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Glenn Beck

Obama Answers Back to Pastor Furor; Teen Show Crosses the Line; Will High Gas Prices Change Habits?

Aired April 29, 2008 - 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, more fallout from Reverend Wright`s crazy TV appearance. But how did he get there in the first place? And how does his performance affect the super delegates?

Plus, prices are going up; that`s clear. But what`s not clear is why the government is so hush-hush on inflation. I`ll explain why.

And I ask again: when did it become OK to sexualize our children? A new ad for a controversial TV show steps way over the line. Holy cow, America! What is going on?

All this and more tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Well, hello, America.

The soap opera continues. I swear, it`s like watching an episode of "Dallas" with these two going at it. We have Reverend Jeremiah Wright. He`s not stopping making speeches and going on television. And now Barack Obama has had to shift into defensive mode. Here is part of his statement from this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obviously, he`s free to speak out on issues that are of concern to him, and he can do it in any ways that he wants. But -- but I feel very strongly that -- well, I want to make absolutely clear that I do not subscribe to the views that he expressed. I believe they are wrong. I think they are destructive. And to the extent that he continues to speak out, I do not expect those views to be attributed to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: I`m sorry, but gut says I don`t believe it. Here`s "The Point" tonight. Politicians, you`ve burned us before. I hope you`re smart enough to learn from the misplaced trust of our past. And here`s how I got there.

Anybody remember this? "I did not have sexual relations." Remember that? Sound a little familiar? But we want to believe. We wanted to believe Bill Clinton then. We don`t want to think our president was doing that stuff. We don`t want to -- we don`t want to believe that Barack Obama is this guy. We want to believe the good in him.

But as the old saying goes, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Obama`s shock over Reverend Jeremiah Wright`s views maybe was plausible the first time. But the more we`ve learned about Reverend Wright, his demented Black Liberation Theology, his fervent anti-American views, the less reasonable Obama`s shock is today.

At this point, it`s obvious. Reverend Wright is hurting Obama`s chances at the presidency. Wright is an arrogant egomaniac. He is out of control. He`s been advocating Black Liberation Theology now for decades. That is the foundation of his church.

Remember, these are the kinds of things this guy has preached to Barack Obama for 20 years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT, FORMER PASTOR, TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST: Louis Farrakhan is not my enemy. He did not put me in chains. He did not put me in slavery and he didn`t make me this color. He is one of the most important voices in the 20th and 21st century, that`s what I think about him.

African and African-American children have a different way of learning. They are right-brain, subject-oriented in their learning styles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK. Pooh, I don`t even know where to begin. I`m sorry, Senator Obama, Reverend Wright just didn`t develop these views in the last four days. You`ve known the man for 20 years. You said it yourself he`s like part of the family. So when Barack makes this statement like this one this afternoon...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: You know, I have been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ since 1992. I`ve known Reverend Wright for almost 20 years. The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Should he up his meds? This is completely unreasonable to believe.

The time for Barack Obama to distance himself from Reverend Wright`s hateful views was when he first heard them. What, was he wearing a Walkman the whole time, and "I`m just listening to my iPod?"

The very first time he heard one of those statements 20 years ago is when he should have distanced himself and, Senator, I`m sorry, it`s a little too late now.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of "The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House." And Lanny Davis a Clinton supporter and former White House special counsel.

Lanny, let me -- Lanny, let me just start with you. This -- it can`t be just me that finds this unreasonable that Barack Obama just suddenly says, "Oh, my gosh, that`s what he believes"?

LANNY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SPECIAL COUNSEL: Well, first, let me start by saying what the non-issue is. I completely accept Senator Obama`s statement of the non-issue. And I`ve never attributed this hateful bigot speech from a person who describes himself as a man of God to Barack Obama. I accept that.

But he states it as if that`s the issue. That isn`t the issue. The issue is his judgment. And why he`s not ready to be president is his judgment.

BECK: Thank you.

DAVIS: That he sat and listened to this hate speech, and he not only stayed in the congregation -- and I`ve heard African-Americans explain to me why he might have chosen to do that...

BECK: Why? Tell me.

DAVIS: But he never stood -- the one that he doesn`t address is why did he not just stand up, as you just said and say, as Robert Kennedy has often said when he was alive, "No, this is unacceptable!"

