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American Morning
'Gimme a Minute'
Aired October 03, 2003 - 08:35 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as you know, if it's Friday, it's 'Gimme a Minute' time on AMERICAN MORNING. The gang is all here this morning in Washington. Jonah, who is the editor of The National Review Online.
Good morning, Jonah. Nice to see you.
JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Also Democratic strategist Donna Brazile joins us as well.
Good morning to you, Donna.
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: And in New York City, Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker" is with us this morning.
Hey, Andy. Good morning. Nice to see you.
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Welcome home, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, thank you much. I appreciate that.
Jonah, let's begin with you. I think it's fair to say it's been a tough week for the administration. First you've got this leak of the CIA operative, then you have David Kay, the expert on weapons of mass destruction saying, well, so far, we don't got any. What do you think is the worst of those two problems so far in the long run?
GOLDBERG: Well, the WMD story, it really pans out in the worst way possible, is a much bigger, much more serious long-term story which has to do with strategic policy and also and a war and all of those sorts of things. I think the leak story has been wildly overblown. We don't know everything yet, and who knows how it's going to pan out, but I think this has a lot to do with bureaucratic infighting between the CIA and administration than it has anything to do with any major skullduggery of any kind.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, Donna, if it turns out that the White House has a source, or has a leak there, that's going to be hugely damaging, even in the long run, right?
BRAZILE: Absolutely. They should go ahead and throw that leaker overboard, because that's far easier to do than bring some weapons of mass destruction on board at this time. O'BRIEN: Andy, give me a sense if you can kind any humor in this. I'm not sure you can.
BOROWITZ: Am I crazy? I think the worst thing that happened to Bush this week was that Chirac kissed his wife.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's turn to Rush Limbaugh. Don, how about you and me talking a little football. Why not? Rush Limbaugh out at ESPN, at the same time he was making some comments about the quarterback Donovan McNabb, who is black. He said that he was, essentially, overrated because the media wanted to push him, see him succeed, and then you've got his drug investigation at the same time. McNabb says he's shocked. Are you shocked?
BRAZILE: No, that was classic Rush Limbaugh. Everyone knows he fumbles about with his big mouth from time to time. I'm glad he resigned, and I look forward to hearing his apology one day.
O'BRIEN: Jonah, Rush would say, hey, this is my First Amendment right, I said what I thought, I think the guy's overrated.
GOLDBERG: Yes, well, the First Amendment argument was silly, it was silly when the Dixie Chicks made it, it's silly when Rush made it. Look, I think there's absolutely no case to be made that what he said was racist. There is a case to be made, I'm not sure I agree with it, but there is the argument to be made that what he said was stupid, but the real idiots here were ESPN, who asked Rush Limbaugh to come on the air, and then when he acted like Rush Limbaugh we're shocked.
O'BRIEN: And Andy Borowitz, McNabb, as we hear, is not laughing. What do you have to say that's funny about it?
BOROWITZ: I think the most shocking thing Rush did is he made me miss Dennis Miller.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about the governor's race in California. Overseas, it's not such a big deal, yet here at home, we've got two controversies, first Arnold allegedly groped six women over a certain amount of time, and then you've got these comments about Adolph Hitler that Arnold Schwarzenegger is denying. Give me a sense then, Jonah, how big a problem is this going to be for the governor, since we're just a few days out for the election?
GOLDBERG: It's really hard to tell, and the poll something weird because of the nature of the ballot. But I've got to say that hypocrisy is everywhere. Republicans who said character matters are now saying it doesn't, and Democrats who say character doesn't matter are now saying it does, and I think everybody looks silly, and that's why I'm for McClintock.
O'BRIEN: I just called him the governor there, and I really should, Donna, governor wannabe. You think this thing is going to blow over, or not a chance?
BRAZILE: No, I don't think it will blow over. And I think for California voters to recall a governor who did not commit a crime and support someone who did commit a crime by harassing women would be shameful.
O'BRIEN: Andy, is it going to be Governor Schwarzenegger in a few days?
BOROWITZ: Soledad, I, too, have been on some rowdy movie sets, and I've got to say, when actors aren't groping women, they're praising Hitler. That's just what they do.
O'BRIEN: Donna, tell us what you thought was the undercovered story of the week, please?
BRAZILE: Well, there were many up on Capitol Hill this week. The House decided not to remove overtime pay and the Senate decided not to impose vouchers on the district. But I think the undercovered stories is Democrats are meeting for the last time this weekend in Washington D.C.
O'BRIEN: Jonah, give me a sense what have we missed this week.
GOLDBERG: A very strange story that moved on a lot of wires, saying that they'd intercepted tens of millions of dollars worth of chemical weapon warheads and other major WMD-type ordinance on the Kuwait-Iraqi border, and I've seen no follow-up to it, and everybody on the Web wants to know what's going on.
O'BRIEN: And, Andy, what do you think we missed?
BOROWITZ: Hold the bell, Soledad.
In a new poll of California voters, 50 percent said they were shocked by the groping news, 49 percent said they weren't shocked and 1 percent said they were being groped by Arnold right now.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, guys. Have a great weekend. Certainly appreciate it.
