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Glenn Beck

Nancy Pelosi`s Congress; Getting Schooled; Heroes on the Homefront; White Supremacists Targeting Obama?; Former White House Advisor Weighs in on Dems` Platform

Aired August 26, 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 proof evil forces are working against America. With the Democratic convention in full swing, three white supremacists are busted in Denver with sniper rifles. Was it part of a possible plot against Obama? We`ll have the details.

Plus, Hillary Clinton caught in the spotlight. Can she bring unity to the divided Democrats? Yes, I don`t care what she says. She doesn`t want Obama to win, and I`ll explain.

Plus, more hypocrisy from the Democratic National Convention. Pull yourselves up by the bootstraps, people. Really, is the government giving you the bootstraps? Former White House advisor and Republican strategist Mary Matalin weighs in.

All this and more, tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Hello, America.

I have to admit, last night, listening to Nancy Pelosi, I felt like Chris Matthews with this thrill going up my leg. It was fantastic. And then Michelle Obama. She stood up there, and she said rise up from the ashes. You will be powerful and successful. You know, not without our help or government`s help. You can`t do it. We did, but you can`t. More on that in just a bit.

But here`s the point tonight. The phony display of unity being forced down our throats at the DNC is covering up the fact that there is real discontent in the parties, both of them, and in this country. Here`s how I got there.

Life in America has weird parallels right now to the 1930s. Back then, the first ever intercontinental commercial flight took off. Now, we may be seeing the last one take off.

Back then, we decided that the only way out of the Great Depression was with a filibuster-proof Congress, a bunch of Democrats that could pass a bunch of massive socialist programs called the New Deal. Looks like we`re headed down that road again.

Back in the 1930s, our enemies abroad were gathering strength, and so were our enemies at home. Now, as old enemies abroad regain their strength, so do those familiar enemies here at home.

Over the weekend in Denver, Colorado, police arrested a white supremacist who may have been planning to assassinate Barack Obama. The U.S. attorney says there is no credible threat to Obama or anyone else, but given that this man was caught with two rifles, including one with a scope, a bullet-proof vest, boxes of ammunition, walkie-talkies and methamphetamines, all within 20 miles of where the first-ever nomination of an African-American presidential candidate is happening, I mean, you`ve got to wonder, is it really just a coincidence?

Oh, and speaking of coincidences, a few hours later, the white supremacist, he was caught, he was in jail. You know, the one with the rifles. Police then tried to arrest another man that that guy was connected to, another white supremacist. He was in Glendale. That`s eight miles from downtown Denver. When the cops raided his hotel room, he jumped out the hotel window, fell six stories down. They found him with a hand- cuff key clutched in one hand and a swastika ring on the other. Oh, and by the way, his last name, Adolf.

America, here`s what you need to know tonight. Extremists come in all shapes and sizes, from race-baiters to Islamic fundamentalists. But while their targets may differ, their hate is real. The more we ignore it, the more we just try to shut it up and look the other way and sweep it under the rug, like we did a couple of weeks ago when a Canadian apparently killed himself, suicide, in Denver, with a pound of cyanide in his hotel room, the farther we come from actually truly eliminating these problems.

Peter Boyles is a radio talk show host at KHOW in Denver.

Peter, you`ve been following this. Let me start first with the first guy that they caught, and the other guy that has, you know, jumped out of the hotel. First thing I`d like to know, he`s alive. If we think that there was an imminent threat that they were involved with, should we extract the information from them or not?

PETER BOYLES, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Oh, sure. There`s a series of events here. You mentioned the Somali guy, the Somali Muslim. This goes back now two Mondays ago where they find this man in a hotel, the Burnsley Hotel. And the Burnsley Hotel is at Tenth and Grant in Denver.

Now, the Burnsley is maybe seven or eight blocks from the state capital. They find this guy. He`s a Somali. He is -- listen to this, Glenn -- he`s 6`4", over 300 pounds. He is partially mentally disordered. He`s schizophrenic, he`s a diabetic, lives with his family in Ottawa, has no means of support.

Now, our sources tell us he was found with a pound and a quarter of cyanide and $2,500 in cash. Had cashed, brought himself into the Burnsley and was dead for no one knows how many days. But police have suppressed the autopsy and suppressed the 911 call that someone came out and reported.

