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Joy Behar Page
Health Care Summit; Interview With Bill, Giuliana Rancic
Aired February 25, 2010 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOY BEHAR, HOST: Tonight on the JOY BEHAR SHOW, President Obama makes his health care pitch at a summit headed by Republicans John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and John McCain, or as I like to call them, the three horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Then, celebrity couple Bill and Giuliana Rancic will share the trials and tribulations of trying to have a baby. Maybe they can ask the octo-mom for some tips.
This week we`ve talked about drug and sex addicts. Now we have our own first food addict. Straight from the Betty Crocker Clinic, comedian Jeff Garlin joins me. That and more right now.
Well, Democrats and Republicans met today for a health care summit that was billed as bipartisan and by that I mean the Democrats brought a plan and the Republicans brought an attitude. President Obama admitted it was bipartisanship bickering that derailed his health care reform plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Unfortunately over the course of the year, despite all the hearings that took place and all the negotiations that took place and people on both sides of the aisle worked long and hard on this issue, this became a very ideological battle. It became a very partisan battle. And politics, I think, ended up trumping practical common sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: He is so civilized.
President Obama has tried to reach out and touch the Republicans more than AT&T. But will the president`s last-ditch effort at working with the GOP work? With me now is Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat from California; political commentator Ron Reagan; and Lizz Winstead, comedienne and co-creator of "The Daily Show".
Ok. Let me start with you Ron. Is this just theater going on today or is there really any substance to it?
RON REAGAN, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I doubt that anything that happened today will leave the Republicans to endorse any sort of health care legislation. Yes, it is theater, but it`s useful theater, I think.
The American public, anybody who tunes in or tunes to cable shows and sees some clips from this will probably get the impression, the accurate impression that the Republicans here are not involved in this summit in order to seriously negotiate.
There are two fundamental points we have to get straight here. One, the most effective way to control costs and provide better health care for Americans was taken off the table from the get-go months and months ago and that is universal single payer.
That is what the rest of the world enjoys but we can`t have it here. It was taken off the table.
Second -- the second point is the Republicans here, not only want health care legislation to fail, not only want President Obama and his administration to fail, they want government to fail. They have made a short-term political calculation that it is in their best interest that nothing happen in government. Whether it`s health care, stimulus, job creation, anything else, their answer is no, because they want this government to fail.
BEHAR: I hear you, Ron. Maxine, I`ll call you Maxine, is that ok?
REP. MAXINE WATERS (D) CALIFORNIA: Yes.
BEHAR: Maxine, do you agree with Ron that they want the government to fail?
WATERS: I really do. I mean he stated it so well. I agree with him 100 percent.
They didn`t come to the summit today because they wanted to be in a bipartisan effort to try and find a way to provide health care insurance for Americans and all those 30 million who are uninsured.
They came today because the television cameras were going to be there, they were going to cover it and they thought they may as well get in on the act. But they came with the idea that they were going to stick to their strategy and their plan that the Democrats would have to scrap this and start all over again in order to have any kind of bipartisan effort. They know that`s not going to happen.
And they came with their props. They had the old legislation with all of the 1,100 pages or so to show that they could continue to say, see, all of this that they put into their health care plan; they just want to take over, the government wants to take over, Obama care, all of that.
BEHAR: There is that fear, the fear-mongering.
WATERS: Yes.
BEHAR: Obama got a bit tough with the Republicans. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), KENTUCKY: To this point, the Republicans have had 24 minutes, the Democrats 52 minutes. Let`s try to have as much balance as we can.
OBAMA: You`re right. There was an imbalance on the opening statements because I`m the president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: I love that. Don`t we need more moments like that, Lizz?
LIZZ WINSTEAD, CO-CREATOR, "THE DAILY SHOW": Yes. But there`s nothing more offensive to me than hearing men who have -- and mostly men, who have graduate degrees and some doctorate degrees complaining that they have to read too much.
Now Maxine, correct me if I`m wrong, isn`t basically the tenet of your job to read things and write things?
WATERS: All the time.
WINSTEAD: And yet they`re complaining about it.
WATERS: All the time. You`ve got to read, read, read. I`m five hours between California and Washington. I read all the way there, all the way back. It`s hard to keep up, but you have to read. You have to keep up.
BEHAR: Maxine, we`re not going to get the public option in this bill. That`s dead, right?
WATERS: Yes, yes.
BEHAR: Is that a failure on Obama`s part? How do we construe this now?
WATERS: Well, he did not put the public option in his plan. As a matter of fact, he never really got out front even when he was saying that he was for public option.
As you know, a lot of us, particularly the progressives in the house, are for a public option. We`ve been fighting for it. We want it very badly. We`re disappointed that we won`t have public option in the plan that he`s proposing. And that`s going to cause some trouble on the floor.
There will be some people that won`t vote for it because it does not have public option, nor does it have national exchanges that will be regulated nationally.
BEHAR: Ok, everybody. Stay right where you are. We`ll be back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Ok, let`s turn to another darling of the right, Ms. Sarah Palin, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush made some interesting comments about the former Alaska governor. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: My personal belief is that for Governor Palin to be a successful candidate for higher office, she needs to take this charisma she has and also add to it some depth of understanding of the complexity of life that we`re living in today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: He should know, his brother is George Bush.
WINSTEAD: And very complex.
BEHAR: Hello.
Let me ask you, Maxine, is this a back-handed compliment or a straightforward diss?
WATERS: Well, it`s about what most people are saying about Sarah Palin. She`s entertaining. She`s rallying the crowds. She makes for good theater. All of that.
But it`s not going to translate into the presidency simply because the consensus is that she does not run deeply enough. That she is not well prepared. That she simply is not ready to be the President of the United States.
I think you will hear that kind of conversation going on about her all the time.
BEHAR: Right. And Ron, let me ask you. Palin`s spokeswoman quit. Do you know why she might have quit?
