1 00:00:04,835 --> 00:00:23,715 Speaker 1: Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of iHeartRadio. I 2 00:00:23,755 --> 00:00:26,315 Speaker 1: would just like to go on the record and thank 3 00:00:26,395 --> 00:00:29,195 Speaker 1: the person who is doing the most to undermine the 4 00:00:29,235 --> 00:00:32,995 Speaker 1: Trump transition and the most to let the air out 5 00:00:33,035 --> 00:00:41,075 Speaker 1: of the momentum of Trump's gigantic one point four percent landslide. 6 00:00:41,195 --> 00:00:43,715 Speaker 1: I'd just like to thank the person who is making 7 00:00:44,275 --> 00:00:51,195 Speaker 1: Trump look stupid and amateurish and failureish. And that person, 8 00:00:51,195 --> 00:00:57,035 Speaker 1: of course, is Donald Trump. He was humiliated with the 9 00:00:57,115 --> 00:01:00,675 Speaker 1: Matt Gates nomination to the degree that when the thing 10 00:01:00,795 --> 00:01:06,555 Speaker 1: finally became utterly untenable and potentially destructive to him personally, 11 00:01:07,475 --> 00:01:12,595 Speaker 1: he didn't even try to blame anybody. He didn't stamp 12 00:01:12,715 --> 00:01:16,555 Speaker 1: his feet. He just moved on. And he got the 13 00:01:16,555 --> 00:01:20,715 Speaker 1: famous prosecutor who put Dwight Gooden, the failed Mets pitcher, 14 00:01:20,755 --> 00:01:25,755 Speaker 1: in jail for seven months. He just punted on Gates. 15 00:01:26,395 --> 00:01:29,795 Speaker 1: And you know, Trump knows he's in trouble when he 16 00:01:29,995 --> 00:01:35,915 Speaker 1: shuts up. Now, he has not said a word. He's 17 00:01:35,995 --> 00:01:39,675 Speaker 1: just standing there next to Pete Hegseth, who will never 18 00:01:39,755 --> 00:01:42,835 Speaker 1: be Secretary of Defense, who will never run the Pentagon, 19 00:01:43,555 --> 00:01:46,395 Speaker 1: who right now is probably a poor bet to get 20 00:01:46,395 --> 00:01:49,115 Speaker 1: his job back on the weekend edition of the Fox 21 00:01:49,195 --> 00:01:54,435 Speaker 1: News Morning Show. And every time Pete heg Seth's dumpster 22 00:01:54,595 --> 00:01:59,635 Speaker 1: fire goes out or drops down a little bit in intensity, 23 00:02:00,515 --> 00:02:07,595 Speaker 1: Trump is there as it reignites. When Mommy becomes part 24 00:02:07,635 --> 00:02:11,155 Speaker 1: of your story, When it's mommy who called you an 25 00:02:11,235 --> 00:02:15,355 Speaker 1: abuser of women, when it's mommy who suggested you needed 26 00:02:15,395 --> 00:02:20,675 Speaker 1: psychological help, and somebody she sent the email to has 27 00:02:20,755 --> 00:02:25,475 Speaker 1: decided to give it to the media. When mom from 28 00:02:26,075 --> 00:02:28,875 Speaker 1: eight years ago, seven years ago, it doesn't matter if 29 00:02:28,915 --> 00:02:32,595 Speaker 1: it was seven minutes ago. When Mom is part of 30 00:02:32,635 --> 00:02:35,515 Speaker 1: the reason you're not going to get the job, and 31 00:02:35,595 --> 00:02:38,955 Speaker 1: it's so bad that you have to put Mom on TV, 32 00:02:39,355 --> 00:02:42,555 Speaker 1: and it's so bad on TV that Mom instead of 33 00:02:42,675 --> 00:02:46,795 Speaker 1: answering the softball questions, the answering of the softball questions 34 00:02:46,875 --> 00:02:55,675 Speaker 1: was insufficient. She turned to camera and stared and thanked 35 00:02:55,875 --> 00:03:01,995 Speaker 1: the furor for his support of her son, the abuser, 36 00:03:03,475 --> 00:03:06,395 Speaker 1: and then she blamed the media, the awful media, for 37 00:03:06,595 --> 00:03:10,435 Speaker 1: having threatened her by calling her up and telling her 38 00:03:10,475 --> 00:03:13,115 Speaker 1: that they were going to print this and they wanted 39 00:03:13,155 --> 00:03:15,195 Speaker 1: to know what her reaction was and if she wanted 40 00:03:15,195 --> 00:03:18,955 Speaker 1: to say something, what evil bastard's trying to make it 41 00:03:19,115 --> 00:03:22,795 Speaker 1: fair to her, we can see where heg Sith got 42 00:03:22,795 --> 00:03:28,995 Speaker 1: his stupidity and his arrogance. And then as part of 43 00:03:29,035 --> 00:03:36,275 Speaker 1: the softball questions, this guy Doucey says to her, so 44 00:03:36,395 --> 00:03:39,875 Speaker 1: will you testify in front of the Senate on your 45 00:03:39,875 --> 00:03:43,235 Speaker 1: son's behalf? And if you are really trying, if you 46 00:03:43,275 --> 00:03:47,515 Speaker 1: are debasing yourself, Donald Trump, to the point of having 47 00:03:47,835 --> 00:03:53,595 Speaker 1: your nominee for Secretary of Defense, the punching power of 48 00:03:53,635 --> 00:03:59,395 Speaker 1: the Pentagon, the macho, slicked back, greasy haired Pete Hegseth, 49 00:03:59,595 --> 00:04:02,435 Speaker 1: who's had to turn to his mom to get him 50 00:04:02,435 --> 00:04:06,035 Speaker 1: out of trouble. When you go to that sense and 51 00:04:06,195 --> 00:04:11,555 Speaker 1: level of self humiliation for Hegseth, for his mom, for Fox, 52 00:04:11,755 --> 00:04:15,835 Speaker 1: for the entirety of the conservative fascist operation, and for 53 00:04:15,875 --> 00:04:20,075 Speaker 1: yourself Trump, when you go to that degree, and this 54 00:04:20,195 --> 00:04:23,115 Speaker 1: man Deucey turns to this woman and says, will you 55 00:04:23,235 --> 00:04:25,795 Speaker 1: be testifying on his behalf in front of the Senate? 