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Glenn Beck

Iran Test-Fires Missiles; Energy Analyst Weighs in on Energy Crisis; Brinkley, Cook Divorce Headed for Settlement?

Aired July 09, 2008 - 19:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE PAGLIARULO, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, a show of force. Iran test-fires missals as one official there claims, quote, "Our hands are always on the trigger." As tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalate, we ask who is best equipped to deal with the threat.

Plus, after hitting a three-month low, Iran`s antics drive oil prices up again. When will be see some stability or, more importantly, some relief.

And celebrity teen Jamie Lynne Spears shows off her newborn for a magazine cover. And here, we thought it was a bad idea to glamorize teen pregnancy.

All this and more, tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAGLIARULO: Hello, America. I`m Joe Pagliarulo, Joe Pags, sitting in for the vacationing Glenn Beck again tonight.

So less than two days ago, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who Glenn might call President Tom, dismissed fears that Israel and the United States could be preparing to attack his country by calling the possibility a, quote, "funny joke."

Well, after today`s activity by Iran`s air force, however, nobody is laughing here. Iran test-fired nine long-range and medium-range missiles. According to Iranian state television, it was an effort to show that Iran can retaliate against any U.S. or Israeli attack.

As the commander of Iran`s Revolutionary Guard put it, quote, "Our hands are always on the trigger, and our missiles are ready for launch."

Not only is this a national security issue, of course, it`s also important to note that this show of Iranian missile power took place in the Strait of Hormuz. So what? Right? Well, it`s a strategic waterway through which about 40 percent of all the world`s oil passes.

Joining me once again is CNN political contributor Amy Holmes.

Amy, always great to have you here.

AMY HOLMES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Great to be here.

PAGLIARULO: OK. So we hear about the Strait of Hormuz all the time. I had somebody call one of the radio shows last week and say, "You know what the problem is? The reason why the price of oil is going up, and the barrel of oil, is because Iran keeps threatening to close down the Strait of Hormuz."

Last week, just about four or five days ago, some official in the Iranian administration said, "We`re not going to close down the Strait of Hormuz," it seemed like oil was settling again. Today they might do it again. "Oh, and by the way look at our rockets go up in the air." Crazy stuff.

HOLMES: It is crazy stuff. And it shows the instability of Iran.

PAGLIARULO: Yes.

HOLMES: The U.N. Security Council has not been able to get them to stop enriching uranium. Today they do these test-fire missiles. And just yesterday, the president of Iran said that they were in the business of peace and stability in the region.

And now, as you brought up when we were talking before the show, Iran could be doing this to boost oil prices for domestic reasons, to be able to get more power and get more money into the country.

So when we have people like Barack Obama running for president, saying that he`d be willing to meet with them without preconditions...

PAGLIARULO: Right.

HOLMES: ... what does this mean when you`re dealing with a regime like this?

PAGLIARULO: We`re going to get to that in a while because not only does he say we should meet with them without conditions, because of the rocket firing. He said, yes, let`s definitely meet with them now, one-on- one.

OK. Joining us now with a look at the big picture of implications of Iran`s actions today is Peter Brookes, senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Peter, it`s always great to have you on. And when you see Iran, Amy hit it on the head here. This is a very, very unstable administration there, and this guy, President Tom, is -- again, Glenn, would call him, is he really the guy here, is he being controlled by somebody behind the scenes in all this?

PETER BROOKES, SENIOR FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Well, President Ahmadinejad is the president of Iran. And he says a lot of very provocative things from him that you pointed out last few moments.

But the real person pulling the strings in Iran is the grand ayatollah, the supreme leader, Khameini. And he`s the one who is really making the serious national security decisions regarding Iran`s posture in the Middle East, its provocations, and the like.

HOLMES: Well, Peter, what does today`s actions mean? What is Iran trying to tell the world, trying to tell the Mideast region?

BROOKES: Well, you`re absolutely right, Amy. The fact is, this is a provocation. And it`s also posturing. It sends the world -- a word to the world oil markets. It`s certainly going to push up their prices.

Iran`s economy is a mess. They -- they have not managed it very well at all. They have high inflation, high unemployment, and they like oil prices high. But this is something that will send ripples through the oil market after it slid a little bit over the last day or so. Oil prices are back up. It will bring more money into their coffers.

I think the other thing they`re saying is that -- hey, don`t mess with us. We have ways. There will be a cost for any military strike or even other actions against Iran.

I also think Iran is pushing back against the economic sanctions that the west has put on it over its runaway nuclear weapons program.

PAGLIARULO: Peter, I`ve got to throw that out to you, because you said this is also a show of force. We will not take any attack on us, either economically or militarily. And certainly, military, they`re saying we can come back and get you.

Did we not know that they had missiles that could reach -- that could reach Israel? Because this test showed clearly that they do have those missiles and, God forbid, they have nukes that they could put on the top of those missiles. Then we`re all in big trouble here.

BROOKES: Well, that`s -- that`s right. The fact of the matter is that Iran has a significant ballistic missile force. It can reach all of the Middle East, including our forces and Israel and parts of Southern Europe.

What was interesting about the tests of today and yesterday was that they tested an improved missile, a missile that`s called the Shahab. And this missile is probably the basis for what Iran is looking on, and it`s called an intercontinental ballistic missile program.

Iran some day would like to make its nuclear program, which I think is a nuclear weapons program, although they haven`t tested it yet, with an intercontinental ballistic missile that will hold the United States and all of Europe a hostage to its wills and desires.

HOLMES: So interesting. But Peter, what about the Iranian argument that this was actually being provoked by Israel when they had military exercises, that Iran is responding to that. That they`re the respondent, not the provocateur.