BRAZILE: You, too.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
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 October 3, 2003 - 08:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as you know, if it's Friday, it's 'Gimme a Minute' time on AMERICAN MORNING. The gang is all here this morning in Washington. Jonah, who is the editor of The National Review Online.
Good morning, Jonah. Nice to see you.
JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Also Democratic strategist Donna Brazile joins us as well.
Good morning to you, Donna.
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: And in New York City, Andy Borowitz of "The New Yorker" is with us this morning.
Hey, Andy. Good morning. Nice to see you.
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Welcome home, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, thank you much. I appreciate that.
Jonah, let's begin with you. I think it's fair to say it's been a tough week for the administration. First you've got this leak of the CIA operative, then you have David Kay, the expert on weapons of mass destruction saying, well, so far, we don't got any. What do you think is the worst of those two problems so far in the long run?
GOLDBERG: Well, the WMD story, it really pans out in the worst way possible, is a much bigger, much more serious long-term story which has to do with strategic policy and also and a war and all of those sorts of things. I think the leak story has been wildly overblown. We don't know everything yet, and who knows how it's going to pan out, but I think this has a lot to do with bureaucratic infighting between the CIA and administration than it has anything to do with any major skullduggery of any kind.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, Donna, if it turns out that the White House has a source, or has a leak there, that's going to be hugely damaging, even in the long run, right?
BRAZILE: Absolutely. They should go ahead and throw that leaker overboard, because that's far easier to do than bring some weapons of mass destruction on board at this time. O'BRIEN: Andy, give me a sense if you can kind any humor in this. I'm not sure you can.
BOROWITZ: Am I crazy? I think the worst thing that happened to Bush this week was that Chirac kissed his wife.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's turn to Rush Limbaugh. Don, how about you and me talking a little football. Why not? Rush Limbaugh out at ESPN, at the same time he was making some comments about the quarterback Donovan McNabb, who is black. He said that he was, essentially, overrated because the media wanted to push him, see him succeed, and then you've got his drug investigation at the same time. McNabb says he's shocked. Are you shocked?
BRAZILE: No, that was classic Rush Limbaugh. Everyone knows he fumbles about with his big mouth from time to time. I'm glad he resigned, and I look forward to hearing his apology one day.
O'BRIEN: Jonah, Rush would say, hey, this is my First Amendment right, I said what I thought, I think the guy's overrated.
GOLDBERG: Yes, well, the First Amendment argument was silly, it was silly when the Dixie Chicks made it, it's silly when Rush made it. Look, I think there's absolutely no case to be made that what he said was racist. There is a case to be made, I'm not sure I agree with it, but there is the argument to be made that what he said was stupid, but the real idiots here were ESPN, who asked Rush Limbaugh to come on the air, and then when he acted like Rush Limbaugh we're shocked.
O'BRIEN: And Andy Borowitz, McNabb, as we hear, is not laughing. What do you have to say that's funny about it?
BOROWITZ: I think the most shocking thing Rush did is he made me miss Dennis Miller.
O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about the governor's race in California. Overseas, it's not such a big deal, yet here at home, we've got two controversies, first Arnold allegedly groped six women over a certain amount of time, and then you've got these comments about Adolph Hitler that Arnold Schwarzenegger is denying. Give me a sense then, Jonah, how big a problem is this going to be for the governor, since we're just a few days out for the election?
GOLDBERG: It's really hard to tell, and the poll something weird because of the nature of the ballot. But I've got to say that hypocrisy is everywhere. Republicans who said character matters are now saying it doesn't, and Democrats who say character doesn't matter are now saying it does, and I think everybody looks silly, and that's why I'm for McClintock.
O'BRIEN: I just called him the governor there, and I really should, Donna, governor wannabe. You think this thing is going to blow over, or not a chance?
BRAZILE: No, I don't think it will blow over. And I think for California voters to recall a governor who did not commit a crime and support someone who did commit a crime by harassing women would be shameful.
O'BRIEN: Andy, is it going to be Governor Schwarzenegger in a few days?
BOROWITZ: Soledad, I, too, have been on some rowdy movie sets, and I've got to say, when actors aren't groping women, they're praising Hitler. That's just what they do.
O'BRIEN: Donna, tell us what you thought was the undercovered story of the week, please?
BRAZILE: Well, there were many up on Capitol Hill this week. The House decided not to remove overtime pay and the Senate decided not to impose vouchers on the district. But I think the undercovered stories is Democrats are meeting for the last time this weekend in Washington D.C.
O'BRIEN: Jonah, give me a sense what have we missed this week.
GOLDBERG: A very strange story that moved on a lot of wires, saying that they'd intercepted tens of millions of dollars worth of chemical weapon warheads and other major WMD-type ordinance on the Kuwait-Iraqi border, and I've seen no follow-up to it, and everybody on the Web wants to know what's going on.
O'BRIEN: And, Andy, what do you think we missed?
BOROWITZ: Hold the bell, Soledad.
In a new poll of California voters, 50 percent said they were shocked by the groping news, 49 percent said they weren't shocked and 1 percent said they were being groped by Arnold right now.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, guys. Have a great weekend. Certainly appreciate it.
BRAZILE: You, too.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
