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Joy Behar Page
Lohan Meltdown?; Arizona`s New Immigration Policy
Aired April 26, 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, it looks like Lindsay Lohan is in trouble again, which is like saying the sun comes up in the east. We`ll have the latest on the freaky Friday star.
Then, atheists are trying to stop the National Day of Prayer from happening today. Question, since Christians celebrate the birth of Christ, will atheists demand we celebrate the birth of Jean-Paul Sartre.
And George Bush`s memoir hits bookstores in November. I hear if you pre-order it, they`ll throw in a copy of "My Pet Goat".
That and more right now.
Recently Brittany Murphy and Corey Haim died tragically. Is Lindsay Lohan the next star to find herself in a tailspin she can`t reverse? This week alone, Lohan threw a drink at an ex-girlfriend and was fired from the set of a movie. And reports say she`s $600,000 in debt.
Lindsay`s father, Michael Lohan, also brought police to her home after he grew concerned for the welfare of her younger sister.
Here to help sort this all out are Michael Lohan, his attorney and CNN legal analyst, Lisa Bloom, and weekend anchor for "Extra" Lauren Sanchez.
Ok. Lauren let me start with you. How bad have things gotten for Lindsay Lohan?
LAUREN SANCHEZ, WEEKEND ANCHOR, "EXTRA": Well, clearly this is a young girl whose life is spinning out of control. But I think to make matters worse, her father staged an, quote-unquote, "intervention" on Thursday, brought police in tow with reporters to her house or her apartment where her sister is also staying to say, "Oh, she needs help." But you know what? Police left without incident. There was no problem.
But this is the problem. There`s so much going on in this young girl`s life that having, you know, her father stage an intervention and then tipping off the media before hand, that`s not going to help her. She needs a lot more
(CROSSTALK)
LISA BLOOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST AND ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL LOHAN: Joy, Joy, that was not --
BEHAR: Michael, go ahead.
BLOOM: That`s not correct. That was not an intervention. Go ahead, Michael.
MICHAEL LOHAN, FATHER OF LINDSAY LOHAN: It wasn`t an intervention. And the press was not tipped off before hand. No one knew I was coming. They were alerted when I got there and they showed up there.
BEHAR: But the press was tipped off after you left, isn`t that true?
LOHAN: Of course, but I didn`t do the tipping. I wanted to come out here and do this quietly. I`ve been trying to do this quietly with Dina for almost eight months now.
SANCHEZ: But Michael, the press was actually there -- they were actually there when you went to her apartment to help -- supposedly help her sister and your daughter.
LOHAN: I was with the police at the police station and there was no one at the police station. So someone had to tell them that I was going with the police to Lindsay`s apartment.
I went out there quietly. I was in touch with Lindsay four days before I went. Lindsay called me and put Samantha Ronson on the phone to try to talk to me about this whole situation.
BLOOM: You know, if I could just jump in quickly. I find it amazing that people in the press who cover this case attack Michael Lohan, who is a father, who has been trying to save his daughter`s life. The press is often camped out outside of his daughter`s home. The press follows Michael when he goes for a cup of coffee and then blame him --
SANCHEZ: Lisa, no one is attacking him at all. No one`s attacking him at all. We`re just kind of stating the facts.
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: Well, you know, they`ve been saying that he tipped off the press. You`re saying he`s part of the problem. What he did, if you got the facts correctly was, he went in because his 16-year-old daughter, Ali, was there with Lindsay and he didn`t feel that was a good environment with her.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But do you think the police --
BEHAR: One at a time. Go ahead.
SANCHEZ: Don`t you think there`s a way to do it without having the media or the press there?
BLOOM: That`s a good question. Let me respond to that. Michael has been trying behind the scenes, many times, dozens of times, hundreds of times, to address the problem with his daughter. Sometimes the press follows him and attacks him. But Michael continues to fight for his daughter. And then we go on shows like this and people continue to attack him.
BEHAR: Well, you`re defending him.
BLOOM: You know, it`s just amazing to me. What would you do, Lauren --
BEHAR: You`re here defending him Lisa.
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: -- if you`re daughter have been in the influence of alcohol or drugs? What steps would you take to save her?
SANCHEZ: As a mother, I would take any steps there were, obviously.
BLOOM: That`s what he`s doing.
SANCHEZ: But I wouldn`t involve -- I would not be on a show talking about my daughter`s life. I absolutely wouldn`t be doing that. Take the steps to do it privately.
(CROSSTALK)
LOHAN: No. No, Lauren, you`d do it -- with all due respect, Lauren, you do it talking about other people`s lives. This is my daughter.
SANCHEZ: Yes, that`s my job. That is my job.
BLOOM: Your job is also to try to get people like Michael to come on your show.
SANCHEZ: Well, this is not my show.
BEHAR: Michael, what is it that you want, Michael? What`s your goal here?
LOHAN: Joy, all I ever wanted is for my daughter to have her life back. That`s all I want. I want her to have her life back and I want Ali to be in school and have a normal life. That`s all I care about.
I don`t care if people attack me, but you have to understand something. I don`t do this for publicity. I don`t get paid. I`m a father. A father first and that`s all I care about.
If Dina wants to go ahead and Dina wants deny things, if she wants to slam me and bring up ridiculous things that make no sense and are totally fictitious, let her. But she knows the truth and so do I.
