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American Morning
Gimme a Minute
Aired May 02, 2003 - 08:32 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to get to "Gimme A Minute." Every Friday our fast-talking panel of pundits weigh in now on the week's top stories, one minute per topic. Your time to be brilliant is certainly brief in this segment. From Washington, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile.
Welcome back, Donna. Good to see you.
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Also Ramesh Ponnuru with "The National Review," pinch hitting this week for Jonah Goldberg.
Nice to see you Ramesh. Welcome.
RAMESH PUNURRU, "THE NATIONAL REVIEW": Thanks.
HEMMER: And also in New York, Andy Borowitz from "The New Yorker."
How are you, Drew?
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Good to be here.
HEMMER: Nice to see you.
Let's kick it off, Donna -- was last night the first night in the election campaign of 2004, the president onboard the Lincoln.
BRAZILE: Last in, I think the president really high, but in order to win in 2004, he's going to have to reduce that high unemployment and the record deficit.
HEMMER: All right, that's it.
Ramesh, what about you?
PONNURU: I think that the president struck a nice balance night, celebrating the victory achieved, but also saying the war on terrorism continues, and I think that's a good foundation, not just for the election, but also for his presidency.
HEMMER: Wow. You both were brief on this one.
Andy, what about it?
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Well, I thought it was an impressive speech, but I thought the Democrats response was kind of weak. I mean, having Gary Hart on the deck of the Monkey Business, just lack of the same pageantry, I thought.
HEMMER: You saw that, huh? I guess we missed that one. That was a bit under the radar.
Let's move to Wall Street right now. We heard about this settlement early in the week, Wall Street investment banks, a couple of high-flying analysts told to pay back billions. Some suggest right now that this is merely a slap on the wrist.
Ramesh, what about it?
PONNURU: Well, I think that the -- anybody on Wall Street who is breathing easy should consider Elliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general's words, which are, "This is only the beginning." And I think we all understand what that means, the beginning of Spitzer's campaign for governor.
But it's also, I think, the beginning of major possibly more regulatory action.
HEMMER: A lot of people suggesting until you put people behind bars it's not going to have the ultimate impact.
Donna, what about it?
BRAZILE: Well, for folks on Wall Street, it's a drop in the bucket. But for everyday folks on main street, it's their life savings and their pensions. I would hope that those folks on Wall Street not cross the tracks, because if they do, they may get run over this time.
HEMMER: What about it, Andy?
BOROWITZ: Well, I'm not sure it's a drop in a bucket. I mean, 1.4 billion is a lot of money. It's going to take the Wall Street guys, like, three to six months to steal that money back.
HEMMER: Depending on whether you're long or short the Nasdaq, of course, right?
The Dixie Chicks back on stage last night. Donna, why don't you get first crack at this. We have not heard lately, since the war ended in Iraq from people like Sean Penn, and Martin Sheen, Mark Farrell (ph), who were very prominent anti-war. Is the day right now for the Hollywood insiders and the Hollywood activists right now to take a back seat?
BRAZILE: No, I don't think so. You know, actors enjoy of being politicians. One dreams of making things up, the other ones just make it happen, so I think they'll be back on the front lines pretty soon.
HEMMER: Ramesh, what about it? Are they gone for now? Or for good? PONNURU: Well, I doubt they will be able to restrain themselves, but I don't see any great public hunger to hear the political thoughts of all of these people.
HEMMER: And you wonder what the ultimate fallout is for the Dixie Chicks, too.
Andy, what are you thinking on this?
BOROWITZ: Well, first of all, I thought it took enormous courage last night for that one Dixie Chick to appear on stage playing Saddam Hussein's banjo. I thought that was impressive. I mean, they'll always be involved in politics, and Ozzy Osbourne came out today against the war in Afghanistan.
HEMMER: Did he now? At least he can say Afghanistan, right?
BOROWITZ: Absolutely. Well, sort of.
HEMMER: Was that the autographed version of the guitar?
BOROWITZ: I think all of my friends say it is.
HEMMER: Nice, under the radar. Ramesh, what's on your radar?
PONNURU: Well, I think one interesting thing here is that the Supreme Court has sided with the Justice Department in a case involving the detention of criminal aliens awaiting deportation, and that's one in a string of victories for John Ashcroft. Everybody says he's trampling on civil liberties in the Constitution, but the courts have just not been agreeing with that.
HEMMER: It was a front-page story tow days ago. Donna, what's on your radar?
Donna, what's under your radar.
BRAZILE: Well, down in Texas, majority leader Tom DeLay is trying to create majority, minority districts by wiping out white Democrats down there. Last time I heard, it sounds like reverse discrimination to me.
HEMMER: Andy, last crack.
BOROWITZ: Handwriting experts now say that the letter this week from Saddam Hussein is a fraud. Apparently, whoever wrote the letter dotted all of the i's with smiley faces. It's not Saddam.
HEMMER: Nice piece of artwork, I'm sure.
