yet. Now, we get a glimpse of those values in Reagan in his new "Reagan Diaries" book.

Joining me now, David Gergen, an advisor to four presidents, professor at Harvard`s Kennedy School of Government.

David, what were the values that made Reagan the man he was?

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR: He was very much a man who believed in freedom of the individual, in a smaller state.

But he also believed in the importance of civilized dialogue, of reaching across the aisle and reaching out to your enemies, like the Soviet Union. He was -- you know, he strongly opposed what the Soviet Union represented, but he also wanted to see if he couldn`t make this a safer world.

And it was not just Nancy. People say, well, Nancy was the one that pushed him into it. I think what comes out in these diaries is a man who talks a lot about peace and almost nothing about war.

BECK: I`ve been thinking about him a lot lately. I`ve been thinking about where we are as a country right now.

My grandfather was a die-hard, till he dead -- till he died FDR Democrat. And yet he had the same values of Ronald Reagan. And he could never get past the fact that Reagan became a Republican.

And you know, I`ve been thinking that it`s the values that don`t change. The parties do, back and forth, but the values are what we should be connecting on now. Am I right?

GERGEN: That was certainly true -- well, no, you`re right. It was certainly true of the World War II generation. And I think that stretched all the way back to the World War I generation that FDR represented.

It`s important to remember that Franklin -- that Ronald Reagan growing up, the first time he had a chance to vote was 1932. And he voted for Franklin Roosevelt. He voted for Roosevelt, `32, `36, 1940 and 1944.

It was only in the `50s that Reagan felt that the Democratic Party started moved left. He moved further to the right. But the values that he held all through his life are consistent with many of the values that Franklin Roosevelt held.

BECK: Right.

GERGEN: And I think there`s also -- what you see in this too, and there`s a -- you have to -- you can`t help but notice how big a contrast there is between Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. There is a lot of -- not only just warmth, but there`s a lot of desire to work with the other side, no matter who that might be, to see if you can`t work it out...

BECK: You know, there`s...

GERGEN: ... to see if you can`t find common solutions.

BECK: There is -- there`s a quote, and I don`t know if I have time to do the whole quote. But he`s talking about in the book about getting shot and how it hurts. And then he realized he couldn`t ask God for help to heal him unless he forgave the guy.

It`s amazing how much -- I mean, really, the destruction of the Soviet Union came from Pope John Paul and Ronald Reagan. These two had a lot in common in this regard.

GERGEN: They did. I mean, they were believers in human freedom and the desire for freedom. But they didn`t want to go to war. They wanted to do it more through sort of negotiations.

And Reagan, by the way, was very tough. He was -- and he understood exactly where he was going when he proposed a so-called Star Wars or SDI, Strategic Defense Initiative. He understood what that was about.

And what comes out in these diaries, he was -- he was not going to -- he was not going to give that away.

But can I say one other thing about these diaries?

BECK: Sure.

GERGEN: It also reveals -- it puts a lie to the notion that somehow Reagan or any other American president is a hostage to the Israeli lobby. It really puts a lie to that.

BECK: OK. Great. Thanks, David.

Coming up next, Iran`s secret plan to force us out of Iraq by the end of summer. It involves Al Qaeda. Don`t miss tonight`s "Real Story".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, apparently Michael Moore isn`t the only sicko in Hollywood anymore. Danny Glover, yes, you might remember him from his stunning work in "Lethal Weapon." Yes, that was good. Well, now he`s got a new partner, Hugo Chavez. And details are right around the corner.

But first, time for "The Real Story," where we try to cut through the media spin and tell you why a story is actually important to you. Tragically, suicide bombings are all too common in other parts of the world, but it has not been a reality that we have to face here in the United States, yet. The "Real Story" is, that could be changing.

According to a new national survey of Muslims living here in the U.S. by Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, nearly 25 percent of Muslims, 25 under 30, found suicide bombings to defend their religion as acceptable in some circumstances. This kind of thinking is terrifying. It is dangerous, but it is sadly predictable.

