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CNN Live At Daybreak

'Here's What I Don't Get'

Aired November 09, 2001 - 08:38   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time now to check in with Jack Cafferty with today's edition of "Here's What I Don't Get."

How are you this morning?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm good. What I don't get is how I made it to Friday here.

When I came on here Monday morning and said what the country needs to have is bin Laden's head on a stick, I figured that it might be a very short engagement for the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ZAHN: Oh, no, but we brought you back for more, Jack.

CAFFERTY: There's a healthy sign in the country that things may be starting to return to normal, because they're starting to play around with the events of September 11th on the television shows.

Here's a clip from last night's "Tonight Show." Check it out.

(SINGING "SINGING IN THE RAIN")

CAFFERTY: In addition, "South Park," that smutty little cartoon show, and "The Daily Show," which I think won an Emmy for its writing. I mean, they do like "Saturday Night Live" five nights a week, very funny show, and it's one of the shows on early enough that I can actually see it before I go to bed. But they've all begun to, you know, make reference to these events.

Somebody who perhaps made reference to them a little early was Bill Mahr, who does that occasionally mildly funny program on ABC called "Politically Incorrect." I don't happen to be as big fan of his. But he crossed what could have been a line that he shouldn't have fooled with when he made some comments shortly after the events of September 11th, about the hijackers who crashed the planes into the World Trade Center being courageous, while the American military people who ran the bombing missions over Kosovo were less than courageous. Well, it didn't play well, as you might expect. And now Mahr is in the paper himself, saying that his show may be gone come next year.

ZAHN: He apologized, and then there are of course people out here who say, you know, why did he apologize? Where is free speech in all of this, as vile as what he said might have been to most Americans, particularly when they're worried about the safety of troops abroad?

CAFFERTY: Yes, except if you're paying your rent doing a TV show, you can file the comments under just plain stupid, you know.

ZAHN: He realized that.

CAFFERTY: If that's your career, and that's how you are making a living, then that's just dumb. Whether it's right or wrong, it's just stupid to do that, and you know, we'll see.

Something a little closer to all of our hearts, in "The Washington Post," under the headline, the media gas mask club was a story yesterday by page or networks buying gas masks and hazardous suits for their people. ABC -- quote -- "ABC has purchased a substantial number of protective suits, mask and safety gear for our crews, producers and correspondents.

CBS -- quote -- "We're basically giving protective gear to everybody in Washington, New York and Los Angeles who might be in harm's way."

NBC -- quote -- "Getting gas masks, but not necessarily suits. We are issuing special safety gear to employees who are on potential high-risk assignments" -- unquote.

CNN -- quote -- We are taking the appropriate measures to ensure the safety of our staff."

(LAUGHTER)

ZAHN: And those are, Jack?

CAFFERTY: Came up just a little short of what I'd like to read. No mention we're going to the masks or the suits. So no suits for us, I guess.

ZAHN: But they really, really like us.

CAFFERTY: Yes. They do? You know what, I'm getting a lot of requests, you are going to have to get a hazmat suit next week to do this, but the people I work with down on the witness protection network, since I come up here everyday, they want you to come down there and talk to me on the business program.

ZAHN: Oh, I would love to do that.

Now that you made this very public on television, but I think you need to, in all fairness, Jack, point out, if you had bothered to read your e-mail yesterday, you would have gotten a four page e-mail on what sort of safety precautions are in place in buildings, in terms of the filters that are being used, that filter out certain microparticles in the air, and changes in the mailroom.

CAFFERTY: You know what happens when you've been in this business 40 years like I have, you learn to read none of that stuff. I just see it -- it says TBS, and I go delete, delete, delete, delete, delete.

ZAHN: I just wanted to save you from your bosses this morning, Jack. I'm just trying to help you out here.

Thank you. Have a good weekend.

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