And then he went on in 2008 -- and, Glenn, this is a fact no one has addressed, not Senator Obama today. After knowing all this -- cause he distanced himself and didn`t invite him to his announcement. He then appointed him to an official campaign position called -- are you ready? The religious advisory committee of his campaign. This is in 2008.

Now, Senator Obama holding a press conference today, I appreciate the difficult position. He tried to do a good job of damage control. But he`s avoiding the issue that I`m raising, judgment. That`s why I don`t think he`s ready to be president because of this judgment.

BECK: Yes. Yes. Look, Earl -- Earl, let me show you something. This is what Obama said the last time we heard him speak about Reverend Wright. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I confess that, if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television sets and YouTube, if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Once again it`s a vast right-wing conspiracy. Once again, it`s just the media has it wrong. And you know what? We get it wrong a lot of the time. But this one, you cannot tell me that all of a sudden, Earl, Reverend Wright has morphed into something completely different.

EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Well, don`t say Earl now because, as you know, Glenn, we had this conversation before.

BECK: I know.

HUTCHINSON: I said then, sooner or later -- and of course, obviously, it`s sooner than later, it`s going to come back to bite you in the you know what, Barack Obama.

The bottom line is you did sit in the church 16 years, you can`t deny that. The fact is it`s not just snippets. It`s not just a caricature. These are statements, almost policy statements, theological statements, if you will, and certainly social commentary statements that you had to hear over time.

So you`re really not going to get away by saying, "OK, I`m shocked. This is not the man I knew at a different point in time. It`s something I`m certainly going to distance myself from and I`m repelled by." Bottom line is, you should have been repelled all along.

But there`s another issue, too. It keeps coming up: does it hurt Barack Obama. I simply say this. If it hadn`t been Reverend Wright, it would be something else along the way, simply because when you really look at Barack Obama, many people haven`t really looked closely what does he represent? Has he really been vetted? What are his real policy positions? What`s his background? What did he do as a legislator in the state of Illinois and, of course, the short time in the Senate?

So along comes a Reverend Wright. It was almost a tailor-made in heaven controversy that sooner or later would have certainly blown back on Barack Obama. And certainly, yes, it has hurt him. There`s no question about that.

But, Glenn, let me say this. The biggest thing that has hurt Barack Obama or biggest person is not Reverend Wright. It`s Barack Obama, by not essentially getting out ahead of the issue much sooner.

BECK: Lanny, here`s another thing that I find absolutely unreasonable, because you say this goes to his judgment. And I absolutely believe that. But this also goes to his honesty.

Here`s a guy who has held himself up as totally honest. He`s either the worst judge of character or he`s being less than honest. Or, you know, how about this one -- he`s just arrogant.

Today he said he hadn`t -- he hadn`t -- he wasn`t really speaking out on the AIDS thing about government and that bothered him, but he wasn`t enraged until he saw it. Because he saw that he was being linked to it and it was a performance and that enraged him. What does that tell you?

DAVIS: You know, I`ve got to say the double standard here when it comes to Senator Obama, who constantly proclaims that he`s not waging a negative campaign. And his campaign managers and campaign spokesman personally attack the character, honesty, integrity of Hillary Clinton in ads, in mailers, personal attacks, venomous personal attack.

And yet, he is so thin-skinned that, when you question even his judgment, sometimes you`re accused of raising the race issue, as has happened to me.

Here`s the issue for me. In the state legislature in 2000, he voted for a suspension of the gasoline tax. Now that Senator Clinton and Senator McCain have favored a suspension of the gasoline tax for this summer to give some relief to motorists, Barack Obama is now disagreeing, even though in 2000 in the state legislature he did.

This is -- to agree to what was just said, this is a man without a record, without a legislative record. You ask anybody for him, name one thing that he`s accomplished...

HUTCHINSON: You can`t do it.

DAVIS: It`s very difficult. They come up with the reform bill...

BECK: OK.

DAVIS: ... and that was about standing up or sitting down when you eat dinner if you`re a member of Congress. This is the judgment/experience issue, why Hillary Clinton is now surging ahead -- and she`s now way ahead in the national polls -- over John McCain is a question of judgment.

BECK: Lanny -- Lanny, I`ve got -- I`m up against the break here. But...

DAVIS: Sorry.

