Return to Transcripts main page

Glenn Beck

Police Search for Missing Pregnant Woman; Toby Keith on His Career, Politics; African Man Protects Endangered Mountain Gorillas; School Bans Touching

Aired June 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 (voice-over): Tonight, a pregnant mother goes missing. The only eyewitness, her 2-year-old son. We`ll bring you up to date on the latest.

Plus, a Virginia school cracks down on touching. That`s right: students, no handshakes, no hugs, and no high-fives. It`s a touching story.

And a sit-down with country star Toby Keith just back from Iraq. All this and more tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Hello, Americans, thank got God almighty, it is Friday.

Now, hundreds of volunteers in northern Ohio continue to search for Jessie Davis. She is the nine months pregnant woman who has been missing for more than a week.

Detectives have searched the home of Davis`s boyfriend, Bobby Cutts Jr. -- he`s that cop -- for the second time. That doesn`t seem like good news.

The whole tragic ordeal began after Jessie`s mother, Patty, found the 2-year-old toddler wondering alone amid broken furniture in their house. Here is the point tonight.

America, good news: we really are compassionate people, and here`s how I got there. You know, stories like Anna Nicole Smith or even Laci Peterson really bother me when I see them on TV. We follow these sagas so intensely.

The question I am always left with is, how do they affect anybody`s life, really? What does it mean for us to watch Anna Nicole`s body being driven to the airport? I almost feel dirty after watching or showing of the things on TV that we show on almost a nightly basis. It seems like we`re only interested in these stories for our own entertainment, and that ain`t good.

But this tragedy -- I think this tragedy tells us something about us, and here`s what it is. Just when we start to think that we`ve become a cold and cynical nation, something like this reminds us that we really are caring and compassionate.

When I think about what unspeakable things this poor 2-year-old boy must have witnessed when he tells police, "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy is in the carpet," when I think that he might have fought for her life, it breaks my heart. I`m sure it does yours.

But that`s kind of the good news in this, if we`re going to make it about us. We are the good people we all hope to be underneath all that garbage that we`ve allowed to pile up on top of us.

Now, back to the story. We`re still left filling in the blanks, but God help the person who created such an awful and permanent image in that poor child`s brain.

Joining me now, Wendy Murphy former prosecutor and professor at New England School of Law and criminal profiler, Pat Brown.

Pat, let me start with you. The -- the cops have searched this guy`s house, the father, two times. That can`t be a good sign for him.

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, it`s a sign, Glenn, that he is the only and the only suspect and always has been the one and only suspect.

After all, we`ve never even heard the police suggest to the public that something else could have happened, that some woman near the clinic where she went to struck up a conversation or somebody down the street might have done this, nothing has been said. They`ve got straight to Cutts` house, and that`s where they`ve been ever since.

BECK: All right. But aren`t you -- I mean, I want the cut the guy some slack here. And I hate the way that, you know, we in the media just pile on people and say they`re guilty, they`re guilty. I mean, we`ve seen it happen before where we were wrong. What makes you believe...

BROWN: What, we`ve been wrong?

BECK: What makes you believe that this is the guy?

BROWN: Well, we have to look at a lot of history going on here. First of all, his past history, his criminal history is not good. He`s been charged with -- his ex-girlfriend said he tried to break into her house. He had a restraining order.

Supposedly the cops went into his cousin`s house, who was a felon, and found his gun under the bed, although I guess he got off on that and went back onto the force.

And here`s the thing that really got me. When he was interviewed and he was asked a lot of questions about the circumstances, and one of the questions was, how have the last days been for you, Bobby, the last five days. You know what he said? Oh, it`s been horrible for me. Poor me, woe is me and never once did he say a word about Jessie, "Oh, my God, what happened to Jessie? What happened to my little baby?" Not once. Remind you of Scott Peterson, maybe?

BECK: Let me go to Wendy. Second warrant, to get a second warrant as a former prosecutor, you just don`t go back in and go, you know what? We want to look again. Right? You`ve got to go to a judge and is the standard, the bar, a little higher the second time you go in?

WENDY MURPHY, NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL OF LAW: well, probable cause is the standard. Probable cause always is a certain weight of evidence, so you don`t need more, per se, but you need something new, and there`s the difference.