BEHAR: Well, the thing about it -- the thing about it Michael, is after you took the cops to Lindsay`s apartment, she did do -- she tweeted basically that you were nuts. What do you make of that? Your own daughter said you`re nuts.
LOHAN: All right, do you know that after Lindsay threw the drink in Samantha`s face that Lindsay tweeted me and she was texting me asking me to help her after she said I was crazy and insane? When I`m finished with the show, I`ll go in to your producers and show you all the texts from her asking me to help her.
BLOOM: Let me just jump in here, too Joy.
BEHAR: Go ahead Lisa.
BLOOM: There`s not a 23-year-old girl on this earth who wants her father interfering with her life.
LOHAN: You`re right.
BLOOM: I think that`s Lindsay`s point of view here. Michael doesn`t care about the attacks on him, whether it`s from Lindsay, whether it`s from people in the press who also ask him to come on their show and then attack him. He doesn`t care.
His goal is to save his daughter`s life. That`s why he has retained me to pursue all appropriate legal action to protect her. And I think that that`s admirable. I think that`s something he should get a little bit of respect for.
BEHAR: Michael, you`re trying to get what they call conservatorship over Lindsay. You have a turbulent relationship with her it seems to me. Why would they give that to you?
LOHAN: Number one, Joy, let me say this. There`s other steps that Lisa is going to try to take first. She`s already contacted Lindsay`s lawyer -- if I`m allowed to say so Lisa -- and if we can meet with her, fine. If not, then I guess Lisa will approach Lindsay`s lawyer that sentenced Lindsay and --
(CROSSTALK)
BLOOM: On all the legal questions, Joy, with all due respect, I think that`s why I`m here. All of the legal options are open at this point.
Michael has not moved for a conservatorship. I gave a statement today that all legal options are now open. Conservatorship is one of those options. There are other options available to parents like Michael who are frustrated that their adult children appear to be spiraling out of control and who appear to be under the influence.
BEHAR: All right Lisa -- Lisa there are reports that Lindsay and Ali are getting restraining orders against Michael is. Is that true?
BLOOM: Nobody has made any -- as of right now, sitting here on the set -- nobody has made any motions for a restraining order.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: And I want to say something Lisa, we`re not attacking at all. We`re just questioning the motives behind it. That`s all we`re doing.
LOHAN: But what -- Lauren, Lauren --
BLOOM: Now, the first thing you said was that he is contributing to the problem, Lauren.
SANCHEZ: Yes, but that`s not an attack. It`s just questioning --
BLOOM: That`s an attack.
SANCHEZ: Why involve the media?
BLOOM: Let`s be honest about what you`re doing. That`s an attack.
SANCHEZ: Why involve the media?
BLOOM: Because the media goes to him. The media asks him these questions.
LOHAN: Ladies, we`re not here to argue, we really aren`t. Let`s all try to get on the same page like I was with Dina and let`s try to get Lindsay help that she needs. Let`s try to address the --
BEHAR: I`m kind of an objective observer of all this, but did you or did you not give an interview to TMZ, Michael? You did, right? Why did you do that?
LOHAN: Yes. Let me explain myself. The minute this happened, the minute I went up to the police department and tried to do this the right way, Lindsay and Dina started to give interviews and go on Twitter and saying I was crazy and saying this and that.
I -- they -- TMZ heard all this and called me up and said do you want your side of the story being told? If they`re speaking facts, I have no problem with it. But if someone is going to lie, I`m not going to sit back idle. I`m not going to let them portray something that isn`t true.
And I`m telling you this, from here on in, when it comes to Lindsay in this situation, it`s in Lisa`s hands. I want nothing to do with the press. Let her handle it. But I will tell you this --
BLOOM: You know, Joy, it just astounds me that you would ask him on your show. He`s doing the interview on your show and you`re attacking him for getting interviewed. Michael has done nothing wrong. He doesn`t get a dime from any of these interviews.
BEHAR: I`m not -- we`re attacking him.
Lisa, why is every question construed as an attack?
BLOOM: I don`t understand why people ask him to come on their show for an interview, which he does gracious, and then you ask him why he does interviews on TMZ as if there`s something wrong with somebody doing an interview.
SANCHEZ: Ok, I have a question. I have a question and this is just - - you know, as far as like taking care of your daughter and trying to do the best. She tweeted actually and says, "Oh, as for our well-being, he`s never cared about our well-being before, nor does he now. And he`s never paid child support for ten months.
LOHAN: Oh, Lauren, Lauren -- let me address this. Let me address all those questions. Number one, I want to ask you a question.
In all the years I was married, for 19 years, while Lindsay was growing from a child until she was at the pinnacle of her career, did you ever see or hear of one problem? Did you see me in the press? Did you see me doing anything? No. We were as close as close can be.
It wasn`t until my brother-in-law smoked crack at my son`s communion party -- and I was wrong -- but I beat him up for it because he attacked me. That`s when everything fell apart. Dina chose to --
BEHAR: Why do you need a lawyer, Michael?
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Michael, we have to end this interview. Why do you need a lawyer?
LOHAN: Because I can`t do this alone. Now I have to take legal action. I tried to do it privately. I tried to do it myself.
BEHAR: But it sounds like your lawyer is defending you in this interview. I don`t really understand why you need defense.
BLOOM: Because that`s -- I`m not a potted plant, Joy. When somebody attacks my client, I am going to defend him.
BEHAR: But why does he need you as a lawyer, Lisa?