BROOKES: Well, Iran has military exercises, and they`ve held exercises like this in the past. And you`re right. They may be responding to what Israel did in the eastern Mediterranean a few weeks ago, which some people say was a dry run for an attack against Iran.

But remember, Israel is the country that feels most threatened by an Iranian nuclear program. And if you hear the things that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had said in the past, you know, talking about wiping Israel off the map, they have serious concerned.

The head of the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, Muhammad ElBaradei, recently said that he believed that, if Iran pulled out its stops, they could have a nuclear weapon within six months to a year. So this is making people really nervous. Not just the Americans and the Israelis, but also the Arab states in the region.

PAGLIARULO: Peter, thank you. We appreciate the knowledge. It`s interesting to note that who knows how the people in Iran are reacting. Maybe they walk around every day saying, "Are we going to be attacked by Israel?" Israel feeling the same way. We`re going to keep on going with this now.

Both the House and Senate Foreign Relations Committee held hearings on Iran today. And the White House released a statement saying that Iran`s missile launch was completely inconsistent with Iran`s obligations to the world. Yes, this is like the first time Iran hasn`t been a team player, right?

So with Iran dialing up their military might in the presidential election right around the corner, which candidate is best suited to lead the way and go toe to toe with Tehran?

Liz Chadderdon, Democratic strategist, president of the Chadderdon Group, is back with us today. And Chris Wilson is a Republican strategist and CEO of Wilson Research Strategies.

Liz, let me start with you. Do you think this was strategic on Iran`s part, timing-wise? Did they do this on purpose, knowing that we`re in this hotly contested election cycle here in America? Or even they just don`t care about that.

LIZ CHADDERDON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, Joe and Amy, first, I just want to tell you I missed you. I just had to come back and see you again.

But to answer your question, Joe, I can`t imagine that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is actually -- really cares at all about his affect on the presidential election, at least in July. It wouldn`t shock me if something goes down two weeks before election day.

PAGLIARULO: Yes. Totally, something.

CHADDERDON: You know, I really doubt seriously that that is why he did this today. I couldn`t agree with Peter Brooks more. I think he did this as a show of strength. He did it to send a message. And frankly, we heard that message loud and clear.

HOLMES: Chris, today on "The Today Show," Barack Obama, he told Matt Lauer that this calls for more intelligence, the missile testing, when in fact, this was broadcast on Iranian state television. This seems like a real rookie mistake to me. Is Barack Obama ready to lead?

CHRIS WILSON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: That`s the major question here, Amy. As he`s making decisions and looking for intelligence, I think what it does is it calls into question his experience, his ability to deal with these sorts of issues.

And if this election becomes about national security, it`s not in Barack Obama`s best interest. And by making statements like that, the rookie mistake you referred to earlier is exactly what the Barack Obama campaign`s got to avoid moving into it. And again, if this continues, if Iran is able to develop the Shahab, if that moves forward, then I think you`ll find this election being more and more about national security. And again, that plays in the McCain campaign`s favor.

PAGLIARULO: Liz, you`re going to find this amazing, but I`m going to come at you about Barack Obama, too. Can you believe it?

Barack Obama has said he -- he said in that debate that we all watched that -- that he thinks that we should have unilateral sit-downs and talks face-to-face, some sort of diplomacy with Iran and Chavez and Fidel Castro and all these other guys.

Now, after this rocket launch, you`d figure that he would probably back off that. He has a great way to flip-flop here now, but instead of doing that, he says, this is further proof that we have to sit down and have one-on-one diplomacy with Iran.

Isn`t that, honestly, just a horrible mistake, because now he`s telling anybody in the world, set up a couple of rockets and you`ll get the United States president`s attention. We`ll sit down and have a conversation with you.

CHADDERDON: Well, Joe, I have to tell you, I actually think it`s a really good thing that he`s not flip-flopping on this. What he`s saying is diplomacy is always a rational first step.

And in fact, I think America is really interested in a leader who has a cool head in a crisis. Because let`s be honest. Over the last eight years, we have sort of overreacted in situations, and we have gotten ourselves into a whole lot of trouble.

PAGLIARULO: But Liz -- but Liz, as much as I expect what you`re saying, Barack Obama is not having a cool head here, because he responded to somebody who has a very hot hand.

"My hand is on the button" is what Iran is saying right now. Barack Obama says, "Cool, we`ll sit down and talk with you."

It seems to me -- and these -- Iran and the leaders there and the way that they lead their life are all about honor and all about -- about, you know, holding up the respectability. He, to me, is honoring them by saying, "OK, you`ve got rockets. We`re afraid of you now. Let`s give in and sit down and talk with you."

What I would say if I were Barack Obama is "Forget you, man. You`re going to set off rockets and think you`re getting my attention? Knock that off. Knock off the nuclear program, and maybe we`ll sit down with a couple of friends of ours and you." What do you think?

CHADDERDON: Like I tell you, Joe, I think I still disagree with you, because I think sitting down with these leaders as a first step, not as an end-game, as a first step, is a rational way to move forward.

Because here`s what we don`t want. We don`t want America to have to go marching into downtown Tehran and shut it down the way we had to shut down Baghdad. We do not want to face another situation the way we are facing the situation in Iraq. We need to try to resolve these diplomatically first.

But where I will agree with you is if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues down this road, then I absolutely think that we have to show American might and not deal with him anymore.

HOLMES: Chris, this is a canard that Barack Obama keeps throwing out over and over, that we don`t have these avenues of communication, and in fact, we do. Ambassador Crocker in Iraq has been trying to -- has been sitting down with Iranians to try to put together that situation. We know Condoleezza Rice has offered to talk to Iraq but with preconditions. The condition is they stop enriching uranium.