You can`t say, well, we looked last week, and we forgot to look in the bedroom so we`d like to go back again, if you don`t mind. The judge is going to say, "No, you know, the Constitution doesn`t allow that. You have to give me new information."

And that`s why I think the DNA test may well have produced something that allowed the police to say, "Look, here`s some new stuff."

BECK: Pat, wouldn`t, if it was the dad, the child said, "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy`s in the rug." Wouldn`t the child say, and Daddy was there? Or bring up Daddy at all?

BROWN: Well, that`s what we don`t know. We don`t know if the police already knew that to begin with. They interviewed the boy and he said, "Yes, daddy brought me home. And then Mommy and Daddy had an argument." We don`t know that he said that. They`re just releasing certain things that he said. Possibly, they knew from the very beginning who they should be looking at. So I don`t know, good question.

MURPHY: And look, if it was Dada, this guy would have known that the child could have identified him, so he very likely would have worn a mask. I mean, we`re speculating here.

BECK: Does it make it harder to either catch or prosecute a cop? I mean, because I would think that, you know, me, I kill somebody, I`ve only seen Colombo mistakes, you know? I`m just trying to -- well, he made a mistake there. I shouldn`t leave that match in the safe.

But a cop sees this stuff all the time. Are they better at getting away? Is it harder to prosecute?

MURPHY: Well, if you`re asking me, I think the answer is, of course. I mean, what -- what person is in a better position, except maybe a criminal defense attorney, to know how to get away with murder or a crime of any kind, because you know how the bad guys you`ve worked with have, you know, managed to mess up the crime scene or get away with their crimes.

That`s a problem for the cops here. This is a guy who knows not to leave fingerprints, to be careful about DNA. And oh, by the way, what`s that bleach spilled in the bedroom?

BECK: Pat, real quick, does this guy fit the mold of a killer? You`re a profiler.

BROWN: You betcha. Yes, he does. He`s -- he`s been bouncing these women around, juggling them all, having babies all over town. Seems to have very little concern about the women or the babies, as far as I can see, yes. He does what he wants to do, and if she`s getting in the way at this point, and maybe he wants his wife back, who knows?

BECK: I want to make it very clear. I`m uncomfortable convicting anybody before, you know, we see any evidence, and we`re not doing that here. And I hope it`s not him with everything in me.

The last question: either of you think we`re going to find her alive?

BROWN: No. No.

MURPHY: You know, I hate to say that this, because I know her mother`s watching everything, and you know, I think there`s virtually no chance.

BECK: Wendy, Pat, thanks a lot.

Coming up, we have a sit-down with country superstar Toby Keith, and we will talk about his music, his recent USO tour in Iraq and maybe just a smidge politics.

Plus, a crackdown on touching in a Virginia middle school has some parents crying foul. They are banning hugs and high-fives. Is that really necessary?

And Hillary Clinton just got made. This week, she had had her "Sopranos-style" campaign ad. It may stroke the pop culture crowd, but will it hurt her chance for the White House? That`s tonight`s "Real Story".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOBY KEITH, MUSICIAN (singing): Every night I pray for peace on earth. I hand out my dollars to the homeless, but believe that every able soul should work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Joining me now is Toby Keith. What a pleasure, sir.

KEITH: It`s great to be here.

BECK: Good to be here. We spent about 20 minutes on the radio today. We talked a lot about that song that is on the new CD, and I think, just like "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue", you have nailed America and where we`re at yet again. The song is really -- well, you tell me. What`s the song about?

KEITH: Well, you know, you get caught up in a political crossfire when you support the troops, you know. I`m a lifetime Democrat, and I`m not going to ever quit defending or make excuses for my patriotism.

And I`m all about justice. And I see things right/wrong on every issue, whether it`s abortion or protecting the border or health care, you know. I see things from the left side and from the right side. And I look at them right/wrong, and that`s what -- that`s what this song`s about.

BECK: That`s what America is about.

KEITH: Two-thirds of this country didn`t even vote. So, we don`t live in a very political world when only one-third of the country voted in -- more people vote on "American Idol" than voted in the last election.

BECK: Does it bother you -- I mean, because I really think that, I mean, the politicians are intentionally dividing us. Here I am. I`m a guy who generally votes for a Republican. You`re a guy who generally votes for a Democrat. But we both will vote for -- I don`t care, I`ll vote for a Democrat if they`ve got the right idea.