And I have a very good friend here who`s a reporter by the name of Rick Salinger. Rick is on to some of this, that in fact, there was a phone call made Saturday night, either from the room or to the room. Nobody is sure. The guy also had a cell phone with him. There is a man we were speaking to for a while, the Somali justice center, who was asking, well, you need to ask questions. What madras did he go to, where did he go to pray? What organizations what he part of? And now everybody has shut down.

Now, immediately, what`s fascinating about this, and I want to put this in light of a lot of different issues. When we pushed and said is this connected to terror, the FBI immediately said, "We have -- there isn`t any appearance or we don`t find anything." That`s FBI talk for this guy wasn`t on our screen. We didn`t know who this guy was. He`s never shown up before. We don`t know who he is. So you can come up with these notions like it doesn`t appear to be terror.

Now I want to do two things here with you. Remember how quick they are to jump to, it`s a hate crime? They`ll say it`s a hate crime in about two seconds. But you try and say, now, is this a terror attack? Oh, it doesn`t appear to be terror.

Now, jumping to these three -- and the one guy, by the way, in addition to this, had a ring with a swastika on it. They were caught. It was good work, a police officer, there was a DUI early the day before. And that`s why they put this guy together.

Now, there`s one story I want to quelch {SIC]. There`s a story that`s running around the country that this guy was connected to a motorcycle club. He was not. He had what`s called a support shirt on, no more, no less. So kill that part of the story.

BECK: I`ve got about 45 seconds here, Peter. What`s your gut tell you?

BOYLES: Sure.

BECK: What`s going on in Denver? I don`t think you`re walking around with a quarter -- a pound and a half of cyanide, and I don`t think this is an isolated incident with the -- with the...

BOYLES: Let me tell you, the local -- the U.S. attorney here said there`s nothing -- we don`t think there was any threat to Barack Obama. This guy said, yes, we`re a threat. They said it. So again, the idea, I think, is to keep the lid down. Don`t get somebody scared, whether it`s the dead Somali Muslim or these three clowns. The idea is shh, don`t say anything.

BECK: All right, Peter. Thank you very much. America, say a prayer -- good to see you -- say a prayer for our Secret Service. They do amazing work. And I don`t care how much you disagree with someone on the other side of the aisle. Dear God in heaven, that`s the last thing we need. Pray for everybody in Denver.

Coming up, Michelle Obama is proud of America. Convenient theme for headlining speech, you know, for a potential first lady last night, but do her actions back up the rhetoric? Mary Matalin joins me to weigh in, next.

Plus, voter disenfranchisement in a small Connecticut town could lead to some big changes for its public schools. I`ll explain why taxpayers and the town`s mayor are saying enough is enough. Don`t miss tonight`s "Real Story," coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: So, is it just me or does blood shoot out of your eyes every time Nancy Pelosi opens her mouth? Last night wasn`t really any different, as she pointed the finger at everybody under the sun for, you know, what`s wrong in this country. Well, everybody except her new Congress, of course. You know, the ones with the single-digit approval rating? Just saying. More in tonight`s Real Story.

But first, if you listened to any of the convention speeches last night, you probably started to feel pretty good about America. I mean, there it was, the first ever female speaker of the House. The first ever potential African-American first lady. Then via satellite, the African- American presidential candidate. Yet tonight, the convention`s theme is "Renewing America`s Promise."

I`m sorry. Exactly when did the country`s promise need renewing? I mean, it seems like everybody that was standing at the podium last night had fulfilled its promise just fine. Why is it the people that were talking last night believed that they can make it, but everybody else can`t.

Why is it that Michelle Obama can raise herself up from her boot straps, you know, yet she thinks, "Oh, poor Sally in Methuen (ph), Ohio. I talked to her just the other day. She can`t get anywhere without government health care, free tuition, higher minimum wage. That`s what we`re for."

I mean, maybe instead of renewing America`s promise, maybe the Democrats should just focus on helping people make good on the ones, you know, we`ve already made.

Mary Matalin is the former White House adviser. How you doing, Mary?

MARY MATALIN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: Glenn, I`m on a Glenn Beck daily drip. You`re on first thing in the morning here in New Orleans in my new home, 99.5. And you`re on at night, so I have you all day long.