The poll tells you the same thing I`ve been saying since 9/11: The vast majority of Muslims are good people who want to live here in peace. The survey shows that about 13 percent of Muslims worldwide harbor dangerous, extremist beliefs. I`ve been saying the number is 10 percent. Forgive me. My gut instincts have a 3 percent margin of error.

Unless we wise up and nip the extremist dissent in the butt, what is happening in England and what is happening in Europe is going to happen here. The Brits didn`t believe they had a home-grown terrorist problem until a bomb went off in their subways in 2005. Do we really want to sit around and wait and learn the hard way?

Zuhdi Jasser, he is from the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, contributor to the program. Zuhdi, first off the bat, are you surprised by this poll?

DR. M. ZUHDI JASSER, AMERICAN ISLAMIC FORUM FOR DEMOCRACY: No, it`s not. You know, it`s interesting that we`re still doing polls trying to diagnose the problem, and we know the problem. The issue is, those 80 percent that you talked about that are peace-loving and believe in condemning terrorism, the poll did nothing to find out what they`re doing to contribute to the problem and that they are not working in an anti- Islamist fashion. They may condemn the means, but have they condemned the ends?

We tried to have a rally against terrorism here in Phoenix in April of `04. Not one imam would have the moral courage to stand with us and condemn terrorism. Why? Because they wanted to focus on denial, apologetics, blaming the West, blaming foreign policy. So when you see these numbers increasing, which I believe they are, it`s because we don`t have the moral courage within the Muslim community stand up against the Islamics.

BECK: Zuhdi, Zuhdi, I can`t tell you how much grief I get -- I`ve been called -- and I know you`re on this bandwagon, too -- I`ve been called the -- what is it, the biggest threat to Islam in America, something like that. I`ve been saying that 90 percent of Islam is good. What is it that has to happen before Muslims, the good Muslims, stand up and say, "Hey, freak boy, sit down, stop bastardizing my religion"?

JASSER: Exactly. It`s basically the shedding of tribalism. It`s the "stop defending our minority for no reason other than to just avoid the reality of the fact that there is an endemic corruption that has basically said that the end justifies the means."

I mean, in this same poll you cite, they say that only 40 percent of those same Muslims believe that Arabs actually did 9/11. So hold on a second. They are basically in such a denial that they don`t even want to diagnose the problem in the Muslim community, let alone stand up and say that our Koran does not justify it. No matter how much our plight is, we would never justify the targeting of noncombatants.

BECK: Why the disconnect with the youth? Because it`s the same that we saw happen early on in Europe, that the older Muslim community, the one that had been integrated into society, said, "I`m English or I`m French." But it`s the youth that was raised here, what`s happening? Where`s the disconnect? What`s the influence there?

JASSER: The influence is basically political Islam, which is you have sermons that are not being given about the love of God and the purity of our moral code of Judeo-Christian-Islamic morality, but rather they`re hearing about the grievances of victimization, they`re hearing about suing airlines and suing John Does, they`re hearing about every plight to blame the West. And in exchange, they have nothing to offer other than hate.

BECK: OK, Zuhdi, thanks a lot.

JASSER: Thank you.

BECK: Let`s turn to Al Qaeda here for a second. This is according to a British newspaper now, "The Guardian."

U.S. officials are now finally admitting that Iran has been secretly forging ties with Al Qaeda, elements in the Sunni-Arab militias in Iraq. Who would have seen this one coming? Well, "Real Story" is, if you`re a regular viewer of this program, you saw this coming!

Iran is at war with the U.S. They`re only fighting it by proxy right now. They`re sending weapons and Iranian-backed Al Qaeda operatives into Iraq to help the insurgents kill our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. This is all in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces. The sole intent is to get the United States Congress to vote for full military withdrawal from Iraq.

Remember, this isn`t what crazy Glenn is saying on his crazy show. This is what, according to "The Guardian," a senior U.S. official is now finally confirming. Well, hallelujah. Now that somebody in Washington is telling us what many of us have believed for a long time, maybe we can take the steps to save ourselves and finally address the fact that Iran is the head of the snake and always has been.