But you know, in fairness to Barack Obama, Democrats, they point out John McCain`s own vulnerabilities on this issue. It seems like anything you do with Iran doesn`t work. So what does John McCain say?

WILSON: Well, I think John McCain has got to take the same attitude that Obama should be taking. And he hasn`t. I`ll quote Teddy Roosevelt here: speak softly and carry a big stick. Mt. Rushmore isn`t carved in the faces of people who want to sit down and have conversations whenever America was in danger.

You`ve got to stand tall. You`ve got to take action immediately. You`ve got to stop this before it moves further. Otherwise, we`re going to end up with another Pearl Harbor, another September 11 or other -- I keep running down the analogies all day. This is not a scenario we`ve got that`s (ph) good.

HOLMES: But isn`t it a fair criticism to say that we`re no better off with the Iranian situation under a Bush administration for eight years than when we started?

WILSON: Well, I think you`ve got to look. If you look at what`s happened since President Bush took office, look back to September 11, there`s not been an attack on the United States since that time. And there`s a reason that`s happened. And we all recognize that there are different things -- there are things that have gone on that we may not know about.

And you can make the arguments you want to about Iraq and Afghanistan, but the bottom line is the United States has not been attacked.

But if you look at what happened in Turkey, and if that gets tied back to al Qaeda, you`ve got to take a much more serious and a much more aggressive approach going after these countries that may be harboring terrorists and may be developing nuclear weapons. And you`ve got to make sure you cut them off before they get the power to strike at the United States again.

PAGLIARULO: We`re just getting going here. Liz, Chris, do me a favor and hang out. We`ll come back to you guys in just a little while here. All right?

And coming right up right here, after a temporary dip, Iran`s missile test has sent those oil prices soaring again. Find out how high and for how long in just a bit.

Then, where do we stand in the divorce trial of Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook after a court-appointed psychiatrist says they`re both nuts? We`ll wallow in the embarrassing details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAGLIARULO: Well, we established that Clinton donors aren`t exactly throwing cash at Senator Barack Obama`s campaign just yet, but new news today is that his voters have only come up with $100,000 to help Hillary settle her millions in campaign debt. Not exactly filling the party with unity here. So does that spell opportunity for the GOP? That`s coming up.

First, when it comes to oil prices, things can get pretty slippery. See what I did? The cost of a barrel of crude has just taken a dip of almost 10 bucks. And then Iran test-fired some missiles, and everybody freaked out, and the prices jumped right back up.

To make matters worse, the tests also sent our dollar plummeting against the yen and the euro. But even with that brief decline in the price of crude, oil futures have surged 91 percent in just the last year.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says, "Hey, let`s tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve." I emphasize "strategic" for a reason there. But that seems more like another political Band-Aid on a much bigger problem. So what does this mean for the rest of the summer`s gas prices and winter`s heating oil?

Byron King is an analyst and editor of "Outstanding Investments," joins Amy and me. Hi, Byron.

OK, so what does this mean? Iran -- first of all, do you see this as an action by Iran to make sure those oil prices go back up? Holy mackerel, looks like the oil prices are going down. Let`s shoot off some rockets.

BYRON KING, EDITOR, "OUTSTANDING INVESTMENTS": You`ve got that conspiracy theory thing that the Iranians -- that the Iranians enjoy charging everyone $145 a barrel and that they take that money and they do good things with it like build nuclear bombs.

PAGLIARULO: Yes, imagine that.

KING: Yes, yes. Yes. I mean, they have a shopping list, and it`s not Neiman Marcus. It`s the expensive stuff from North Korea, the missiles. So it could -- I wouldn`t put it past them, I mean. Although it does take months to plan a missile test. I will -- you can`t do that stuff overnight.

HOLMES: So while Democrats are busy beating up the Clinton -- I`m sorry, the Bush administration for oil prices surging and skyrocketing, because we don`t have proper diplomacy here, diplomacy there. Aren`t we seeing that these oil prices are very influenced by events outside of our control?

KING: Very much so. I mean, here in the United States, we are -- we are price-takers, not price-makers. I mean, we use a lot of oil. You know, the way to control the price would be to not use a lot of oil, but you can`t do that overnight.

For all the pain at the pump, you know, going from two bucks a gallon to four bucks a gallon, five bucks. People really are, you know, suffering because of that price.

You know, we`re seeing gasoline demand drop by something like 4 percent on a national average, and oil use is down a little bit. But in the rest of the world, they`ve been going great guns. When you look at the charts of oil demand in the developing world, it is just a nice, steady climb. You know, not so nice for us, but you know, there -- people seem to like having, you know, liquid fuel. Once you get into a car and turn on the engine and get behind a set of wheels, you don`t want to get out of it. You don`t want to...

PAGLIARULO: Let me tell you something, Byron. I love the sound of an all-American V-8: "blah-blah-blah-blah-blah." I love that noise. I turn that sucker on and start using the gas.

I`ve got to ask you this. And I love to bring this up. You know, the mid-term elections, we had the Democrats come in and say, "Hey, we need a change. We need to fix this thing. It`s a do-nothing Congress. We`re going to make it better."

Well, they`ve done even less this time around. Can I -- which I`d like to, as a conservative guy -- can I hang on the Democrats who are now controlling the House and the Senate, the reason why these gas prices are going up? Do they have anything to do with it?

KING: You know, they can`t just wash their hands on this. I mean, you know, you`ve got to spread the blame around. In all fairness, it goes to a lot of places, a lot of people.

But the Democrats in Congress haven`t helped. They`ve been totally obstructionist when it comes to energy production. You know, it`s nice to say that we`re going to go to alternatives. Alternative energy sources provide less than 2 percent of the total United States energy demand. You`d have to scale alternatives up by a factor of dozens and dozens and dozens, really, to get to where you can start replacing carbon. We are in the carbon business in this country for the next century, and we can`t get away from it. We may as well make the best of it.