BECK: I didn`t know that was your new home. You moved down there?

MATALIN: Yes. And you`re on Rush Radio here. You`re just waking up, baby. Start the day right.

BECK: May I -- may I ask a question? Do you know that -- do you know that they`re now saying that a hurricane, Category 5, could hit New Orleans, day one of the Republican convention?

MATALIN: Yes, I know they`re saying that, but we`re doing a hoodoo thing. We`re ready for it.

BECK: Why is -- why are we spending all this -- I`ll get into this maybe tomorrow. But why are we spending all this money in New Orleans? We shouldn`t spend a single dime of taxpayers` money in a place where -- I don`t care where it is -- where it is in a flood zone. Move out of the place that, you know, you`re below sea level.

MATALIN: No. I`m so -- we didn`t set this up. I`m so delighted you asked me. Because this is not just -- we`re not sun-bathing down here. This is not beachfront property. One third of the gas and oil comes through Louisiana. Thirty percent of the fish you eat -- I know you like to eat fish -- comes from here.

BECK: Is that a fat joke?

MATALIN: This is the No. 1 -- fatty, fatty fat -- this is the No. 1 port in the country.

BECK: Yes, blah, blah, blah.

MATALIN: This is an industrial port.

BECK: Yes. Hurricane 5. Hurricane 5. OK, let`s...

MATALIN: Coastal restoration.

BECK: OK. OK, Mary, here we go.

MATALIN: Yes.

BECK: Last night, it was the "I love America and I`m just like you" speeches that everybody got. Michelle Obama has said we`re a country that is downright mean, and we`re guided by fear. Yet last night, they gave her a standing ovation when she says, "I love America."

When do we start giving people standing ovations when you just say, "I love America?"

MATALIN: When it is your job to make up for having left the impression for the next or possibly the first African-American president that you don`t like America. She was an impediment. So her speech last night was necessary but insufficient. We get it. She loves her husband. She`s a devoted mother.

BECK: Right.

MATALIN: She`s her brother`s girl and...

BECK: I believe that.

MATALIN: Yes. I do, too. I thought it was touching. And I know this shouldn`t matter to the -- a stunning beauty, and she`s poised. And she`s...

BECK: She`s a great speaker.

MATALIN: Really wonderful to look at.

BECK: Yes. She almost...

MATALIN: She had to do all that, and she did it.

BECK: Yes. They almost had an Andrew Giuliani moment, you know, at the end. I`m thinking, please, as a parent, I was feeling for them. Like, take the microphone away from the little one. That`s not going to work out well.

Let me play this. She said last night about Wall Street. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA`S WIFE: You see, instead of going to Wall Street, Barack went to work in neighborhoods that had been devastated by the closing of steel plants. Jobs dried up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK, here`s the -- here`s the problem. First of all, huge donations rolling into both parties from Wall Street. They always are bashing these oil companies for making 8 percent profit. Hedge funds are making 90 percent profit. Why the hatred on Wall Street and generally on capitalism from -- mainly from the Obamas but also from the Republicans, as well?

MATALIN: It is discord. And this is what you said in your opening. People are so done with this class warfare. They want to succeed. They`re invested in this economy. We have 401(k)s. This is a middle-class economy. So it`s hard so discordant to say don`t do -- or participate in any of the institutions that create wealth, that create jobs, that create opportunities. But just -- I don`t know why they say that. It`s not changed.

BECK: But it`s not even -- but it`s not even...

MATALIN: It`s the old stuff.

BECK: Right. It`s not even true, though. I mean, this is what she said about corporate America. Real quick, she said, don`t go into corporate America. She was giving a speech in Ohio. Don`t go into corporate America.

Yet, UPI reported yesterday that her job at the University of Chicago Medical Center included responsibility for a program to steer the uninsured away from its -- from its emergency room. Her job was to maximum profits and steer the uninsured away to another hospital. And yet she`s all high and mighty. I can`t take the hypocrisy.

MATALIN: Well, then you better buckle your seat belt. You can`t take it from last night, you`re going to have a bad week, Glenn.

BECK: I know. OK. Let me give you -- let me give you this from last night. Here she is last night on the -- on the world that we all know and love.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: How this time in this great country we committed ourselves. We committed ourselves to building the world as it should be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK, the reason why I bring up "the world as it should be." She has also said these two things. And see what you think of this. She gave a campaign speech in Puerto Rico.