REAGAN: Well, she said she wanted to spend more time with her family and perhaps she did. But maybe she thought that she was involved in a legitimate political movement or political campaign for the presidency. And maybe she came to the realizations the person she was backing, working for really was totally unqualified and unsuited to that job as Jeb Bush rather explicitly suggested.
BEHAR: What do you think?
WINSTEAD: I think when you sign on with Sarah Palin, after 10 seconds of being around her, you should know that. Like how -- why did it take this woman so long to quit?
I mean I look at -- and listen to Jeb Bush and basically what I hear him saying is wow, the thing about Sarah Palin is if we could just harness all that charisma and sort of thrust it onto a carcass with a brain that would be awesome.
BEHAR: You know, sometimes I wonder if this kind of thing we do about Sarah Palin helps her, you know, calling her dumb and implying that --
WINSTEAD: I don`t have to call her dumb.
BEHAR: -- I`m just wondering -- I know. I wonder though because we are taking so -- having so much fun on this woman. I don`t know, I`m developing a stutter as a result of it.
You know, Ron, the GOP loves to bring your father, Ronald Reagan, into any discussion whenever possible. So it`s no surprise they dug up some of his comments from 1961 to support their opposition to health care reform. Let`s listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It`s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. From here it`s a short step to all the rest of socialism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Wasn`t your father talking about Medicare?
REAGAN: Yes, he was. Well, what would become Medicare eventually and he went on to say that if you`re going to socialize the doctor, you`ll socialize the patient and he talked about the doctors being told where to live and all that.
Well, guess what? We`ve had Medicare now for almost half a century and none of those things have happened. My father happened to have been wrong in his assessment there.
BEHAR: Yes.
REAGAN: But it`s no secret that the Republicans like to quote from it anyway.
WINSTEAD: He was a ground breaker in the pushing the socialism agenda, Ron.
REAGAN: Yes, it`s true. Way ahead of Sarah Palin.
GRIFFIN: Way ahead of everybody.
REAGAN: He didn`t do death panels though. He stayed away from the death panels.
BEHAR: Yes, go ahead, Maxine.
WATERS: The interesting thing about Ronald Reagan was he really believed that. You know what I`m saying? He wasn`t a phony. He wasn`t a fake about it. He really believed that and I have the greatest respect for Ron Jr. because he is philosophically different. And --
BEHAR: And takes a lot --
WATERS: -- he`s not afraid to say so.
BEHAR: -- and takes a lot of flak from the right wing because he doesn`t go --
WATERS: That`s right.
BEHAR: -- lock step with his father.
WATERS: Absolutely, so --
BEHAR: I mean, as if the man is not allowed to think for himself, it`s ridiculous.
But you know the GOP is always trotting out Ronald Reagan. What, I mean, can`t they come up with something new? This was 50 years ago.
GRIFFIN: Well, I know.
REAGAN: Yes, who would they come up with?
WATERS: They love him and every building in this country is going to be named after him, every bridge, every factory.
REAGAN: Which means it will also be named after me, which I love.
WATERS: I love it, that`s right, that`s true, that`s true.
BEHAR: That`s true, I forgot about that.
But I mean, in the recording, Reagan says doctors are going to be told where to live, where to practice. He was the original fearmongerer, too. I hate to say it.
GRIFFIN: Yes.
REAGAN: Yes, he was -- but he was wrong, as we now see. And you know, Rush Limbaugh can quote this all he wants but he`s just reminding people that my father in this instance was wrong. Maxine is right, though, he`s very sincere and he`s wrong.
WATERS: Because Rush Limbaugh is no Ronald Reagan.
REAGAN: No, that`s for sure.
BEHAR: Yes, all right, thanks, everybody.
REAGAN: Thank you Joy.
BEHAR: Very interesting.
The Style Network`s Giuliana and Bill Rancic will join me next. So stay put.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANA RANCIC, E! NEWS: That was scary. You never want to hear your doctor say, "I`ve never seen that before."
BILL RANCIC, "GIULIANA & BILL": Yes, that`s not good.
G. RANCIC: So usually, the uterus in the middle?
B. RANCIC: Right. And this (INAUDIBLE) half their lifetime.
G. RANCIC: How weird is that.
Immediately I was like, we can`t have a baby. This is the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: She is the beautiful managing editor and anchor for "E News" and he`s the handsome winner of the first season of "Apprentice"; probably the best-looking one on there, besides Donald, of course.
Today they make married life look easy; I guess, they`re also magicians. On their hit reality series "Giuliana and Bill" on the Style Network.
Joining me now are Giuliana and Bill Rancic. Thanks for being here, guys.
G. RANCIC: Thank you Joy.
BEHAR: You know, you guys have been trying to get pregnant this season and I see that the cameras are right up there; a little intimate. I mean, Katie Couric did have a colonoscopy on television. So we`re sort of used to it at this point.
G. RANCIC: Right.
BEHAR: Are you?
G. RANCIC: If she did it, I can do it.
BEHAR: Yes.
G. RANCIC: You know what I mean, I know a lot of people call me and my mom is like, must you show your uterus on television? And I`m like, "Hey, mom if it`ll help people, you know and educate women, why not?"
BEHAR: Right.
G. RANCIC: Because what we are talking about and fertility is something that`s very taboo that a lot of people don`t talk about, especially people in Hollywood.
BEHAR: Why is that?
G. RANCIC: There`s a stigma tied to having a baby the unnatural way.
BEHAR: Oh yes.
G. RANCIC: But the way we feel is, it doesn`t matter if you have a baby through IVF, if through a surrogate mother, if you adopt a baby. At the end of the day, you have a baby, right?
BEHAR: What about the stork, have you considered that?
G. RANCIC: The stork?
BEHAR: Go ahead, Bill.
B. RANCIC: I just want to say, it`s amazing how many couples out there it affects. And how many people have identified with what we`re going through on the show. I don`t think a day has gone by in the last two months where someone hasn`t come up to us, whether it`s at an airport or whether it`s you know, walking across the street and saying, "I`m going through the same thing or my sister is going through the same thing."