KEITH: If they`ve got the right with the right person.

BECK: Go for it. Who cares? And yet, they`re dividing us like this. Do you think it`s -- my theory is that they`re doing it for power, and what gives them the power to win is we don`t talk to each other. We just demonize each other.

KEITH: Well, the two -- the two people, the two ends of the spectrum, the right and the left, far left and far right, fight the hardest, and they make the most noise. Because they all have their agenda.

But us -- everybody stuck in that middle 80 percent to me doesn`t -- I mean, I got caught up in it, because I`m a celebrity. And I wrote a song that supported the troops, so I got caught in that crossfire. You get trapped, and I`m guilty of doing that.

But at the same time, the rest of the country doesn`t -- isn`t affected by what politicians say or what the news says. The sad part is, is if you watch a far left news broadcast or you get your media from the far right, you`re affected by the information that makes your decision making.

But past that, if you`re -- if you can make a decision on your own and you can go out and get your own knowledge and make it, then that`s what most of the country did does.

BECK: It`s amazing, I just got you have the road, we did a comedy tour for -- I think I was on the road for 16 days. And when you are on the ground in the heartland of the nation, it is radically different than being here or Los Angeles.

KEITH: Oh, yes.

BECK: I mean, it`s just -- there`s no comparison.

KEITH: No.

BECK: And you know, I was just -- I was just talking to some news executives today. And I said, "You know what you need to do? Everybody on your staff needs to spend at least three weeks out in the heartland of this country, because they get it." And you spend -- where do you live?

KEITH: I live in Norman, Oklahoma. I have a ranch in Oklahoma. So it`s, you know -- that is the heartland. I get tremendous support there.

But you know, it`s amazing is I`ve been doing -- I did a movie a couple years ago. I`m working on a script, and I`m casting another movie that we`re doing. And the more I get tied into Hollywood -- this is going to freak you out a little bit -- you`d be surprised how many big, big name people and directors and producers who come up and admit to me...

BECK: They say it under their breath...

KEITH: They say, "I support you, and I support the troops. And thanks for being a breath of fresh air."

But I said, "Why don`t you stand up and say that?"

And they say, "It would kill my career."

And I said, well, you know, "People will say because I`m out here speaking about this and this song I`m trying to save my career." My career`s in great shape, my career.

For anybody that I lost for writing "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue", I gained on the other side. So I`m not out here saving my career. I`m just telling you like it is.

BECK: Yes. And I love you for that. Thank you very much. And congratulations debuting on No. 1.

KEITH: Thank you. "Big Dog Daddy".

BECK: Good for you. Thanks.

KEITH: Yes.

BECK: All right. Time to introduce you to another kind of hero, a man from Rwanda, Africa. He`s been fighting to protect the global population of a rare mountain gorilla species under severe threat. He is tonight`s "CNN Hero".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EUGENE RUTAGARAMA, PROTECTS MOUNTAIN GORILLAS: When you approach a group of gorillas, they first feeling that you are approaching a relative, a human being.

GRAPHIC: There are fewer than 750 mountain gorillas left in the world. Their survival depends primarily on one park shared by three African countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda.

RUTAGARAMA: In this region, we have been able to bring conservationists from three governments together to sign an agreement to protect the mountain gorillas.

Having rangers to cover the park with their patrols means that we keep the poaching at the lowest level, but the poaching is still there.

GRAPHIC: Historically, gorillas have been poached for sale and political gain. Since 1996, nearly 100 rangers and conservationists have been killed in the park while protecting the gorillas.

RUTAGARAMA: My name is Eugene Rutagarama. My work is to protect mountain gorillas in their habitat.

When I came back from Burundi and Rwanda was devastated by genocide. You would see the bodies of dead people, thousands of people. The whole country had to resume from scratch.

I went to the national park. If these parks were not protected, it means that we have lost the mountain gorillas, which is a hobby of many tourists. It brings foreign currency for this country, which helps to conserve this park.

GRAPHIC: In the ten years since Eugene`s return, the park has survived wars, poaching and looting. His work has allowed the mountain gorilla population to grow by 17 percent.

