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American Morning
'Gimme A Minute'
Aired January 23, 2004 - 08:33 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 morning, time for give 'Gimme a Minute.' The usual suspects back with us now, our A-Team (ph), Jonah Goldberg, Editor of the National Review Online.
Jonah, good morning, nice to see you.
JONAH GOLDBERG, EDITOR, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Good to see you -- Bill.
HEMMER: Donna Brazile, CNN political analyst, former campaign manager of Al Gore.
Donna, how are you?
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm fine.
HEMMER: And why aren't you in New Hampshire?
BRAZILE: I'll see you there on Monday.
HEMMER: OK, you got it. See you then.
Back with us, Andy Borowitz, after a two-week absence. It has been too long, Andy. How are you? Good morning.
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Good to be here.
HEMMER: Andy has got a new book out, "Governor Arnold," a photo diary of his first 100 days in office. This is a scream, too. Andy, nice work there.
BOROWITZ: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Donna, let's start with you, the Democrats debate, did anyone on your team move the ball last night?
BRAZILE: No, I thought this was a very civil debate for the first time during this primary season. What we saw last night was the Democrats invoke the 11th commandment, thou shall not destroy each other. So it was a good debate for Democrats last night.
HEMMER: Yes, a very serious deliberate tone, didn't you think -- Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Yes, I mean I thought the nudity was tasteful and integral to the plot and all in all it was -- no, I mean, seriously, it was a -- it was a very defensive debate. I think Howard Dean, you know, managed to staunch some of the bleeding, but he is still wounded, and Lieberman won on points.
HEMMER: Yes. Great questions from Brit Hume and Peter Jennings all night. Very serious tone, I felt. You've had two weeks to think about it, Andy, give it up.
BOROWITZ: I thought the debate was dull and boring, and I think I know why, no Gephardt.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Listen -- were you finished, Andy? I'm sorry.
BOROWITZ: I'm all done.
HEMMER: You had 13 seconds. You sure? Ten seconds, be pithy.
BOROWITZ: Nothing more to contribute.
HEMMER: They are not exactly Ben and Jen, Jonah, but they are Howard Dean and his wife, Judy (ph). They were speaking with Diane Sawyer. Has he helped clarify, let's say, concerns that many people had after the events on Friday -- Monday, rather, in Iowa?
GOLDBERG: I think so. I mean you know it was a little nervous making, because it sort of seemed like it was going to be the "Punch & Judy Show." But I think -- generally I think Judy Dean came across as very sincere and authentic and kind of sweet. And I think in some ways what it highlighted for me was how fake actually Hillary had seemed in her similar interview a decade ago. But I think -- I think it helped to the extent it could, but I don't know that it could help that much.
HEMMER: Why not address this earlier in the week -- Donna?
BRAZILE: Well I think they did it at the right time with 96 hours to go before the New Hampshire voters go out and vote. Look, the Deans are ready for prime time, we will know on Tuesday night if the New Hampshire Democrats will give them a pass.
HEMMER: We will all see. What's wrong with a guy showing some emotion -- Andy?
BOROWITZ: I like Judy Dean. I think that she is torn between spending time with her patients or with an outpatient.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: How many states did he name in that interview, that's what we want to know?
Tuesday night, State of the Union Address, Donna, let's go back to you on this, was this speech all about politics? Did it lay out the course of the arguments for the White House over the next nine months or so?
BRAZILE: Absolutely. I thought the president set the political tone for the campaign season. Look, his major theme was taxes and terrorism. That's TNT for Democrats, so I think they are ready to take this on to the president in the next debate.
HEMMER: Everyone says, Jonah, we are still a 50-50 nation when it comes to a popular vote. What do you think?
GOLDBERG: Yes, you there are some conservatives who were grumbling and I think rightly so about Bush's overspending and the extent that that came up in the State of the Union, I had problems with it. But generally I thought it was a good speech. I think it was great and really gutsy for him to come out and defend the Patriot Act although from the get-go. And those are -- Donna's right, those are the themes for this election.
HEMMER: Must-see TV for Andy. I know that -- Andy.
BOROWITZ: You know I expected him to say that they found Saddam. But I was totally blown away that they found Cheney. He was sitting right there.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Under the radar, Jonah, what's on your mind?
GOLDBERG: Well, I think this sort of undercover story is that Howard Dean's jump the shark moment really wasn't that scream, it was when Al Gore endorsed him, because ever since then, it turned out to be the kiss of death.
And so I was thinking that maybe Al Gore could sort of say endorse Osama bin Laden and maybe we could find him right away.
HEMMER: You want to defend that, Donna, or you had something else?
BRAZILE: Well I am going to focus on work and families, again. This week, of course, Congress approved that big, huge spending bill to keep the government working. The problem is if you decide to work overtime, they won't pay you any more. That's a problem.
HEMMER: Andy.
BOROWITZ: A new poll shows that most Americans would rather see Howard Dean in the White House than free to roam the streets.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: And that's a fact, right, based on that...
BOROWITZ: That's a fact.
HEMMER: ... based on those that you surveyed?
BOROWITZ: Yes.
HEMMER: Listen, we're going to caucus at the Borowitz house this weekend. What do you say, Donna, Jonah, good idea?
BRAZILE: Yes.
BOROWITZ: Awesome.
HEMMER: Have a good weekend.
BRAZILE: Awesome! Thank you.