So a lot of people certainly have been identifying with we`re sharing in the show.
BEHAR: Do you like that when people come up and say I`ve seen your uterus on TV?
B. RANCIC: Well --
BEHAR: And I was wondering if you could help me.
G. RANCIC: Only when they compliment and when they go my God it`s a beautiful uterus.
BEHAR: What a gorgeous uterus you have.
B. RANCIC: That`s the best looking Italian uterus that I`ve ever seen.
G. RANCIC: You know, it`s a little funny at first --
BEHAR: Yes.
G. RANCIC: -- but people used to come up to us for different reasons. And I actually would like them coming up to us for this reason, you know and saying thank you for helping us. More than seven women had problems getting pregnant.
BEHAR: It`s an age thing, right?
G. RANCIC: It is an age thing.
BEHAR: Mostly.
G. RANCIC: Yes.
B. RANCIC: For couples 35 years of age or older, it`s a -- to get pregnant naturally on a monthly basis, you have about a five percent to seven percent chance. So the numbers are stacked against you --
BEHAR: Five to seven percent chance --
B. RANCIC: -- of you getting pregnant --
BEHAR: -- per month.
B. RANCIC: -- per month, right.
BEHAR: Ok.
B. RANCIC: Of actually conceiving a baby.
BEHAR: Naturally, yes.
B. RANCIC: So -- when you`re -- when you`re 35 years old, the deck is -- the odds are stacked against you.
BEHAR: I know.
B. RANCIC: You know, it`s not good.
G. RANCIC: When you`re 20, you can get pregnant like that.
BEHAR: I know and they never want to.
B. RANCIC: Right, right.
G. RANCIC: They never want to.
BEHAR: That`s the irony of it.
G. RANCIC: Of course and so meanwhile, they`re -- we are -- and that`s what I thought, I was in my 20s and I thought, my gosh, I would look at these women in Hollywood, these actresses with these kid and I would say, "Oh, when I`m 35, 40, I`ll pop out a couple of twins, too.
BEHAR: Yes, yes.
G. RANCIC: And then I reached 35 years old and I realized this is very difficult.
BEHAR: Yes, a lot of women in their 50s and 60s are having babies, too.
G. RANCIC: They are. They`re using surrogates, by the way. It`s because the egg --
BEHAR: Oh, right, so what about a surrogate?
G. RANCIC: You know, we`re not at that point yet. We`re not at that point yet, right now we`re starting our first round of IVF next week. So we`ll see what happens.
BEHAR: Right, now you were on "The View" this morning with me.
G. RANCIC: Yes.
BEHAR: Both of you. And people are buzzing. Of -- after you left, there was buzz, buzz, buzz about your reluctance to gain weight. You`ve got a -- let me show people what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
G. RANCIC: My doctor recommended that I gain weight in order to start ovulating consistently. You know --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like a lot of weight like does he say like 15 pounds, 20 pounds?
B. RANCIC: Five to ten --
G. RANCIC: He said five to 10 pounds --
B. RANCIC: Yes.
G. RANCIC: -- which I know isn`t a big deal and if you want to have a baby you should do whatever it takes. But it`s just -- I had to bite that bullet.
B. RANCIC: Yes.
G. RANCIC: I finally did gain -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much?
G. RANCIC: -- five pounds, five pounds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Now, you realize if you get pregnant you`re going to gain weight.
G. RANCIC: Of course.
BEHAR: You know that?
G. RANCIC: Of course, but here`s the thing. I look at all these women who are thin and get pregnant. Look at Nicole Richie, she weighs 80 pounds.
BEHAR: She was considered anorexic at some point.
B. RANCIC: Right.
G. RANCIC: She had a couple of kids.
BEHAR: Yes.
G. RANCIC: You know, look at Angelina Jolie who carried twins, who`s half my size. So I see a lot of these women and my sister`s friends, I know a lot of people who have been very thin and gotten pregnant. Let me tell you something. If infertility were that easy, if the answer was to gain five pounds, infertility wouldn`t be a problem.
That`s not the real problem.
B. RANCIC: Yes.
G. RANCIC: And unfortunately we work in a very shallow business --
BEHAR: Yes.
G. RANCIC: -- especially I do. Over -- we`re not doing hard- hitting news over at E!, we`re critiquing fashion and the way people look. And so it`s a tougher bullet to bite. He doesn`t agree of course.
BEHAR: What do you think, Bill? Come on.
B. RANCIC: No, I think that`s -- is that a factor? 100 percent, I think weight is a factor. When you exercise a lot, that puts a lot of stress on your body.
BEHAR: Yes.
B. RANCIC: Working the hours that she works, you know, you`ve got to -- at some point you`ve got to slow the train down because your body is saying you`re not going to be able to have a baby with this pace and with this lifestyle.
G. RANCIC: But I have, I have.
BEHAR: But she has, but she`s reluctant.
B. RANCIC: Oh, very reluctant, yes.
BEHAR: She`s reluctant.
G. RANCIC: I`ve done, 35 years I`ve been busting my butt, you know, working hard. I don`t want to stop. I want to keep going --
BEHAR: I know, but that is that is the dilemma that women face constantly.
G. RANCIC: Right.
BEHAR: Because you know it`s a man`s world, Giuliana.
G. RANCIC: Yes.
BEHAR: I mean, really it is.
B. RANCIC: I don`t know about that.
BEHAR: In any way.
G. RANCIC: Yes.
BEHAR: It has to be, because who else gets IVF treatments and hormone shots and everything else.
B. RANCIC: Yes.
B. RENCIC: She`s got the hard job in this.
BEHAR: We had a guy on today who -- his sperm count was like the worst. Yet his wife had to go through four years of IVF treatment.