RUTAGARAMA: Gorillas can`t really do much if a human being decided to decimate the habitat of gorillas. They need to be protected and defended by human beings.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWSBREAK)

BECK: Can you imagine being thrown into detention for high-fiving your friend in a hallway at a middle school? How about serving suspension for putting your arm around a classmate? Believe it or not, America, this is the world we live in.

A Virginia middle school has had a ban on touching for the last 15 years, but now it`s coming under fire, since a student was warned for hugging his girlfriend. I got a problem with him having a girlfriend.

The parents of the hugger were none too pleased at the school`s warnings, and you know what? I`m torn on this, because I don`t want my kids hugging kids, but I don`t think I want a touching ban either.

With me now is Laurie Baker. She`s the PTA president of Kilmer Middle School.

Laurie, thanks for being on the program. Are you for or against the touching ban?

LAURIE BAKER, PTA PRESIDENT: Oh, it`s common sense. We`re absolutely for it.

BECK: We didn`t have a touching ban in my school. You know what we had? Parents that raised their kids.

BAKER: Well, we live in a diverse society, and, you know, at first blush maybe the rules sounds draconian, but you see 1,000 kids in a middle school, and you hear some of the vignettes at how they interact, and it`s common sense. It`s practical. It`s based on experience. And it`s the best for the kids in our society today.

BECK: This is the argument that I have with Al Sharpton. He comes after the rap and says, "Oh, this rap music is horrible. I got to go after the record companies."

No, you don`t. You go after the parents and say, "Parents, tell your kids not to listen to it and control your kids."

If you`ve got kids that are inappropriately touching, you don`t have a problem with touching in your school. You have a problem with parents in your school, do you not?

BAKER: Well, but your kids are there for seven hours a day. The interactions are happening. You want them to be positive for the kids during the day. You don`t want some little girl to be upset during the day and having her day ruined.

BECK: Wait, wait, wait.

BAKER: This is preventative.

BECK: Laurie, that little girl is eventually going to go out into the real world, and you know, big bad principal is not going to be there to help her. Nobody is going to be there. So aren`t you actually hurting the child?

I don`t mean to be rude here. I just -- I`m trying to figure out how you could possibly be for this? We are helping cripple our children by not letting them have bad experiences.

If somebody is inappropriately groping a child, you don`t need a no touching ban for that. But high-fiving?

BAKER: High-fiving, let`s take that as an example. You got two big boys. We got -- we`ve got 14-year-olds that weigh 200 pounds that are over six foot. They`re high-fiving each other in the hall. The next thing you know their friends want to get in on it, and now they`re chest bumping, and now you`ve got 15 boys chest bumping in the hall.

BECK: That`s when you have a teacher come out in the hallway and say, "Hey, dummies, knock it off."

BAKER: That`s exactly what this rule is, and that`s exactly how it`s enforced 99 percent of the time. It`s common sense. "Move along, boys. You got two minutes before class. Come on, girls, you`re going to be late to Spanish. Kids, hold it down. Let`s get back to work." That`s what it is.

BECK: What is the punishment for hugging?

BAKER: It depends. The first time it could just be the hairy eyeball from the principal walking by.

If you do it repeatedly after warnings, you may get a stern talking to from the dean of students. They may call your parents in. They may have you sit in a classroom all by yourself for in-school suspension. They may make you sweep the halls after school.

BECK: Are we talking about all hugging or, you know, active hugging?

BAKER: It`s basically hugging, because any interaction -- two kids -- say this family is upset. Maybe their son hugged his girlfriend, and it was OK with those two.

You`re in a lunchroom. You have 250 other kids watching. Now the next thing you know, you`ve got ten more middle schoolers who want to test the rules, get some excitement going, and you`ve got inappropriate behavior.

BAKER: This is -- this is what leads us to, you know, girls not being able to take ibuprofen because it`s a drug-free zone. It`s insane.

Laurie, I appreciate your time, and thank you very much for being on the program.

We`ll be back in just a second with "The Real Story".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Coming up, do you remember the judge that was crying all the time in the Anna Nicole Smith hearings? Well, he`s retiring. Could the legal system`s loss be television`s gain? A retrospective in just a bit.