HEMMER: Talk to you later. Thanks to all three of 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 January 23, 2004 - 08:33 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 morning, time for give 'Gimme a Minute.' The usual suspects back with us now, our A-Team (ph), Jonah Goldberg, Editor of the National Review Online.
Jonah, good morning, nice to see you.
JONAH GOLDBERG, EDITOR, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Good to see you -- Bill.
HEMMER: Donna Brazile, CNN political analyst, former campaign manager of Al Gore.
Donna, how are you?
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm fine.
HEMMER: And why aren't you in New Hampshire?
BRAZILE: I'll see you there on Monday.
HEMMER: OK, you got it. See you then.
Back with us, Andy Borowitz, after a two-week absence. It has been too long, Andy. How are you? Good morning.
ANDY BOROWITZ, "THE NEW YORKER": Good to be here.
HEMMER: Andy has got a new book out, "Governor Arnold," a photo diary of his first 100 days in office. This is a scream, too. Andy, nice work there.
BOROWITZ: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Donna, let's start with you, the Democrats debate, did anyone on your team move the ball last night?
BRAZILE: No, I thought this was a very civil debate for the first time during this primary season. What we saw last night was the Democrats invoke the 11th commandment, thou shall not destroy each other. So it was a good debate for Democrats last night.
HEMMER: Yes, a very serious deliberate tone, didn't you think -- Jonah?
GOLDBERG: Yes, I mean I thought the nudity was tasteful and integral to the plot and all in all it was -- no, I mean, seriously, it was a -- it was a very defensive debate. I think Howard Dean, you know, managed to staunch some of the bleeding, but he is still wounded, and Lieberman won on points.
HEMMER: Yes. Great questions from Brit Hume and Peter Jennings all night. Very serious tone, I felt. You've had two weeks to think about it, Andy, give it up.
BOROWITZ: I thought the debate was dull and boring, and I think I know why, no Gephardt.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Listen -- were you finished, Andy? I'm sorry.
BOROWITZ: I'm all done.
HEMMER: You had 13 seconds. You sure? Ten seconds, be pithy.
BOROWITZ: Nothing more to contribute.
HEMMER: They are not exactly Ben and Jen, Jonah, but they are Howard Dean and his wife, Judy (ph). They were speaking with Diane Sawyer. Has he helped clarify, let's say, concerns that many people had after the events on Friday -- Monday, rather, in Iowa?
GOLDBERG: I think so. I mean you know it was a little nervous making, because it sort of seemed like it was going to be the "Punch & Judy Show." But I think -- generally I think Judy Dean came across as very sincere and authentic and kind of sweet. And I think in some ways what it highlighted for me was how fake actually Hillary had seemed in her similar interview a decade ago. But I think -- I think it helped to the extent it could, but I don't know that it could help that much.
HEMMER: Why not address this earlier in the week -- Donna?
BRAZILE: Well I think they did it at the right time with 96 hours to go before the New Hampshire voters go out and vote. Look, the Deans are ready for prime time, we will know on Tuesday night if the New Hampshire Democrats will give them a pass.
HEMMER: We will all see. What's wrong with a guy showing some emotion -- Andy?
BOROWITZ: I like Judy Dean. I think that she is torn between spending time with her patients or with an outpatient.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: How many states did he name in that interview, that's what we want to know?
Tuesday night, State of the Union Address, Donna, let's go back to you on this, was this speech all about politics? Did it lay out the course of the arguments for the White House over the next nine months or so?
BRAZILE: Absolutely. I thought the president set the political tone for the campaign season. Look, his major theme was taxes and terrorism. That's TNT for Democrats, so I think they are ready to take this on to the president in the next debate.
HEMMER: Everyone says, Jonah, we are still a 50-50 nation when it comes to a popular vote. What do you think?
GOLDBERG: Yes, you there are some conservatives who were grumbling and I think rightly so about Bush's overspending and the extent that that came up in the State of the Union, I had problems with it. But generally I thought it was a good speech. I think it was great and really gutsy for him to come out and defend the Patriot Act although from the get-go. And those are -- Donna's right, those are the themes for this election.
HEMMER: Must-see TV for Andy. I know that -- Andy.
BOROWITZ: You know I expected him to say that they found Saddam. But I was totally blown away that they found Cheney. He was sitting right there.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Under the radar, Jonah, what's on your mind?
GOLDBERG: Well, I think this sort of undercover story is that Howard Dean's jump the shark moment really wasn't that scream, it was when Al Gore endorsed him, because ever since then, it turned out to be the kiss of death.
And so I was thinking that maybe Al Gore could sort of say endorse Osama bin Laden and maybe we could find him right away.
HEMMER: You want to defend that, Donna, or you had something else?
BRAZILE: Well I am going to focus on work and families, again. This week, of course, Congress approved that big, huge spending bill to keep the government working. The problem is if you decide to work overtime, they won't pay you any more. That's a problem.
HEMMER: Andy.
BOROWITZ: A new poll shows that most Americans would rather see Howard Dean in the White House than free to roam the streets.
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: And that's a fact, right, based on that...
BOROWITZ: That's a fact.
HEMMER: ... based on those that you surveyed?
BOROWITZ: Yes.
HEMMER: Listen, we're going to caucus at the Borowitz house this weekend. What do you say, Donna, Jonah, good idea?
BRAZILE: Yes.
BOROWITZ: Awesome.
HEMMER: Have a good weekend.
BRAZILE: Awesome! Thank you.
HEMMER: Talk to you later. Thanks to all three of 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