G. RENCIC: Isn`t that incredible?
B. RENCIC: Well, it`s a bad deal.
BEHAR: But you know, I think, Giuliana, you might have to put some pounds on. Just gain some --
B. RENCIC: We`re going to take her out for a big bowl of pasta.
BEHAR: You know how to lose weight. You gain 10, you lose 10 the next month.
G. RENCIC: I know, I know. Everyone at home likes to e-mail and say, are you pregnant? You look fat today.
BEHAR: I know. But it`s unbelievable.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Stay right there. I want to get your take on some of the hot topics because these guys are in the business -- when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATTI LABELLE, SINGER: I was at "American Idol" last night and it was so sad that some of the girls -- it was girl`s night -- and the comments that were made, it could make you like want to kill yourself. And some of the judges, I don`t think they`re qualified to even judge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: That was Patti Labelle in an AP interview talking about the qualifications or lack thereof of the "American Idol" judges.
Back with me to discuss her remarks are Giuliana and Bill Rancic. Now, which judge do you think she was referring to?
G. RANCIC: Probably Ellen. I would think she was talking about Ellen. And I disagree. I don`t think you have to certainly be on a stage entertaining people. I think that`s what she was implying is that they`re not big entertainers like she is.
But I don`t think you need to be a pop star or singer to critique these people. A lot of them are music producers. They get the industry.
B. RANCIC: When you go on that show, she was saying some of those people would want to kill themselves after hearing the comment. They know what they`re signing up for before they go out to perform and that`s part of the deal.
BEHAR: But if you don`t know music -- I don`t know music. I don`t know what I would say. They would say, "You`re too pitchy." I don`t know what they mean by that when they say you`re too pitchy. I know what they mean when they say you`re too bitchy. That I get.
G. RANCIC: But Simon, Randy and Kara Dioguardi, they are all in the music business.
BEHAR: Right.
G. RANCIC: They`re producers. They`ve worked with artists. So they know. They know better than most singers.
If you put a singer on that panel, it doesn`t mean they`re eloquent enough to critique people and they can get their thoughts together. They can just go she sounds good, she sounds bad. But they`re professionals, I think. And Ellen --
B. RANCIC: And Ellen is in show business. She knows -- sees a lot of talent. I`m trying to make sense of it.
G. RANCIC: I think so.
BEHAR: I don`t know, I don`t really care.
G. RANCIC: But she kind of represents --
BEHAR: It`s hard to get my thing going for this one.
G. RANCIC: The thing is -- I think Ellen -- what I like about her is she represents the viewer. She represents the person buying the album, you know. So yes she might not be a professional but she`s a fan.
B. RANCIC: She`s a fan. Right.
BEHAR: Ok. Now, the girl that got kicked off "The Bachelor" -- what is her name -- she was having an affair with the producer. She now allegedly has a sex tape. She denies it. Do you believe her?
G. RANCIC: I`m surprised it took this long for that story to come out because all these girls immediately within a week of being on TV --
B. RANCIC: It worked for Paris and for Kim Kardashian. I mean their careers went through the roof.
G. RANCIC: I`m surprised she`s not one of the Tiger mistresses, you know because a lot of these girls are -- where they come from. But she -- yes, you can`t really believe this girl, can you? She had claimed she didn`t have an affair with that guy either and all fingers are pointing toward the fact that they did have an affair.
I didn`t like how she attacked the host. I think he`s --
(CROSSTALK)
G. RANCIC: -- kind of implied that --
BEHAR: It`s good television.
G. RANCIC: -- he was hanging -- of course. Television.
BEHAR: just before we go, you`re an Italian girl from Italy. Correct?
G. RANCIC: Yes.
BEHAR: What part of Italy are you from?
G. RANCIC: Naples. I was born there.
BEHAR: From Naples, ok. What about these "Jersey Shore" kids?
B. RANCIC: Oh, my God. We`ve been talking about this.
G. RANCIC: Are you kidding? Now listen, their show is very entertaining -- we`re not going to take that away from them. But they`re not Italians. These are not real Italians. When you go to Italy --
BEHAR: Well, they`re Italian-Americans, about 80 percent wise.
G. RANCIC: But 8th generation, 10th generation. I`m sorry. They probably haven`t been to Italy. I mean no offense, I`m just saying that when you go to Italy -- I just want people to know -- when you go to Italy, this is not the people that you meet on the street in Milan and Rome, even Naples.
The fact that they paint their garage the Italian flag. They`ve got Italian flag tattoos all over them, I can see why real Italians don`t - - have a bad taste in their mouth when it comes to this.
B. RANCIC: I don`t think they`re in on the joke. I don`t think they realize that people are laughing at them.
BEHAR: That`s the problem. Right. Exactly. But they don`t care. They`re making $10,000 an episode. And that`s all they give a damn about.
G. RANCIC: Forget about it.
BEHAR: Thanks, guys. For the new season of Giuliana and Bill airs Sundays at 9:00 on Style Network.
We`ll be back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: A trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando died when a killer whale grabbed her and pulled her under the water in front of shocked onlookers. A disturbing tragedy but is it shocking, really, they`re called killer whales. Take a killer whale out of the ocean and put him in a small tank and regardless of precaution, there`s always a clear danger at hand. Joining me to talk about this is HLN`s Jane Velez-Mitchell. Hey Jane.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST HLN`S "ISSUES WITH JANE VALEZ-MITCHELL: Hey, Joy, how are you doing?
BEHAR: So what happened there that day? The other day?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, this animal lashed out and grabbed the trainer by the waist and tossed her around and this poor woman died. And it`s a terrible tragedy and the sad part is, it can happen again. It`s happened many times before and it will happen again. And the underlying problem is that these animals are kept in captivity. That means captive. That`s not fun for people.
BEHAR: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And it`s torture for the animals. Remember, this precious animal was born free in the waters off Iceland. And it had many, many thousands of miles to roam. And whales can travel up to 100 miles a day. And it was captured in 1983 and put in a tiny tank.
BEHAR: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And for more than a quarter of a century, it`s been going around in circles in what would be the human equivalent of a bathtub.