56 00:04:26,315 --> 00:04:29,395 Speaker 1: And she says, I don't have an answer for you 57 00:04:29,515 --> 00:04:35,275 Speaker 1: on that, and she isn't sure. She won't commit. He's meet, 58 00:04:35,835 --> 00:04:39,395 Speaker 1: He's done, and not only that, instead of bailing out 59 00:04:39,435 --> 00:04:42,475 Speaker 1: on him when there was still time for people to 60 00:04:42,675 --> 00:04:46,355 Speaker 1: forget about him when there was still time for him 61 00:04:46,395 --> 00:04:50,115 Speaker 1: not to come up in every subsequent discussion of whoever 62 00:04:50,235 --> 00:04:53,675 Speaker 1: becomes the head of the Pentagon the Secretary of Defense, 63 00:04:54,075 --> 00:04:59,115 Speaker 1: when you could have removed the stain from your red 64 00:04:59,235 --> 00:05:03,435 Speaker 1: tie instead of doing it then, now just stand a 65 00:05:03,435 --> 00:05:09,315 Speaker 1: little closer to this. I will quote Bert Lancaster again 66 00:05:09,675 --> 00:05:13,875 Speaker 1: as JJ Hunsecker talking to the Tony Curtis character in 67 00:05:13,915 --> 00:05:18,195 Speaker 1: the great film Sweet Smell of Success. Your dead son, 68 00:05:18,635 --> 00:05:24,635 Speaker 1: get yourself buried heg Sith was supposed to meet as 69 00:05:24,715 --> 00:05:27,235 Speaker 1: part of the Pete Hegseth, Hey, you want to have 70 00:05:27,275 --> 00:05:30,875 Speaker 1: a beer with Pete Hegseth. Isn't that how we judge conservatives? 71 00:05:30,915 --> 00:05:32,555 Speaker 1: Who do you want to have a beer with this 72 00:05:32,755 --> 00:05:36,675 Speaker 1: alcoholic over here? He was supposed to have a beer 73 00:05:36,835 --> 00:05:40,795 Speaker 1: or something with Josh Hawley from Missouri, who is his 74 00:05:40,875 --> 00:05:44,155 Speaker 1: own dumpster fire, But we can leave that alone for 75 00:05:44,315 --> 00:05:48,235 Speaker 1: the time being. He was supposed to meet with Josh Hawley, 76 00:05:48,315 --> 00:05:51,555 Speaker 1: and then Hally's announcement came that there was going to 77 00:05:51,595 --> 00:05:54,275 Speaker 1: be a postponement of this meeting as part of the 78 00:05:54,315 --> 00:05:59,275 Speaker 1: senatorial tour of Pete Hegseth the dumpster fire on wheels 79 00:05:59,595 --> 00:06:05,475 Speaker 1: rolling past your Senate Office, Hawley said, it's been canceled. 80 00:06:07,155 --> 00:06:12,275 Speaker 1: Somebody in the transition team told PBS's reporter on the 81 00:06:12,395 --> 00:06:16,635 Speaker 1: Hill that they were told the transition team was told 82 00:06:16,915 --> 00:06:21,595 Speaker 1: that the Hegseth Hally meeting was canceled because Hegseth has 83 00:06:21,675 --> 00:06:26,795 Speaker 1: to be somewhere else today. The PBS reporter Lisai dejar 84 00:06:26,915 --> 00:06:32,995 Speaker 1: Dan naturally said, Florida, And there was apparently a shrug 85 00:06:33,075 --> 00:06:36,555 Speaker 1: and no answer to that. But we were informed by the 86 00:06:36,595 --> 00:06:40,715 Speaker 1: transition team member that the decision to cancel the Holly 87 00:06:40,795 --> 00:06:45,195 Speaker 1: Hegseth meeting was in fact on the Hegseth side, and 88 00:06:45,315 --> 00:06:53,595 Speaker 1: it quote came from a higher power. This is disastrous. 89 00:06:54,075 --> 00:07:01,275 Speaker 1: It's fantastically, wonderfully disastrous. If you had popcorn leftover from 90 00:07:01,315 --> 00:07:06,755 Speaker 1: the Matt Gates fiasco, keep it handy, because it doesn't 91 00:07:06,755 --> 00:07:10,035 Speaker 1: look like Trump's going to get out of this anytime soon, 92 00:07:11,435 --> 00:07:16,955 Speaker 1: because he's crazy and now he may in fact be 93 00:07:17,275 --> 00:07:20,715 Speaker 1: lazy and crazy, but lazy in a sense of not 94 00:07:20,955 --> 00:07:25,635 Speaker 1: maintaining that fisticuff's position that was the hallmark of everything 95 00:07:25,635 --> 00:07:28,275 Speaker 1: in his life. If there's one thing you'd look at 96 00:07:28,275 --> 00:07:32,715 Speaker 1: Trump and say, I find that useful and possibly something 97 00:07:32,795 --> 00:07:34,915 Speaker 1: I want to try to achieve. It's the fact that 98 00:07:34,955 --> 00:07:38,915 Speaker 1: he's never been satisfied with something. When there is a victory, 99 00:07:38,915 --> 00:07:42,275 Speaker 1: he wants more. This is his illness. It's not about 100 00:07:42,275 --> 00:07:45,755 Speaker 1: having money. It's about getting money. It's not about having power. 101 00:07:45,795 --> 00:07:49,155 Speaker 1: It's about getting power. It's not about defeating you or 102 00:07:49,275 --> 00:07:52,315 Speaker 1: winning in some way. It's about destroying you and then 103 00:07:52,435 --> 00:07:56,115 Speaker 1: coming back and destroying you once again. And in this case, 104 00:07:56,355 --> 00:07:59,875 Speaker 1: both with Gates and now with eg Seth, he took 105 00:07:59,915 --> 00:08:04,475 Speaker 1: his foot off the pedal. This is after the mom'st 106 00:08:04,715 --> 00:08:07,915 Speaker 1: worry about the email. All of this now, this is 107 00:08:07,995 --> 00:08:12,915 Speaker 1: after the drinking at Fox story. NBC News reports ten 108 00:08:13,035 --> 00:08:16,675 Speaker 1: sources at Fox News who said that he was always 109 00:08:16,755 --> 00:08:19,195 Speaker 1: drinking there, and let me see if I can read this. 110 00:08:19,475 --> 00:08:22,875 Speaker 1: One of the sources said they smelled alcohol on him 111 00:08:23,195 --> 00:08:27,875 Speaker 1: as recently as last month and heard him complain about 112 00:08:28,075 --> 00:08:34,195 Speaker 1: being hungover this fall. I will confess to you that 113 00:08:34,475 --> 00:08:38,795 Speaker 1: twice in my broadcasting career I went on the air 114 00:08:39,715 --> 00:08:43,355 Speaker 1: after having had alcohol at dinner, and once I had 115 00:08:43,395 --> 00:08:46,275 Speaker 1: too much and was mortified that I was going to 116 00:08:46,355 --> 00:08:50,635 Speaker 1: just sound like this on the air. I watched the 117 00:08:50,755 --> 00:08:53,235 Speaker 1: video of the show the next day and it was 118 00:08:53,715 --> 00:08:59,115 Speaker 1: absolutely fine. Nobody noticed, and I thought, well, I got 119 00:08:59,155 --> 00:09:01,235 Speaker 1: away with it. I'm never going to try that again. 