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American Morning
'Gimme A Minute'
Aired November 28, 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's Friday, Heidi. That means all politics edition of Gimme a Minute. All politics this week, anyway. With us from D.C., Jonah Goldberg, editor of "The National Review Online."
Nice to see you, Jonah, the day after the big turkey day. Good morning.
JONAH GOLDBERG, "NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE": Good to see you.
HEMMER: Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute. Donna, hello.
DONNA BRAZILE, CHAIRWOMAN, VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE: Hello. Good morning.
HEMMER: Here in New York, Andy Borowitz, "The New Yorker." Good morning, Drew.
ANDY BOROWTIZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Hi, Bill.
HEMMER: Nice to see you, my friend.
Bush in Baghdad. Jonah, kick it off this week for us. Already the political play of the week for Bill Schneider, I am certain of that. What do you think about the secrecy of this yesterday?
GOLDBERG: The secrecy was necessary. They couldn't have done it without it. There were real security consideration. It also made for better politics, but that's secondary.
It was a bold, generous, crafty thing to do. And he deserves a lot of credit for it, and it was a great thing to do.
HEMMER: What do you think about the exception, Donna? Exception for security in cases like this?
BRAZILE: I think so. Look, I think it was the right thing to do. The president went over to visit the troops, to stand with them. And now it's time to develop an extra strategy and bring them home before next Thanksgiving.
HEMMER: And guess who came to dinner, huh, Andy?
BOROWITZ: Yes. You know, at the same time, Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to the Macy's Parade disguised as Mr. Moneybags.
HEMMER: Oh, yes. That slipped by us. Did he eat the drumstick while he was there?
Let's talk about Medicare. Earlier this week "The Washington Post" had a big broad headline, Donna. It says -- I'm reading now -- "A Wake-up Call for Democrats." The finger is pointing in your direction. Is it a wake-up call?
BRAZILE: Oh, absolutely. This gives the Republicans a huge victory going into the 2004 election. Look, I think it's time the Democratic governors take this issue back by challenging this administration to allow them to re-import cheaper drugs from Canada and elsewhere.
HEMMER: Jonah, what about it? Who do Democrats blame in this?
GOLDBERG: They should blame themselves. This was really the equivalent of Bill Clinton signing welfare reform. It may have antagonized some of George Bush's base, but also stole a huge issue from the opposition. But no one is going to get fired, because these days no one in the Democratic Party gets fired for cause. Just look at Terry McAuliffe.
HEMMER: Here's Andy now. Who hit that snooze button in the alarm clock in your house, by the way?
BOROWITZ: You know, I think the Democrats need a wake-up call. Especially whenever Dick Gephardt gives a speech.
HEMMER: We're leaving that right where it is.
Florida politics. The word is, Jonah, that Republican supporters are actually concerned that Katherine Harris may make a run for the Senate. That seat being vacated by Bob Graham. Why would they be so concerned about that?
GOLDBERG: Well, because Bush doesn't want to remind people about the Florida recount. He doesn't want to activate those people who are still angry about it.
I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think it's also a big a deal as some people do, because Bush is leading by huge numbers in Florida. But the White House has the power to punish and reward, and my guess is Katherine Harris, who's a little GOPer, will get out of the way.
HEMMER: Will she make a run, Donna? What do you think?
BRAZILE: Well, knowing Katherine Harris, she's now my neighbor. I think she'll decide on her own whether or not she will get back into the race or get into the race. But look, there's another woman running, Betty Cassidy (ph), who is a Democrat. And this would add to the number of women in the United States Senate.
HEMMER: That it would. Talk about your (UNINTELLIGIBLE) if that's the case.
Andy, what do you think?
BOROWITZ: You know, I'm kind of a student of Florida politics. And I think people with will vote for Katherine Harris whether they mean to or not.
HEMMER: Hanging chad. Still in there.
BRAZILE: It's a swinging chad.
HEMMER: That's right. Under the radar, Donna, what did we miss this past week?
BRAZILE: Well, Congress rolled out of town this week, and they had a lot of goodies in their bag for the pharmaceutical companies and others. But they forgot to extend the unemployment benefits for those who are still out there trying to find work. So I hope they roll back in Washington and pass that bill.
HEMMER: All right. You're on the record for that.
Jonah, what about you?
GOLDBERG: Well, until yesterday, it was pretty well covered that Hillary Clinton was going to Afghanistan. But then when George Bush showed up in Baghdad, the cover turned basically into, Hillary who?
HEMMER: She's still got the weekend, though. We know that.
Andy?
BOROWITZ: In a rare show of unity, the Democratic presidential candidates vowed to work together to defeat Howard Dean.
HEMMER: Yes? Together they win?
BOROWITZ: Yes.
HEMMER: Thanks, Andy.
Have a good weekend, Jonah, Donna, Andy, Gimme a Minute panel on this Friday. Hope you had a good turkey day, too. Next time we'll talk about what we're giving thanks for. Would that be too nice, though, do you think? Too positive?
Have a good weekend. Bye-bye.