BEHAR: Well the thing about it is that they make a lot of money at SeaWorld, it`s a major attraction, and so that`s the problem. Isn`t that the problem? It`s always about money.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes any time you see animal exploitation, follow the money.
BEHAR: Follow the money.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s not rocket science you know. It`s -- come on.
BEHAR: Okay.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Its tail is splashing the kids. That`s science?
BEHAR: This is not the first time that this whale has killed somebody. He`s a serial killer. Even though the first two times, I understand, were accidents, this one sounded like he was vicious.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well if you were kept in a bathtub for 25 years, wouldn`t you be angry?
BEHAR: Yes, I would.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, I mean basically that`s what it amounts to.
BEHAR: No but this was an accident waiting to happen, right?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I believe so.
BEHAR: It really was.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I believe these animals should be set free. You know, there are sanctuaries for whales that are being created around the world in Brazil, in Chile. Thousands of miles of coast land that are being created as sanctuary for these whales. And I think it`s practical to release this whale back -- give it back its freedom and the others like it.
BEHAR: Well how are they treated at SeaWorld?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well that depends on who you talk to. If you think keeping an animal in that kind of confinement is okay. Then it`s okay. I don`t think that`s right. I think it`s morally wrong. And any time you see animal torture, it`s usually about confinement, whether it`s a pig in a pig gestation crate, a veal in a veal crate, a battery hen in a battery cage. It`s -- Billy the elephant -
BEHAR: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Kept in the zoo in L.A. it`s always about keeping them confined and isolated.
BEHAR: I know they don`t really like that, but children want to see the animals. What about those dolphins? They seem happy.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well you know, we can`t read into the minds of these animals but we can when they lash out the way they do. This was an animal sending a clear signal. Speaking, even though it cannot speak human language that it is sick and tired of the conditions in which it`s living.
BEHAR: But do you think this will change the way SeaWorld does business or the way SeaWorld captures the animals and uses them as sideshows? I mean I don`t think it`s going to change, do you?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well I think it`s all about the consumer. You know, animal exploitation is usually a consumer issue. The consumers in one decision can make a change by saying this is not acceptable anymore and we want a change. And as far as educating a kid, there`s television.
BEHAR: Yes, that`s right. I hope they set this particular whale free into the ocean. There`s absolutely no reason to - you know kill this animal.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: No way.
BEHAR: Because it`s not like it`s going to cost the state money to throw him into the ocean, right?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Okay. Thanks very much, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.
BEHAR: As always, a pleasure to see you.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you, Joy.
BEHAR: I want to turn to another story now. Senate majority leader Harry Reid made some comments on the Senate floor Monday that have caused quite a stir. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRY REID, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I have met with some people while I was home dealing with domestic abuse. It has gotten out of hand. Why? Men don`t have jobs. Women don`t have jobs either, but women aren`t abusive, most of the time. Men, when they`re out of work, tend to become abusive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Does Harry Reid have a point or was he using this anecdote to get the jobs bill passed? Here to discuss are author of New York Times bestseller "Give Me Liberty" Naomi Wolf, and New York Daily news columnist and blogger for the Daily Politics, Liz Benjamin. What do you think about his statements, Naomi?
NAOMI WOLF, AUTHOR, "GIVE ME LIBERTY": I mean, they`re statistically accurate. Domestic violence does goes up -
BEHAR: Okay.
WOLF: When people are suffering from joblessness. Under -- I mean I don`t ever want to say understandably but all the stressors, alcoholism, you know, violence against children, it all goes up when people lose their jobs. It was a really stupid thing to say and he said it very poorly.
BEHAR: Why was it stupid to say?
WOLF: Well here`s why. Apart from that statistical blip about joblessness, you know the stereotype of the lower income guy beating his wife or his girlfriend is just a stereotype. And you know really, there are abusers at every demographic level. You know the guy in the suit who is going to Wall Street isn`t exempt, you know, from having a profile of someone who --
BEHAR: So you think that statement exempted these other types, these white collar types?
WOLF: Yes, and it was kind of offensive to unemployment men.
BEHAR: Why can`t it be a white collared guy who is unemployed hitting his wife?
WOLF: Well I guess you are right about that.
BEHAR: Yes.
WOLF: I guess that was inadvertent advice on my part.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: It was heavy handed. It was like -- and it was also -- it`s not true that women don`t abuse. You know women tend to abuse children when they`re abusive, men tend to abuse women.
BEHAR: Power -- the powerful against the powerless.
WOLF: It`s never helpful to stigmatize one group and point a finger at them.
BEHAR: Do you agree with this Liz? What do you think?
LIZ BENJAMIN, BLOGGER, THE DAILY POLITICS: Just a completely ill- advised thing to say, that much I agree about it. Certainly I don`t know much about the statistics like Naomi does but certainly it makes sense logically, right, if people are home more that gives them more opportunity to violent with one another, to be mean to one another. However, he didn`t need to go there. I mean sure there were about a thousand other anecdotes that he could have employed to get to a place where people wanted to pass the bill that they wanted to pass. I mean it`s just not wise. And - he has been loose for quite some time.
BEHAR: He`s kind of loose lipped lately, and saying stupid things. Well I`ll tell you one person who doesn`t agree with Reid is former presidential candidate Fred Thompson, who responded on Twitter. The new way for senators to talk to each other and people in politics. He wrote, jobless - Thompson wrote, jobless men equals domestic abuse? Is he saying we should be worried about Mrs. Reid after the November election. Is he trying to be funny here? --
BENJAMIN: That`s tasteless.
BEHAR: I feel like saying to him, Fred, don`t do this. Don`t do this at home.
BENJAMIN: Yes.
BEHAR: You`re not a professional.
BENJAMIN: Yes tasteless, worse than Reid right? Although he didn`t say it - he didn`t say it on the floor of an official capacity, obviously, say it on Twitter. It feels loose like you can get away with a lot more.