120 00:09:02,275 --> 00:09:04,915 Speaker 1: One of the sources said they smelled alcohol and Pete 121 00:09:04,955 --> 00:09:09,035 Speaker 1: Hegseth as recently his last month. We're not talking about 122 00:09:09,075 --> 00:09:12,635 Speaker 1: ancient history, because this was also after the story about 123 00:09:12,715 --> 00:09:15,915 Speaker 1: him drinking so much at Concerned Veterans for America, like 124 00:09:15,955 --> 00:09:19,235 Speaker 1: eight years ago that there was a whistleblower report about 125 00:09:19,275 --> 00:09:22,755 Speaker 1: his drinking and he had to quit. And if you 126 00:09:22,875 --> 00:09:27,075 Speaker 1: thought the idea of Donald Trump again having his little 127 00:09:27,155 --> 00:09:31,155 Speaker 1: fat fingers on the button, if you thought that was 128 00:09:31,595 --> 00:09:34,995 Speaker 1: terrifying enough, now imagine that the guy at the Pentagon 129 00:09:35,075 --> 00:09:38,195 Speaker 1: who would be conferred with in the event that anything 130 00:09:38,315 --> 00:09:44,555 Speaker 1: was done, including invading Canada. Canada. Hello, if you want 131 00:09:44,595 --> 00:09:47,235 Speaker 1: to make it worse, just think about Trump calling up 132 00:09:47,275 --> 00:09:52,795 Speaker 1: the Secretary of Defense and he's drunk. I'm sure this 133 00:09:52,875 --> 00:09:55,835 Speaker 1: has happened before at some point in American history, but 134 00:09:55,915 --> 00:09:59,275 Speaker 1: this would apparently happen with Pete Hegseth on a regular basis, 135 00:10:01,155 --> 00:10:08,995 Speaker 1: and who would talk him out of bombing Vancouver. And 136 00:10:09,075 --> 00:10:13,075 Speaker 1: all of this was after the story of the serial 137 00:10:13,235 --> 00:10:17,275 Speaker 1: philandering during his first marriage and the story of the 138 00:10:17,475 --> 00:10:22,195 Speaker 1: sexual allegations or sexual abuse, allegations at the Conservative Convention 139 00:10:22,755 --> 00:10:26,555 Speaker 1: and his whole campaign that he started to turn the 140 00:10:26,715 --> 00:10:31,115 Speaker 1: army into the equivalent of the eleventh century crusaders who 141 00:10:31,235 --> 00:10:34,795 Speaker 1: slaughtered the infidels because they were true Christians. I'm not 142 00:10:34,955 --> 00:10:39,475 Speaker 1: making these references. These are the things he said. He 143 00:10:39,595 --> 00:10:45,755 Speaker 1: wants the nineteenth century version of the US military, or 144 00:10:45,795 --> 00:10:49,435 Speaker 1: the eleventh century version of the Christian crusaders, just go 145 00:10:49,595 --> 00:10:52,315 Speaker 1: into a part of the country or the world, or 146 00:10:52,355 --> 00:10:55,475 Speaker 1: the nation or wherever, and just wipe everybody out, because 147 00:10:55,515 --> 00:11:02,515 Speaker 1: we know true Christians believe that Christ truly supported infidelity 148 00:11:03,235 --> 00:11:11,075 Speaker 1: and abuse and alcohol and especially slaughtering. Pete Hegseth says 149 00:11:11,075 --> 00:11:13,795 Speaker 1: Trump called him yesterday and told him to hang in there. 150 00:11:14,235 --> 00:11:16,235 Speaker 1: I don't know. Was he drunk. Did Trump just tell 151 00:11:16,275 --> 00:11:22,755 Speaker 1: him to hang I suppose. I suppose at heart. One 152 00:11:22,755 --> 00:11:26,475 Speaker 1: of the principal problems that Trump has in assessing other 153 00:11:26,555 --> 00:11:28,835 Speaker 1: people to work for him is that he's such a 154 00:11:28,875 --> 00:11:33,155 Speaker 1: piece of crap himself that everybody else looks like I 155 00:11:33,155 --> 00:11:39,035 Speaker 1: don't know Sigmund Freud or Beethoven or Mickey Mantle or 156 00:11:39,115 --> 00:11:45,035 Speaker 1: I don't know who. He can't possibly know that just 157 00:11:45,115 --> 00:11:48,035 Speaker 1: because you are better than he is at a given 158 00:11:48,155 --> 00:11:51,075 Speaker 1: thing that that does not mean you're any good at it. 159 00:11:52,995 --> 00:11:56,835 Speaker 1: And after all, I think the number of children that 160 00:11:56,875 --> 00:11:59,795 Speaker 1: heg Seth has with the number of women that he's 161 00:11:59,795 --> 00:12:03,955 Speaker 1: had them with is still less than Trump's figure. The 162 00:12:03,995 --> 00:12:07,795 Speaker 1: only thing that is likely to actually resonate with Trump 163 00:12:07,875 --> 00:12:10,795 Speaker 1: is this idea of drinking. He doesn't like drinking. There 164 00:12:10,795 --> 00:12:14,355 Speaker 1: have been alcoholics in his family, his own brother died 165 00:12:14,395 --> 00:12:17,675 Speaker 1: from it. This has registered in some way that I'm 166 00:12:17,715 --> 00:12:23,915 Speaker 1: sure Trump does not understand, other than drinking bad. Well, 167 00:12:23,955 --> 00:12:26,715 Speaker 1: this is why you vet people. This is why, whether 168 00:12:26,795 --> 00:12:30,995 Speaker 1: you are fitting out your sports department at a local 169 00:12:31,035 --> 00:12:35,835 Speaker 1: television station or the entirety of your government as president 170 00:12:35,875 --> 00:12:39,155 Speaker 1: of the United States, why you can't just pick people 171 00:12:39,195 --> 00:12:42,875 Speaker 1: you see on TV and think they look good. You 172 00:12:42,915 --> 00:12:49,195 Speaker 1: can't cast an administration, even if you are crazy would 173 00:12:49,195 --> 00:12:52,835 Speaker 1: be dictator. You should ask other people first, because all 174 00:12:52,915 --> 00:12:56,675 Speaker 1: you need is for the first two big picks in 175 00:12:56,715 --> 00:13:00,075 Speaker 1: your draft to blow up in your face and suddenly 176 00:13:00,475 --> 00:13:03,675 Speaker 1: you are a foot shorter and you're going ten miles 177 00:13:03,675 --> 00:13:09,315 Speaker 1: an hour slower. And then after he eventually cuts bait 178 00:13:09,355 --> 00:13:14,795 Speaker 1: with Hegseth, whenever what's next comes out comes out, then 179 00:13:15,075 --> 00:13:18,275 Speaker 1: he's going to go through this with cash Patel. I'd 180 00:13:18,275 --> 00:13:21,435 Speaker 1: say keep an eye on cash Patel, but that would 181 00:13:21,475 --> 00:13:25,915 Speaker 1: be a cheap joke. And then you'll go through this 182 00:13:26,035 --> 00:13:30,355 Speaker 1: with Musk, and if not with Musk, then with Vivek Ramaswami, 183 00:13:31,795 --> 00:13:36,115 Speaker 1: because the Department of Government Efficiency is just another confidence 184 00:13:36,195 --> 00:13:42,075 Speaker 1: trick designed to in some way privatize something or cut 185 00:13:42,115 --> 00:13:47,155 Speaker 1: the taxes of well Elon Musk. And it turns out, 186 00:13:47,315 --> 00:13:50,555 Speaker 1: as CNN reported yesterday, there are hours and hours of 187 00:13:50,675 --> 00:13:57,955 Speaker 1: tape of Vivek Ramaswami trashing Elon Musk, his new co 188 00:13:58,075 --> 00:14:01,555 Speaker 1: director at the Department of stealing money from the government. 189 00:14:01,795 --> 00:14:06,595 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, Department of Government Efficiency. And he's saying, and 190 00:14:06,715 --> 00:14:08,275 Speaker 1: let me see if I can read this quote from 191 00:14:08,315 --> 00:14:12,115 Speaker 1: the CNN story, this is him on tape. I have 192 00:14:12,235 --> 00:14:16,155 Speaker 1: no reason to think Elon won't jump like a circus 193 00:14:16,195 --> 00:14:23,915 Speaker 1: monkey when Jijinping calls in the hour of need, endless interviews, comments, 194 00:14:24,235 --> 00:14:28,795 Speaker 1: podcast appearances, apparently stopping passers by on the street to 195 00:14:28,835 --> 00:14:31,755 Speaker 1: tell them this that he's in bed Musk. That is 196 00:14:31,835 --> 00:14:36,075 Speaker 1: with China, calling Musk a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party. 197 00:14:36,235 --> 00:14:39,515 Speaker 1: And this again, this is not stuff that his mother 198 00:14:39,675 --> 00:14:45,595 Speaker 1: wrote about Vivek Ramaswami in twenty eighteen. This is from 199 00:14:45,715 --> 00:14:52,715 Speaker 1: last year. This is the problem with confidence tricksters. They 200 00:14:52,795 --> 00:14:55,675 Speaker 1: lie so much, they have forgotten half their lives, and 201 00:14:55,755 --> 00:14:59,275 Speaker 1: they don't know going into a room whether they hate 202 00:14:59,315 --> 00:15:04,355 Speaker 1: all those people in there or love them. Back to 203 00:15:04,395 --> 00:15:08,875 Speaker 1: second Secretary of Defense if it's not heg Seth, and 204 00:15:08,955 --> 00:15:10,395 Speaker 1: I don't know if you've been able to pick this 205 00:15:10,555 --> 00:15:13,115 Speaker 1: up from my comment so far, it's not going to 206 00:15:13,155 --> 00:15:16,475 Speaker 1: be heg Seth. The Trumper has put out a story 207 00:15:16,555 --> 00:15:21,995 Speaker 1: yesterday that the second choice is Ron DeSantis. I'm not 208 00:15:22,075 --> 00:15:27,555 Speaker 1: sure I believe this. I suppose the DeSantis willingness to 209 00:15:27,635 --> 00:15:31,515 Speaker 1: go back and endorse Trump might have registered and pushed 210 00:15:31,555 --> 00:15:36,115 Speaker 1: its way through Trump's only satisfaction in life, which is 211 00:15:36,115 --> 00:15:40,715 Speaker 1: to torture people one way or the other. But I 212 00:15:40,715 --> 00:15:42,355 Speaker 1: still think they might as well have said, oh no, 213 00:15:42,395 --> 00:15:44,675 Speaker 1: the new Secretary of Defense is going to be Nicki Haley. 214 00:15:44,715 --> 00:15:48,315 Speaker 1: They've made up. The other big name was Jonie Ernst. 215 00:15:48,835 --> 00:15:52,915 Speaker 1: You remember her. She is the governor of Iowa who 216 00:15:52,995 --> 00:15:56,875 Speaker 1: has run on campaigns and more campaigns and more campaigns 217 00:15:56,915 --> 00:15:59,675 Speaker 1: after that, all of them with the same theme, I'm 218 00:15:59,715 --> 00:16:03,915 Speaker 1: going to go kill a pig right now. I wish 219 00:16:04,235 --> 00:16:06,795 Speaker 1: I were making that up. I wish that was a 220 00:16:06,875 --> 00:16:10,715 Speaker 1: euphemism for something. I wish that was like saying keep 221 00:16:10,715 --> 00:16:14,075 Speaker 1: an eye on cash Pattel. She just made another reference 222 00:16:14,115 --> 00:16:19,515 Speaker 1: to killing pigs. But and this is where all of 223 00:16:19,555 --> 00:16:23,755 Speaker 1: this kind of oh, popcorn time. Let's watch Trump burn 224 00:16:23,835 --> 00:16:26,515 Speaker 1: down his own house while he's still in it. It's 225 00:16:26,555 --> 00:16:29,115 Speaker 1: a one nothing lead right now for the good guys. 226 00:16:29,315 --> 00:16:32,915 Speaker 1: This could make it to nothing. There's one practical thing 227 00:16:32,955 --> 00:16:34,835 Speaker 1: that could make it far more than two nothing. It 228 00:16:34,875 --> 00:16:38,555 Speaker 1: could make it one hundred to nothing, CNN reported. And 229 00:16:38,635 --> 00:16:41,795 Speaker 1: I don't know that anybody picked this up that the 230 00:16:41,875 --> 00:16:48,155 Speaker 1: other vetted name as an alternate for when hegseeth finally disappears, 231 00:16:48,755 --> 00:16:52,235 Speaker 1: like the cheshire cat, where all that will be left 232 00:16:52,235 --> 00:16:55,595 Speaker 1: of him before he vanishes is his slicked down hair. 233 00:16:57,555 --> 00:17:00,355 Speaker 1: The other guy that they vetted to be Secretary of 234 00:17:00,395 --> 00:17:07,395 Speaker 1: Defense is Congressman first term Congressman Slea Hunt from Texas 235 00:17:08,155 --> 00:17:13,555 Speaker 1: and the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations. And 236 00:17:13,675 --> 00:17:20,275 Speaker 1: so what if he picks another Republican congressman for his cabinet. 