HOLMES: Byron, what do you say to Nancy Pelosi`s scheme to tap into the strategic, meaning national security strategic oil reserve, but then she opposes drilling in ANWR? She`s rather protect ANWR than our national security interests, it seems.

KING: Well, my psychologist friends would call it cognitive dissonance. But no, it`s just an absolute element of hypocrisy. It`s not the Economic Petroleum Reserve. It`s the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

There are no supply interruptions going on right now. Oil is pumping. Oil is loading on tankers. Oil is shipping, flowing, being landed. We just don`t like the price. OK? That`s not a strategic issue. That`s an economic issue.

What we`re -- what we`re seeing by tapping into it is an act of just desperation on the part of American politicians. They`re out of ideas. They`re like the gambler in Los Angeles who`s had a really bad night, blown the wad, you know, blown the milk money, the rent money, the kids` shoes money. And they`re going to double down on every bet.

PAGLIARULO: Byron, listen, we appreciate you taking the time and giving us that knowledge here. Thanks again.

Straight ahead right now, the divorce trial of Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook has turned into a contest to see who is crazier. A court- appointed shrink says it`s a tie. Yay! Details coming up.

And Hillary Clinton supporters seem reluctant to put their bucks behind Barack Obama. And Obama supporters say sorry. Hillary`s campaign debt isn`t their problem. Could all this bickering about money cost Obama the election? Find out right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAGLIARULO: The divorce trial between Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook was put on hold earlier today with rumors of an impending settlement. Well, that may have had a little something to do with the recent testimony of a court-appointed psychiatrist who took the stand yesterday to say Christie needs therapy as an outlet for the anger and betrayal she feels, and Peter needs some couch time because he`s an egomaniacal narcissist.

It would be easier to laugh about all of this if there weren`t two kids caught right in the middle of it all.

Tracy Connor is a reporter for "The Daily News."

You know, Tracy, when we look at this. I mean, Dr. Herman basically said, "All right. We`ve got to end this because the kids aren`t doing any better because of what we`re hearing in open court," right?

TRACY CONNOR, REPORTER, "THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": That`s right. He had harsh words for both sides. Although Peter Cook definitely came off looking worse in the end.

HOLMES: And here`s what I don`t understand. You have been following this case. Why did Peter Cook decide to go to this open trial? We know in these divorce proceedings, custody generally goes to the mother. Did he think he was going to get a better custody deal once it was out in the open, with his Web cams and this mistress who was paid off and his porn addiction and all this type of stuff? I mean, why did he just -- why did he let this come out? Why didn`t he just settle?

CONNOR: Well, there were settlement talks before the trial. Both sides couldn`t come to an agreement. It was actually Christie who pushed for the trial to be open. She says she feels that`s the way the truth comes out and the way to get a fair trial.

PAGLIARULO: OK. I`m wondering, with this being held up, I guess the judge is giving them a chance to have the settlement happen. What if it does pick up, what if the trial does pick back up? Where do we sort of go from here?

First of all, I guess what I wanted to ask you here was the kids were never brought in and questioned on this, were they? Did they have to go through this, too?

CONNOR: The kids were questioned by the court-appointed psychiatrist in private, and he includes some information about them in the report, but they have not been brought into open court, and there`s no suggestion that they would be. They`re both away at summer camp right now.

HOLMES: How do you see this thing ending up? I mean, a lot of people, the conventional wisdom here is that Christie Brinkley, this was a slam dunk for her, this whole trial process, because of the things that came out about Peter Cook. She`s most likely to get full custody, with him having visitation rights. Is that how you see it ending up?

CONNOR: It`s hard to predict, but the court-appointed psychiatrist is recommending that Christie get full custody. That`s going to carry a lot of weight with the judge.

And Peter Cook has said all along he doesn`t want full custody. He just wants fuller access to the kids. He wants to be able to spend more days or months with them. While Christie is trying to curtail the number of days that he has with them.

PAGLIARULO: Was this sort of a necessary evil, then, for Peter Cook to go out there, to put his entire personal, you know, weird, sordid life out there so that he could, in fact, ensure he gets time with his kids? And how exactly, in the eyes of the court, does he possibly walk away here in a settlement with more rights to the kids, having admitted all of this weird stuff?

CONNOR: A lot of the weird stuff that you`re talking about has more to do with the grounds for divorce.

PAGLIARULO: OK.

CONNOR: And...

PAGLIARULO: It doesn`t show that you`re not, you know, as worthy a parent as the other person, if you`re spending time half naked on the Web cam?

CONNOR: Well, Christie`s -- Christie`s side is arguing that that shows a certain level of recklessness.

PAGLIARULO: Yes.

CONNOR: It definitely will come into play. But there`s no question that he would get some visitation with the children.

HOLMES: So I`ve got to ask, because the shrink, he weighed in on this question. Who is crazier: Peter Cook for being a creep or Christie Brinkley for marrying one?

CONNOR: He seemed to say that Christie has bad taste in men and is angry about the betrayals, but Peter Cook, he described some of his behavior as sort of beyond the pale, outside the bell-shaped curve.

PAGLIARULO: All right, Tracy. Thank you very much. We appreciate your time today and the update of this case. We`ll stay all over this for you, I promise.

Coming up right here, the Democrats in disarray. Why donor disenfranchisement over Hillary Clinton may spell trouble for Barack Obama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAGLIARULO: Coming up, "OK!" magazine is the first to put teen mom Jamie Lynn Spears and her newborn baby on its cover, but does that make it OK? Given the recent controversy over teen pregnancies at a Massachusetts high school, should we really be glorifying it? A heated discussion in just a bit right here.

