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American Morning
'Gimme A Minute'
Aired September 19, 2003 - 08:34 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: It is Friday and that means "Gimme a Minute." It's time now where the need to know meets the need for speed. In D.C. today, Jonah Goldberg, weathering that storm, Editor for the "National Review Online."
How are you, Jonah, staying dry?
JONAH GOLDBERG, EDITOR, "NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE": Barely.
HEMMER: All right, well hang in there.
Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist, also down in D.C.
Nice to see you, Donna, good morning.
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
HEMMER: And Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker" here in New York.
How goes it -- Drew?
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Hi -- Bill.
HEMMER: You know we didn't feel Isabel here.
BOROWITZ: Not at all.
HEMMER: We were really lucky.
BOROWITZ: What tropicals?
HEMMER: Yes, that's what I'm talking about.
BRAZILE: Yes, you were very lucky.
HEMMER: All right, let's kick it off with Jonah. The president this past week says no connection with Saddam and 9/11, but there is a connection, he says, with al Qaeda. Why bring this out now -- Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Well, you know, actually, the administration has been saying this for a while when pressed, but I think it made sense that they sort of get in front of it, because this dishonesty, misleading the people line, has been a very helpful one for the Democrats. By getting out there and clearing the air, it takes one of these issues off the table for the Democrats.
HEMMER: Donna, some say it doesn't matter right now. Does it? BRAZILE: It does matter, because it, once again, demonstrates that the administration, you know, not only went out of its way to tell us a fib, but it took months to get them to admit to the truth. They have a credibility problem still.
HEMMER: Andy, what do you make of it?
BOROWITZ: I think the president just realized that all the evidence came from an unreliable source, his State of the Union Address.
HEMMER: There's another one in January, so wait for that one.
BOROWITZ: Keep hoping (ph).
HEMMER: California, let's start with Donna now, Cruz Bustamante, Tom McClintock may not participate in this debate next week. What do you make of this strategy?
BRAZILE: I think it's a mistake. I think McClintock and Bustamante should show up with their own set of questions and sort of, you know, just throw them all at Arnold Schwarzenegger and perhaps he'll get off his script and give us some real answers.
HEMMER: Yes, some are wondering, though, whether or not they score points with this. Jonah, what do you think, does it put more pressure on Schwarzenegger?
GOLDBERG: I think it does. I think Donna is right. It's a good thing for them to say it now, to call attention to the fact that Schwarzenegger is a scripted automaton. But at the end of the day, they should show up at the debate and they should embarrass him for needing to be scripted in the first place.
HEMMER: We will find out next week.
Andy, you voting for Arnold, by the way?
BOROWITZ: You know I think this whole recall is in danger of turning into some kind of a joke. And I happen to know that Gary Coleman agrees with me.
HEMMER: There's one, anyway, right?
BOROWITZ: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Listen, just for the record, we never give out questions beforehand here ON AMERICAN MORNING. We are straight up.
BOROWITZ: Never.
HEMMER: Wesley Clark, let's go back to Jonah on this one, he makes it now 10. Does he hurt anyone with him entering this race?
GOLDBERG: I think he definitely hurts some of the marginal guys like Senator Graham, who is -- who has been trying to run as a hawk. And as an expert on the security stuff, he hurts Kerry, who's been claiming to be the real war hero type. And he mixes up the entire race and he puts more pressure on a lot of these second tier guys to just drop out of the race.
HEMMER: Well, Donna, you agree with that? How many more democrats do you need, by the way?
BOROWITZ: Baker's dozen.
BRAZILE: I agree -- I agree with Jonah that he's causing mild turbulence in the race right now. But look, he has to come up to speed real quick and show that he can swim with the sharks.
HEMMER: Yes, I wonder if Andy's going to make it eleven.
BOROWITZ: I'm going to go out on a limb, I think John Kerry may drop out of the race but his hair will stay in.
HEMMER: There's a little bit of that, don't you think.
BOROWITZ: I do.
HEMMER: Fourteen months left. Under the radar, Donna, what are you watching?
BRAZILE: Well, this week House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and one of the staunchest military advocates in the Democratic Party, Jack Murtha, came out and told the president that he should fire his advisers who set his policy in Iraq. I think he should also fire his economic advisers, as well.
HEMMER: And we'll watch that.
Jonah, what about you?
GOLDBERG: In Gerald Posner's new book, "Why America Slept," he reveals a little story about Abu Zubaydah, one of the top al Qaeda guys being held prisoner by the United States. The United States put a little ruse on him and pretended to hand him over to the Saudis. And actually Zubaydah was relieved and started telling the Saudi captors, his fake Saudi captors, about who to call to get him out of trouble. It shows how deep the connection between al Qaeda and Saudi Arabia really is.
HEMMER: Something to watch.
Andy, how about yourself?
BOROWITZ: Well, Bill, the man who mailed himself home to Texas in a box last week, he now says that he did it because the in-flight movie was "Gigli."
HEMMER: That's a fact, right?
BOROWITZ: That is true. You heard it here first.
HEMMER: Thanks, good deal. Andy, thanks. Jonah, Donna, great to see you guys. See you next Friday, OK?
BRAZILE: Thank you.
BOROWITZ: Have a good weekend (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: And stay dry.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
BRAZILE: Thank you, you too.
HEMMER: Stay dry in D.C. All right, bye-bye.
