Hosts of ABC's The View GANG UP on Giuliani for Backing Bush (TRANSCRIPT & FREEP ALERT)

MRC ^ | Wednesday September 1, 2004 | BrentBaker

[fight_truth_decay]

The heated argument consumed nearly eight minutes, so space permits only some limited excerpts as provided by the MRC's Jessica Anderson who caught the August 31 exchange:

Joy Behar: "Did you really say that, 'Thank God he was our President'? That's the first thing you said? You didn't say 'Oh, expletive,' or something?"

Rudy Giuliani: "No, no, that wasn't the first thing I said. That's one of the things that I said on September 11th to my police commissioner. It really came out because that was just a few months after that disputed election, and so I had called the White House to ask for support, and I felt very, very comfortable that he was in the White House because I know him, and because I knew he would be tough about it."

Behar: "I know, but so would Al Gore. Don't you think he would have been as tough on it? Of course he would. Any President would respond."

Elisabeth Hasselbeck: "I don't think so." [Audience applause]

Giuliani: "No."

Behar: "You don't?"

Giuliani: "No, I don't think there's any chance at all that Al Gore would have been as determined. I think Al Gore would have backed off now about four times with the kind of criticism that George Bush– [trails off]" [Audience applause and boos] . Giuliani: "Taking out Saddam Hussein was critical to defeating global terrorism."

Vieira: "But one is terrorism and one is the particular war in Iraq, and that's what I think people are upset about, because we went to war believing there were weapons of mass destruction. I was at the demonstration there on Sunday, that's what people were talking about. There were mothers of soldiers there. People weren't arguing against terrorism, it was the war in Iraq in particular."

Giuliani: "There's a tremendous amount of emotion always against war, always. In 1863, New York had tremendous riots against the Civil War and against Abraham Lincoln because they didn't want to be in the Civil War anymore. A President has to be able to withstand that. He has to be able to stand up to that." . Hasselbeck: "It's a long process."

Giuliani: "The idea that taking out Saddam Hussein wasn't part of the War On Terrorism really misunderstands the War On Terrorism."

Behar: "No, but people say it was a distraction from going after bin Laden."

Giuliani: "No it wasn't! Saddam Hussein was one of the principal supporters of international terrorism. He was sitting on top of $4 billion or $5 billion, he had used weapons of mass destruction, and Abu Nidal, who killed Leon Klinghoffer and maybe about 25 other Americans and a hundred other people, was operating out of Iraq."

Behar: "So were the Saudis!" .

Giuliani: "But the reality of that, that followed a quote of John Kerry's about an $87 billion supplemental budget that was to support our troops. And John Kerry voted against it, and then he explained it by saying, 'Before I voted against it, I actually voted for it.'"

Hasselbeck: "Right."

Giuliani: "And it seems to me you can't have it both ways and that's what he's been trying to do."

Behar, not joking: "He change his mind based on nuance."

Giuliani: "Everybody changes their mind. He makes it a rule to change his mind."

Vieira: "But being consistent isn't necessarily right if you're wrong in the consistency. You can be consistent, but if you're-" [Audience applause]

Behar: "You could change your mind. You change your mind."

Giuliani: "Sure I do, occasionally, but I don't change my core principles." [Audience applause]

Jones: "Come on, Mr. Mayor. You stand at that podium and support that President when you disagree with almost everything the Party socially says. You don't change your core issues? That's not fair, Mr. Mayor." [Audience applause]

Giuliani: "No, those aren't, my core issues are the national defense of this country, national security, and the economy. To me those are the two things on which I assess candidates that have the biggest impact on us."

Jones: "What about patriotism, Mr. Mayor? Because you know, you quoted something the President said that scared me. You said, you quoted him as saying 'either you're with us or you're with the terrorists,' and the President did make that statement. Don't question people's patriotism because they don't believe in the war."

Giuliani: "I do not."

Jones: "We love America! So why would the President make that statement? That scared me."

Giuliani: "It shouldn't because the president made that statement on September 20th."

Jones: "I don't care if he made it yesterday."

Giuliani: "He made it on September 20th of 2001, just a few days after the horrible attack on this city and Washington, DC."

Jones: "But you quoted it last night, Mr. Mayor!"

Giuliani: "I quoted it and gave you the date, because this country was united then."

Jones: "Do you believe that?"

Giuliani: "This country was united in the effort to go after terrorists and prevent what happened from happening again."

Jones: "Do you believe that today? 'Either you're with the terrorists or you're with us' -- that's not American!"

Giuliani: "Of course it's American."

Jones: "No, it's not! With 'us' -- who is 'us'?"

Giuliani: "You're either with the Nazis or you're with us. You're either with the Communists or you're with us." [Audience members boo]

Jones: "No, that's still not fair, Mr. Mayor. I'm surprised at you."

Giuliani: "Well, I'm surprised at you."

Jones: "I'm surprised you would say that."

Giuliani: "The terrorists killed almost 3,000 of our people. So what side are you on? Are you on their side or are you on our side?"

Jones: "I am on the side of men and women fighting in Iraq right now, and I want us to support those people."

Giuliani: "You can't be on their side and be on the side of the terrorists."

Jones: "No, being against the war is not on the side of the terrorists, okay?"

Giuliani: "Nobody is saying you can't be against the war. Nobody is saying that."

Vieira: "The implication is that if you disagree, I think, with the administration that somehow you are on the side of the terrorists."

Giuliani: "That isn't who George Bush said that to, that isn't what it means. That's a way of misunderstanding what he's saying, which is what people do to him all the time."

Jones: "Well, please clarify it for us."

Giuliani: "No, I'm not going to clarify. You're either with the terrorists or you're with us."