Iran and Al Qaeda want us out of Iraq so they can set up shop. They`ll set up terrorist training camps, and they`ll start popping up all across Iraq and the entire Middle East, just like Starbucks. And meanwhile, us here in the West, we`re going to be in for a double shot of trouble. Osama bin Laden and Iran`s ayatollah have both called the war in Iraq World War III, a battle for ancient Babylon.

Check your Bible, gang. They are willing to kill for a worldwide Islamic state, a global, one-world government in their coveted Babylon, and that coveted Babylon is modern day Iraq.

Steve Emerson, the executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, author of "Jihad Inc.," Steve, how frustrating is this to you that you see it -- you`ve seen this coming for years, and you keep saying it over and over and over and over again, and you keep being dismissed as a nut job?

STEVE EMERSON, TERRORISM EXPERT: Look, Glenn, I remember when I pointed out the relationship between Hezbollah and Al Qaeda and people said, "No, Al Qaeda is Sunni; Hezbollah is Shiite. They would never talk to each other." Well, they actually conducted an agreement for training and for explosives transfer.

I remember when they said that Saddam Hussein, who`s a Sunni, would never conduct an arrangement with Al Qaeda because he was religious and Saddam Hussein was secular. Of course, they embraced each other.

The fact is that these people are very pragmatic. They`re pragmatic terrorists. They hate the United States. They`ll do anything. Iran has been harboring top Al Qaeda leaders. They`ve been providing weapons to both Shiite and Sunnis in Iraq in order to kill Americans. And suddenly we have Democratic Party officials running to both Iraq and Syria, saying, "Let`s negotiate."

And I find that absolutely scandalous, because what are they going to negotiate about? And if they do negotiate, they`re only going to be giving them paper words that they want to hear and then continue to go about blindly blowing up Americans.

BECK: You know, it is amazing. It is absolutely amazing. These people are so bright, they`re doing the opposite of what we`re doing right now. We`re feasting on each other. We`re making enemies of each other while our enemy comes and gets us. Meanwhile, these guys, they`re all going to kill each other eventually. I mean, Iran is going to kill the Sunnis or the Shias, and the Shias are going to kill the other ones. And Al Qaeda doesn`t agree with Iran. It`s all going to go into a bloody mess, but they`re uniting to kill us first.

EMERSON: Well, that`s what usually happens, because, in their world, each one -- each existence contests the other`s existence, and they have to kill each other in the end. And that`s why ultimately we stand a chance. If they ever got together and really unified themselves, and didn`t view each other`s existence as a challenge to one another, then we wouldn`t stand a chance.

BECK: Give me the one thing that you just wish you could grab people by the collar and say, "Would you please wake up?" Give me the one fact that might wake up one person in this audience.

EMERSON: Look, what I suggest to people is that our way of life is changing right now and that that was demonstrated by the reaction to the Danish cartoons, when not one American newspaper published the cartoons, with the exception of the "Philadelphia Inquirer." That was more important to me, just as important to me, just as significant as the 9/11 bombings, because that demonstrated the appeasement of the American newspaper, the American media, which was the fourth estate. That`s the way we`re changing our lives, due to the incredible demands made by Muslim radicals all over the world. That`s a very serious, dangerous problem that we`re not taking cognizance of.

BECK: Steve, I only have time for a two-word answer on this: 25 percent of American Muslims under 30 now say, you know, it`s OK to use suicide bombings. Scary or very scary?

EMERSON: I would say that number is probably underestimated. I would say that this has been coming on for a long time, and it`s definitely very worrisome.

BECK: OK. Thanks, Steven. That`s "The Real Story" tonight.

Now, a nuclear bomb going off in a American city, no longer if, but when. And that`s not me. That`s a joint study from Stanford and Harvard and the U.S. government. What do we do about it? That is tomorrow night`s "Real Story." Back in a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: In Michael Moore`s upcoming movie, "Sicko," he takes a bunch of people over to Cuba for medical attention because he thinks their health care is the greatest and, you know, ours stinks. Now, if you think that`s insane, you probably haven`t heard that, in Venezuela, they`re now going to finance two films by actor Danny Glover, a supporter of President Hugo Chavez.