But first, why is it that men and women always seem to fight about money? A bunch of Hillary Clinton`s high-dollar fund-raisers aren`t opening up their hearts to Barack Obama. And in a political game of tit for tat, many of Obama`s supporters have made it quite clear that Hillary`s record-setting campaign debt is her business and not their problem. In some rather salty terms, apparently, too.

The trouble is Obama needs Clinton`s help as we settle into the march toward November`s general election. So, what`s a presumptive nominee to do?

Joined once again by CNN political contributor Amy Holmes.

And what presumptive nominee Barack Obama should do in my non- Democratic, non-liberal position here, is put her on the ticket already. If he doesn`t do that, he takes a real chance.

HOLMES: Oh, I don`t know, Joe.

PAGLIARULO: There are 18 million reasons, Amy, why he has got to put her on the ticket.

HOLMES: I don`t know. I think that`s maybe a little bit of wishful thinking. If he puts her on the ticket, that energizes Republicans like nothing else.

PAGLIARULO: What are you talking about? I didn`t think about that at all.

HOLMES: I don`t know. Maybe he should take that advice.

But here`s what I think he should do. I think he should get this problem off of the table with her debt.

He has 1.5 million donors. All they have to do is pony up $5, $10 a piece...

PAGLIARULO: Yes.

HOLMES: ... and then the Hillary debt issue is over.

PAGLIARULO: But he can`t make them do that. Even if he says let`s do that.

HOLMES: But he says that he doesn`t even want to distract his donors from giving to Hillary Clinton. So, if he wants these Web sites every day complaining about Barack Obama and how ungracious he is, how he`s not helping Hillary, what he could do is just ask his donors, $5, $10, let`s get this off of the table and let`s go into the Democratic Convention unified.

PAGLIARULO: As part of the introduction to this story, I mentioned men and women fighting about money. And as much as that might sound like, you know, a fun little -- oh, it`s a little line to get us into where we`re going...

HOLMES: Sure.

PAGLIARULO: ... truthfully, is there a man/woman, a gender problem here in that women who supported Hillary Clinton -- I`ve heard a lot of them on my radio talk show...

HOLMES: Yes.

PAGLIARULO: ... you`ve talked to a lot of them -- is it specifically that women think that she was treated unfairly because of her gender. Therefore, they won`t pony up the money?

HOLMES: There`s certainly a lot of that, that Hillary`s supporters are saying that she was treated unfairly and in a sexist way. They point to the cackle remarks about Hillary Clinton...

PAGLIARULO: Yes, right.

HOLMES: ... and comparing Hillary Clinton to Glenn Close. So, you know, they`re pretty cheesed about this.

PAGLIARULO: All right.

Listen, let`s bring in our political panel.

Joining us once again is Liz Chadderdon, Democratic strategist and president of The Chadderdon Group, and Chris Wilson, Republican strategist and CEO of Wilson Research Strategies.

Chris, let me start with you this time. So what do you think? I mean, is it just wishful thinking for conservative, big head, radio talk show host here boy to have Hillary Clinton as the vice presidential nominee, or does it make good sense if there were 18 million votes that she got, a good part of which he won`t get unless she`s a part of it?

WILSON: Well, it`s not going to happen. So I think you`ve got to move on from that and kind of figure out, what does it actually mean?

And what it shows to me is the happy face that they`re putting on when they go out and campaign together and talk to each other doesn`t really exist. There`s a lot of animosity that still exists there.

And what`s funny is, a couple days ago, I actually got an e-mail from Barack Obama`s campaign manager saying that if I would send in $5, I could go into a drawing to walk out into Invesco Field with Obama. And I bet they raised a lot of money from that.

I didn`t actually send in my $5...

PAGLIARULO: I was going to ask you, yes, what`s up with that?

WILSON: ... but they could do something very similar to raise money for Hillary Clinton with the same sort of gimmick, the same sort of -- I mean, let`s face it, Obama has been a prodigious fund-raiser and has really broken every record that`s ever existed there.

If they used just one ounce of the creativity that went into that e- mail to walk on Invesco Field with Barack Obama to do something for Hillary Clinton would go a long way. But he`s not going to do it. It`s not going to happen.

And because of that, you`re going to find a vote that Hillary Clinton ran up in states like Kentucky, states like West Virginia, where you had 40 percent of Clinton voters, as many as 40 percent, sometimes more, say they weren`t going to vote for Obama, that`s going to hold itself true. And it`s going to take those states that he thinks are going to be in play out of play again.

HOLMES: So, Liz, you know, Barack Obama`s supporters say, why should I give money to that woman who was raising money to beat my guy, especially after when it seemed mathematically impossible for her to get the nomination? Why should I give money to Hillary Clinton so that Mark Penn, who ran her campaign into the ground, can get a third house in Georgetown? I mean, isn`t that fair?

CHADDERDON: Amy, I think that`s absolutely fair. And I will tell you that there are a lot of Barack Obama supporters who have enormous amount of respect for Hillary Clinton, but aren`t interested in retiring her campaign debt.

That was her decision to go into debt. She didn`t have to make it. She certainly has the money to do that. I mean, she and former President Clinton filed, what, $105 million last year?

HOLMES: They are rich people.

CHADDERDON: They`ve got the money. I think there are a lot of Obama supporters who are saying this is not their problem.

And frankly, I think they`re also saying, we won, you lost. And that may be a little tough, but at the end of the day, it`s true. Obama has won this nominating process. She did not. It`s time to move on, it`s time to get Barack Obama elected in November.

LEMON: And Liz, I`ve got to jump on what I said a few minutes ago in the introduction to you guys. Is there a gender component here?