237 00:17:21,235 --> 00:17:25,355 Speaker 1: The Republican threshold right now in the House, their lead 238 00:17:25,435 --> 00:17:27,395 Speaker 1: in the House, their margin in the House is two 239 00:17:27,515 --> 00:17:30,515 Speaker 1: hundred and seventeen Republicans to two hundred and fifteen Democrats. 240 00:17:30,795 --> 00:17:34,235 Speaker 1: So take one away and it's a one vote margin, 241 00:17:34,595 --> 00:17:40,595 Speaker 1: which is a no vote margin. Nothing. Nothing could be 242 00:17:40,635 --> 00:17:43,995 Speaker 1: more pleasing than the idea of Mike Johnson, Speaker of 243 00:17:44,035 --> 00:17:49,315 Speaker 1: the House, unable to get anything done because one of 244 00:17:49,355 --> 00:17:53,755 Speaker 1: the remaining Republicans is out drunk or has been appointed 245 00:17:54,035 --> 00:17:59,315 Speaker 1: Secretary of Defense. We want hunt, we want hunt, we 246 00:17:59,435 --> 00:18:30,675 Speaker 1: want hunt, we want hunt, we want just now, I 247 00:18:30,755 --> 00:18:34,475 Speaker 1: said about a quote. If I can read this, this 248 00:18:34,555 --> 00:18:38,195 Speaker 1: is not a figure of speech. I am suffering from 249 00:18:40,075 --> 00:18:44,595 Speaker 1: a Chalasian or Khalasian, depending on your pronunciation, an eye 250 00:18:44,675 --> 00:18:47,595 Speaker 1: infection in which one of my eyes is pretty much 251 00:18:47,715 --> 00:18:50,435 Speaker 1: closed and the other one's not too happy with me either. 252 00:18:50,835 --> 00:18:53,955 Speaker 1: It could be a double Kalaysian. So I'm doing my 253 00:18:54,075 --> 00:18:56,875 Speaker 1: best here, but I can't really see. So I've had 254 00:18:56,875 --> 00:18:59,115 Speaker 1: to add lib and thus this thing has had a 255 00:18:59,115 --> 00:19:02,675 Speaker 1: certain ragged quality that I would rather it did not. 256 00:19:04,835 --> 00:19:07,195 Speaker 1: I'm doing my best here, but I am playing hurt 257 00:19:07,395 --> 00:19:09,955 Speaker 1: and I'm supposed to not be doing this. Please do 258 00:19:10,035 --> 00:19:14,715 Speaker 1: not tell doctor Renee Richards. Now I will mention something 259 00:19:14,755 --> 00:19:19,835 Speaker 1: else I told you so remember Sunday night when the 260 00:19:19,875 --> 00:19:22,715 Speaker 1: story broke but Joe Biden was pardoning his son, and 261 00:19:22,715 --> 00:19:26,595 Speaker 1: everybody went, oh, no, it'll give Trump an excuse to 262 00:19:26,595 --> 00:19:29,875 Speaker 1: do this, And I said, I love this. Do more 263 00:19:30,635 --> 00:19:35,355 Speaker 1: ten million pardons by the Biden administration before the Democracy 264 00:19:35,435 --> 00:19:38,795 Speaker 1: going out of business sale ends on January twentieth. I 265 00:19:38,955 --> 00:19:43,155 Speaker 1: want Biden signing pardons as Trump goes to the podium 266 00:19:44,795 --> 00:19:50,595 Speaker 1: seventy two hours after I suggested this, politico, and I 267 00:19:50,635 --> 00:19:55,115 Speaker 1: am going to try to read this. Biden White House 268 00:19:55,275 --> 00:20:00,955 Speaker 1: is discussing preemptive pardons for those in Trump's crosshairs. Well 269 00:20:01,115 --> 00:20:06,995 Speaker 1: good White House officials, however, are carefully weighing the extraordinary 270 00:20:07,035 --> 00:20:10,395 Speaker 1: step of handing out blanket pardons to those who've committed 271 00:20:10,435 --> 00:20:15,355 Speaker 1: no crimes, both because it could suggest impropriety, only fueling 272 00:20:15,395 --> 00:20:24,835 Speaker 1: Trump's criticisms. Once again, stop stop thinking that Trump needs 273 00:20:24,875 --> 00:20:30,355 Speaker 1: fuel for his criticisms. Trump is conducting a conversation in 274 00:20:30,435 --> 00:20:34,475 Speaker 1: his head and has been since sometime in the nineteen fifties. 275 00:20:35,715 --> 00:20:39,435 Speaker 1: He's holding a conversation at all times. The person he 276 00:20:39,555 --> 00:20:45,635 Speaker 1: is speaking to is his best friend, his twin, his 277 00:20:45,755 --> 00:20:52,115 Speaker 1: invisible twin, Ronald Trump, who's even angrier than Donald is 278 00:20:52,675 --> 00:20:55,235 Speaker 1: that's all this is about. He doesn't need fuel. He 279 00:20:55,315 --> 00:21:02,795 Speaker 1: has Ronald fueling Trump's criticisms. Trump without criticisms stops breathing. 