BEHAR: Yes.
BENJAMIN: But in this instance, it`s just bad, bad, tasteless, bad. He`s trying to be provocative. It just fell flat.
BEHAR: Yes.
BENJAMIN: I though.
BEHAR: Okay now speaking of domestic violence, there`s another case that reports about a top aide to governor -- New York Governor David Paterson who is being accused of violently assaulting a woman. Tell me about that.
BENJAMIN: I don`t know where to begin at this point. It`s just the fallout has been amazing. The story is really quite shocking. I mean in short, this very close aide to Governor Paterson, who is the quote unquote "body" man, the person who is with him all the time with for this governor means more because of course he`s legally blind. And has to rely heavily on people.
BEHAR: He used to be his driver.
BENJAMIN: Correct. He`s been with him about a decade now, quite some time. Allegedly assaulted a woman with whom he had been living for about four years. And that`s not - I mean that`s bad enough of course. But the real problem was that allegedly the governor spoke to her the day before she was supposed to be in court to press the case, an assault charges against him.
BEHAR: Right.
BENJAMIN: And worse, members of the governor`s own state police security detail, a member of that detail went to this woman to talk to her about it, to talk to her about it. And she said, in court, in her testimony that she felt they were trying to pressure her to drop the case. Completely inappropriate. All the way around.
BEHAR: And didn`t she say allegedly her lawyer says she had a conversation with -
BENJAMIN: With the governor - correct.
BEHAR: Paterson on the phone and the next day the charges were dropped.
BENJAMIN: She didn`t show up to court.
BEHAR: She - oh she didn`t show up in court -
BENJAMIN: And then the case -
BEHAR: And then it was dropped?
BENJAMIN: Correct. Correct.
BEHAR: So that`s just -- I smell a rat here and I don`t know which rat I`m smelling yet.
WOLF: Oh there`s so many rats.
BEHAR: So many rats out there.
WOLF: If it`s true, there are so many layers of not just immorality but conspiracy, witness tampering. Intimidation.
BEHAR: Obstruction of justice.
Oh we could talk about this forever. But this is a hot story. And thank you very much for weighing in. Next, the hilarious Jeff Garlin joins me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m talking to my wife now.
JEFF GARLIN, "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM": Big fat idiot. Tell your wife I`m an idiot. Write me a letter of apology.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay I will. I will. Okay, all right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: That was a clip from "Curb Your Enthusiasm" with Jeff Garlin. Who decided to reduce both his waistline and carbon foot print and he began this odyssey by eating an entire package of cookie dough before breakfast. His new book is called "My Footprint: Carrying The Weight Of The World." Welcome, Jeff. We go for the lowest common denominator every once in a while here.
JEFF GARLIN, AUTHOR, "MY FOOTPRINT": I watched your last episode, so I know what you`re talking about.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: We`ve elevated it with you.
GARLIN: Okay.
BEHAR: Now, this is a lot about your struggles with weight.
GARLIN: It`s not a how-to book. It`s my struggles with losing weight and there`s the going green aspect also.
BEHAR: Right. You had a stroke at 37, which I didn`t know and.
GARLIN: Yes. Yes, I did.
BEHAR: You attended the Pritikin longevity center many times.
GARLIN: Many times, still go.
BEHAR: And tried every strategy known to man.
GARLIN: Yes, except for Atkins. Never did Atkins.
BEHAR: Oh okay, that`s the one that would work, probably.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: But you don`t ever -- you seem to not be able to get past a level of weight, right?
GARLIN: Yes, yes, always.
BEHAR: Why don`t you just do the stomach stapling or the banding, those things they have out there?
GARLIN: Why don`t I do those?
BEHAR: Yes.
GARLIN: Because I never was -- look, I had a friend who weighed 500 pounds. He did one of those things. I felt better. He`s down to 220 now, he is fit, I`m happy for him. At my highest, I was 320. I mostly lingered in the 290 area.
BEHAR: Yes, what should you be?
GARLIN: I should be about 220. 230
BEHAR: How tall are you?
GARLIN: 6`1".
BEHAR: Well you would be okay at 190. Which is what --
GARLIN: 190, I would be look too thin. I would look gaunt. I`d look too thin.
BEHAR: No, you wouldn`t.
GARLIN: Yes, I would. I`m big.
BEHAR: You would be lanky looking, that`s all.
GARLIN: Lanky looking, okay.
BEHAR: But I mean, if you are suppose to be 100 pounds overweight to get those things. Anyway.
GARLIN: But I wouldn`t do that. I -- yes, it is just not - it doesn`t interest me.
BEHAR: What do you think of about that story this past week about Kevin Smith, the director who was kicked off of the Southwest airlines.
GARLIN: I think I feel horrible for him, it`s so embarrassing because you could easily be saying what do you think about Jeff Garlin, Kevin Smith sitting here.
BEHAR: Oh he`s bigger than you.
GARLIN: I know he is but -
BEHAR: Yes.
GARLIN: At one time -
BEHAR: You don`t look that big to me.
GARLIN: I know because I have lost a lot of weight.
BEHAR: Oh I see -- how much have you lost?
GARLIN: I don`t know, to be honest with you, a lot though. I don`t weigh myself anymore.
BEHAR: You don`t?
GARLIN: No, no.
BEHAR: maybe you should. You`re supposed to weigh yourself.
GARLIN: No, you`re not, who says?
BEHAR: Well because you want to check your BMI and everything.
GARLIN: BMI schmi. That`s what I say. To me I still - if I keep on having to get new shirts and new pants because they`re getting to big on me, and I have a lot of energy and I feel great.
BEHAR: Yes.
GARLIN: And my blood numbers are good when I go to the doctor, what do I worry about how much I weigh?
BEHAR: So everything is fine with you right now?
GARLIN: Yes.
BEHAR: You don`t have diabetes? Or --
GARLIN: I still do.
BEHAR: Yes.