She said, "Barack knows that we`re going to have to make sacrifices, that we`re going to have to change our conversation, that we`re going to have to change our traditions, our history. We are going to have to move to a different place as a nation."

What the hell does that even mean, and the arrogance of "we`re going to change the world," what is she talking about?

MATALIN: You know, it`s -- forgive me, it`s been a long time, but it`s echoes of Saul Alinsky. It`s echoes of that street organizing stuff and community action. You know, it`s just...

BECK: Marxism?

MATALIN: That`s been rejected. We`ve moved beyond. And we`ve manifested the failures of it because we`re so much better with free markets and capitalism and free people. And I keep turning back to this is not change. This is vintage old hippie liberal, Bill Ayers...

BECK: It is -- it is Marxism. It`s Marxism. It is beyond liberalism.

MATALIN: Well, that is old liberalism.

BECK: It`s progressive. I mean, it is -- listen to this. Try this one on for size. Tell me this doesn`t sound like something Mussolini would have said: "Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism, to put down your division, that you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones, that your push yourselves to be better and engaged. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual." What?

MATALIN: You know, if you`re a voter...

BECK: Yes.

MATALIN: ... a potential voter, and considering do I want to vote for somebody who thinks I`m a lazy, lethargic non-contributor to this -- to this economy, to this country? And I`ve just been sitting around waiting for somebody to tell me how to do it? That doesn`t ring true to me. But that`s why she had to do what she did last night. And that was a nice little grace note for Hillary in there and all. But...

BECK: It didn`t ring true to you?

MATALIN: You know, Glenn, I just got back -- well, it didn`t ring -- no, of course it didn`t, but I`m not -- I`m not an objective listener; nor are you, frankly. But I will tell you, having been in Denver, what is, objectively, that this tension with the Clinton delegates is real.

BECK: Hang on. Hang on, hang on. I want to pick that right up here. We`re going to come back after the break. More in a minute.

(NEWSBREAK)

BECK: Back with Mary Matalin.

Mary, when we left here just a second ago, we were starting to talk about Hillary Clinton and the division. You say that it`s -- it`s real. I know your husband looked a little pissed off last night. I heard several people mention how -- how angry he looked. This is real? Between the...

MATALIN: How could you tell? How could you tell if James looked angry? He always looks like that, sorry to say.

BECK: I know. But is this being over-hyped, because I heard Tom Brokaw last night say, it`s being oversold. The Clinton people are not -- are not really angry.

MATALIN: No, the Clinton people, the people around Mrs. Clinton are - - want this to go around, because they know she`s in a lose/lose situation.

BECK: Right.

MATALIN: She`d get no credit for the unity, and she`d get blamed for any division.

I`m talking about the Clinton delegates who are stopping me on the streets and yelling at me because she`s not on the ticket. I have no dog in this fight. But what we do know, they know, and every pollster will tell you that an Obama/Clinton ticket would have been so much more formidable than the one they`ve constructed, which is a solid but an uninspired choice.

BECK: Yes.

MATALIN: So for the party`s sake, they could have had an earlier go of this. And the way she was dissed. I`m talking about the delegates, not the...

BECK: No, no. But I think that`s who Tom Brokaw was talking about. Maybe I misunderstood. I was overthrown by Keith Olbermann.

The breakfast that they`re having tomorrow, they`re now talking about doing a roll call at breakfast instead of doing it on the floor. I remember as a kid, watching, you know, the roll call on the floor. And that`s the way it`s done. They`re now saying doing it at breakfast.

And there are delegates now that they`re trying to put a petition out and have everybody sign this petition and say, no, it`s got to be done on the floor. It`s amazing to me how this party never, never misses an opportunity to silence dissent.

MATALIN: Well said. That`s what it is. And the irony of this is if they would let these people -- it`s all about emotion. The Democratic Party is all about emotion. And if they would just let them have their emotional moment on the floor, it would look less scripted than all of this is going to end up being, and they would be unified.

They do hate us more than they don`t like each other. So they`ll come together in the end. But let them have their moment, and it would be a better -- get them where they want to get to faster.

BECK: Do you believe she actually wants Obama to win, because I don`t think -- not -- she just -- it will be eight years before she can run again, really.