280 00:21:04,835 --> 00:21:07,395 Speaker 1: Back to what Politico wrote, Let's see I was here, 281 00:21:08,555 --> 00:21:12,235 Speaker 1: both because it could suggest impropriety and because those offered 282 00:21:12,235 --> 00:21:17,235 Speaker 1: preemptive pardons may reject them. Pro tip, don't reject them. 283 00:21:17,875 --> 00:21:21,915 Speaker 1: Those who could face exposure include such members of Congress's 284 00:21:21,995 --> 00:21:25,835 Speaker 1: January sixth committee as Senator elect Adam Schiff and former 285 00:21:25,875 --> 00:21:29,515 Speaker 1: GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Trump has previously said 286 00:21:29,635 --> 00:21:32,075 Speaker 1: Cheney should go to jail, along with the rest of 287 00:21:32,115 --> 00:21:35,155 Speaker 1: the Unselect Committee. Also mentioned by Biden's aids for a 288 00:21:35,235 --> 00:21:37,795 Speaker 1: pardoner is Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National 289 00:21:37,795 --> 00:21:43,235 Speaker 1: Institute of Allergy and Infections and Infectious Diseases. Excuse me, 290 00:21:43,715 --> 00:21:46,715 Speaker 1: I can't really read. Can I again? Why are we 291 00:21:46,795 --> 00:21:50,315 Speaker 1: stopping here? I see a list there of let's see Fauci, 292 00:21:50,875 --> 00:21:57,395 Speaker 1: Cheney shift. That's three people. We're about ten million, nine 293 00:21:57,475 --> 00:22:02,155 Speaker 1: hundred and ninety nine thousand short. I know it's hyperbole 294 00:22:02,235 --> 00:22:05,875 Speaker 1: to have a one eight hundred hotline hundred pardon me, Joe, 295 00:22:06,315 --> 00:22:11,555 Speaker 1: but why not? Trump is already mocking the concept of 296 00:22:11,595 --> 00:22:16,475 Speaker 1: the Department of Justice. We're not talking ineptitude like Garland. 297 00:22:16,475 --> 00:22:20,755 Speaker 1: This is corruption. This is persecution. This is star Chambers. 298 00:22:21,075 --> 00:22:24,795 Speaker 1: This is making up laws to prosecute people who are innocent. 299 00:22:27,755 --> 00:22:31,635 Speaker 1: And the bitterness and the anger and the inability to 300 00:22:31,755 --> 00:22:36,635 Speaker 1: take the win is limitless in Donald Trump. And if 301 00:22:36,635 --> 00:22:41,555 Speaker 1: it ever stopped or in some way ebbed, Ronald Trump 302 00:22:41,555 --> 00:22:43,835 Speaker 1: would be there to make sure he got angry again. 303 00:22:45,715 --> 00:22:48,235 Speaker 1: I mean, honest to God, the White House should spend 304 00:22:48,235 --> 00:22:51,915 Speaker 1: the rest of the Biden term offering pardons to every 305 00:22:52,235 --> 00:22:56,875 Speaker 1: family member of everybody associated with anybody who might get 306 00:22:56,875 --> 00:23:02,035 Speaker 1: a pardon, every administration staffer, every media member, everybody's ever 307 00:23:02,075 --> 00:23:07,995 Speaker 1: worked for Amtrak. Be a stack of blank pardons sent 308 00:23:08,035 --> 00:23:15,035 Speaker 1: to MSNBC and crew and every left wing organization. But 309 00:23:15,595 --> 00:23:18,195 Speaker 1: I mean, let's be reasonable, no more than five thousand 310 00:23:18,235 --> 00:23:21,715 Speaker 1: of them per outfit. I'll take one. I will take 311 00:23:21,755 --> 00:23:27,035 Speaker 1: a pardon. I don't know that I have ever broken 312 00:23:27,115 --> 00:23:34,675 Speaker 1: a law, not knowingly. I'll take it. Whatever preemptive partner. Sure, 313 00:23:35,555 --> 00:23:38,875 Speaker 1: these people are going to pervert the justice system. They 314 00:23:38,955 --> 00:23:42,795 Speaker 1: are going to do it. They are nuts, they are fascists, 315 00:23:43,035 --> 00:23:47,835 Speaker 1: and all the comparisons to Hitler are obviously hyperbolic in 316 00:23:47,915 --> 00:23:51,195 Speaker 1: some way, because only Hitler was Hitler and only the 317 00:23:51,195 --> 00:23:54,915 Speaker 1: Holocaust was the Holocaust. But every time I've referred to 318 00:23:54,955 --> 00:23:57,715 Speaker 1: Trump as Hitler, it's about the stuff that preceded that. 319 00:23:58,195 --> 00:24:01,795 Speaker 1: Have you ever seen the movie Judgment at Nuremberg? Trying 320 00:24:01,875 --> 00:24:05,035 Speaker 1: not to turn this into the Burt Lancaster Show, but 321 00:24:05,155 --> 00:24:10,235 Speaker 1: Bert Lancaster in that movie plays an eminent German jurist, 322 00:24:10,915 --> 00:24:14,795 Speaker 1: a combination of several real life figures, who has tried 323 00:24:14,875 --> 00:24:19,275 Speaker 1: for war crimes along with other Nazi jurists, and as 324 00:24:19,315 --> 00:24:23,555 Speaker 1: they make excuses, he breaks down and goes through, case 325 00:24:23,595 --> 00:24:27,075 Speaker 1: by case almost how they perverted the law to turn 326 00:24:27,115 --> 00:24:29,715 Speaker 1: it into a weapon for Hitler. That's what we're going 327 00:24:29,755 --> 00:24:34,515 Speaker 1: to face. That's what's going to happen when they go 328 00:24:34,635 --> 00:24:38,315 Speaker 1: looking through your social media feed, when they run out 329 00:24:38,315 --> 00:24:43,435 Speaker 1: of other people to prosecute. That's what we're facing. And 330 00:24:43,515 --> 00:24:47,955 Speaker 1: you think somehow, Gavin Newsom and other Democrats and the 331 00:24:47,955 --> 00:24:55,715 Speaker 1: New York Times editorial board and other handwringers, you think 332 00:24:55,755 --> 00:24:59,235 Speaker 1: that this makes the Democrats look bad, makes Biden look bad. 333 00:25:01,315 --> 00:25:04,395 Speaker 1: On January twentieth, at noon, Trump is going to light 334 00:25:04,435 --> 00:25:08,355 Speaker 1: the w White House on fire and figuratively the nation 335 00:25:08,595 --> 00:25:12,075 Speaker 1: on fire, and what Biden is doing by pardoning his 336 00:25:12,195 --> 00:25:15,915 Speaker 1: son and discussing these preemptive pardons for others is pulling 337 00:25:16,115 --> 00:25:19,515 Speaker 1: people out of the fire, people who don't deserve to 338 00:25:19,595 --> 00:25:25,115 Speaker 1: die in a fire started by Donald Trump. Consequences to this, 339 00:25:25,515 --> 00:25:28,315 Speaker 1: some people are going to judge it harshly f them. 340 00:25:29,315 --> 00:25:32,435 Speaker 1: The issue here is getting as many people out alive 341 00:25:32,915 --> 00:25:38,435 