But first, welcome to the "Real Story." It is no secret that middle- aged politicians running for president are way more, you know, with it and Internet-savvy than the rest of us. I mean, when I think Hillary Clinton, I think next-gen, cutting-edge technology, dude, don`t you? Now, thanks to her latest and, quite frankly, brilliant Web video parody of "The Sopranos" finale, I think of something else when I think of Hillary Clinton. I think really bad actress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Anything look good?

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: They have some great choices. I ordered for the table.

B. CLINTON: No onion rings?

H. CLINTON: I`m looking out for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Oh, let`s just keep the jokes confined to your position on health care, Hillary, OK? But if you thought that video was uncomfortable, check out the artistic message that ninth-tier Democratic candidate Mike Gravel has for you. Watch this.

The staring goes on for minutes. It does. Which, I mean, it`s cool, if you`re running for like lead serial killer, but not so much if you`re running for the leader of the free world. Just saying.

Fred Thompson, who`s technically not running for anything yet, also used the Web to distribute a scathing video reply to a personal attack from Michael Moore. Watch a clip of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. SEN. FRED THOMPSON (R), TENNESSEE: You know, I`ve been looking at my schedule, Michael, and I don`t think I have time for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK, here`s the real story on all of these videos. They may result in a lot of clicks, but only the really good ones, the ones that make a real point, even have a chance to result in a lot more votes. If you`re inspired by robotic politicians attempting comedy then, well, I mean, Hillary was probably your candidate anyway. Aside from the fact that Mike Gravel is clearly the mayor of Crazytown USA in that video, these videos carry another lesson, as well.

Anything and everything in politics is about to change. It may have already changed. The 2000 election might as well have been the Johnson- Goldwater election from `64, because that`s how irrelevant the old way of campaigning has become. The candidate who capitalizes on that, the candidate who figures out how to use the Internet and really connect and have meaningful conversations with people all across America, may just be our next president.

Michael Graham is a former Republican political consultant and talk radio host now for WTKK in Boston. Mike, you saw the video. "Sopranos," good or bad?

MICHAEL GRAHAM, FORMER GOP CONSULTANT: First of all, I was hypnotized by Mike Gravel. So if I suddenly start clucking like a chicken, I apologize.

BECK: Bizarre, isn`t it?

GRAHAM: It was weird. Look, you know, you hit on something about, you know, the hipness factor. It`s so pleasant to have the name Hillary and the world hip in the same sentence.

BECK: Never been done before.

(CROSSTALK)

GRAHAM: But when you`re doing primary elections, primaries are about what kind of party you want, and general elections are about what kind of country you want. So you`re talking about a small universe of people, and you need activists to move on your behalf. This whole YouTube Internet blogging movement is a great way, you know, to get to those kind of geeky losers who sit around at primetime watching blowhards like me talk...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: No, it`s true. It`s true. Who`s really paying attention at this point? This is to help from the fatigue.

GRAHAM: And this is also to make people who are part of the campaign feel like they`re part of something cool and hip and happening and now. And, you know, "The Sopranos" is very cool.

Now, I`ve got to tell you, I`m a Sopranos fan. But remember something: The vast majority of Americans don`t have HBO. They don`t watch "The Sopranos." This is very much an insider-insider deal which will work great in the primaries. It has nothing to do with the general.

And notice, if you look at Iowa, Mitt Romney, who`s pulling third or fourth place nationwide, is in first place in most of the primary polls in Iowa because he`s working the activists, the people who do stuff. And a great way to reach those people is on the Internet.

BECK: I`ve got to tell you, Michael, first of all, I don`t know if I would have cast Bill as Tony Soprano, a guy who`s a serial cheater. The second part is, I`m worried that we`ve made politics now just about entertainment. I mean, why don`t we just elect Kenny Chesney and get it all over with?

GRAHAM: I`m thinking about Hillary Clinton sitting there as the Carmella, you know, in this thing, with her large, overweight, powerful husband, and she`s using his power to get what she wants. At some point, seriously, Glenn, didn`t you at some point want to see, like, Paulie Walnuts to come in and just whack them both right there? Wouldn`t that have been great? Come on.

BECK: No, I did not want to see that.

GRAHAM: Come on, let`s make it happen.

BECK: I did not want to see that. When it comes to the Obama girl, you know, the video that came out for the Obama girl...

GRAHAM: Yes, she`s a cutie.