BECK: ... I just have to ask you a favor. It was so -- I mean, it`s just -- I hate this. When Hillary Clinton came out and said, "I hate the way the Republicans are exploiting Reverend Wright in this issue," you know what? I`m not a Republican. I`m a conservative. I actually care about this issue. This tells me a lot about this candidate`s judgment.

Please ask the senator to not paint the Republicans into exploiting this.

DAVIS: Give me a chance after the break to explain what she meant by that.

BECK: OK. You got it. Back in just a second.

Coming up, America, the story is not going away any time soon. I can`t tell you how essential it is that Americans completely understand the beliefs and the intentions of Reverend Jeremiah Wright. He claims that his sermons have all been taken out of context.

So this Thursday night we`ll bring you Reverend Wright in his own words. We`re going to show you his sermons, not just the sound bites. You see for yourself what this man preaches, and you tell me if you could miss it sitting in the -- in the pews.

And coming up next, sex sells. This one really bothers me. I get sex sells. But shouldn`t we draw the line when you`re selling it to preteens and teenagers? We`ll look at a skanky new ad for a just skanky television show. What are they willing to do? Next.

And Hillary or Barack? You`re not going to decide. Three hundred super delegates will. But who are the super delegates? Where do they come from? What, do they just stay at a Holiday Inn Express? Find out tonight in a cartoon fashion in tonight`s "Real Story."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Coming up, no candidate capable of winning the Democratic bid for president with the pledged delegates, or at least that`s the way things stand today. That would mean the decision would fall to the so-called super delegates. Oh, yes.

You might ask yourselves, gee, Glenn, shouldn`t we let the voters decide? Yes. If it were that simple. A Glenn Beck cartoon investigation in tonight`s "Real Story."

But first, when it comes to the world of IM`ing, text messaging, kids are way ahead of parents. We`ve got a lot to learn, gang. Every 8-year- old knows that "BRB" means "be right back"; "LOL," "laughing out loud"; and "OMFG" -- excuse me -- says, "Oh, my F-ing God."

Not only do your kids know this, but so does the marketing department over at the CW network. They`ve gone all-out with a new ad campaign for their teen drama. This is a show about high school kids -- high school kids, remember that. There`s a new commercial that`s revolving around a phrase starring the queen mother of all curse words. Watch this. And remember, teen TV show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Just so you know, I had them blur out the name of this TV show because I`m not giving them what they want, more advertising. This is despicable. Hot, sweaty sex and the "F" word. Welcome to the new primetime.

From Hannah Montana taking it off for -- you know, for a magazine to now this show on the CW, I mean, how do we protect our kids and save our own souls?

Melissa Hinson is the director of communication and public education for the Parents` Television Council. I`m guessing, Melissa, you`re with me on being against this.

MELISSA HINSON, PARENTS` TELEVISION COUNCIL: Yes, I`m just sitting here watching the ad over again, and I`m getting angry.

BECK: I mean, I couldn`t believe it. And this show, they say, you know, oh, this is an 18-34-year-old show. Bull crap. Bull crap. The bulk of the viewers are between 12 and 16 years old.

HINSON: That`s right, that`s right. And not only that, but the CW network recently announced that this is really the demographic that they`re going to be actively pursuing in the coming television season.

BECK: OK.

HINSON: So we can expect to see more shows like this. And unfortunately, probably more promos and ads like this, as well.

BECK: And it`s easy to say, well -- OK, well, watch what your kids are watching on television, but that`s becoming increasingly difficult. But this isn`t even really a hit on TV. This is a hit on iTunes.

HINSON: Yes. And I think what you said leading into this segment is spot on. You know, when it comes to new technologies like downloading streaming video on the Internet and instant messaging, text messaging, kids are, you know, leap years ahead of their parents.

And so they`re picking up on these messages and these ads that may be entirely lost on parents. And kids are able to entirely subvert household rules on media consumption, household rules about what TV shows they`re allowed to watch, by accessing this show on iTunes and streaming video.

BECK: OK. So yesterday we talked about Hannah Montana. Could we please stop sexualizing our children? Today let me show you the cover of "New York" magazine. This is for this show. This is the cast of the show. Remember, it`s all about high school students. There they are, "Best Show Ever" in "New York" magazine.

And here`s the question I want to ask you, Melissa. Since when did teens read "New York" magazine or "Vanity Fair"? Our adults are targeting them -- the adults are following the teens.