Ramesh, Donna, Andy, thanks to all of you. Have a great weekend. We'll do it again next week.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 2, 2003 - 08:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to get to "Gimme A Minute." Every Friday our fast-talking panel of pundits weigh in now on the week's top stories, one minute per topic. Your time to be brilliant is certainly brief in this segment. From Washington, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile.
Welcome back, Donna. Good to see you.
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Also Ramesh Ponnuru with "The National Review," pinch hitting this week for Jonah Goldberg.
Nice to see you Ramesh. Welcome.
RAMESH PUNURRU, "THE NATIONAL REVIEW": Thanks.
HEMMER: And also in New York, Andy Borowitz from "The New Yorker."
How are you, Drew?
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Good to be here.
HEMMER: Nice to see you.
Let's kick it off, Donna -- was last night the first night in the election campaign of 2004, the president onboard the Lincoln.
BRAZILE: Last in, I think the president really high, but in order to win in 2004, he's going to have to reduce that high unemployment and the record deficit.
HEMMER: All right, that's it.
Ramesh, what about you?
PONNURU: I think that the president struck a nice balance night, celebrating the victory achieved, but also saying the war on terrorism continues, and I think that's a good foundation, not just for the election, but also for his presidency.
HEMMER: Wow. You both were brief on this one.
Andy, what about it?
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Well, I thought it was an impressive speech, but I thought the Democrats response was kind of weak. I mean, having Gary Hart on the deck of the Monkey Business, just lack of the same pageantry, I thought.
HEMMER: You saw that, huh? I guess we missed that one. That was a bit under the radar.
Let's move to Wall Street right now. We heard about this settlement early in the week, Wall Street investment banks, a couple of high-flying analysts told to pay back billions. Some suggest right now that this is merely a slap on the wrist.
Ramesh, what about it?
PONNURU: Well, I think that the -- anybody on Wall Street who is breathing easy should consider Elliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general's words, which are, "This is only the beginning." And I think we all understand what that means, the beginning of Spitzer's campaign for governor.
But it's also, I think, the beginning of major possibly more regulatory action.
HEMMER: A lot of people suggesting until you put people behind bars it's not going to have the ultimate impact.
Donna, what about it?
BRAZILE: Well, for folks on Wall Street, it's a drop in the bucket. But for everyday folks on main street, it's their life savings and their pensions. I would hope that those folks on Wall Street not cross the tracks, because if they do, they may get run over this time.
HEMMER: What about it, Andy?
BOROWITZ: Well, I'm not sure it's a drop in a bucket. I mean, 1.4 billion is a lot of money. It's going to take the Wall Street guys, like, three to six months to steal that money back.
HEMMER: Depending on whether you're long or short the Nasdaq, of course, right?
The Dixie Chicks back on stage last night. Donna, why don't you get first crack at this. We have not heard lately, since the war ended in Iraq from people like Sean Penn, and Martin Sheen, Mark Farrell (ph), who were very prominent anti-war. Is the day right now for the Hollywood insiders and the Hollywood activists right now to take a back seat?
BRAZILE: No, I don't think so. You know, actors enjoy of being politicians. One dreams of making things up, the other ones just make it happen, so I think they'll be back on the front lines pretty soon.
HEMMER: Ramesh, what about it? Are they gone for now? Or for good? PONNURU: Well, I doubt they will be able to restrain themselves, but I don't see any great public hunger to hear the political thoughts of all of these people.
HEMMER: And you wonder what the ultimate fallout is for the Dixie Chicks, too.
Andy, what are you thinking on this?
BOROWITZ: Well, first of all, I thought it took enormous courage last night for that one Dixie Chick to appear on stage playing Saddam Hussein's banjo. I thought that was impressive. I mean, they'll always be involved in politics, and Ozzy Osbourne came out today against the war in Afghanistan.
HEMMER: Did he now? At least he can say Afghanistan, right?
BOROWITZ: Absolutely. Well, sort of.
HEMMER: Was that the autographed version of the guitar?
BOROWITZ: I think all of my friends say it is.
HEMMER: Nice, under the radar. Ramesh, what's on your radar?
PONNURU: Well, I think one interesting thing here is that the Supreme Court has sided with the Justice Department in a case involving the detention of criminal aliens awaiting deportation, and that's one in a string of victories for John Ashcroft. Everybody says he's trampling on civil liberties in the Constitution, but the courts have just not been agreeing with that.
HEMMER: It was a front-page story tow days ago. Donna, what's on your radar?
Donna, what's under your radar.
BRAZILE: Well, down in Texas, majority leader Tom DeLay is trying to create majority, minority districts by wiping out white Democrats down there. Last time I heard, it sounds like reverse discrimination to me.
HEMMER: Andy, last crack.
BOROWITZ: Handwriting experts now say that the letter this week from Saddam Hussein is a fraud. Apparently, whoever wrote the letter dotted all of the i's with smiley faces. It's not Saddam.
HEMMER: Nice piece of artwork, I'm sure.
Ramesh, Donna, Andy, thanks to all of you. Have a great weekend. We'll do it again next week.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