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 September 19, 2003 - 08:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday and that means "Gimme a Minute." It's time now where the need to know meets the need for speed. In D.C. today, Jonah Goldberg, weathering that storm, Editor for the "National Review Online."
How are you, Jonah, staying dry?
JONAH GOLDBERG, EDITOR, "NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE": Barely.
HEMMER: All right, well hang in there.
Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist, also down in D.C.
Nice to see you, Donna, good morning.
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
HEMMER: And Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker" here in New York.
How goes it -- Drew?
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Hi -- Bill.
HEMMER: You know we didn't feel Isabel here.
BOROWITZ: Not at all.
HEMMER: We were really lucky.
BOROWITZ: What tropicals?
HEMMER: Yes, that's what I'm talking about.
BRAZILE: Yes, you were very lucky.
HEMMER: All right, let's kick it off with Jonah. The president this past week says no connection with Saddam and 9/11, but there is a connection, he says, with al Qaeda. Why bring this out now -- Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Well, you know, actually, the administration has been saying this for a while when pressed, but I think it made sense that they sort of get in front of it, because this dishonesty, misleading the people line, has been a very helpful one for the Democrats. By getting out there and clearing the air, it takes one of these issues off the table for the Democrats.
HEMMER: Donna, some say it doesn't matter right now. Does it? BRAZILE: It does matter, because it, once again, demonstrates that the administration, you know, not only went out of its way to tell us a fib, but it took months to get them to admit to the truth. They have a credibility problem still.
HEMMER: Andy, what do you make of it?
BOROWITZ: I think the president just realized that all the evidence came from an unreliable source, his State of the Union Address.
HEMMER: There's another one in January, so wait for that one.
BOROWITZ: Keep hoping (ph).
HEMMER: California, let's start with Donna now, Cruz Bustamante, Tom McClintock may not participate in this debate next week. What do you make of this strategy?
BRAZILE: I think it's a mistake. I think McClintock and Bustamante should show up with their own set of questions and sort of, you know, just throw them all at Arnold Schwarzenegger and perhaps he'll get off his script and give us some real answers.
HEMMER: Yes, some are wondering, though, whether or not they score points with this. Jonah, what do you think, does it put more pressure on Schwarzenegger?
GOLDBERG: I think it does. I think Donna is right. It's a good thing for them to say it now, to call attention to the fact that Schwarzenegger is a scripted automaton. But at the end of the day, they should show up at the debate and they should embarrass him for needing to be scripted in the first place.
HEMMER: We will find out next week.
Andy, you voting for Arnold, by the way?
BOROWITZ: You know I think this whole recall is in danger of turning into some kind of a joke. And I happen to know that Gary Coleman agrees with me.
HEMMER: There's one, anyway, right?
BOROWITZ: Absolutely.
HEMMER: Listen, just for the record, we never give out questions beforehand here ON AMERICAN MORNING. We are straight up.
BOROWITZ: Never.
HEMMER: Wesley Clark, let's go back to Jonah on this one, he makes it now 10. Does he hurt anyone with him entering this race?
GOLDBERG: I think he definitely hurts some of the marginal guys like Senator Graham, who is -- who has been trying to run as a hawk. And as an expert on the security stuff, he hurts Kerry, who's been claiming to be the real war hero type. And he mixes up the entire race and he puts more pressure on a lot of these second tier guys to just drop out of the race.
HEMMER: Well, Donna, you agree with that? How many more democrats do you need, by the way?
BOROWITZ: Baker's dozen.
BRAZILE: I agree -- I agree with Jonah that he's causing mild turbulence in the race right now. But look, he has to come up to speed real quick and show that he can swim with the sharks.
HEMMER: Yes, I wonder if Andy's going to make it eleven.
BOROWITZ: I'm going to go out on a limb, I think John Kerry may drop out of the race but his hair will stay in.
HEMMER: There's a little bit of that, don't you think.
BOROWITZ: I do.
HEMMER: Fourteen months left. Under the radar, Donna, what are you watching?
BRAZILE: Well, this week House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and one of the staunchest military advocates in the Democratic Party, Jack Murtha, came out and told the president that he should fire his advisers who set his policy in Iraq. I think he should also fire his economic advisers, as well.
HEMMER: And we'll watch that.
Jonah, what about you?
GOLDBERG: In Gerald Posner's new book, "Why America Slept," he reveals a little story about Abu Zubaydah, one of the top al Qaeda guys being held prisoner by the United States. The United States put a little ruse on him and pretended to hand him over to the Saudis. And actually Zubaydah was relieved and started telling the Saudi captors, his fake Saudi captors, about who to call to get him out of trouble. It shows how deep the connection between al Qaeda and Saudi Arabia really is.
HEMMER: Something to watch.
Andy, how about yourself?
BOROWITZ: Well, Bill, the man who mailed himself home to Texas in a box last week, he now says that he did it because the in-flight movie was "Gigli."
HEMMER: That's a fact, right?
BOROWITZ: That is true. You heard it here first.
HEMMER: Thanks, good deal. Andy, thanks. Jonah, Donna, great to see you guys. See you next Friday, OK?
BRAZILE: Thank you.
BOROWITZ: Have a good weekend (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: And stay dry.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
BRAZILE: Thank you, you too.
HEMMER: Stay dry in D.C. All right, bye-bye.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