HINSON: Yes. Yes. I mean, you know, teens have probably more spending power than ever before. And I think marketers have gotten wise to that fact. And so our adult culture is starting to pick up on things that have become popular in the teen culture.

So rather than leading the way and setting good examples, we are ourselves sort of submitting to this sexualization of adolescents. We`re participating in it. We`re helping to push that along by buying into magazines like this and watching TV shows like the one that we`re here to discuss today.

BECK: Thank you for not showing the name of it. You know, I had a professor on from Princeton University today on the radio program. And not only are the parents trying to be like their teenagers, but the teenagers are now trying to be, you know, in their 20s.

You can`t say that there`s a problem with pedophilia if these two worlds are colliding. There`s no way to stop these worlds from interacting when you`re glorifying it on television.

HINSON: Yes. And, you know, I just find it so heartbreaking because I had a real childhood. You know, I was able to preserve my innocence for a long time. And I just feel so bad for these kids that are growing up today who are deprived of that, you know. They are growing up so fast.

There was a story I saw in the news this morning about teenaged girls sending sexually provocative photos of themselves to boys that they`re interested in. And this is happening in high schools across the country.

BECK: Unbelievable.

HINSON: You know, it`s -- and it`s deplorable; it`s disgusting; and it`s so tragic for these kids.

BECK: Yes. Melissa, thank you so much.

Now, coming up, we have truckers that are heading to Washington today. They were protesting soaring gas prices. So how will the rising fuel costs change the way truckers and all Americans live their lives? Wait until I introduce you to the four-day workweek.

Then the government says they have inflation under control. Really? We`ve crunched the numbers, and the truth will make your head explode. All the details in tonight`s "Real Story."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, if we`ve learned anything from history, it`s that people adapt to almost any kind of hardship. But when it comes to record gas prices, those adaptations have to be a little severe.

Several states now, like West Virginia, Nevada, Arizona and California, already experimenting -- already -- with a four-day workweek for government employees. That`s fantastic. They say don`t get excited. You still have to work 40 hours, but I`ve have to tell you, I`d work 20- hour days if I can work in two.

So if $3.60 gas can cause this kind of disruption and people starting to look at the way they live and work, what will happen if gas were twice as much? Shawn Broderick is a natural resource analyst for MoneyandMarkets.com.

Sean -- well, first of all, people are saying now that oil is going to start going down now. You say not so much. Why do you say that?

SEAN BRODERICK, MONEYANDMARKETS.COM: Well, actually, what I`ve been seeing is that we should see incredibly volatile swings in oil. I mean, I would expect to see higher prices later in the year, but I wouldn`t be surprised to see the pullback now. It`s just that pullback probably isn`t going to last for long.

BECK: OK. At what point do people actually change? I mean, I was surprised to hear that -- that cities are already starting to look and states are already starting to look at doing, you know, four-day workweeks. I mean, I know a lot of people are upset about it, but I hadn`t heard that we were really crossing that threshold yet where people change their -- their driving habits.

BRODERICK: Well, I think that many consumers have hit a certain threshold of pain. But I don`t think they`ll be changing their driving habits any time soon.

If you look at the -- at the numbers that came in last week, while the price at the pump was up quite a lot year over year, actually, we saw demand increase at the same time. So the high prices we`ve seen already haven`t decreased demand. I think we`ll see a lot more resiliency in demand, much more than people actually think there will be.

BECK: What is that -- what is that number? I remember when we were $2 a gallon. People were like, "Oh, $2 a gallon, I`ll stop driving. I`m going to ride a unicycle."

And then it was $3, and now we`re approaching $4. And you just said that demand is still up here in the United States. So what is that number?

BRODERICK: Well, if you look at our friends to the north in Canada they`re playing the equivalent of like $4.92 per gallon, and they aren`t changing their driving habits. I think we could easily support that. I think we could support $5 a gallon, $6 a gallon.

We don`t have alternatives to, like, public transportation, stuff like that. The train doesn`t run by my house. So I think people will keep driving, and they`ll cut back on other things, a lot of other things, before they change their driving habits.

BECK: Do you think that the -- the economy was never built -- I mean, it`s one thing to say, "OK, well, I have to pay $5. What am I going to do? I can`t catch a bus."