MATALIN: Why do you say that? That`s saying that, even if he wins, he`d be there for eight years.

BECK: No, but I mean, he runs for four years. What? She`s going to then -- I mean, he`d have to be an absolute disaster, which he will be, but he`d have to be an absolute disaster for her to be able to get the nomination from him in four years, and all the cries of racism and everything else will come up again. She`s eight years away if he goes into the office, most likely. I don`t think...

MATALIN: Things change. Things change quickly in politics. There used to be a day, and I`m old enough to remember this, when you didn`t challenge in the primary. And things are moving pretty fast. I don`t think -- but to answer your question, I have no idea. I think everybody is still in the post primary bruising, tense mode. And by the time they get to November, yes, she`ll want him to win. Because she is a good liberal.

BECK: OK. Mary, I`d love to have you back. We`ll talk more about New Orleans. And stay safe. Talk to you soon.

MATALIN: Love you, brother.

BECK: All right. Now, coming up, why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can`t seem to get out of her own way. That`s tonight`s "Real Story," and it`s coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GLENN BECK, HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Well, welcome to "THE REAL STORY."

Earlier today, I talked about Michelle Obama and her frightening vision for America. But it`s not just Michelle Obama.

Take Nancy Pelosi, for example. Sure, she loves her country, too. She pulled herself up by her bootstraps. That seemed to be the special theme last night, didn`t it.

She`s the living embodiment of the American dream. Here is a woman in one of the most powerful positions in America. That`s the America I know and that`s the America I love. Anybody can do anything they set their mind to.

Unfortunately, today`s Democratic Party while they say that, they actually believe that that America is dead, which is out of step with what ordinary Americans believe. Democrat leaders believe that the government must help you access opportunities right now. They see an America where hand-outs equal success. But don`t most Americans, the ones you know, see America as a place where hard work equals success?

"THE REAL STORY" is that Pelosi/Obama Democrats have a skewed view of the American dream because they have a skewed view of reality. Last night at the convention, Pelosi touted Congress`s great accomplishments under her leadership. Really? I mean, if they reached such amazing heights, why are Congress`s approval ratings flirting with single digits?

And why was it that she was giving her big speech when nobody was covering it? They did it at like 3:00 in the afternoon. I know why. Maybe it`s because gas prices have skyrocketed under Pelosi. Maybe because she`s still, should we drill offshore or not? And Congress hasn`t passed a single 2009 Appropriations Bill, even though the whole funding and the federal budget, no, it`s kind of their official thing. You know.

In fact, no Congress in the past 20 years has passed fewer public laws than this one. Part of me says, good. However, this Congress has proposed more symbolic resolutions, 1,900 for those of you who might be counting at home, than any other Congress in the past two decades.

In the House, under Pelosi, one quarter of the work week is spent debating and passing symbolic measures like National Watermelon Month. This is the definition of a do-nothing Congress. When our leaders are this out of touch, maybe that`s a good thing.

Steven Moore, "Wall Street Journal" economics editorial writer, he watched the speech last night so you didn`t have to. Steven, Nancy Pelosi, Jimmy Carter, I mean it was failings and misery. Why is anybody holding Jimmy Carter up, especially next to Nancy Pelosi? Boy, I don`t think these guys get it.

STEVEN MOORE, "WALL STREET JOURNAL" ECONOMICS EDITORIAL WRITER: Those are my two favorite moments. By the way, you mentioned the ludicrous bills they have passed. Have they named a post office after you, Glenn? I`m still waiting for that.

BECK: No, that won`t happen.

MOORE: You know, here is what was fun last night. I mean, Jimmy Carter walks out on the stage. I don`t know if you watched it, Glenn, but he got almost two minutes of roaring ovation from these liberals in the coliseum in Denver.

And all I am thinking is these guys want to learn to the 1970s. I mean they want to return to 21 percent interest rates and 14 percent inflation and oil gas lines and all of this stuff. Here is a guy who was arguably the worst president of the last 50 years, and Democrats are holding him up as an icon.

BECK: Ok.

MOORE: Glenn, it would be like the Republicans holding up Herbert Hoover as their icon.

BECK: You know, they want to say they want to return to the `70s. I think they want to go back farther than this. Let me play this from Pelosi last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: America needs a president who knows that health care is a right, not a privilege.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: I have been reading the constitution for a while.