I know that I do get phone calls from women who say, I will never, ever vote for him because he she lost because he attacked her gender in a very subtle way, but he attacked her gender and that was unfair. Even if he really didn`t do that -- I`m not saying that he did -- even if he really didn`t do that, there is a perception out there from her supporters that that`s what he did and that`s why she lost.

What do you think?

CHADDERDON: No. Unfortunately, Joe, there`s an enormous perception out there among her supporters that that`s exactly what happened.

The media contributed, that there were a whole lot of factors that contributed to her losing, which I find really sad because she lost because she made fundamental errors in her own campaign. I actually don`t believe in the whole misogynist conspiracy theory going on.

But I will tell you this, my mother, 65 years old, Houston, Texas, huge Hillary Clinton voter, has said to me, "I`m not giving him money and I`m not going to work for him, but I am going to vote for him." And at the end of the day, if we can just get these voters to recognize that Barack Obama is the better choice for them over John McCain in November, that`s all we need.

HOLMES: But Chris, isn`t that the task ahead? How does Barack Obama get those Hillary Clinton supporters to recognize him?

CNN had a poll. A third of Hillary`s supporters said that they`re going to stay home in November, and only 54 percent of Hillary Clinton supporters said they have any plans to vote for Barack Obama.

Doesn`t he need to do this -- to retire her debt as a gesture of good will and to get this issue off the table?

WILSON: Well, he does. And exactly what I said earlier. They could use some of the creativity that they have used to raise $200 million so far to accomplish those goals. But it doesn`t look like they`re going to do it.

And until they do, they`re going to lose those voters behind. They`re going to leave them at home.

I agree with everything that Liz said. Obama`s supporters see that she ran up this debt on her own free will, they don`t want Mark Penn to have a third house in Georgetown, as much as Liz and I may believe that`s so warranted, you know. Two is enough.

And it`s become -- it is going to become a problem. It`s driving a wedge between their supporters.

There`s a lot of people like Liz`s mom who are going to vote at the end of the day. But there`s a lot more who aren`t, who either are going to stay home or going to vote for John McCain and get back to the issues that are going to decide this election.

And I think there`s a lot of people who voted for Hillary Clinton, a lot of conservative Democrats, that at the end of the day are not going to be with Barack Obama, one because he`s not embraced her. Two, because he ran her out. And three, because he`s just not right for America.

PAGLIARULO: Hey, Liz, I have got to throw this at you. OK, you`re right, he won, she lost. Deal with it, get over it.

I`m not going to run it, but her campaign -- in her congratulations speech to him, you know, we`re going to fight together. We believe the same things. And the principles are we`ve got to get somebody different in there and change, and I`m going to back you up.

What if she just says, forget it, I`m not going to back you up at all? I`m not going to go and campaign for you. I`m not going to fight against you, but you help me out with this debt, or else I`m not going to go out and help you out. And I had 18 million vote for me.

What if she pulls away from his campaign and just goes on vacation? She can.

CHADDERDON: Well, it could really hurt him, Joe. I mean, I`m certainly not going to take away any of Hillary Clinton`s power or respect, and certainly I`m not going to take away her 18 million voters.

I think if she got up and walked away from the campaign and we didn`t see her again until November, it would really, really hurt Barack Obama. But here`s the good news: I don`t think Hillary Clinton is going do that, whether he helps her retire her debt or not.

At the end of the day, Hillary Clinton and her husband are Democrats. And they believe in the Democratic Party and they want to see a Democrat in the White House in November. I believe that about them and I don`t think they`re going to get up and walk away.

PAGLIARULO: All right. You believe in them more than I do. But, you know, we knew that going in.

Liz and Chris, thank you so much for your time.

All right. So, as we take a look at this, I mean, you know going forward that the Clintons -- I mean, politically, it`s the toughest machine we have seen in the past half century.

HOLMES: Sure.

PAGLIARULO: This is a political machine that is still not very happy with what happened here in this election. She`s going to support him because they`re pretty like-minded when it comes to the issues, and they want a Democrat in the White House, clearly.

It doesn`t look like she`s going to be the vice presidential nominee, which I think, again, strategically, she probably should be if he wants to get those votes. But at the same time, what if she does decide, I`m gong on vacation? She might still believe in him, she might still vote for him.

HOLMES: You know what, Joe?

PAGLIARULO: Do you think she`s going to stay on the campaign trail even if this debt stays there?

HOLMES: You don`t have to believe that the Clintons have a heart, but they do have a head. And Hillary Clinton does not want to be blamed by the Democratic Party for ruining Barack Obama`s chances at the White House.

If she walks away from this, if she goes off on vacation to Martha`s Vineyard or wherever it is that their friends always set them up, then she will be blamed for this. And that would really seriously damage her credibility in the Democratic Party.

PAGLIARULO: Yes, but you know what? If she does that, then four years, she gets a chance to try again.

HOLMES: The "should have been me" candidate. "I told you so" candidate.

PAGLIARULO: I`m telling you, it could happen.

All right.

Celebrity teen Jamie Lynn Spears is a new mom, and now a magazine cover model. But is trotting out her newborn for the media and talking about her perfect delivery model behavior? That`s coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAGLIARULO: Like any good teen mom, Jamie Lynn Spears is making sure that her baby, Maddie Briann Aldridge, has everything a new daughter needs. Like appearing on the cover of "OK!" magazine. In an exclusive interview and photo shoot with the magazine, sorry "Newsweek," Britney`s baby sister says being away from the bright lights of Hollywood has helped her learn that, "the focus is on the family, and that`s a good way to live."

Amen, sister.

Well, it`s great that mother and child are doing well. You have to wonder, is it really, really a good idea to feature a smiling unmarried, teen mom on the cover of a national magazine? Considering the devastating effects of teen pregnancy, and the shocking alleged pregnancy pact at a Gloucester, Massachusetts, high school, maybe we should keep the stories about pregnant 16-year-olds on the down low.