BLOOM: This is about Lindsay. This isn`t about Michael.
BEHAR: It sounds like it`s about Michael because he has you here defending him.
BLOOM: Well, when you attack my client -- people attack any of my clients, I`m going to defend them. That`s what I`m here for.
BEHAR: Ok, thanks everyone. We hope everything turns out ok for Lindsay and I mean that sincerely. We will be back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up a little later on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, singer and reality star Bret Michaels remains hospitalized in intensive care. We`ll have the latest.
And outrage after a judge calls the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.
Now back to Joy.
BEHAR: Well, Arizona has a new immigration law and to call it controversial would be to underestimate it. It requires police to stop and individual if there is reasonable suspicion that he or she is in this country illegally. Critics say the law will make Arizona feel more like World War II Germany than a part of the United States.
With me to talk about it and more are Phil Donahue, former talk show host and Alex Castellanos, Republican consultant and CNN political contributor. Ok guys, you like how I said that, Alex? Alejandro Castellanos.
ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Yes very nice I don`t know how you ever get that. We`ve got to hey you.
BEHAR: Are you Cuban?
CASTELLANOS: Yes.
BEHAR: I heard you were Cuban.
PHIL DONAHUE, FORMER TALK SHOW HOST: How old were you when you got here?
CASTELLANOS: Six and a half years old. And America`s have been very, very good to me.
BEHAR: Yes, very good to you.
Now, this Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, says there won`t be any racial profiling. How is that possible, Alex?
CASTELLANOS: I think it`s kind of tough. You know, if looking like an illegal alien is going to get you in trouble, then you know, my driver`s license picture is going to get me deported. How can you tell, you can`t. I think that`s one of the reasons this law may be unconstitutional.
In addition to the fact that the federal government Constitution says that it`s the federal government`s job to deal with immigration, not the state. So I think there is some real trouble here.
BEHAR: Do you think it`s kind of -- doesn`t it feel like sort of Nazism a little bit?
CASTELLANOS: Well, come on.
BEHAR: I don`t want to overstate it, but may I see your papers you know?
DONAHUE: You know what I just don`t understand -- first of all, I believe that the political establishment, Governor Brewer and others in Arizona did this as a cry for help. She made that clear when she announced the reason for her support of this. But I have no doubt that -- if this isn`t unconstitutional --
BEHAR: What is?
DONAHUE: You know and then I think we`ve -- the last administration turned its back on the entire Bill of Rights. And now we`re walking up to people and say, oh let me see your papers.
BEHAR: It`s creepy.
CASTELLANOS: Well --
BEHAR: Alex?
CASTELLANOS: Yes, I think Phil`s right about one thing, it is kind of a cry for help from folks in Arizona. Why does 70 percent of the state support this? Has 70 percent of the state all of a sudden become racist or become evil people? No. The Tea Party folks in Arizona who are supporting this, those same Tea Party people in Florida are supporting Marco Rubio, a Cuban kid.
BEHAR: But a very conservative Cuban kid.
CASTELLANOS: But conservative but still you would think --
BEHAR: Very conservative.
CASTELLANOS: -- that they`re unusually tolerant racists here if you had all of this us. It doesn`t -- no -- this is a state where, on the border there`s a civil war where kids have been shot in their car seats around that border. And these people are desperate to secure the border, a job the federal government has failed to do.
BEHAR: But it`s --
CASTELLANOS: And by the way a lot of Democrats --
BEHAR: Yes.
CASTELLANOS: -- ignored that job for years and years and years.
BEHAR: But doesn`t this sort of take time away from the police who are looking for criminals? They`ll be stopping innocent Hispanics when they should be actually looking for criminals I don`t think it`s very, very, you know practical, frankly.
CASTELLANOS: Well, it doesn`t seem to be practical. I don`t think that it`s very workable. I think it is going to be a real problem to enforce. But you can understand why desperate people, you know, when this kind of thing is happening on your border and is affecting your security, really you`re on the edge of a civil war and your government is not protecting you.
Now, legally, of course, because the federal government fails to do its job doesn`t mean the state is authorized to do it.
BEHAR: I love how Republicans, sometimes they want big government, and sometimes they won`t -- they don`t. I mean, in this case, they would like the federal government to come in and help them.
CASTELLANOS: We have to.
BEHAR: When it comes to my uterus, they want to intrude this into that. And yet they want no government when it comes to taxes. Can`t you guys make up your mind?
CASTELLANOS: You know what? That`s a fair criticism of some Republicans. We should stay out of your bedroom, your uterus. I`ll leave it in your hands and others. But the --
BEHAR: Well put.
CASTELLANOS: Yes, yes but no, this is a --
DONAHUE: A language words.
CASTELLANOS: No, we have to stay out of folk`s bedroom. And if we`re going to use, if we`re going to cheat and cut across the track and use big government to enforce our values, we can`t complain when others do it to enforce theirs.
DONAHUE: Where are the other Republicans?
DONAHUE: Where are the other Republicans?
BEHAR: Like you.
DONAHUE: And why aren`t they saying this? I have friends -- some of my best friends, believe it or not, and they don`t know what happened to their party.
By the way, let me ask you as a reasonable man, who is heading the Republican Party right now? It certainly isn`t Michael Steele. Is it Mitch McConnell?
CASTELLANOS: You know, one of the things, one of the problems for being the party out of power is that you`re -- you don`t have a general, you don`t have a leader, you have many. And that`s the same thing the Democrats suffered when they were out of power.