BECK: Well, there are parts of her that she looked like -- I didn`t mean it that way. I mean, there are parts of the video that made me think of Monica Lewinsky. There was that one scene where she just kind of looked like that. And, again, I didn`t want to bring that image again. What do you think? Do you think McCain could use something like this? He seems so old. I mean, unless it`s done by a Bea Arthur, an angry, pissed-off Bea Arthur...

GRAHAM: Exactly. The only thing McCain is going to do is to get, you know, Grandpa Simpson to endorse him. "I say vote for John. He`s not a kook." But that is a very good point about the perception that people have. Who wants to be part of a tired, old campaign? And it`s not fair to Senator McCain at all to look at him and judge him, but that`s what people do.

BECK: Oh, and meanwhile...

GRAHAM: Hillary Clinton`s only problem, by the way, believe it or not, is not her policies, which terrify me. Her number-one problem is she has the highest negative ratings I`ve ever seen for a candidate for president. Almost half of America has already said they don`t want to vote for her under any circumstances. How do you get people to like you?

BECK: You don`t.

GRAHAM: You can`t do it by debating health care. You do it by doing something cool about "The Sopranos."

BECK: Michael, thanks a lot.

All right, next, I consider myself a bit of a First Amendment extremist. When Rosie O`Donnell says that 9/11 was an inside job, or Harry Belafonte says Bush is a terrorist, I sit back and think, "What a great country we live in, when an irrelevant Hollywood activist and a washed-up Jamaican musician can say idiotic things without being in prison. God bless America."

But there`s a different standard when you`re a former president of the United States. A few days ago, Jimmy Carter opened up his dentures yet again to bash Israel and the U.S., this time saying that the Bush administration`s refusal to accept Hamas is, quote, "criminal." The "Real Story" is, Jimmy Carter has proven yet again just how wrong and how dangerous someone can be.

Maybe President Carter needs to be reminded that Hamas is officially a terrorist organization that uses unfathomable violence to achieve its stated goal of destroying Israel and grabbing power. This is an ally of America. This is Israel, an ally. He says that we should be able to co- exist in peace -- oh, that`s really cute, peanut farmer -- while conveniently he ignores the facts that Hamas brutally executed members of the Fatah Party, sometimes right in front of their wives and children.

Remember, these were people that shared their religion. These were Arabs. These were people that agreed they should wipe Israel off the map, people they supposedly had something in common with. If they greet fellow Muslims with brutal executions, what do you think they`re going to do to Christians or the Jews?

This morning on my radio show, Mitt Romney was there. He said that Carter`s comment showed that he has, quote, "taken a break from reality." You know what? I think it`s more of a permanent vacation. You can write this idiocy off as ramblings of a deranged, misguided old man, but the fact is an ex-president has comments and they hold weight. That means there will always be some dope out there that will listen to him.

He may have the right to say these things, but given his position in the world, he`s got the responsibility to not say these things, or at least Rosalynn should just cover the pie hole when he starts.

Joe Mowbray, he is a syndicated columnist who was in Palestine during the `06 elections there. Do you believe these are anti-Semitic comments, hate-mongering comments, or just misguided?

JOE MOWBRAY, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Well, I mean, clearly he`s misguided. But you know, Glenn, you always want to give somebody the benefit of the doubt when, as a conservative, you`ve had every name in the book thrown at you, right?

BECK: Sure.

MOWBRAY: But at a certain point, you do so many things that you don`t really deserve the benefit of the doubt anymore. And I think that applies to Jimmy Carter. You know, when he praises the discipline of Hamas, you want to write it off. You want to say, "OK, this guy, he`s a doddering old man. He just kind of misspoke." But you look at the context of his remarks over the years, and I don`t think he did.

BECK: No.

MOWBRAY: He was praising the ruthless efficiency of the murderous Hamas; that`s exactly what he was doing.

BECK: I don`t understand. When I read the story of Hamas, and how they went into the Gaza Strip, and they seized control, and they took the Fatah members -- now, remember, can you imagine if the Republicans went and seized the chamber, took the Democrats out, and executed them, some of them without shirts on, just executed them in front of their children and their wives? Can you imagine anyone in their right mind saying, "Well, we can get along with the Republicans"? No. They`re murdering thugs. And how is it that Jimmy Carter looks at this and can see anything other than that?