Amy Holmes is here of course. And you know -- on the down low, see I even know the lingo.

AMY HOLMES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, yes.

PAGLIARULO: I`ve got two teenage girls at home, got a 7-year-old who is going to be 8 soon. Thankfully, they`re pretty insulated from stuff like this and think Jamie Lynn Spears is an idiot. But I always thought that there were repercussions, there were ramifications, consequences for your actions. The consequences for Jamie Lynn Spears seems to be, let`s get more famous now.

HOLMES: I think you`re hitting the nail on the head. And Jamie Lynn Spears, she is not your average teenage mother. This is a girl who is a millionaire, who has nannies and housekeepers and chauffeurs. So for the young girls who are looking at this cover and thinking that she just lives this perfect life -- her life is very different from, say, these young girls in Massachusetts who put together this pact.

Also, I think we`re hitting on the point of, why the narcissism? Why does she have to appear on the cover of a magazine? She talks about getting away from Hollywood and the attention, and the next thing you know she`s selling her baby pictures. What message does that send a teen girl? That you can become more famous for getting pregnant outside of marriage as a high schooler.

PAGLIARULO: And what kind of a chance does this kid have? At least try, just a little bit, try to insulate or get your child out of the public eye. This child -- this child`s aunt is Britney Spears. Come on.

HOLMES: I was going to say, let`s face it, that childhood celebrity has not done great things for Britney Spears` mental development.

PAGLIARULO: And, by the way, Britney of course became much more famous when she went nuts too. OK, we`ve got to bring in some guests here. Bill Maier is a child and family psychologist for Focus on the Family and Jeff Gardere is a clinical psychologist.

Jeff, I want to start with you.

How about my whole take on this thing, that the ramifications for Jamie Lynn Spears, as was for her older sister, the more stupid things they do, the more anti-values against what our society would expect would be normal behavior for a teenager or young adult to do, the more famous they get?

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: That`s entertainment.

(LAUGHTER)

GARDERE: Listen, they`ll use anything in order to get on these covers, in order to get their stories out there. We know "OK!" magazine paid them, but I like what you said in the first place. That most kids, this is not their life. This is not real. This is so glamorized. And a lot of kids I know are like, you know what? She is a jerk, and she just happens to be a very rich and lucky jerk.

HOLMES: Boy, I hope that`s true, but you know what? I`ve read studies where kids today, when they are asked their No. 1 aspiration, it`s to be famous. It`s to be like this girl on the cover of "OK!" magazine. Isn`t this a bad influence for those teens who do look up to these young ladies?

GARDERE: Well, I think that your point is a good one, that in fact, it could be a bad influence. But it`s not the only influence that`s out there. If you`re raising your kids to just read "OK!" magazine or "People" magazine, yes, that could be somewhat of a bad experience for them, a bad influence if all they keep seeing is this stuff about teen pregnancies and how it`s glorified. But hopefully they have a diet that allows them to read other magazines, other news sources of information.

PAGLIARULO: Hey Bill, I`m going to ask you about this. OK, so Jamie Lynn Spears is getting all this publicity -- and I agree with what Jeff said. She`s a jerk. A lot of kids are going to be smart enough to look right through that. A lot of kids, like we see in Gloucester, Massachusetts, say, hey, look at that, she`s on the cover of "OK!" magazine, she`s more famous now, maybe I should get me a baby.

Don`t you think that kids are so impressionable right -- when they`re going through puberty that they`ll look at this and say here is my -- for some reason we have this fixation with being famous in America -- here`s my way to do so.

BILL MAIER, FOCUS ON THE FAMILY: That`s what the research would show, Joe. The fact is that kids are looking at these role models and that pretty much determines how they`re going to live their lives.

And they say, you know what? Jamie Lynn Spears, she had a baby, she`s doing great. But, as Amy pointed out a minute ago, the fact is 80 percent of unwed teen mothers are going to live in poverty and their kids are going to live in poverty. And her nice story in the front of "OK!" magazine is not talking about the sleepless nights and the poopie diapers and the projectile vomiting.

PAGLIARULO: Because she`s not dealing with them. She doesn`t deal with those things. She`s a famous person.

MAIER: That`s just it. But that`s the reality of the situation and our kids aren`t being told the whole truth.

And I think we owe it to our kids, we owe it to the American teenager, to let them know, this is what teen pregnancy is really all about.

HOLMES: Oh, Bill, I completely agree with you and I think there`s another angle to this, which is the hypersexualization of young girls, younger and younger girls. I look at these Brats dolls, they look like hookers or tramps and these are supposed to be for girls who are in third and fourth grade. And now we have Jamie Lynn Spears getting pregnant out of wedlock as a young girl. What does this say to America`s women -- or young ladies?

MAIER: Yes, it really is tragic. And I think that`s where parents need to step in. And Jeff pointed this out a minute ago, parental guidance is so, so critical in this day and age. Our kids are being bombarded with these messages from our culture. Messages that really lead them to behaviors that are dangerous and could really be destructive long-term. So that`s why as parents, we need to be so involved in our kids` lives and pointing out to them, you know, this is not the way we want you to live, these are not the values in our family. Here`s what we believe is important and right and good and we want you to follow those precepts.

PAGLIARULO: Hey Jeff, I want to piggy-back on what the doctor just said there. Because, you`ve got the Gloucester, Massachusetts, 16 or however many it was, that got pregnant, showing up on all sorts of morning shows, getting national publicity, smiling, oh, I`m so happy, now I`m going to feel loved.