Guess what happens? When you have a presidential campaign, you find your voice, you find your leader.
DONAHUE: So you have to wait another two years?
CASTELLANOS: I`m afraid that`s what is going to happen. But you know what? There is a new generation of leaders coming up in the Republican Party.
BEHAR: But Alex --
CASTELLANOS: Mitch Daniels, governor --
BEHAR: Yes.
CASTELLANOS: -- of Indiana, who`s a new Republican leader who is doing well. And you`ll have others emerge; nothing new grew in the shade of the big Bush tree for eight years. That big tree is gone now. You`ve seen (AUDIO GAP)
BEHAR: You know, some people would say that Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are the leaders of the party. How do you respond to that?
CASTELLANOS: Well, you know, Rush Limbaugh was around on the radio when George Bush was in the White House and Rush Limbaugh wasn`t the leader. Again, it`s the same here --
BEHAR: Well, because he was so pro Bush.
DONAHUE: You have a Republican president, obviously he`s the leader.
BEHAR: Yes.
DONAHUE: Now you`re really in a nuclear forest here.
CASTELLANOS: Not really, not really. You know it`s funny --
BEHAR: And what`s going to happen to the GOP with the Hispanic vote with this kind of Arizona thing happening? It`s not good for the Republicans.
CASTELLANOS: Well, no, especially if they start exporting their media consultants. We don`t want that to happen, they are political guys. We want them to stay. I`ve brought my credentials, in case I`m asked here.
BEHAR: Well, you are an American citizen, may I see your license?
CASTELLANOS: Actually, I have my passport here today, just in case you asked -- I knew it.
BEHAR: Hey how does it -- doesn`t it feel bad when someone says that? Can I see your papers? Can I see your license?
CASTELLANOS: That`s not the country.
BEHAR: That is not the country.
CASTELLANOS: We came here from Cuba.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: And also what about Canadians, who are on the other ends of the border there.
CASTELLANOS: Yes.
BEHAR: Are they going to be stopping Canadians? Because they have blond hair and blue eyes, I don`t think so.
CASTELLANOS: No. But you know, America is a country that needs promise and hope and vision to bring out the best in its people. And right now we`re looking for that kind of leadership. Somebody says it`s going to be all right, we`re all going to be more prosperous, more successful, follow me into the future.
That was Obama`s great gift in the campaign and he`s lost it. He is now, you know, it`s us against them, business against workers --
DONAHUE: Oh wait, wait a minute --
CASTELLANOS: He`s a very divisive force --
BEHAR: You know what? Hold that thought Phil.
DONAHUE: Obama is the divisive force? It has nothing to do with Glenn Beck or the death panels?
BEHAR: Ok, hold that thought. We`re going to come back with some more.
We`ll be right back. This is good.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: We`re back and we`re talking politics with Phil Donahue and CNN contributor Alex Castellanos.
Ok, you know, a lot of people say that Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are very irrational and very -- you know they`re just bad for the party because they`re so volatile. But on the other side, Phil, you have -- what`s his name -- Ed Schultz, and you`ve got at MSNBC, you have Keith Olbermann. Are they equal in their volatility and destructiveness?
DONAHUE: Not at all. I think -- first of all, somebody like Ed Schultz -- and by the way, I watch these shows. I used to be there, so I`ve more than a passing interest in this.
BEHAR: Yes.
DONAHUE: I am just totally absorbed by what`s going on. Worse, worser, worsest: I wish I thought of that, maybe I would still be on the air. But I`m watching this.
I see -- first of all, I`m crazy about Ed Schultz, although he`s come a long way without my support. Why he didn`t have a show earlier I don`t know.
BEHAR: Is he as bad as the others? He`s radical, too.
DONAHUE: How is he radical?
BEHAR: I`m just giving you what they say about him.
DONAHUE: Ed Schultz pushes back against the Obama administration, against the President himself, against the Democratic whips in Congress. He pushes back. You will never hear on Fox News a positive comment about Barack Obama because it doesn`t fit the broadcast format.
BEHAR: Well, we hear it from Juan Williams and Mara Liaison on the Chris Wallace show because they have a panel discussion.
DONAHUE: Well, ok, but talking about night time -- the shout shows. The shout shows.
BEHAR: That`s true.
DONAHUE: You know, for --
BEHAR: Do you think it`s racism that`s behind all the attacks on Obama?
CASTELLANOS: No, no. I think most folks knew he was a black man when they elected him President of the United States.
BEHAR: But this -- what about this birther bill that is requiring all presidential candidates to produce their birth certificate before getting on the Arizona ballot. What is up with Arizona?
CASTELLANOS: Well, if Arnold Schwarzenegger came up and said he was running for president and you said ok, would you check?
(CROSSTALK)
CASTELLANOS: If I`m driving a car, they make you produce a driver`s license.
BEHAR: Yes, but Obama has produced his birth credentials. They still don`t believe him.
CASTELLANOS: Only one of us here as far as I know, can`t produce a American birth certificate. I think that`s me, not the president. But nevertheless, asking people to prove their citizenship if it`s a requirement for running for president --
DONAHUE: Well, he has.
BEHAR: He has.
CASTELLANOS: -- what`s wrong with that?
BEHAR: He has.
CASTELLANOS: That`s fine.
BEHAR: So why don`t they believe --
CASTELLANOS: We agree on that.