Aired November 28, 2003 - 08:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's Friday, Heidi. That means all politics edition of Gimme a Minute. All politics this week, anyway. With us from D.C., Jonah Goldberg, editor of "The National Review Online."
Nice to see you, Jonah, the day after the big turkey day. Good morning.
JONAH GOLDBERG, "NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE": Good to see you.
HEMMER: Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute. Donna, hello.
DONNA BRAZILE, CHAIRWOMAN, VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE: Hello. Good morning.
HEMMER: Here in New York, Andy Borowitz, "The New Yorker." Good morning, Drew.
ANDY BOROWTIZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Hi, Bill.
HEMMER: Nice to see you, my friend.
Bush in Baghdad. Jonah, kick it off this week for us. Already the political play of the week for Bill Schneider, I am certain of that. What do you think about the secrecy of this yesterday?
GOLDBERG: The secrecy was necessary. They couldn't have done it without it. There were real security consideration. It also made for better politics, but that's secondary.
It was a bold, generous, crafty thing to do. And he deserves a lot of credit for it, and it was a great thing to do.
HEMMER: What do you think about the exception, Donna? Exception for security in cases like this?
BRAZILE: I think so. Look, I think it was the right thing to do. The president went over to visit the troops, to stand with them. And now it's time to develop an extra strategy and bring them home before next Thanksgiving.
HEMMER: And guess who came to dinner, huh, Andy?
BOROWITZ: Yes. You know, at the same time, Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to the Macy's Parade disguised as Mr. Moneybags.
HEMMER: Oh, yes. That slipped by us. Did he eat the drumstick while he was there?
Let's talk about Medicare. Earlier this week "The Washington Post" had a big broad headline, Donna. It says -- I'm reading now -- "A Wake-up Call for Democrats." The finger is pointing in your direction. Is it a wake-up call?
BRAZILE: Oh, absolutely. This gives the Republicans a huge victory going into the 2004 election. Look, I think it's time the Democratic governors take this issue back by challenging this administration to allow them to re-import cheaper drugs from Canada and elsewhere.
HEMMER: Jonah, what about it? Who do Democrats blame in this?
GOLDBERG: They should blame themselves. This was really the equivalent of Bill Clinton signing welfare reform. It may have antagonized some of George Bush's base, but also stole a huge issue from the opposition. But no one is going to get fired, because these days no one in the Democratic Party gets fired for cause. Just look at Terry McAuliffe.
HEMMER: Here's Andy now. Who hit that snooze button in the alarm clock in your house, by the way?
BOROWITZ: You know, I think the Democrats need a wake-up call. Especially whenever Dick Gephardt gives a speech.
HEMMER: We're leaving that right where it is.
Florida politics. The word is, Jonah, that Republican supporters are actually concerned that Katherine Harris may make a run for the Senate. That seat being vacated by Bob Graham. Why would they be so concerned about that?
GOLDBERG: Well, because Bush doesn't want to remind people about the Florida recount. He doesn't want to activate those people who are still angry about it.
I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think it's also a big a deal as some people do, because Bush is leading by huge numbers in Florida. But the White House has the power to punish and reward, and my guess is Katherine Harris, who's a little GOPer, will get out of the way.
HEMMER: Will she make a run, Donna? What do you think?
BRAZILE: Well, knowing Katherine Harris, she's now my neighbor. I think she'll decide on her own whether or not she will get back into the race or get into the race. But look, there's another woman running, Betty Cassidy (ph), who is a Democrat. And this would add to the number of women in the United States Senate.
HEMMER: That it would. Talk about your (UNINTELLIGIBLE) if that's the case.
Andy, what do you think?
BOROWITZ: You know, I'm kind of a student of Florida politics. And I think people with will vote for Katherine Harris whether they mean to or not.
HEMMER: Hanging chad. Still in there.
BRAZILE: It's a swinging chad.
HEMMER: That's right. Under the radar, Donna, what did we miss this past week?
BRAZILE: Well, Congress rolled out of town this week, and they had a lot of goodies in their bag for the pharmaceutical companies and others. But they forgot to extend the unemployment benefits for those who are still out there trying to find work. So I hope they roll back in Washington and pass that bill.
HEMMER: All right. You're on the record for that.
Jonah, what about you?
GOLDBERG: Well, until yesterday, it was pretty well covered that Hillary Clinton was going to Afghanistan. But then when George Bush showed up in Baghdad, the cover turned basically into, Hillary who?
HEMMER: She's still got the weekend, though. We know that.
Andy?
BOROWITZ: In a rare show of unity, the Democratic presidential candidates vowed to work together to defeat Howard Dean.
HEMMER: Yes? Together they win?
BOROWITZ: Yes.
HEMMER: Thanks, Andy.
Have a good weekend, Jonah, Donna, Andy, Gimme a Minute panel on this Friday. Hope you had a good turkey day, too. Next time we'll talk about what we're giving thanks for. Would that be too nice, though, do you think? Too positive?
Have a good weekend. Bye-bye.