MOORE: Really.

BECK: You know what this brings us back to? This is FDR, where he tried to change the Bill of Rights and say that health care and education and food and everything else, that is a God-given right. It`s not in this country.

MOORE: No, it`s not. I defy anyone to read the Constitution, something I think most congressman and women never do, find the word food, find the word child care, find the word education, find the word health care.

To liberal Democrats, these have become rights, Glenn. And I think that`s wrong with the direction that the left wants to take this country. They want to create a whole bundle of rights. Of course, who do they want to make pay for it? You and me, taxpayers. So that`s really, I think, a big problem.

BECK: You know, Steven, here`s the thing. I mean, I have no problem, if that`s the country we want to be then just be straight up with it.

MOORE: I don`t want that country.

BECK: I don`t want it, either, but be straight up with the nation and change the Constitution. It`s not a right, and they`re taking it by dribs and drabs. At least FDR said, I`m going to go in and I`m going change the Constitution. Real quick.

MOORE: You know the other thing, Glenn, they won`t tell us how they`re going to pay for it. In fact on TV last night, a lot of Democrats said we`re going to cut taxes for 95 percent of the people but we`re going to have $600 billion of spending. Even if they cut every penny out of the defense budget, they wouldn`t still are $300 billion short.

BECK: Oh, stop, we`ll just create more. Steven, thanks a lot.

MOORE: Thank you.

BECK: Now, one result that happen to leaders that are out of touch, is that they`re always willing to throw more money at the problem instead of actually solving. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsing, give them some more taxpayer dollars. Hybrid cars too quiet? Let`s fund a commission to study how loud they should instead of just making the cars louder.

Fortunately, I think Americans are catching on. After all, it is National Watermelon Month now. Here`s the idea. If you reduce problems, if you want to do that, you reduce the government and reduce spending. Kind of a simple formula. A dummy like me could even figure it out.

"THE REAL STORY" is you can spend your money better than the government can. What? Neither party seems to understand this in America now which is exactly why the libertarian party is more main stream than ever, well, maybe since the founding.

In Connecticut, we`re now seeing this theory in action. Over the past 25 years, Connecticut student population increased by 10 percent yet the cost of schooling has doubled to $8.8 billion. Largely on the back of the state`s property tax which is one of the nation`s ten highest.

The average teacher`s salary is now the highest in the nation, almost $58,000. So we have to have good stuff coming out of these schools, right? Yes, 8th grade proficiency is now at 37 percent; for Reading, 35 percent; 35 percent for Math; 33 percent for Science; 53 percent for Writing. You got to be kidding me.

Connecticut citizens have had it up to here. In June, half of Connecticut`s towns had plans to block out these out of control budgets. And several communities already rejected their politicians` crazy spending plans. The citizens are coming up with solutions.

Here`s one. Some citizens in Connecticut would like to replace high-paid teachers with college interns. How about this one paying families $3,000 if they decide to home school or $5,000 if they decide to send them to private school. If this is what happens when the government overspends in blue states like Connecticut, imagine what we`re in for with the entire nation if the Democrats take over.

David Bohn is the president, Non Partisan Action for a Better Reading. David your crazy idea is to run school like a business.

DAVID BOHN, NON PARTISAN ACTION FOR A BETTER READING: Yes.

BECK: What?

BOHN: That seems to be the best way to handle this situation. The government/school solution really has robbed taxpayers and students of education.

BECK: Give me a stat here. What does it cost to run a private day school in Connecticut compared to public school spending?

BOHN: A typical private school, either parochial or secular would be $3,000 to $5,000 a year. In Connecticut right now, that same schooling situation would be $11,000 to $12,000 a year.

BECK: That`s insanity. Is that the teacher`s union? What is this? Why?

BOHN: Well, it`s a matrix of a lot of different things all playing together to cause a real problem. You have got the teachers unions at the top. Connecticut has the most powerful, well-funded teachers unions in the United States that completely have the state legislature under its control, from my perspective.

And then you have parents and communities who are very happy to have the other people in the communities who don`t have children pay for their child`s education. So you have a third party payer situation, which always drives up costs. We have seen that in the health care industry.