DONAHUE: It hurts. It`s not good for the party. I mean, come on.
BEHAR: It makes your party look stupid.
DONAHUE: Really, really.
CASTELLANOS: But I think Glenn Beck and the Rush Limbaughs of the world are good for the Republican party, because they`re the core values and principles of the party, against big spending, for a strong national defense, for important things like that. And they fought -- they stood up against George Bush when Bush was spending too much.
Now, to cut up -- they`re the bottom rungs of the ladder. For a party to be successful, it has to build on that. It has to climb higher and explain how those values help everybody.
BEHAR: But they don`t climb higher. They just --
(CROSSTALK)
CASTELLANOS: That`s not their job. That`s not their job.
BEHAR: No, but they do what they do.
CASTELLANOS: Their job is to rally their base and our job in the Republican Party is to build on and say you know what? If you trust people, give a little faith in their ability, this country can achieve great things.
BEHAR: Ok. We got to go, Alex, Phil. Thank you so much.
DONAHUE: Thank you for letting me stay.
BEHAR: Up next, I`ll have an update on musician Bret Michaels.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Rocker turned reality star Bret Michaels is still in critical condition after being rushed to the hospital with a brain hemorrhage late Thursday. Is this related to his recent emergency appendectomy or does it have to do with his well-known struggle with diabetes which he spoke about on my show? Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRET MICHAELS, ROCKER: Here`s if thing, being a life-long type I diabetic, right, four shots a day and all that --
BEHAR: You get four shots a day and all that sex, too? How do you pull that together?
MICHAELS: Right, I didn`t say it was insulin, all of it.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: We`re a little worried about the guy. Joining me now with the latest on Bret`s condition is Todd Gold, managing editor of fancast.com. OK, how is Bret doing right now?
TODD GOLD, MANAGING EDITOR, FANCAST.COM: Bret`s in very critical condition. And beyond that label, he`s in a serious situation, really battling for his health.
BEHAR: Have the doctors found the source of the bleeding yet?
GOLD: No. In the most recent reports that I`ve read and what I`ve heard on the inside, no, they haven`t found the source of the bleeding, which in itself is problematic.
BEHAR: Yes.
GOLD: You know and it`s a race against time.
BEHAR: Well, the day before he suffered the brain hemorrhage, he blogged that he wasn`t feeling 100 percent himself. Were there other red flags that were overlooked maybe?
GOLD: Well, no. And it`s really, really interesting. Bret, as you just said, has been blogging exclusively for fan cast for five weeks now and doing great. And his most recent one was Wednesday, the day before this brain hemorrhage. And he said that, on a scale of 1 to 10 that he was feeling right in the middle. He said he was weak, you know, he joked kind of half jokingly about being on painkillers. But he sounded, you know, he sounded good. He sounded -- he had the Bret Michaels` spirit that viewers have come to love and has ingratiated himself with a lot of people. But he really -- there was no sign. There was no sign.
BEHAR: Nothing?
GOLD: In fact, what`s really ironic is that just that day, he was playing with his kids, he was talking with his celebrity apprentice cast mate Goldberg, who advised him, you know, to take better care of himself. He said Bret was a type I diabetic, but he`s a type A personality, as we`ve gotten to see. You know, I`ve interviewed Bret over a 25-year period, and this is a guy who has never slowed down. As much as people like him, he likes being around the people and he really is enjoying a resurgence.
BEHAR: Yes, right, and even though he`s sedated right now, he`s able to talk. Isn`t that a good sign, that something might not be as bad as they think?
GOLD: Well, you know, look, this -- the reports say that he`s talking with slurred speech. Nothing has been confirmed. The best part is that he survived. There`s a terribly high mortality rate with an incident like this, with a brain hemorrhage. He`s very fortunate in that when he was -- when he was struck by this headache, which he described as being hit by a baseball bat in the head, which surgeons I talked to said, you know, the worst headache that anyone experiences in his life. He had the foresight to call for an ambulance, he was rushed to a hospital. Clearly that saved his life. So if he`s talking, that`s great. The you know -- what doctors don`t want is continued bleeding. They need to try and stop the bleeding. They need to find the source. Over the next, you know, we`re less than a week into it. Over this week, they`re probably going to take more CAT scans and really try and figure out what`s going on, because they have to, you know, they have to stop that.
BEHAR: Uh huh.
GOLD: And once they do, then they can kind of stabilize his condition.
BEHAR: OK.
GOLD: But when they say critical condition, they mean it.
BEHAR: Yes. OK, well we wish him the best. Please convey that if you have any contact with the family or anybody. Tell them we`re thinking about him.
GOLD: He`s a great -- I will. He`s a great guy, and people love him and, you know, to know him is to love him.
BEHAR: Thank you very much, Todd. OK, we`re changing the whole feel of this conversation now, because this goes into Jesse James. Jesse James is finally out of rehab and Melissa Smith, who surfaced at his second mistress, has written an apology letter to Sandra Bullock. It`s nice to know that mistresses and home wreckers still read Ms. Manners isn`t it?
Joining me now to discuss this and more are comedian Jim Labriola.
JIM LABRIOLA, COMEDIAN: How you doing?