Speaker 1: as we can alive to fight back and destroy Trump 342 00:25:38,475 --> 00:25:41,995 Speaker 1: and trump Ism and create a world in which, at 343 00:25:41,995 --> 00:25:45,035 Speaker 1: some point in the near future it will be illegal 344 00:25:45,435 --> 00:25:51,315 Speaker 1: to say the name Trump out loud in America. They 345 00:25:51,395 --> 00:25:56,435 Speaker 1: want to put cash Patel in charge of the FBI. 346 00:25:56,795 --> 00:26:01,675 Speaker 1: Do you think he is going to be there because 347 00:26:01,675 --> 00:26:06,915 Speaker 1: they've suddenly embraced DEI. He is there because they no 348 00:26:06,955 --> 00:26:12,435 Speaker 1: longer care whether the FBI director even tries to act 349 00:26:12,915 --> 00:26:18,875 Speaker 1: like actual law enforcement. They care only that he acts 350 00:26:19,035 --> 00:26:32,155 Speaker 1: like an enforce er. One last thing, and I'm pushing 351 00:26:32,195 --> 00:26:36,035 Speaker 1: my luck here, but I will now confess I am 352 00:26:36,115 --> 00:26:40,075 Speaker 1: surprised that the world did not come to an end 353 00:26:40,195 --> 00:26:44,515 Speaker 1: and the planet did not burn to a cinder on Tuesday, 354 00:26:44,595 --> 00:26:51,635 Speaker 1: because apparently that's when this happened. Chris Solissa did some 355 00:26:51,715 --> 00:27:00,595 Speaker 1: sort of podcast where his guest was Chuck Todd. First 356 00:27:00,595 --> 00:27:04,315 Speaker 1: of all, I'm shocked because I always assumed they were 357 00:27:04,355 --> 00:27:10,875 Speaker 1: the same person, the same stupid blame everybody but themselves person. 358 00:27:11,235 --> 00:27:14,275 Speaker 2: I follow the Hunter Biden trial very closely. I read 359 00:27:14,315 --> 00:27:17,195 Speaker 2: every transcript, all the testimony, because that's what you can. 360 00:27:17,275 --> 00:27:21,555 Speaker 2: All that was made public, and there is you want 361 00:27:21,555 --> 00:27:23,195 Speaker 2: to you want to read, you want to you want 362 00:27:23,195 --> 00:27:26,115 Speaker 2: to get angry, just as a as as somebody in 363 00:27:26,995 --> 00:27:29,555 Speaker 2: just all these mixed emotions. You read the Halle Biden 364 00:27:29,555 --> 00:27:35,355 Speaker 2: transcript and that's both widow yes and and essentially he 365 00:27:35,395 --> 00:27:40,395 Speaker 2: turned her into a crack addict. And this was all 366 00:27:40,395 --> 00:27:44,795 Speaker 2: happening in twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen, and Joe and Joe 367 00:27:44,835 --> 00:27:48,875 Speaker 2: Biden were so concerned about their family that they decided 368 00:27:48,875 --> 00:27:49,675 Speaker 2: to run for president. 369 00:27:49,915 --> 00:27:50,195 Speaker 1: YEP. 370 00:27:50,875 --> 00:27:53,635 Speaker 2: I just so when you talk about the word selfish, 371 00:27:54,515 --> 00:27:58,115 Speaker 2: I it's almost like the word doesn't I mean I. 372 00:27:58,235 --> 00:28:01,355 Speaker 2: Their decision to run for president put the entire Democratic 373 00:28:01,395 --> 00:28:04,395 Speaker 2: Party and the United States of America in the position 374 00:28:04,435 --> 00:28:05,155 Speaker 2: that is in now. 375 00:28:05,755 --> 00:28:09,915 Speaker 1: Ah. Of course, that was terrible of Biden to run 376 00:28:09,955 --> 00:28:14,955 Speaker 1: and defeat Trump and save democracy in twenty twenty What 377 00:28:14,995 --> 00:28:23,395 Speaker 1: a horrible selfish person he is Chuck Todd and Crys. 378 00:28:25,315 --> 00:28:28,355 Speaker 1: You know who's missing from that conversation. They could have 379 00:28:28,475 --> 00:28:34,795 Speaker 1: used special guest Mark Halprin and maybe Nate Silver, but 380 00:28:34,995 --> 00:28:37,995 Speaker 1: I think, I think right now what we need is 381 00:28:38,115 --> 00:28:45,635 Speaker 1: Chuck Todd and Chris interviewing Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzynski. 382 00:28:50,275 --> 00:28:54,715 Speaker 1: Also ahead in an unbelievably all new edition of Countdown. 383 00:28:55,435 --> 00:28:59,515 Speaker 1: I am going to reread to you a special comment 384 00:28:59,595 --> 00:29:01,595 Speaker 1: that I did in two thousand and nine, which I 385 00:29:01,635 --> 00:29:06,355 Speaker 1: have identified as the day, not the comment being the 386 00:29:06,355 --> 00:29:08,875 Speaker 1: cause of this, but what it was about the day 387 00:29:09,115 --> 00:29:12,195 Speaker 1: in which the idea of the president as the final 388 00:29:12,315 --> 00:29:19,355 Speaker 1: guard rail protecting American society changed, was erased, was broken irretrievably. 389 00:29:20,555 --> 00:29:23,395 Speaker 1: You may ask if I'm saying I can't actually see 390 00:29:23,435 --> 00:29:25,755 Speaker 1: the papers in front of me, and I'm kind of 391 00:29:25,995 --> 00:29:28,155 Speaker 1: fudging it. I've probably got a couple of quotes wrong. 