First of all, am I remembering this right? Isn`t Hugo Chavez the crazy dictator who wants to destroy us?

And, secondly, let`s be honest. When was the last time Danny Glover was in a movie that was any good at all? "Lethal Weapon 4" I think, and that was a long time ago. So he`s a dictator and not a smart investor.

Joining me now is film critic and host Michael Medved. Michael, different point of view is one thing, but these guys are getting into bed with dictators.

MICHAEL MEDVED, FILM CRITIC-RADIO HOST: Well, it`s getting to bed horribly and with horrible dictators who probably aren`t even using protection. I mean, the idea of taking money from Hugo Chavez -- what`s interesting about this is Danny Glover is the kind of guy -- and you find this from a lot of left-wing filmmakers who greatly believe in government- sponsored media -- they want more money for PBS and more money for the National Endowment for the Arts and more money from the U.S. government, and because they can`t get that for their own projects, now turning to Venezuela is outrageous.

Danny Glover has made a series of completely over-the-top, anti- American statements since 9/11. And it just seems to me that, even in Hollywood, which greatly tilts to the left, taking money from a dictator who has said that President Bush is the devil and has identified himself as fighting American interests throughout the Western Hemisphere, taking money from that dictator to fund your pathetic projects seems to me over the line.

BECK: You know, Michael, you say tilting, Hollywood tilts to the left. If you`re going to tilt to the left, that would be Canada. This is not a tilt to the left. This is, again, getting into bed with really bad people that want to destroy us.

MEDVED: Well, true. And Michael Moore, you mentioned his association with Cuba. In Michael Moore`s previous movies, movies like "Bowling for Columbine," he has viewed Canada as sort of the ideal nation that we should be like. And to go from taking Canada as the ideal nation to taking Cuba as the ideal nation, where there are some 25,000 political prisoners -- I think the most recent estimate is where one-third of the population has become is refugees, where -- this is one of the most brutal dictatorships of the 20th century, certainly one of the most brutal surviving communist dictatorships anywhere. To view this as a nation or a society that should teach lessons to the United States, one can only hope for better things in Cuba and fewer places for Michael Moore to visit as the workers` paradise.

BECK: Michael, I don`t mean this as a bash set here on this with a question. I mean this sincerely. Is Hollywood or in particular these two guys, do they just hate America this much or are they that stupid that they don`t know what they`re -- they don`t know what they`re doing?

MEDVED: Well, you know, a large part of it is, is -- and it`s something that really is a riddle, because generally people talk about show business. This is a business. And you think that a business that is animated by the profit motive, as the entertainment industry clearly is, would understand that free markets are the way to go. So why are so many people in Hollywood socialists and some even sympathetic to communism?

And it seems to me that the key answer, Glenn, is guilt, is people like Michael Moore -- Michael Moore in one core of his soul understands that he`s not the best documentary filmmaker who ever lived. He got lucky. People get lucky in Hollywood. And they understand that there are other people who are equally talented who are still waiting tables at Spago`s or somewhere...

BECK: I mean, come on. But Michael, that`s not -- do you think -- do you really believe that I think I`m the best TV host? I`m the luckiest man in the world. You`re the luckiest man in the world. That should make you more amazed at this country that, man, if you just do it, and you get a few lucky breaks, anybody can make it.

MEDVED: For us to be able to do what we do, it`s a pleasure and it`s a gift and it`s a blessing. But if you don`t believe in God -- and that`s a very big "if" -- and if you believe that Hollywood really establishes the model for all of capitalism, it`s so arbitrary. People get lucky based upon the tilt of their smile, or the curve of their leg, or whatever it happens to be. And you see, you then believe that life is a lottery and that people who are rich are rich for no reasons of hard work or talent necessarily.

BECK: Well, I will tell you, Michael, I doubt -- with Michael Moore, I doubt it was about the curve of his leg.

MEDVED: Well, it`s who he went to bed with, I`m sure.

BECK: All right, Michael, thanks a lot.