BEHAR: Hey, yo, Sharon Waxman, editor in chief of thewrap.com and Olympic figure skating, champion and Food Network host, Brian Boitano. OK, so TMZ got a copy of the litter that she wrote and she said I know nothing I say can take back the hurt that my actions caused. From the bottom of my heart, I hope you accept my sincere apology. Please contact me if you wish to discuss with me on the phone or in person. Sharon what do you think she wants - Sandra would want to talk about?
SHARON WAXMAN, EDITOR IN CHIEF THE WRAP.COM: I think she`s probably looking for friends right now and probably just the kind of person she`d like to -- shoulder she would like to cry on.
BEHAR: Sandra, yes right.
WAXMAN: Right I mean, Sandy, you know keeps the letters next to her Oscar and maybe sort of think about what that might have been like for the mistress, being cheated on and they can commiserate together.
BEHAR: Jim, if she was sorry, she would disappear.
LABRIOLA: She would just disappear.
BEHAR: Right.
LABRIOLA: Or she would have made her disappear. What happen, yes, it looked like a heart attack. Yes, the safe fell on her. Can you say futon?
BEHAR: Couton (ph), we say every day.
LABRIOLA: Definitely -
BEHAR: Are you kidding? This is staple.
LABRIOLA: This woman is looking for five minutes of fame, OK.
BEHAR: Right.
LABRIOLA: Like me. This is my five minutes of fame right now.
BEHAR: Thank you.
LABRIOLA: As a matter of fact, I`m going to mention that we had an affair, so can I have an extra five minutes?
BEHAR: We did not have an affair. Do not even mention that, stop that.
LABRIOLA: Five more minutes.
BEHAR: Stop that.
LABRIOLA: No, I`m kidding. But I had a think for this woman here -- the last thing you said to me 20 years ago, you know what it was?
BEHAR: No.
LABRIOLA: Let me out.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: But isn`t - come down - isn`t this a desperate need for attention? If it is, why not set your hair on fire? You want people to pay attention to you, do that.
WAXMAN: Or get another tattoo, perhaps.
BRIAN BOITANO, OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATING CHAMPION: But you know what if she really thinks that Sandra Bullock`s publicist is going to give her this letter, the publicist sees it and pushes delete. And even if she did get it, it is her five minutes of fame so -- if this woman were to arrange a meeting with Sandra Bullock, or something like that, you know that she would have TMZ hiding in the bushes like so she can document it. It`s her 15 minutes. So that`s what --
BEHAR: I know everybody wants it.
BOITANO: Absolutely.
WAXMAN: It`s almost like anything Sandra Bullock can do to stay out to have the headlines would actually be a gift. If you really wanted to be sensitive to the woman you would just not send the letter, not do anything -
BEHAR: I know.
WAXMAN: Because let people forget for a minute.
LABRIOLA: Jesse James, though, you married Jesse James, you might as well Mary Charlie Manson or Jeffrey Dahmer.
BEHAR: Well I wouldn`t do that far. I mean he didn`t kill anybody.
LABRIOLA: Yes but the guy`s name is Jesse James.
BEHAR: And he didn`t eat a bunch of people either.
LABRIOLA: Well we don`t know that.
BEHAR: He`s just a whatever but the thing about him is he`s not a great guy. He has this Nazi thing going on and he returned home from a stint in an Arizona rehab. So they`ll let him into Arizona, but Mexicans -
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Just saying. Moving on. Snooky from "THE JERSEY SHORE" just can`t stay out of trouble. She is in the news more than Ben Bernanke. The self proclaimed guidette, slapped a man, sparked a food fight and threw alcohol over him in South Beach MIAMI on Saturday. I`m not surprised. They teach those same tactics at finishing school. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: So Jim, is she giving guidettes a bad name or what?
LABRIOLA: A bad name, can I say, couton (ph) again? Am I allowed to say couton?
BEHAR: I mean what`s up with that?
LABRIOLA: It`s ridiculous. The girl is 4`11", her hair is 3`11". It`s -
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Sharon, don`t you think she has a little anger issues, the girls?
WAXMAN: Yes she may have anger issues, but the point is this is going to get the show watched more. I mean you sort of have to wonder where does the line come when people know they`re on reality TV, they may have issues about -- we`ve done lots of stories and written a series about how people in reality shows tend to attract people who have either a need for attention or a certain flaws that kind of are accentuated under pressure.
BEHAR: Yes.
WAXMAN: That`s kind of what looks like what is happening here. And actually, usually the producers of the show kind of like that because it tweeks the ratings and it makes people want to tune in and watch.
BEHAR: Right.
WAXMAN: And get them all that viral stuff. So unfortunately, bad behavior tends to gets pronounced on reality TV.
BEHAR: How long is that going to last, do you think, this "JERSEY SHORE" phenomena?
BOITANO: I don`t know. I go out of my way to ignore TV so it`s like this - because I hate that kind of TV, and as an Italian-American --
BEHAR: You`re Italian?
BOITANO: Yes, I`m Italian. Boitano.
BEHAR: Right.
BOITANO: I mean - people are going to think that all Italians act that way and I think it gives Italians a bad name.
BEHAR: I don`t like it. But when I say a lot of Italians don`t act that way, then look at him.
LABRIOLA: Look that`s right -
BOITANO: He`s in between.
LABRIOLA: I come from one of those neighborhoods where no matter how you got killed, it was a heart attack. A guy is laying there with an ice pick sticking out of his back and the cops go what happened? I don`t know, heart attack.
BEHAR: It`s funny that you`re an Italian, he`s an Italian -
BOITANO: I know.