GARLIN: But you know, it`s -- I`m about to get checked again in a couple of weeks. And we`ll see what my numbers are. But you always have it, I just goes into hiding, if you will. It`s ready to pop out again.
BEHAR: And so you yo-yo a lot, don`t you?
GARLIN: No.
BEHAR: You don`t yo-yo.
GARLIN: Never was a yo-yoer.
BEHAR: No. You just kept getting bigger and bigger?
GARLIN: I only have -- I got big. I got to 320 and then I made my way back down through Pretikin down to 290. Sort of living in that 290 area. I think I`m in the 260s now.
BEHAR: Uh huh.
GARLIN: Yes.
BEHAR: All right, well.
GARLIN: Yes.
BEHAR: Now, I was reading that you bought a chocolate - a piece of chocolate while you were waiting in line for diabetes medicine. Is that the definition of a food addict?
GARLIN: Surely.
BEHAR: Uh huh.
GARLIN: You`re picking up your diabetes medicine and they say it`s going to be a few minutes. That`s all right, I`ll be right back and it was a chocolate shop down the street. Yes, I would say you have a problem. That is my gut feeling.
BEHAR: I think so.
GARLIN: A problem, yes.
BEHAR: Uh huh.
GARLIN: And that`s the last time by the way I had chocolate. That was the last time.
BEHAR: When was that, last week?
GARLIN: No, that was -- I think it was New Year`s, or the day before New Years, a year ago, 2008.
BEHAR: That`s good.
GARLIN: Yes.
BEHAR: So now you eat what?
GARLIN: I`ve been of sugar - I`ve been over a year, not having any sugar.
BEHAR: No sugar, what else don`t you eat?
GARLIN: Yes. I don`t eat fast food at all. I have been over a year on fast food.
BEHAR: Okay.
GARLIN: Don`t eat turkey, don`t eat chicken, don`t eat red meat.
BEHAR: What`s wrong with turkey?
GARLIN: I just don`t want to eat it.
BEHAR: Oh but -
GARLIN: It`s not green to eat - it`s not green to eat all that stuff. It takes a lot of -
BEHAR: Oh it`s not -- you`re in the green thing?
GARLIN: Yes, but it`s like a lot of levels. I once was driving -- shooting a film and I remember I past a truck with chickens in little cages cramped in there. And I saw a chicken after that mind you, by the way, but it stayed with me. And I`m more -- that`s been the easiest transition. Sugar was insane. Now I have no cravings but the --
BEHAR: How did you get rid of sugar cravings?
GARLIN: It took me of like two, three weeks of not sleeping, of going crazy, of being grumpy, of feeling nauseous of having headaches, I mean going through complete utter withdrawal.
BEHAR: Yes.
GARLIN: And then now you can have cupcakes everywhere, with no baring, nothing, on me.
BEHAR: No kidding.
GARLIN: Yes. But I know if I took the littlest taste, boom, off to the races. I`m sick again.
BEHAR: So were you overweight as a kid?
GARLIN: Not until high school.
BEHAR: Well then that`s treacherous territory when you are fat in high school.
GARLIN: Yes.
BEHAR: Because I don`t think -- I know if you`re a girl and you`re overweight -
GARLIN: Right.
BEHAR: It`s a nightmare in hell.
GARLIN: Right.
BEHAR: Is it the same for a guy?
GARLIN: Well, you know, no, it`s worse for a girl.
BEHAR: It`s worse for a girl.
GARLIN: It`s worse for a girl.
BEHAR: But did the girls throw themselves at you anyway?
GARLIN: They did not through themselves at me but I never had any problems with girls. And lots of nice girls, great girls.
BEHAR: That`s nice.
GARLIN: Lots of nice girls. Yes, one a day, I`m Ron Jeremy.
(LAUGHTER)
GARLIN: No but it didn`t have much effect. I`m sure there were some women that weren`t attracted to me because I was heavier. But once I started comedy at 20, first two years of comedy I put on 50 pounds -
BEHAR: Why?
GARLIN: Eating at 2:00 in the morning, every single night.
BEHAR: Maybe it was the anxiety of getting on stage.
GARLIN: There was anxiety but I felt - I felt great about it. That was like something that`s always come natural for me. But the change for me, I can tell you the reason that I did it, this only works for me, not saying anybody else, I approach it like an addiction.
BEHAR: That`s right.
GARLIN: I wish I could have had a sex addiction.
BEHAR: No that would have been more glamorous.
GARLIN: That would be exciting on many levels.
BEHAR: Yes.
GARLIN: But nobody ever sees someone eating, you know, cookies and says I want to be with him, you know.
BEHAR: Oh that`s true.
GARLIN: But nonetheless -
BEHAR: Once a loin of pork is not attractive.
GARLIN: No it`s not. And no one jumps towards you like that.
BEHAR: Yes.
GARLIN: I took another pork eater maybe. But I so I approach it like an addiction and because I approach it like an addiction, it`s very serious and it`s black and white. It`s not gray.
BEHAR: Tell me the story of your son`s bricks, I like this.
GARLIN: Oh, dear god.
BEHAR: Tell me about that.
GARLIN: Well you know, I didn`t know. I`m Jewish. I didn`t know - when my son was circumcised, you know it`s a brick, it`s the ceremony. The moil who does it.
BEHAR: Yes.
GARLIN: Gave me a little foil pouch and I go what`s this, and he says it`s your son`s foreskin. Oh thank you.
BEHAR: Do they give that as a souvenir?
GARLIN: No, they tell you that you should bury it in some place that means a lot to you.
BEHAR: Why?
GARLIN: I don`t know. I just was told. You know the years with Judaism, they just tell you things. You just sort of go along with it. The problem is, it was only three characters.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: So what happened?
GARLIN: It`s like Jewish Halloween, there`s three characters. Those are your choices. There`s no fourth. I`m sure there was other people living around those days who could have been -
BEHAR: Right. Yes.