Time now to introduce you to a doctor who finds his clients on the streets of southern Arizona, and he doesn`t charge them a dime. He`s today`s "CNN Hero."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I was 10 years old, I decided to run away from home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ve been on the streets from 12 until 20.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, it`s scary living on the streets. There are so many drugs, and it`s violent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I sleep in an abandoned house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was taken away from my parents when I was like 10 years old.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dad dropped me off at a Dumpster. He told me, "Don`t even think about going back home."

RANDY CHRISTENSEN, DOCTOR: There are as many as 5,000 to 10,000 kids on the streets of Arizona. We turn our heads. We don`t look at them in their eyes. Many of the kids are truly forgotten.

I`m Dr. Randy Christensen. I`m the medical director for the Crews`n Healthmobile. We take care of kids on the streets through a medical mobile van. Everything that would be in a regular doctor`s office is on the van. All the kids that are seen by us are seen free of charge.

Did you need anything? Did you need a new backpack?

I`ve never really been about the money. I went to medical school thinking that I was going to be a surgeon, but everything that made me stop and think had to do with children and adolescents. I chose to come out on the streets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Christensen, he makes it to where people actually want to come back and actually want to get help.

CHRISTENSEN: We pull up in the van, and within five to 10 minutes, there`s 20 or 30 kids coming out of every different alley or different street. You get out there, and you see some of these kids, and you talk to them, and you give them a little bit of dignity and respect, and all of a sudden they open up. It`s like a light bulb goes on, and they want to talk, and they want to tell you their story.

Here, let me listen to you. I think you might have pneumonia. Take a deep breath.

They still have that gleam of hope in their eyes. It`s that hope that gives you hope. And at the very end, they give you a very big hug, and they say, "Thank you." And that means the most to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right, let`s wrap this up with your letters and e-mail. Mark in Tucson writes, "Glenn, you`ve interviewed Giuliani, McCain, Romney, Gingrich. Any plans on interviewing Ron Paul, who beat both Gingrich and McCain in your own online poll?"

Yes, we`ll talk some other day about those online polls with Ron Paul. But, Mark, actually Ron Paul was scheduled to come on the program last Wednesday. He unfortunately backed out at the very last second. His people said it was an unavoidable scheduling conflict. Left this in quite a jam. And in case you missed it, here`s a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: All right. Thanks, Jonathan. Now let`s go to Congressman Ron Paul from Texas who -- oh, sorry, forgot, he cancelled on us at the last minute. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: You know when his people said that he had a scheduling conflict? I have to confess, I was a bit skeptical of that. I mean, why would somebody agree to come on the show only to back out at the very last second? But it turns out, in all fairness, his people were indeed telling the truth. I guess I shouldn`t have judged Ron Paul so harshly. Running for president really is a grueling full-time job, all the travel, all the speeches, rushing to one rally and, you know, to the next. In fact, we were provided with footage. This is actual footage of Ron Paul taken at the exact moment he was originally supposed to be doing our show. Here he is. Doesn`t look that busy. You know, you wonder what he`s waiting for. Yes, actually he was waiting for an interview on another TV show.

Next letter is from Lynn in Salem, Oregon. "Glenn, what do you make of all those whales who got lost and are stuck up in Sacramento? It must have something to do with global warming, right?"

OK, now, in case you haven`t been following this story of the whales, there`s a pair of humpback whales who apparently made a wrong turn, no doubt due to global warming. They started swimming inland towards Sacramento. For the past week, a whole flotilla of boats have been trying to herd them back into the ocean. So far, it hasn`t worked. Whales just keep swimming around in circles, and scientists have tried absolutely everything. They`ve even resorted to banging on pipes. Supposedly the noise of the banging is so grating that the whales -- you know, it usually drives them away.

So far, hasn`t worked. I do have a suggestion. Not a scientist or a whale scientist, but I am a thinker. Find a worse noise, something even more grating to whales. I have an idea. I`d like to try it here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: All we need is to have the Congress act with us and do it with enough fervor and as many votes as we can get to prevent the president from vetoing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Look at that. Seems to be working. Godspeed, Mr. Whale. Godspeed. It will stop in 18 months, we hope.

From New York, good night.

END