BEHAR: And I`m an Italian -
LABRIOLA: What happen?
BEHAR: I don`t know - it`s a whole different -
(CROSSTALK)
BOITANO: There you go -
WAXMAN: You`re life is the source of -
LABRIOLA: You better be -
(CROSSTALK)
LABRIOLA: A show called "NIGHT OF A THOUSAND GUIDOS" that we travel all around -
WAXMAN: Oh yes.
LABRIOLA: And it`s a clean show - no, it`s a clean show.
(LAUGHTER)
BOITANO: Jim asked me to join.
BEHAR: All right. We only have time for this one quick story. Former President George W. Bush`s new book will be released this November. This should be great, a book written by a man who never read one.
LABRIOLA: Oh the president.
BEHAR: Yes I know, is he going to admit things, facts for a difference like he lied to start a war, things like that, that he tortured people, is he going to actually admit this? I know you`re a Republican.
BOITANO: Yes, it will be interesting to see. I mean first of all I`m really looking forward to the coloring book that comes out.
(LAGUTHER)
BEHAR: Everyone knows that.
BOITANO: You know it might be fascinating, because if he explains how he made decisions, like I would love to find out how his religion came into play of how he made decisions while he was in the White House. I mean, if he were able to sort of admit that and talk about it, it would be fascinating to me. So I would like to read it.
BEHAR: I would like to read it too.
WAXMAN: But I would say this is a book people are going to read, even those who hated him or liked him, he`s such a polarizing figure to begin with. It`s like you either want to see how he re-creates history in his own mind, you know, or how justify what he does, that`s what it`s going to do.
BEHAR: OK.
WAXMAN: I wouldn`t expect a lot of truth talk.
BEHAR: OK all right, I know you`re going to read it and you love the guy. But we`ll be back later. Be sure to catch Brian on the Food Network, "WHAT WOULD BRIAN BOITANO MAKE," Sunday`s at 1:00 p.m. National prayer day has been declared unconstitutional. We`ll debate that decision when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: For 58 years, this country has had a national day of prayer. But now a federal judge in Wisconsin has declared the day of prayer set for May 6th as unconstitutional. The lawsuit was brought about by atheists and the Obama administration has said it will appeal the decision. With me to discuss this issue are Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder of the freedom from religion foundation, the group that filed the case and opposes the day of prayer, and Kim Trobee director of Daily Content Creation for Focus on the Family. Welcome to the show, let me start with you Annie Laurie, why are you against the national day of prayer?
ANNIE LAURIE GAYLOR, FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION: In 1952, Congress did something that it didn`t have the right to do, and it passed a law that there should be a national day of prayer, and the president would have to give a national day of prayer proclamation urging all Americans to pray and to observe a national day of prayer and to gather together even in churches to pray. And that simply is beyond the right of our government. They should not be exhorting citizens to pray.
BEHAR: But why now?
GAYLOR: It`s meddling with our personal conscience.
BEHAR: OK, why now?
GAYOLOR: Well we took the lawsuit in 2008 because President Bush that year issued this proclamation that had been written by the national day of prayer task force, which is an evangelical Christian group. And more than 30 of the governors had also used this evangelical language in their national day of prayer proclamation. So we sued saying that this Christian ministry was working hand in glove with our government and had gotten out of control and we need to do something about it.
BEHAR: I see, OK, well, Kim, tell us why you`re for it.
KIM TROBEE, SPOKESPERSON, FOCUS ON THE FAMILY: Hi Joy.
BEHAR: Hi, tell us why you are for it.
TROBEE: Well, listen, it goes a lot farther back than 1952. The continental Congress in 1775 designated a national day of prayer, and in fact, in 1789 president Washington took his cue from Congress and designated a national day of prayer and thanksgiving. You know we`ve been observing this for hundreds of years now, and we don`t have an establishment of religion yet. You would think that in all that time we would have established a state religion if that`s what it was truly about. But what this is is a nonsectarian day, an event where people can get together and just ask for a blessing on our nation, pray for our lawmakers, pray for this country. There are a lot of things going on, a lot of things that lawmakers are having to make important decisions about right now that could use a covering of prayer. We`re wondering what the big deal is, why can`t we ask people to get together and ask a blessing on the nation?
BEHAR: OK Annie, what`s wrong with that?
GAYLOR: Well, this is not a nonsectarian event when it`s organized by the Focus on the Family, the national day of prayer task force --
TROBEE: Can I just interrupt Annie, just for a second. Can I just interrupt for a second. This is not organized by Focus on the Family, and that`s something that we need to talk about, Joy, is that the national day of prayer is actually the task force was formed around the national prayer caucus. And so it doesn`t have anything to do with focus on the family. So I just wanted to get that straighten out.
BEHAR: But what about separation of church and state, Kim? What about that?
GAYLOR: Yes, what about it?
In 1952, this was proposed by Billy Graham, who went to Washington, D.C. it was his idea. He wanted the Lord Jesus Christ to be proclaimed throughout the land and he wanted the president to issue a prayer proclamation. When the law was attended in 1988 to be the first Thursday in may, that was at the direct behest of Onet Brite of Campus Crusade for Christ and the national prayer committee, which later formed the national day of prayer task force. It`s an exclusively Christian right organization housed in the Focus of the Family headquarters in Colorado.
BEHAR: Do you feel that it excludes other religions? Kim?