But the truckers. I mean, the truckers today in Washington are, you know, having a big rally to help them out and to get people to pay attention that, hello, the trucking industry is in trouble. Everything is affected by the price of oil.

BRODERICK: Absolutely. That`s why we`re seeing a lot more things ship on the railroads now. Have you seen what`s happened with the railroad stocks? They are reporting great earnings, and they`re going through the roof. More and more stuff is shifting over to them, and that`s a trend that I think is really going to continue.

BECK: OK. Sean, thank you very much.

Remember, America, drill Alaska. I`m just saying.

Coming up, surging food and gas prices, but the government has everything under control, right? Not so much. A new shocking number that is out on how desperate our economy has become. Next in tonight`s "Real Story."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BREAK: Well, welcome to the "Real Story." Now, you don`t really need a survey to tell you this, but the economy stinks. It stinks on ice. The consumer confidence index, which measures how 5,000 average Americans feel about the economy, took a nose dive to the lowest level in five years. That prompted reporters to ask the president this morning if he would finally agree that we`re in a recession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: The average person doesn`t really care what we call it. These are tough times. Economists can argue over the terminology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Yeah. You know what, you`re right! I don`t care. You can call it sunshine and lollipops. It ain`t. I don`t care what word people use to describe with a we`re in. What I care about is whether anybody in Washington is actually interested in fixing the problem. And that usually means, just leave us alone. The Federal Reserve is meeting again this week, and all signs point to them again cutting interest rates. Yay! Now they can sit in their room and cross their fingers and hope everything works out for the best.

Well, here`s a news flash for you, Federal Reserve. It really ain`t working out all that great. We`re paying the price for your short-sighted solutions and we`re paying for it at the grocery store. We`re paying for it at the airport. And we`re paying for it at the gas pumps. The "Real Story" is that the elitist Fed bankers, who answer to virtually no one. They`re not actually part of the government. Are more in touch with the high-priced things like collateralized debt obligations than the price of gas, eggs and milk.

I want to show you a headline. This was in the "Wall Street Journal" just a couple of weeks ago. It says, quote, "Inflation, spanning the globe, is set to reach decade high." OK. Makes sense to me. My gut says prices are skyrocketing. I get it. You can see it. You can feel it.

So then could somebody please explain this headline that appeared in the paper that`s usually wrong, "The New York Times," just a week later? Here it is, quote, U.S. inflation appears to be retreating. What? I can`t figure that out. I mean, I looked at it for a while. Maybe "The New York Times" people don`t read the newspapers. I don`t know. It -- maybe it`s just that it`s breaking news. Maybe it has something to do with the way our government measures the stuff. Could that be it?

The big stat they used for that "New York Times" article is called the consumer price index. And if you believe the official stats, it`s totally fine. Nothing to see here people, go home. Oh, nothing here. But you and I know there is something happening. The government says prices rose four percent in the last year. Really? You know, my common sense -- and I don`t know, my checking account say they rose a hell of a lot more than that. How could there be such a huge discrepancy from what I see in my checking account and what the government is telling us, "everything is fine!"

I`ll show you how it works in just a second, but maybe the more important question is why. Why would the government benefit if our inflation numbers look a lot lower than they actually are? Are you ready to really be pissed off? It`s quite simple, actually. The answer in these three words. Indexed for inflation. The government has tied a ton of major expenses -- little things like Social Security benefits that mom and dad get in the mail -- to the official inflation rate.

So if you think like a slimy, weasely politician, then you soon realize we can delay the pain of paying for things like Social Security by keeping the official inflation rate down. Let`s just make numbers up! We`ll just measure them differently! And if it won`t stay on that course, then we`ll change the calculation again. After all, statistics may not lie, but liars almost always use statistics.

Barry Ritholtz is the CEO and director for equity research for Fusion IQ. Barry, give me an example of how they change the measurements.

BARRY RITHOLTZ, DIRECTOR OF EQUITY RESEARCH, FUSION IQ: Well, there`s been a couple of major changes over the past few decade, most recently 1996 we implemented recommendations from the Boskin (ph) commission, that was a group appointed by the first President Bush and their results were put into effect by President Clinton. And they came up with some very, let`s call it creative ways of measuring price increases that really keeps the price increases low.

My favorite is something called substitution. If the price of steak goes up really high, well, you go out and buy chopped meat and, therefore, look, magic, no inflation. The reality is, you`ve been priced out of the cost of steak.