BECK: Tell me why you want to go for $3,000 if you home school and $5,000 tax -- I guess it`s a tax rebate -- if you put your kids in a private school? Why the difference?

BOHN: You know we want to present programs that are fair and equitable and make sense to taxpayers. That was a plan that we helped the town of Chester develop. And that is moving forward with their first selectman, Tom Marsh.

BECK: Do you think it`s actually going to happen?

BOHN: I definitely think it`s got to happen because you have people, particularly in the rural areas of Connecticut, who even have their children in these schools and they can`t afford to pay the taxes to support these government schools.

BECK: It is really -- it`s really sick what these schools -- I don`t know about you, but I went to a private school. I went to a Catholic school. My dad, my mom actually had to work at the school to be able to help pay for it. We weren`t rich by any stretch of the imagination.

You go into some of the public schools now, it looks like the Taj Majal; the money we spent on the education and the results we get is obscene.

BOHN: Right. And you brought up a good point in comparing the cost of private school to public school. What you should also do is look at the results. And the results that are coming out of these small private schools are tremendous. Colleges are paying a lot of attention to home- schoolers.

BECK: All right, David, thanks a lot. That`s our "REAL STORY" tonight.

Coming up, Sharon Keyser has made it her business to ensure that our soldiers returning from duty get the welcome home they deserve. And it has never meant more to her than it does now. I`ll explain after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right, time for tonight`s "Real America," brought to you by CSX.

It was almost -- I think it was about a year ago that I introduced you to Sharon Hyland-Keyser. At the time, she was doing something pretty incredible. She was making sure that all of our soldiers get the homecoming that they really deserve.

Now, unbelievably, she`s doing something more incredible. As a loyal listener of mine and a loyal viewer, she spends a lot of time listening to my crazy half-baked ideas and stories, but they`re not half as incredible as her stories are.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Ian Keyser has been craving this Philly cheese steak for a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First one.

BECK: 15 months, to be exact. Other than seeing his wife, Sharon, friends and family, Geno`s was the first place Ian wanted to go; really a no- brainer for Sharon, who is used to more elaborate homecomings for soldiers.

SHARON KEYSER, FOUNDER, "A HERO`S WELCOME": We just have people all over the place. We have a whole motorcycle group now, called "Warrior`s Lot." And they escort our troops home so in the event that one of my volunteers can`t make it, they still get something. They get a big motorcycle escort home with just these great vets and troop supporters.

It`s been awesome. We try to give them something even we can`t be there the day that they come home.

BECK: The first time Sharon and I met was almost a year ago. It started out when she wrote me a letter about wanting to chase her dreams. Her husband was deployed in Iraq and she was busy climbing the corporate at home. But she wasn`t feeling fulfilled. She wanted to find a way to give back to our heroes on the homefront.

So she quit her job and focused solely on making every soldier`s home coming be special. The result - a hero`s welcome.

IAN KEYSER, SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY: Everything she`s done, everything that she`s accomplished is a good thing while I`ve been gone, is amazing. I couldn`t be more happy for her.

BECK: Now, less than a year later, Sharon is chasing a new dream. She joined the Marine Corps and she will be deploying. Sharon wants to become an officer.

S. KEYSER: We believe in what`s going on overseas. Before we start a family, this is our kind of contribution to make the world a safer place. If we have to live uncomfortably for just a little bit so that our kids can live in a safer world, then so be it. A little bit of discomfort is just temporary.

BECK: The success of "A Hero`s Welcome" will continue while Sharon pursues her military dreams. Chapters have been started all over the country and her mother is going to take over for her while she serves her country. As for Ian, Sharon couldn`t let him come home without at least one surprise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just want to award you with these two tickets and congratulate you for becoming our hometown hero. So these two tickets are for this upcoming game next Thursday for the Jets. And we want to congratulate you and thank you for being home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: You first of all, are an inspiration.

S. KEYSER: Thank you, sir.

BECK: True inspiration. Did you know she was doing all this when you were gone?

I. KEYSER: Yes, I did.

BECK: Just an amazing story. Let me ask you this. How long have you guys been married, first of all?

S. KEYSER: We`ve been married since October 24th. Only six days and then he had to go back.

BECK: Now you have been back how many days?

I. KEYSER: Say about 12 days, sir.

BECK: And now when do you leave?