TROBEE: I`m sorry -
BEHAR: Does it exclude other religions, either one of you.
TROBEE: Well, you know what, Joy, --
GAYLOR: Yes, it does.
TROBEE: It is based on the Christian faith. It`s very much based on the Christian faith. But the proclamation --
BEHAR: But maybe that`s the problem, but maybe that`s the issue, because it excludes Muslims and Jews for example and -- and
GAYLOR: It excludes atheists and agnostics.
TROBEE: Sure well Joy you know what, here`s what we would say to that - here`s what we would say to that -- is this has been going on since 1775 and we would encourage --
GAYLOR: No, it hasn`t.
TROBEE: We would encourage people of other faith or non faith - if they want to have an event that is celebrated every year -
BEHAR: OK.
TROBEE: Please you know, go to Congress and see if you can do that. It`s not --
BEHAR: OK, I ran out of time. I think we should have a national day of science myself. But we`ll be back in a minute after this quick break. Thank you ladies very much.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Joining me again is Jim Labriola, a comic who went from working in the clubs with me in the day to appearing as a regular on TV`s "HOME IMPROVEMENT." these days, however, he can be found entertaining at tea parties. OK, Jim -
LABRIOLA: How you doing?
BEHAR: Did you get involved with these tea parties? I now you`re a member now. I heard it from a real tea party person. That`s how come you`re here today. Because I was shocked. I know -- I know you for years and I never knew you had a political interest.
LABRIOLA: This just came about with Victoria Jackson from "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE." I have a home also in Tennessee and made a few --
BEHAR: You have a home in Tennessee?
LABRIOLA: Yes, I do.
BEHAR: Where do you live normally? In Brooklyn?
LABRIOLA: No, I live in Florida and have a home in Tennessee.
BEHAR: That`s quite a commute.
LABRIOLA: Yes.
BEHAR: Was this a career move?
LABRIOLA: I did it as a favor. Somebody asked - they were doing it in Nashville, Tennessee. Victoria Jackson from "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" asked, would you mind doing time, comedy for them? I drove down a few hours from where I lived and did a little show for them and the people loved it because, you know, multi-talent. A crowd of 2 or 2,000. The rest is history. And they said, would you like to do the remaining tour with us?
BEHAR: I see.
LABRIOLA: And I do believe I would have never done it but I do believe in a lot of what the people are talking about.
BEHAR: So did you meet Sarah Palin?
LABRIOLA: Yes, I did in Boston.
BEHAR: And what did you think of her?
LABRIOLA: She was like you. Pretty hot looking.
BEHAR: She`s very hot. We all know she`s a beautiful woman.
LABRIOLA: She was very gracious, very friendly, very nice - see I --
BEHAR: Did you hit on Bristol?
LABRIOLA: No.
BEHAR: OK. Just asking.
LABRIOLA: NO, my wife`s got three brothers, please. What happened to Labriola? Looked like a heart attack. Yes, he hung himself.
BEHAR: So Sarah opened for you?
LABRIOLA: Sarah opened for me. She went on first then I closed the show. Right after I went on everybody left.
BEHAR: so you don`t really know what the tea partyers are about? You`re, like, just a thing going along with it?
LABRIOLA: I believe they`re for smaller government and the thing I will say, in my travels with them, this is the god`s honest truth, I did not see any racist -- anybody that was racist.
BEHAR: For real?
LABRIOLA: I didn`t see angry people. The only racist and angry people, personally, that I saw were some of the protesters that showed up. And that`s a fact. They even had --
BEHAR: Protesters against the tea party?
LABRIOLA: Against the tea party.
BEHAR: No, that doesn`t make sense. Because we`ve seen the footage of them showing things. Woman walking with a monkey. Another one having Obama in white face. In the strange --
LABRIOLA: I didn`t see any of that. Now, remember, there`s different tea parties that go all over the country. The tea party I was on --
BEHAR: Was Alice in Wonderland`s.
LABRIOLA: Yes. Don`t be funny with me. All right?
BEHAR: Look, see, you can see it. Look at this woman.
LABRIOLA: Where?
BEHAR: OK send Obama back to Kenya --
LABRIOLA: She`s a plant. A plant. Some of these people --
BEHAR: Oh please. A plant.
LABRIOLA: I`m telling you, a plant.
BEHAR: Did you see in your travels, did you see any African-Americans who were tea partyers?
LABRIOLA: Yes, I did. As a matter of fact half the speakers were African-American. They had a Mexican kid called politics that was a rapper. On the bus I was traveling the only white guy was the bus driver on the bus.
BEHAR: Uh huh, really?
LABRIOLA: I`m serious. I noticed the news never showed any of the black speakers or the Mexican kid and all that. I say this sincerely, the crowds that came out, I didn`t see any -- you have a couple of loony bins here and there.
BEHAR: Plenty of loony bins.
LABRIOLA: I didn`t see it.
BEHAR: You want to say something before we go?
LABRIOLA: I wanted to say we just lost a good friend in comedy, Ray Garvey, who booked the --
BEHAR: The Borgada.
LABRIOLA: Atlantic city. Was a doorman there. That`s why I have this shirt. Out of respect --
BEHAR: Sorry to hear that was.
LABRIOLA: It was a great loss. He was a great guy.
BEHAR: Thanks for stopping by.
LABRIOLA: Thank you.
BEHAR: Thank you all for watching. Good night, everybody.
END