BECK: Right. But as long as you`re buying meat, the government says you`re still having meat.

RITHOLTZ: More or less.

BECK: OK, that`s good. Now, this goes in the best interest for the politicians because the politicians will say, look, interest -- I mean, inflation is only at four percent. We`re doing a great job. But it`s in horrible interest of the American people especially if you`re on Social Security. Some people believe -- tell me if you think this is right -- some people believe that the Social Security checks should be about 70 percent higher than they are?

RITHOLTZ: If you go back to 1983, back then, under President Reagan - - and you`ll notice this doesn`t go by any party.

BECK: Oh yeah, it`s all of them.

RITHOLTZ: Politicians have been doing this for decades. President Reagan, under him, we changed the way we measure the housing cost of the inflation basket. And that basically said, let`s not take into account things like maintenance or utilities or property taxes that we all know have been going through the roof.

Let`s just figure out, what would it cost if you rented your own house back to yourself. And so that really had a major impact. And if you go back from then to about now over the course of that 25-year period, we would probably be seeing Social Security payments 70 percent higher than what they are today.

BECK: Unbelievable. OK. Let me just show this chart real quick. This is the different ways -- same numbers, different calculation.

RITHOLTZ: Yes.

BECK: This is the way we would be measuring inflation, under the -- under each of these presidents.

RITHOLTZ: That`s right. If you look at the 1983 method, if you go all the way back to the way we did starting 1982, current inflation is running about 11 percent. And by the way, that`s very consistent with the data that comes out of communist China. And it`s consistent with what we see out of the United Kingdom. It`s a little sad that we get more accurate inflation data from the Chinese than we do here domestically. The `96 changes that came in takes it down to about 7.5 percent. My best guess is real inflation is somewhere between the two, somewhere between seven and 11 percent, be at eight, nine percent. But way, way higher than the three, four percent we`ve been told about.

BECK: Barry, thank you very much. We`ll have you on again.

RITHOLTZ: My pleasure.

BECK: I told you at the top of tonight`s program the whole Reverend Wright thing may well be a brilliantly designed strategy by Hillary Clinton to target the 300 people who are going to decide the Democratic nomination. I mean, who`s going to get it? They`re going to decide. It`s the uncommitted superdelegates. I don`t think it`s a conspiracy, but, you know, vast left wing -- I don`t know.

But why would these 300 people that have this job -- how did they get this job? How did the superdelegate thing actually start in the first place? How do they decide? Well, we put together a little Glenn Beck original animation to explain the whole thing because, I mean, after all, why read books and do research when you can learn from a cartoon?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: And now, the history of the Democratic superdelegates.

In a couple of minutes.

1968.

Special interests and party leaders basically gave the nomination to Hubert Humphrey. He eventually lost to a guy named Deck.

I`m not a crook.

The loss had Democrats questioning how they lost to a guy who sweat as much as Nixon did.

Anybody got a towel?

So they changed the rulings. They took some power away from the party insiders and gave it to the people.

Yeah, man, power to the people.

Workers of the world unite.

America runs on Dukin. What?

The problem with the primary process, nobody was showing up.

Hello! Hello, is anybody here? I brought raisin scones for everybody.

So who steps in to save the day? Your friendly neighborhood DNC.

Did they simplify the process?

Nope.

Oh, I know. They started electing candidates that didn`t suck, right?

Definitely not. They did what politicians always do. They screwed it up even more.

In 1982, instead of streamlining they just added something called superdelegates.

What, what exactly is a superdelegate?

Superdelegates!

They`re people like governors, representatives, senators and DNC members.

You know, super people.

Superdelegates!

Number crunchers estimate that just one superdelegate vote is equal in value to about 10,000 regular people votes.

Superdelegates!

That`s equivalent of 8 million votes or equal to every Democrat, Republican, independent, man, woman and child in all of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina combined.

Wow, that sound pretty democratic.

Yeah.

And you thought Republicans were stealing elections. Ha, ha, ha, ha, right.

Superdelegates can vote the same as their constituency, but they don`t have to. So if superdelegates decided they want.

Hannah Montana to be the president.

Yeah, yeah. They`d be able to get 20 percent of the vote overnight.

Oh, go, Miley Cyrus.