MOWBRAY: Jimmy Carter has deliberately chosen this path. He has decided that he is going to be a bigot, that he is going to favor murderous thugs. By the way, it`s not just Hamas. It`s not just Arafat before that. This guy loves Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. He went there and declared that election free and fair, when you had U.S. polling firms going down there finding that in their after-election polls that the results were 60-40 in favor of the opposition, and he was determining the election to be free and fair.

He went to Fidel Castro, stayed in the cabanas that even the Cuban people can`t stay in, and he gives a big, warm embrace to Fidel. This guy loves anyone who has storm troopers that go into people`s homes in the middle of the night and take them off to prison just for disagreeing with the government. And then, of course, look what he does with Hamas, praising the ruthless efficiency.

You know, as the response to his book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid," I`d like to write a book called, "Carter," or how about this, "Jimmy: Bigot Not Idiot." The guy`s not stupid. Listen to anybody in his former inner circle, and they say that he is a pristine memory. Even now at 83, and yet he misremembers things all the time.

BECK: Joel, thanks a lot.

MOWBRAY: Thanks.

BECK: Up next, would you watch a game show on television where the losers had to die? I`ll explain.

And later, the weepy judge in the Anna Nicole Smith case may be trading in his gavel for a microphone. I`ll tell you why Judge Judy may soon have some competition on the airwaves. Oh, yes, here he comes. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Here`s why I`m outlawing vegetarians: because I believe vegetarians, that`s the first step into insanity. You go right from vegetarianism, right to the hybrid, and, you know, both of those, I can handle both of those. But then you`re all of a sudden, you know, hugging a dolphin and a whale, making best friends with them, saying, you know, to a trout or a salmon, "You`re more important than people." Yes, that`s what`s coming. It`s a very slippery slope that a lot of people are sliding right down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Now, in the history of television, there are pioneers, there are legends, and there are icons. I`m none of those, but my next guest is. He`s all three.

Chuck Barris, how are you, sir? What a pleasure to meet you.

CHUCK BARRIS, AUTHOR, "THE BIG QUESTION": Same here.

BECK: You are a guy who -- you`ve developed television. You`ve written books. You are a mind that is way ahead of everybody else. And you`ve got a new book out that has been saying something that I have been so afraid of. I`ve been saying, "We`re living in the times of the Roman coliseum. This is the new coliseum." And how far are we from the "Running Man" are we?

BARRIS: You`re right about that. You know, the new book, "The Big Question," tells that. It`s a reality game show set six years from now where the person who answers the most questions correctly gets a chance at the "Big Question," where they can win $100 million or they`re executed on stage. But, you know, this is a commentary. Of course, I would never produce a show like that, Glenn, never in a million years.

BECK: No, of course not.

BARRIS: But it`s a commentary about where I think reality television is going. It may never go there. I don`t care, but it made for a good book.

BECK: Do you remember the Stephen King book, "The Running Man"?

BARRIS: Yes, "The Running Man."

BECK: That`s the same basic gist. And I remember when that came out. I thought, "There`s no way." But you`re telling me America wouldn`t watch an execution? They would.

BARRIS: Well, they took a poll on MSNBC, and 45 percent said they would watch an execution; 55 percent said they wouldn`t. That`s up. That`s up a lot.

BECK: I bet you, out of that 55 percent, I bet you 15 percent to 20 percent of them are lying.

BARRIS: Exactly.

BECK: Or don`t know that they would get caught up in it and say, "I`ve got to see this."

BARRIS: No, there`s no question that they`re lying. I mean, nobody ever admitted to me that they were watching the "Gong Show."

BECK: I don`t know that the gong show was an execution.

BARRIS: But even that, even that, and they say, "That`s the dumbest, stupidest show. I never watch it. I just want you to know I never watch it." But you had an act on a couple days ago, and, you know, there it was. So what are you going to do?

BECK: You know, you sit here in the book, and you make this prediction. And what`s amazing to me is, you know, predictions used to be far out in the future. Now this is just set a few years in advance. Where do you go? I mean, for instance, if you went to the "Big Question," which is the premise in your book, or if you did an execution, if you could make a case today, "This person needs to be executed live on television," you could probably get it passed. People would watch it, and they would watch it for entertainment. And then what?