S. KEYSER: Well, I still have a few more months of training left under my belt, so probably within the next year.

BECK: How do you feel about her now shipping off and you guys will be --

I. KEYSER: Mixed feelings both ways. I mean, I`m happy she`s doing what she`s doing, but I`m skeptical about her leaving and being deployed.

BECK: How long before you guys want to have kids?

S. KEYSER: You know what? That, we don`t know.

BECK: What`s going to happen to the welcome home now that you`re --

S. KEYSER: Well, you know what? It`s so incredible because while I was gone, they did a bigger and better job. All my volunteers did a bigger and better job than I ever could. I have really just some incredible volunteers that have come out of the woodwork and said this is what we want to do.

Some of them were Vietnam Vets, some of them are Blue Star and Gold Star mothers and parents. And they said this is what we want to do. So they`ve really helped. We just have this huge group of people that have done some amazing things. It will still continue. I was just inspired.

BECK: It is because you were just -- the first time we spoke, or actually I just got a letter from you, and you said -- I don`t even remember what the phrase was. You heard me say something on the radio, right?

S. KEYSER: Right.

BECK: What did I say?

S. KEYSER: It was just something along the lines of where is the real America? Whatever happened to not really just chasing a dollar but chasing what`s good and what we should be doing?

BECK: So then you left your job and you did this. Since we last spoke, it`s my understanding other people have been inspired by you and now this is happening in other places in the country.

S. KEYSER: Right. And that was really the goal, too. I really wanted to be able to see some of these troops come home and see their faces and really give them something, but my bigger goal was to inspire other Americans to do the same. It wasn`t just me in small Philadelphia; it was people in small towns all over America making sure our troops are the real home town heroes.

They`re the real heroes that are recognized not just someone that is a major league baseball player or a major football player. We need to give these men and women ticker tape parades when they come home.

BECK: Well, I wanted you to know, Ian, that not only is your wife has made America better place, you have too. And we appreciate your service. I got of the phone a little while ago before you guys came on the set with Carol at the Eagles office. I know you`re an Eagles fan.

I. KEYSER: Yes, sir.

BECK: You`re going to see the Eagles game on Thursday night. Carol is looking for a time in your schedule where Andy Reid can come up and personally welcome you home and shake your hand.

I. KEYSER: Ok.

BECK: We`re very, very grateful, sir, for your service. Enjoy the football game on Thursday.

I. KEYSER: Thank you.

BECK: We`ll see you again.

That`s tonight`s "Real America" sponsored by CSX. It`s how tomorrow moves.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: You know what I love about the election, all the campaign songs are great. They make you feel so warm and inspired.

Of course, there have been horrible picks for campaign songs. Reagan used "Born in the USA" and that didn`t really work out well. Neither did Ross Perot`s selection of "Crazy" by Patsy Kline. Never really a good sign when your opponents are using the lyrics of your campaign song in their political ads.

But then the conventions, they always use music. Mostly so we don`t hang ourselves because we`re bored out of our minds.

Here`s a clip from the end of Michelle Obama`s speech last night. Listen to the music.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: "Isn`t She Lovely," it`s Stevie Wonder. Isn`t she beautiful? I think so. I don`t know if it was about Michelle Obama, or the kids, maybe Scarlet Johansson, I don`t know. But it did remind me of the campaign song Barack Obama has been using every time he walks out on stage since 2007. For one of his campaign events they play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: So she`s so lovely, and he`s so beautiful. They deserve each other.

You know, I guess it makes sense, you know, when the campaign seems to be so much more about image than it is substance. I do not understand how "City of Blinding Lights" by U2 works as a campaign anthem. The chorus is "Oh you look so beautiful tonight."

And if the complaints about your campaign seem to focus on your nasty habit of talking a lot without saying anything, do you pick a song that begins with these lyrics? Not kidding you, here they are: "the more you see, the less you know. The less you find out as you go."

Wow, is this a wakeup call from God. I`m trying to communicate through Bono songs. Is it a great song to walk on stage to? Does he like to hear bono tell him, you`re beautiful? Is it the evil Dick Cheney the city and Halley Burton and the blinding lights. I don`t know. I don`t get it. But hey, just me. I`m not Bono, but I am a thinker.

From New York, good night America.

END