Democratic Party big wigs wanted a way out in case the little people didn`t vote the way they wanted them to vote.

You know what`s funny is you still thought it was the Republicans that were stealing elections.

So I think you now agree that it`s quite simple.

Excuse me, Glenn.

Yeah.

Oh, my God, I love your show. Listen, I don`t get it.

All right. Let`s review one last time. The winner of the Democratic nomination has to get 2,025 delegates from an overall group made up of district level delegates, state level delegates, pledged delegates, unpledged delegates, distinguished party leader delegates or DPLs and add- on delegates and most importantly party leader delegates or PLEOs which are known as protectors of the universe, the few, the proud, the superdelegates .

Yay!

This has been the history of the democratic superdelegates!

In a couple of minutes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: You know, it makes sense to me. It really does. That`s the "Real Story" tonight. For a link to the cartoon you just saw, sign up for my free e-mail newsletter at glennbeck.com and we`ll put it in tomorrow`s edition. And remember, the only way to get tickets to this summer`s Glenn Beck political tour, it`s all comedy, is to become an insider this week. You laugh, you`ll cry, it will become a part of you and you`ll never ask yourself why doesn`t Glenn run for president, ever, ever, ever. Head over to glennbeck.com and become an insider and get your tickets today. We`ll see you in your town soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Usually I do a segment with my next guest and we trade sarcastic comments and insults. And he says things like you`re in a no talent blow hard and I say you dress as an out of work pimp. As fun as that is tonight we`re going a different way. Inspired by a touching letter his mother wrote him he`s written a warm and very funny new book filled with advice for his kids titled "In the Event of My Untimely Demise 20 Things My Son Needs to Know." The author is a friend who dresses like an out of work pimp, Brian Sack.

BRIAN SACK, AUTHOR: Thank you, Glenn.

BECK: Actually I just got the word your book number three in parenting on Amazon which is really, I mean, America, this isn`t a parenting book.

SACK: Well, it`s kind of a parenting book. I`m a parent, apparently.

BECK: Apparently, you are. They`re not licensing people yet to have kid yet.

SACK: They are not, that`s very evident.

BECK: So give me the advice that`s in this parenting book.

SACK: Well, there -- I`ve got 20 different chapters. Each one touches on different things my son should know, my son being everyone in the world who can read in English.

BECK: Wait a minute, you have a son.

SACK: I do. I actually have two now. I had the other one recently.

BECK: Really? I wish I would have kept track of the family. Too bad for me. Anyway, the different topics are -- give me the best piece of advice you .

SACK: One of my favorites is called get up, get out and go where the toilets are different. It`s about the importance of travel and the importance of travel learning about other cultures and therefore you can complain about them more effectively from a firsthand perspective. Why is this shower drooling on me in France. Why is that man taking my wife away?

BECK: Sure.

SACK: Why are they eating bees, things like that.

BECK: Do they really eat bees someplace?

SACK: China, they have bee pupae sauteed. I passed on it. I did eat a shark fin and a bird`s nest.

BECK: And you at the bird`s nest?

SACK: I didn`t know it was made out of bird saliva. It said bird`s nest. I thought it would be like twigs steamed. It was bird saliva.

BECK: Even the twig, doesn`t make you sound more sane. I thought I wasn`t eating the bird saliva. I thought it was just steamed twigs.

SACK: They say it`s very good for your health.

BECK: Mm-hmm. You know, Brian, I read the book -- I actually read it this summer when you were writing it and then I read portions of it again last night. It is really very, very funny. America, really truly, a very funny book. But, also, I was struck by -- I mean, I didn`t think you had a heart. I really didn`t.

SACK: Right. Like the tin man.

BECK: No, it is. You went to see the wizard and he gave you a heart.

SACK: Yeah. I got introspective.

BECK: Because it starts with probably the worst comedic line of all time, which is .

SACK: "When my mother was first diagnosed with cancer," yeah.

BECK: It`s a story about how your mother did write you a note.

SACK: Yes, she wrote me a letter in her cursive handwriting single spaced basically explaining her fears, that she could die and this is what I need to know and here`s what you should do and don`t take foolish risks with drugs and alcohol, meet a nice girl and marry her and have a good life, blah, blah, blah.

BECK: So she gave that -- or your father gave it to you.

