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American Morning
Gimme a Minute
Aired May 16, 2003 - 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go forward with "Gimme a Minute." Here is how it works. Every Friday morning, get our fast-talking panelists together -- there are time limits, here -- to make sense of the week's big stories.
In Washington today, back with us today, Democratic consultant Kiki McClean, a first-time panelist. Welcome, Kiki.
KIKI MCCLEAN, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor, "National Review" back with us by popular demand. Good to have you, Ramesh.
RAMESH PONNURU, SENIOR EDITOR, "NATIONAL REVIEW": Thanks, Bill.
HEMMER: And in New York, our favorite, Andy Borowitz.
ANDREW BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Oh, my God.
HEMMER: How are you, Drew? Good morning to you.
BOROWITZ: I'm great. I'm great.
HEMMER: Kiki, kick it off. The French ambassador to the U.S. says the United States has been disparaging Paris. What about it? Truth there or not?
MCCLEAN: I think what we've got is much more a case of diplomatic malpractice by the Bush administration. The question of is there a conspiracy within the administration? You can take a debate on that, but what I would say is that you have got a serious case of diplomatic malpractice, and it shows in the relationships we've got now with every country around the world.
HEMMER: Ramesh, what about it? Send a doctor or not?
PONNURU: If the French government wants to understand why Americans opinions of France have declined in the last couple of years, it doesn't need to search for some Bush conspiracy, it needs to look in the mirror. It's its own actions -- the actions of the government of France that have had that effect on American opinion.
HEMMER: Should we send some cheese with the whine, Andy? What do you think?
BOROWITZ: Before the French start accusing us of conspiracy, I would like to say just three words: Olympic skating judges. HEMMER: Very good, Andy!
BOROWITZ: Hate to bring that back up.
HEMMER: Let's go to JFK now. The headline this past week in one New York newspaper said JFK had a Monica. Her name is Mimi. Yesterday she came forward and said indeed it is true. Ramesh, what about it? Do we care and should we?
PONNURU: I don't care that much, I have to say. I am glad that we didn't know it at the time and I wish we could have gotten through the 1990s without knowing as much as we ended up knowing about Bill Clinton.
HEMMER: Kiki.
MCCLEAN: Well, now you see reality TV trying to take a shot at history TV, the cross marketing of it, and frankly, I don't think Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg deserved this.
HEMMER: This woman was 19 at the time. She is 60 now, living in Manhattan. You can see the History Channel on channel 17 here. Andy.
BOROWITZ: I always want to hear about sex in the White House, unless it involves the Nixons or something. I think it's great news for her because Fox just hired her to host the second season of "Mr. Personality."
HEMMER: But Fox will hire anyone, though, right?
BOROWITZ: Well, I would hope so.
MCCLEAN: There is a rumor anyway.
HEMMER: "New York Times" right now, really tough news this past week about credibility. Twenty-seven-year-old Jayson Blair, we find out that on many stories he was essentially a lead writer. Kiki, we now find out that many times he never left New York City. How bad is it there?
MCCLEAN: It is bad, because for people like me who worked a career as a press secretary working with the press, that benefit of the doubt is gone. When an institution like "The New York Times" has allowed not one mistake or two, but a repetitive series of mistakes with a -- a top line reporter on the top line -- headline stories, it means I am going to think twice about what reporter I am working with, and when somebody does make a human error, that benefit of the doubt is out of there.
HEMMER: How serious is the hangover, Ramesh?
PONNURU: Well, I think that there is a real problem at the "Times," and I think it's interesting to note people have been talking about the possibility of a racial double standard here. I think the bigger double standard is the standard that "The New York Times" and by extension, the rest of the media, applies to itself and the standard applied to every other institution under the sun.
(CROSSTALK)
PONNURU: ... shifting.
BOROWITZ: Well, you know, I think "The New York Times" is turning it to their advantage. I do. Their new slogan is going to be, "All the news that is fit to print, and much, much more."
HEMMER: We'll see about that. "Under the radar." Quickly, Kiki. What is under the radar for you? What have we missed this past week?
MCCLEAN: Under the radar, Carl Rove and George Bush are speaking out of both sides of their mouth to the Hispanic and Latino communities again.
HEMMER: How so?
MCCLEAN: Last week, Republicans attached an amendment to a migration policy amendment about what kind of immigration there would be that Vicente Fox and George Bush had agreed to that says only if U.S. oil interests can invest in Mexico's own national oil country. There is outrage, headlines in Mexico, and that information is filtering back up to Hispanics and Latinos who are heavily offended here in Washington.
HEMMER: You are on record now. Ramesh, what is under your radar?
PONNURU: Senator Bob Graham, the Florida Democrat who wants to be president, has charged the administration with a cover-up of intelligence failures pre and post 911. What is not being uncovered is the complete absence of any corroboration from any of his colleagues who have got access to the same intelligence he does. They are not saying it, but then they are not running for president.
HEMMER: Got it. Got it. Andy, wrap it up for us.
BOROWITZ: Well, just days after the capture of Mrs. Anthrax and Dr. Germ, U.S. forces in Iraq captured Dr. Evil, Dr. Octopus, and the Penguin.
HEMMER: That's in all of the papers, isn't it?
BOROWITZ: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Thanks, Andy. Have a good weekend.
BOROWITZ: You too.
HEMMER: All right. Kiki, welcome. Thanks for meeting with us, and Ramesh, great to see you again.
PONNURU: Glad to be here, Bill.