GARLIN: But anyhow, I was living in L.A., I was still living - but at that time I was new to L.A. I didn`t really have a sacred place where I wanted to bury it. So one day I was walking down Sunset Boulevard, I saw a sign, the electric parade is ending. Come to Disneyland now. My family was - My wife and kid were out of town at the time. And I went, I`m going to Disneyland, tonight, and I`m going to see the electric parade and go to every -- listen to what I did. I`m going to every land, have something to eat in every land and then when I get done I am going to throw it over at Pirates of the Caribbean and I will also be really healthy thinking that would change it in honor of my son. Long story short, I started eating in every land. When you`re an adult by yourself in Disneyland it`s creepy.
BEHAR: Yes that`s true. It comes off that way, yes.
GARLIN: So I was in this area where they have -- it was like a Hunchback of Notre Dame eating area, eating a giant turkey leg - you know like a giant one. And this family`s looking at me. I just thought, I have to go now. So I went over to Sleeping Beauty`s Castle, wrapped a rock in it and while "When You Wish Upon A Star" was raised to rock my son to that song and boom, in the water.
BEHAR: How appropriate.
GARLIN: Yes at Disneyland. Seriously, if you go to Sleeping Beauty`s Castle, say hello to my son`s foreskin.
BEHAR: Okay, don`t go anywhere, we`ll have more with Jeff Garlin when we come back.
GARLIN: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ll tell you Jeff, you`re a (EXPLETIVE DELETED), mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED), my grandmother`s broach is missing. I could not replace this item. How would you feel if something you cared about was missing? You don`t (EXPLETIVE DELETED) anything. You know that?
GARLIN: My baseball cards.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see that? Now it`s not so funny now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Oh love, that was Jeff and Susie Essman who plays his wife on Curb. On Curb she plays your wife, she` always calling you a fat --
GARLIN: Yes.
BEHAR: Does it bother you at all? I know it`s comedy.
GARLIN: Well there are two levels to it.
BEHAR: Yes.
GARLIN: Number one, it doesn`t bother me because it`s funny and I get paid a lot. And the other aspect is if I don`t want to be called fat anymore, I have a choice.
BEHAR: What`s the choice?
GARLIN: To lose weight. There you go.
BEHAR: Okay you know what let`s ask Susie if she enjoys calling you a fat (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Suz, you`re on the phone with Susie Essman.
GARLIN: Oh dear god.
SUSIE ESSMAN, PLAYS JEFF GARLIN`S WIFE ON "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM"(on phone): Oh yes. Do I enjoy it?
BEHAR: Yes.
ESSMAN: It`s not -- I enjoy yelling and screaming at him. It doesn`t have to be fat. If he loses weight, I mean he acts like such a jerk half the time on the show -- his character, not him in real life, his character, but I enjoy yelling and screaming at him and Larry. So if it`s not fat, it will be something else.
BEHAR: Well, like what, where will the rage come from?
ESSEMAN: My rage is not at his fat. My rage is at his behavior.
BEHAR: Susie is not, in real life, one of my very close friends, is not like Susie Green --
GARLIN: She is so not Susie Green -
BEHAR: Well I wouldn`t go that far --
GARLIN: No, I think, I would go that far just so people know. She is nothing right that.
BEHAR: Were there more doughnuts at the Kraft table when you were there?
GARLIN: More? What do you mean?
BEHAR: When you were around, while you were in your sugar phase -- were there a lot --
GARLIN: There was probably a lack of them when I was in the sugar phase.
BEHAR: Oh really.
GARLIN: I would think the crew would be walking and going, what happened to the doughnuts? Where are the cookies? Who took the ho-hoes? That`s what it was like when I was in my sugar phase.
ESSEMAN: When -- when Jeff was in the sugar phase and we would start to shoot and somebody would say, where`s Jeff, we`d know where to find him.
GARLIN: That`s the truth. That`s the truth.
BEHAR: Oh you know Susie, Jeff`s character cheated on you this season.
ESSMAN: I know.
BEHAR: So what do you think about that? I mean you have a way about you that I think would prevent a man from cheating on you. He did it anyway.
ESSMAN: He did it and he got away with it with lies and deception and mendacity, twice. But who`s to say I`m not cheating on him with the pool boy.
BEHAR: Oh, baby. Are you?
ESSMAN: That`s my secret. I don`t have to tell Jeff everything.
GARLIN: Oh, dear god. Now you`re going into pretendland with your character? If that`s what you need, Susie, enjoy. Why do I keep looking up like she`s up there?
BEHAR: She`s upstairs.
GARLIN: She`s everywhere.
BEHAR: So I think you guys are doing a fantastic job on the show.
GARLIN: Thank you.
BEHAR: Everybody loves the show. I have to tell you.
GARLIN: Thank you, thank you.
BEHAR: Everybody loves that show, you know people stop Susie and ask her to get on the phone -- tell them Susie.
ESSMAN: He know, Jeff knows. Jeff and I --
GARLIN: I have been with her when she -- people ask her to scream at them. Will you scream obscenities at me? Can imagine that. Hey, call me a fat so-and-so. Call me, you know, whatever.
BEHAR: Yes, I know.
GARLIN: And it`s just -- it`s like, really? Oh my god.
ESSMAN: You know what when they see us together, they`re just freaked out. Because Jeff and I will be out to dinner in the city, and having a nice time and obviously enjoying each other`s company and people can`t agree that the Greenes are like so civil to each other - to one another.
GARLIN: How about the other day looking at apartments?
ESSMAN: I know.
BEHAR: Oh you two are just going to go into the sunset.
GARLIN: No but she came with me.
BEHAR: Oh but she loves real estate.
GARLIN: I know but people were kind of weirded out that we were moving into their building.
BEHAR: It must be. Anyway thank you Jeff and Susie if you`re in New York this Friday or Saturday catch Jeff headlining at Carolines, Susie is there all the time. So check her out too. Jeff`s new book "My Footprint: Carrying The Weight Of The World." Good night everybody.
END