Jones: "Why not?"

Giuliani: "Because there is no distinction."

Audience member yells out: "Who's 'us'?"

Giuliani: "'Us' is the United States of America. The terrorists are the people who kill innocent people, the people who killed people in Madrid."

Behar: "We agree with that."

Jones: "We agree with that."

Giuliani: "Good, now we agree. Then why try to misunderstand it?"

Vieira: "Can you be on the side of 'us' and also believe that the war in Iraq is flawed and wrong?"

Giuliani: "Yes."

Vieira: "Fine, fine, fine. So you're running for President in 2008, correct?"

+ Check the posted version of this item later this morning for a RealPlayer clip of the contentious session.

[GeorgiaYankee]

Pres Bush aimed his "With us or with the terrorists" statement at OTHER COUNTRIES, not the other political party! Here's the quote in context:

"And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html

[longfellow]

Behar: "I know, but so would Al Gore. Don't you think he would have been as tough on it? Of course he would. Any President would respond."

Al Bore said "I would have found out why they were mad at us."

Behar, your proctologist called, they found your head.

[OldFriend]

Behar used to be on WABC radio. She once said that George HW Bush was a coward for not going down with his plane.

She was soon fired but it gives you an idea of the hatred for republicans that dwell in the hearts of these entertainment types.

[epow]

I tried to email Ms Hasselback, but the email link on the View website doesn't work for me.

Maybe her mailbox is overloaded. I'm guessing she's getting plenty of hate mail from leftist celebrities and media personalities for daring to break ranks with them in their pure hatred for Bush and the real America he represents.

[Naspino]

I like Elizabeth Hasselbeck -- she needs to get OFF that show and get her own.

[Veto!]

I'm emailing Elizabeth, as you suggest. She's always in the minority on The View whenever politics is "discussed." I saw Hillary Clinton on The View and the three idiots drooled as Hitlery told lie after lie. Only Elizabeth frowned and questioned her, though she was drowned out by the others. To reflect the approximately 50-50 split of the country, the show should at least have two Republican women on the panel.

[HRoarke]

Unfortunately the show is probably a pretty accurate depiction of voting women in this country. Leftism does pull at the heartstrings...

[bushfamfan]

That lovely P. Diddy! I know he wants to party with those Bush twins again, attempt to weasel himself closer to George W. Bush. I hope it IS true that Laura refused to be photographed with him. Has to play this nonpartisan b.s. He doesn't exactly provide good music talent or anything else. I hate that loser.

[Mrs Zip]

ping

[F16Fighter]

Hosts of ABC's The View GANG UP on [fill-in-the-blank]

In a perfect world, the View's cast is tossed into a Gulag (without make up artists) to carry on doing their "show."

[TomEwall]

Giuliani: "But the reality of that, that followed a quote of John Kerry's about an $87 billion supplemental budget that was to support our troops. And John Kerry voted against it, and then he explained it by saying, 'Before I voted against it, I actually voted for it.'"

Hasselbeck: "Right."

Giuliani: "And it seems to me you can't have it both ways and that's what he's been trying to do."

Behar, not joking: "He change his mind based on nuance."

Priceless!

[PsyOp]

“Conservatism, we are told, is out-of-date. The charge is preposterous and we ought boldly to say so. The laws of God, and of nature, have no dateline. The principles on which the Conservative political position is based have been established by a process that has nothing to do with the social, economic and political landscape that changes from decade to decade and from century to century. These principles are derived from the nature of man, and from the truths that God has revealed about His creation. Circumstances do change. So do the problems that are shaped by circumstances. But the principles that govern the solution of the problems do not. To suggest that the Conservative philosophy is out of date is akin to saying that the Golden Rule, or the Ten Commandments or Aristotle's Politics are out of date. The Conservative approach is noth ing more or less than an attempt to apply the wisdom and experience and the revealed truths of the past to the problems of today.” – Barry Goldwater, The Conscience Of A Conservative, 1960.

Barry Goldwater, The Conscience Of A Conservative.

[chiefqc]

Lets see if I can define this group from the view

A drunk, An overweigh in love with herself, an old hag, a big mouth, and a good looking young woman

[shield]

later read

[earlyamerican]

Except for Elizabeth, I despise these shrews. I don't understand how any sane person goes on the show and how much of an audience they have. I always send them hate mail.

[Duke Nukum]

Complainnig about duplicate threads clutters up the posts more then then duplicate posts do.

If it's a duplicate post, don't read it.

Geez! Everybody wants to be Barney Fife.

[flashbunny]

"Complainnig about duplicate threads clutters up the posts more then then duplicate posts do. "

No it doesn't. Not if they get pulled. Server space, wasted bandwith - it all adds up. Takes up the time of visitors and mods, too. Taking a little time to avoid that is just common courtesy.

This one was posted a mere 18 threads after the first , which means it should have been on the first 'latest posts' page. It takes less than a minute and it makes the site run better for everyone.

Hell, we've had at least 4 threads this week alone on the same damn smoking chimp story.

"Geez! Everybody wants to be Barney Fife"

If that's your goal in life, fine. Good luck with it.

My goal is to do what I can to help this site be useful to the people who have come to rely on it. Not to have it cluttered up with 10 different copies of the same story.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent

After Zell Miller and Dick Cheney tonight , any sensible American will be voting for Dubya!!! But there is some question of how many are not sensible.....

[Wolfhound777]

"May they rot in hell."

Exactly.

[Cedar]

"Unfortunately the show is probably a pretty accurate depiction of voting women in this country. Leftism does pull at the heartstrings..."

I can see you've never been to an Ole Miss football game.