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 16, 2003 - 08:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go forward with "Gimme a Minute." Here is how it works. Every Friday morning, get our fast-talking panelists together -- there are time limits, here -- to make sense of the week's big stories.
In Washington today, back with us today, Democratic consultant Kiki McClean, a first-time panelist. Welcome, Kiki.
KIKI MCCLEAN, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor, "National Review" back with us by popular demand. Good to have you, Ramesh.
RAMESH PONNURU, SENIOR EDITOR, "NATIONAL REVIEW": Thanks, Bill.
HEMMER: And in New York, our favorite, Andy Borowitz.
ANDREW BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Oh, my God.
HEMMER: How are you, Drew? Good morning to you.
BOROWITZ: I'm great. I'm great.
HEMMER: Kiki, kick it off. The French ambassador to the U.S. says the United States has been disparaging Paris. What about it? Truth there or not?
MCCLEAN: I think what we've got is much more a case of diplomatic malpractice by the Bush administration. The question of is there a conspiracy within the administration? You can take a debate on that, but what I would say is that you have got a serious case of diplomatic malpractice, and it shows in the relationships we've got now with every country around the world.
HEMMER: Ramesh, what about it? Send a doctor or not?
PONNURU: If the French government wants to understand why Americans opinions of France have declined in the last couple of years, it doesn't need to search for some Bush conspiracy, it needs to look in the mirror. It's its own actions -- the actions of the government of France that have had that effect on American opinion.
HEMMER: Should we send some cheese with the whine, Andy? What do you think?
BOROWITZ: Before the French start accusing us of conspiracy, I would like to say just three words: Olympic skating judges. HEMMER: Very good, Andy!
BOROWITZ: Hate to bring that back up.
HEMMER: Let's go to JFK now. The headline this past week in one New York newspaper said JFK had a Monica. Her name is Mimi. Yesterday she came forward and said indeed it is true. Ramesh, what about it? Do we care and should we?
PONNURU: I don't care that much, I have to say. I am glad that we didn't know it at the time and I wish we could have gotten through the 1990s without knowing as much as we ended up knowing about Bill Clinton.
HEMMER: Kiki.
MCCLEAN: Well, now you see reality TV trying to take a shot at history TV, the cross marketing of it, and frankly, I don't think Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg deserved this.
HEMMER: This woman was 19 at the time. She is 60 now, living in Manhattan. You can see the History Channel on channel 17 here. Andy.
BOROWITZ: I always want to hear about sex in the White House, unless it involves the Nixons or something. I think it's great news for her because Fox just hired her to host the second season of "Mr. Personality."
HEMMER: But Fox will hire anyone, though, right?
BOROWITZ: Well, I would hope so.
MCCLEAN: There is a rumor anyway.
HEMMER: "New York Times" right now, really tough news this past week about credibility. Twenty-seven-year-old Jayson Blair, we find out that on many stories he was essentially a lead writer. Kiki, we now find out that many times he never left New York City. How bad is it there?
MCCLEAN: It is bad, because for people like me who worked a career as a press secretary working with the press, that benefit of the doubt is gone. When an institution like "The New York Times" has allowed not one mistake or two, but a repetitive series of mistakes with a -- a top line reporter on the top line -- headline stories, it means I am going to think twice about what reporter I am working with, and when somebody does make a human error, that benefit of the doubt is out of there.
HEMMER: How serious is the hangover, Ramesh?
PONNURU: Well, I think that there is a real problem at the "Times," and I think it's interesting to note people have been talking about the possibility of a racial double standard here. I think the bigger double standard is the standard that "The New York Times" and by extension, the rest of the media, applies to itself and the standard applied to every other institution under the sun.
(CROSSTALK)
PONNURU: ... shifting.
BOROWITZ: Well, you know, I think "The New York Times" is turning it to their advantage. I do. Their new slogan is going to be, "All the news that is fit to print, and much, much more."
HEMMER: We'll see about that. "Under the radar." Quickly, Kiki. What is under the radar for you? What have we missed this past week?
MCCLEAN: Under the radar, Carl Rove and George Bush are speaking out of both sides of their mouth to the Hispanic and Latino communities again.
HEMMER: How so?
MCCLEAN: Last week, Republicans attached an amendment to a migration policy amendment about what kind of immigration there would be that Vicente Fox and George Bush had agreed to that says only if U.S. oil interests can invest in Mexico's own national oil country. There is outrage, headlines in Mexico, and that information is filtering back up to Hispanics and Latinos who are heavily offended here in Washington.
HEMMER: You are on record now. Ramesh, what is under your radar?
PONNURU: Senator Bob Graham, the Florida Democrat who wants to be president, has charged the administration with a cover-up of intelligence failures pre and post 911. What is not being uncovered is the complete absence of any corroboration from any of his colleagues who have got access to the same intelligence he does. They are not saying it, but then they are not running for president.
HEMMER: Got it. Got it. Andy, wrap it up for us.
BOROWITZ: Well, just days after the capture of Mrs. Anthrax and Dr. Germ, U.S. forces in Iraq captured Dr. Evil, Dr. Octopus, and the Penguin.
HEMMER: That's in all of the papers, isn't it?
BOROWITZ: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Thanks, Andy. Have a good weekend.
BOROWITZ: You too.
HEMMER: All right. Kiki, welcome. Thanks for meeting with us, and Ramesh, great to see you again.
PONNURU: Glad to be here, Bill.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