SACK: Four years later she did die and, yes, my father handed that to me. And that was kind of the inspiration for my wife when my wife became pregnant. You know, I should write a book for my son or my child.

BECK: Yeah, you`re not writing it for the money. It`s very, very funny. It`s very heartwarming. And, actually, I can`t believe it. I mean, the guy used to be a vegan. It`s actually full of good advice.

SACK: Yeah. I got better.

BECK: You did. You`re healed. "In the Event of My Untimely Demise." You can find it now on amazon.com or at any of the sites or at any book store nationwide. Thanks, Brian.

SACK: Thanks.

BECK: Time for the "Real America" brought to you tonight by CSX. Every week I try to introduce you to regular Americans, schmoes like us just doing their part to help out local neighborhoods. It just goes to show you that sometimes a little time and a lot of heart is what you really need to win the fight for your life and become a local role model in the process.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK (voice-over): Kevin Collins isn`t your typical role model. He`s not famous. He didn`t go to college, and he doesn`t make a ton of money. But you`d never know it. Here in the basement of the Westbury Village Recreation Center Gym, Kevin Collins is a hero.

KEVIN COLLINS, BOXING TEACHER: The first to show me how to throw punches. Move. Especially how to box. If it wasn`t for him I probably wouldn`t have learned.

BECK: Every single day, Collins comes to the gym after work and volunteers his time and his boxing skills to help kid at risk learn the fundamentals of the sport. It`s a skill set he hopes will help these kids succeed out of the ring, just as much as it does during a boxing match.

COLLINS: Boxing`s a lot like life. It`s hard. It`s tough. It`s unpredictable. It`s not fair. Get your breath taken away just by one shot.

BECK: Most the kids here now know about Collins`s boxing career. As amateur prize fighter competing in the Empire State Games, Golden Gloves and the United States regional team, he`s got plenty of wins under his belt. What they don`t know is that he`s a recovering alcoholic. It`s boxing that provided the inspiration for Collins to move beyond his troubled past. It`s a message he hopes reaches these kids so they, too, can stay out of future trouble.

COLLINS: I would probably be unfortunately very drunk somewhere sitting in a bar, if I was lucky. If I wasn`t lucky, I`d be dead or I`d be incarcerated still.

BECK: It may just be a few hours after school every day. But for the kids here, it`s just what they need, slugging it out in the ring gives them the confidence and the discipline to stay on the right path. A life lesson Kevin Collins hopes all of his young boxers can retain.

COLLINS: I would definitely want them to walk out with a sense that if they want to accomplish something in their life, if you can get into the ring, if you can train for a fight, step into the ring, even if you lose, you can accomplish anything in life.

BECK: And that is quite a one-two punch.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK (on camera): He`s a great guy. I`ve got to fell you. I would also not mess with a guy in the marine hat. I just -- I wouldn`t. If you`d like to se more stories like this one click on cnn.com/glenn. Look for the "Real America" section. Tonight`s "Real America" is sponsored by CSX. It`s how tomorrow moves.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, we were told over and over again that the Reverend Wright thing was really not an issue. We kept saying, wait, wait, wait a minute. Take out the yelling and the screaming and just listen to him. Take out the politics. Listen to what this man is saying. Not just one time but over and over again we said it.

Well, finally Barack Obama has decided to listen. Maybe he should have been listening in church. He`s moving away from Reverend Wright so fast, I think this guy is going to be an atheist by Saturday. Here`s what he said earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate, and I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black church. They certainly don`t portray accurately my values and beliefs. And if Reverend Wright thinks that that`s political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn`t know me very well. And based on his remarks yesterday, well, I may not know him as well as I thought either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: You think? How many examples of this, you knew the man, he was in your house for 20 years. You know, but it wasn`t just Reverend Wright defending himself against the evil right wing hate machine filled with the typical bitter white people, was it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: When he states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS, when he suggests that Minister Farrakhan somehow represents one of the greatest voices of the 20th and 21st century, when he equates the United States wartime efforts with terrorism, then there are no excuses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Wow! I am glad to see he finally came to this conclusion. I guess the "He`s just been taken out of context," argument is a thing of the past, at least from Obama. But what about the right reverend himself, he says we`re just using sound bites. Well, like to cover that. We`re going to pay extended clips completely in context right here on this program Thursday. You don`t want to miss this episode. From New York, good night, America.

END