BARRIS: Well, you know, I think that -- you know, this is a new president, new laws of the land. Euthanasia is dead, which is a funny expression, I guess. But you could do anything you want with your body, so you have a show where somebody is executed. You know, who knows? Television is going weird places. Maybe someday they will.

BECK: Speaking of it going weird places, you lived in France.

BARRIS: Yes, speaking of weird places.

BECK: What is wrong with you? You`re from Philadelphia, right?

BARRIS: Yes, I am, born and raised.

BECK: A Philadelphian in France. Unless you`re just beating them with a cheese steak, man, what were you doing?

BARRIS: Beating them with a cheese steak, I love that.

BECK: I mean, come on.

BARRIS: I always had this Walter Middy-like dream about writing the great American novel in the south of France. And at that time, my shows, the critics were killing me. I mean, they said I lowered the bar of culture, I was a schlockmeister. I was this, I fiddled with women`s emotions. So I just said, "You know, the hell with this. I`m going to France and write my book."

BECK: Really?

BARRIS: And I sold the company.

BECK: You know, that`s weird, because I think that`s what a lot of people say about that me now, and I`m not going to France.

BARRIS: I don`t know...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: I think I`ll answer the "Big Question" first.

BARRIS: Well, I don`t know if I would. You know, I`ll tell you something else. You could get contestants for the "Big Question" right now.

BECK: Oh, yes.

BARRIS: You don`t have to wait five years. I know that you could do that.

BECK: Do you really think there`s a possibility that we, as a nation, could spiral, or a world, could spiral so far out of control? I mean, do you think we could ever get to that point?

BARRIS: Well, I don`t know. You know, Glenn, I think that the television audience, the American audience, the American public, is what I`m trying to say, is the final arbiter of good taste in this country. And I think that, if they don`t want something, it won`t happen. I don`t think -- you know, they didn`t want the O.J. book, it didn`t happen. They didn`t want -- I had a show on called "Three`s a Crowd," where the premise was, who knows the wife better, the husband or the secretary?

BECK: Oh, boy.

BARRIS: It was wild onstage, but the public didn`t like it.

BECK: Now it`s too tame. Chuck, thank you. What a pleasure, sir. Thank you very much. New book is "The Big Question."

Coming up, my very special tribute to Judge Larry Seidlin. Oh, you know him. Oh, you won`t miss him so much. Don`t miss what we have, a tribute for him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, as you may have already heard, Larry Seidlin, he`s the goofy judge that presided over that Anna Nicole Smith trial, is resigning next month in order to, quote, "devote more time to his family." Yes. Now, in a completely unrelated note, the industry trade journal "Broadcasting and Cable" reports today that Seidlin is committed to developing a fall 2008 court show with CBS Television. It`s great, isn`t it?

Judge Seidlin, you will be missed, sure, sure, but your memories, oh, they will live on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just a few short months ago that Judge Larry was pulled kicking and screaming into the media spotlight during the court proceedings surrounding the death of Anna Nicole Smith, who, during her all-too-short life, showed to be just as camera-shy as Seidlin.

But Seidlin`s career will not only be remembered for his unending dedication to avoiding the public eye; it will also be remembered for his touching emotion and poignant passion that was almost as convincing as a third-grade recreation of a never-made sequel to "Corky Romano" based on a poorly written after-school special that was also never made.

But it wasn`t all forced tears. Larry Seidlin was also one of the era`s preeminent judicial comedians, a profession that sits on the entertainment food chain just below puppetless ventriloquist, talking mime, and radio talk show host. As a judicial comic, Seidlin was the best in the business.

LARRY SEIDLIN, BROWARD COUNTY JUDGE: That baby`s on a cold, cold storage room. It`s not decaying so fast. I can go over there now and look at it, and I can go back in a month and still look at it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many believed he was almost as funny as another too-awful-to-be-made sequel to "Corky Romano." Despite his shy persona, many believed Judge Larry will enter the media and attempt to cash in on his fame. However, experts say that his modest persona makes the chances of that no higher than 100 percent or lower than 100 percent.

Larry, we thank you for sort of standing up to the intimidating Bahamian justice system and fighting for what`s right. Larry Seidlin, American hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: I`m with you, Larry. From New York, good night.

END