How do I, as the parent of two teenagers, and an almost 8-year-old, tell my kids as we are waiting in the grocery store aisle, as we`re looking at this, look how wonderful -- she`s smiling, and those other 16 -- now they feel loved, and you know, dad, people just don`t love me enough.

What specifically do I say to my children to make them click out of that mode and say, wait a second, this is fantasyland, this isn`t really what happens here?

GARDERE: Well, I think first of all explaining to them that this is not real life and this is not what you do is very important. And Bill is absolutely correct, that we do have to step in. Where we as parents become the role models and not be superstars that we see in the magazines.

But the other thing is, we have to listen to our kids. If they say to us, listen, we`re not getting love, we don`t have enough people who talk to us about love, then we need to hear what they`re saying and give them that love so they`re not finding it by doing something --

PAGLIARULO: Hey Jeff, I just want to --

GARDERE: -- something stupid like having a baby.

PAGLIARULO: I want to just jump in for a second because my daughter, C.J. has a MySpace site, and she`s very, very loved. I have to approve all the people that can go on the MySpace site. But you can change your mood on MySpace and one day she said, unloved or forgotten. And I called her and said, what are you talking about? Oh, well my boyfriend hasn`t called me today.

They do identify love -- OK, I get love from mom and dad, but I`m going to identify love with what I`m getting from the boy at school. That`s a scary proposition.

GARDERE: It is a scary proposition. But what I love here, no pun intended, is that, in fact, you know what`s happening with your daughter, you know what`s happening with your children, you know what`s happening on the MySpace page. So look at the big picture and keep constant communication with them and things like this Spears situation will not be such a negative effect on their lives because you`re the one who is affecting their lives.

PAGLIARULO: Jeff, Bill, great insight on this. Thank you very much. We`re going to keep an eye -- well, I guess we have to keep an eye on her because she`s all over the magazine covers now. All right.

And Congress is just full of fantastic ideas to help out with our energy crisis. Risking our national security to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve -- great. Proposing a uniform national speed limit -- yeah, right. What do you mean you haven`t heard about that one? Details are coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAGLIARULO: As the red rocker Sammy Hagar told us back in 1984, he can`t drive 55. I would sing it, but my voice is just a little too low.

Sammy, meet your moral enemy, Virginia`s Republican senator, John Warner. He suggested that the U.S. Congress might want to reconsider imposing a national speed limit of 55 miles an hour to save gasoline and possibly ease fuel prices.

The last time the double nickel ruled the roads was during our first oil crisis in 1974. That lasted until 1995.

And Amy, I`ve been getting phone calls on this. We talked about this yesterday in Houston and in San Antonio. And truck drivers, long haul truck drivers who drive those 18-wheelers, called the program and said we absolutely can never do this. And he gave -- one guy gave a great example.

If he`s got a 700-mile run, he`s allowed by law to drive for 11 straight hours. If he can drive 70, he can do that 700 miles in less than the 11 hours that he`s allowed to do. If he has to drive 55, he can go about 550, maybe 600 miles, and has to stop.

It`s going to take him overnight. He`s got to pay for a hotel room.

HOLMES: Sure.

PAGLIARULO: It`s going to cost more money out of his pocket.

HOLMES: Sure.

PAGLIARULO: He can drive fewer loads now because of this restriction.

John Warner I think is reaching at straws and saying I need to help with the gas prices to get reelected.

HOLMES: I think that`s right.

PAGLIARULO: So let me throw something against the wall here.

HOLMES: And, you know, I remember Sammy Hagar`s song "I Can`t Drive 55." And that was a sentiment that was widely shared by so many Americans. That`s why the speed limit was changed. And you know, let`s face it, when was the last time Senator Warner had to drive his own car?

PAGLIARULO: That`s a great question. He probably has a driver, he probably hasn`t filled up at the gas pump in a long time.

HOLMES: Sure.

PAGLIARULO: I also talked to people yesterday who said, you know, you think there`s road rage now?

HOLMES: No kidding.

PAGLIARULO: Can you imagine if we went down to 55? I mean, at 55 or 70 miles an hour in parts of Texas it`s 80 miles an hour.

HOLMES: Right.

PAGLIARULO: People are still up your rear end...

HOLMES: And what about...

PAGLIARULO: ... as you`re trying to drive down the roadway, getting out of the way. Fifty-five they would go nuts, and the traffic would be twice as much in Houston, San Antonio, and everywhere else.

HOLMES: Oh, I can believe it. And what about the long stretches of road in Texas and in California? We`d be creeping down the road at 55 miles an hour and you`ve got three or four hours to go with nothing but hills and cows? I mean, this would drive people crazy.

PAGLIARULO: And there`s a money grab, because at 55, everybody`s going to be breaking the speed limit.

HOLMES: Oh, and those speeding tickets. I`ll bet the cities and states, they` will love this.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: Yes, let us drive our cars.

PAGLIARULO: Well, and there`s one other quick thing. All you have to really do is change the gearing on cars.

HOLMES: Is that right?

PAGLIARULO: If you don`t like how much gas mileage is being used at 70 miles an hour, instead of a five speed, make it a six speed. Instead of a four speed, make it a five speed. The gearing will be lower. The car will go from eh to ah!

HOLMES: Well, I think as conservatives, we can agree. We don`t need big government, big brother looking over our steering wheel and...

(CROSSTALK)

PAGLIARULO: Ingenuity, technology, we can absolutely do better than this.

HOLMES: I agree.

PAGLIARULO: All right. I`m glad you agree.

HOLMES: Fist bump?

PAGLIARULO: Fist bump. That`s going to do it for us for tonight. I`m Joe Pagliarulo.

HOLMES: I`m Amy Holmes.

PAGLIARULO: From New York, good night.

HOLMES: Good night.

END