392 00:29:28,235 --> 00:29:30,395 Speaker 1: How did I read this well? I actually recorded the 393 00:29:30,435 --> 00:29:33,955 Speaker 1: next segment a couple of days ago before this chariso 394 00:29:34,115 --> 00:29:36,795 Speaker 1: got in my eye. I can't stop calling it a 395 00:29:36,915 --> 00:29:40,395 Speaker 1: cheriso to people. I have a chariso in my eye. 396 00:29:40,595 --> 00:29:44,835 Speaker 1: Also one other commentary, which I will do live because 397 00:29:44,875 --> 00:29:47,155 Speaker 1: I don't need to read anything about this. Have you 398 00:29:47,235 --> 00:29:51,795 Speaker 1: heard about this idea from baseball the golden at bat, 399 00:29:52,675 --> 00:29:55,315 Speaker 1: where a manager wants a game can summon anybody he 400 00:29:55,475 --> 00:30:00,475 Speaker 1: wants to hit in a particular situation, presumably a potential 401 00:30:00,475 --> 00:30:03,675 Speaker 1: game winning situation. And you might have the theory of 402 00:30:03,875 --> 00:30:07,675 Speaker 1: a game in which show Heyotani bats for the Los 403 00:30:07,715 --> 00:30:11,795 Speaker 1: Angeles Dodgers, and then since he popped out or struck 404 00:30:11,795 --> 00:30:14,675 Speaker 1: out and didn't get that run home, the manager Dave 405 00:30:14,755 --> 00:30:18,835 Speaker 1: Roberts says, Okay, I'm gonna have show Aotani bat next. 406 00:30:19,235 --> 00:30:22,795 Speaker 1: In other words, destroying the essence of baseball. It's been 407 00:30:22,835 --> 00:30:25,555 Speaker 1: proposed by somebody in baseball who happens to be the 408 00:30:25,595 --> 00:30:28,275 Speaker 1: commissioner of baseball and who went to college with me. 409 00:30:29,475 --> 00:30:32,515 Speaker 1: If you think baseball is dying, this will remove any 410 00:30:32,555 --> 00:30:34,915 Speaker 1: doubt that you have that baseball is dying. And if 411 00:30:34,955 --> 00:30:37,995 Speaker 1: you think that it's dying slowly, the good news will 412 00:30:37,995 --> 00:30:42,435 Speaker 1: be this will speed it up. All that is ahead. 413 00:30:43,035 --> 00:30:46,675 Speaker 1: That's next. This is a Playing Herd edition of Countdown. 414 00:30:52,475 --> 00:30:55,235 Speaker 1: I have been ruminating of late as to the start date. 415 00:30:56,435 --> 00:30:59,475 Speaker 1: How did we get here? I think we may know 416 00:31:00,235 --> 00:31:03,275 Speaker 1: when did we start going here? That's a little tougher, 417 00:31:04,035 --> 00:31:10,115 Speaker 1: I guess realistically, it's whatever day the primordial human crawled 418 00:31:10,155 --> 00:31:15,355 Speaker 1: out of the primordial sludge in which our ancestors lived. 419 00:31:16,515 --> 00:31:20,515 Speaker 1: And I don't mean Trump's family getting to America. But 420 00:31:20,755 --> 00:31:23,235 Speaker 1: if you want a date at which all of this 421 00:31:23,675 --> 00:31:27,755 Speaker 1: was elevated to the presidential level, where the last guardrail, 422 00:31:27,795 --> 00:31:30,435 Speaker 1: which really is what the president of the United States 423 00:31:30,555 --> 00:31:33,355 Speaker 1: is supposed to be and has become in the entire world, 424 00:31:33,555 --> 00:31:38,115 Speaker 1: the last guardrail, when that turned into no more guard rails. 425 00:31:38,595 --> 00:31:42,355 Speaker 1: I think I have figured out that date or roughly 426 00:31:42,435 --> 00:31:45,475 Speaker 1: that year, and I don't want anybody to mistake this 427 00:31:45,675 --> 00:31:48,635 Speaker 1: as I read this piece again that I am blaming 428 00:31:48,715 --> 00:31:53,755 Speaker 1: Barack Obama for Donald Trump, but there is a main line, 429 00:31:54,115 --> 00:31:58,755 Speaker 1: straight line connection between two things something Obama did not 430 00:31:58,915 --> 00:32:03,275 Speaker 1: do and everything that Trump has done since I gave 431 00:32:03,515 --> 00:32:06,355 Speaker 1: a special comment, and most of them I have forgotten 432 00:32:06,435 --> 00:32:09,675 Speaker 1: and have seen again or read again with some surprise 433 00:32:09,995 --> 00:32:12,995 Speaker 1: and not inconsiderable pride, if you will forgive me that. 434 00:32:14,475 --> 00:32:16,915 Speaker 1: But this one I've always remembered because of the reaction 435 00:32:17,035 --> 00:32:20,115 Speaker 1: to it. The date it was given was January nineteenth, 436 00:32:20,155 --> 00:32:21,995 Speaker 1: two thousand and nine, and I can remember it a 437 00:32:22,075 --> 00:32:25,635 Speaker 1: cold night in Washington, the night before the inauguration of 438 00:32:25,675 --> 00:32:28,715 Speaker 1: the first non white guy president of the United States, 439 00:32:28,755 --> 00:32:32,395 Speaker 1: and the euphoria that had come through most of the country, 440 00:32:32,395 --> 00:32:35,955 Speaker 1: including those people who had voted for John McCain, who said, well, 441 00:32:36,315 --> 00:32:40,155 Speaker 1: at least we have done this. Seventy five percent of 442 00:32:40,155 --> 00:32:44,995 Speaker 1: the country seemed to be at least accepting this idea 443 00:32:45,035 --> 00:32:47,075 Speaker 1: that this was something good, whether or not they liked 444 00:32:47,115 --> 00:32:50,795 Speaker 1: the man at all. And so the night before, having 445 00:32:51,715 --> 00:32:56,515 Speaker 1: unintentionally but nonetheless having supported Obama in his nomination bit 446 00:32:56,555 --> 00:33:01,075 Speaker 1: against Hillary Clinton, I decided to be the one who 447 00:33:01,675 --> 00:33:04,275 Speaker 1: relieved themselves in the soup I believe would be the 448 00:33:04,275 --> 00:33:08,435 Speaker 1: youthstic explanation for this. I did a commentary the night 449 00:33:08,475 --> 00:33:11,835 Speaker 1: before Obama was inaugurated, and the next day people were 450 00:33:11,915 --> 00:33:15,195 Speaker 1: yelling at me during the coverage of the inauguration, complaining 451 00:33:15,235 --> 00:33:17,875 Speaker 1: that I had not given the man a chance. As 452 00:33:17,915 --> 00:33:20,675 Speaker 1: it turned out, I was right. And not only was 453 00:33:20,715 --> 00:33:22,995 Speaker 1: I right, I was prescient in ways that I did 454 00:33:23,035 --> 00:33:26,635 Speaker 1: not understand. And as always when you are prescient, the 455 00:33:26,675 --> 00:33:30,235 Speaker 1: one problem with prescience is you always get the timeframe wrong. 456 00:33:30,995 --> 00:33:34,595 Speaker 1: I thought we had perhaps fifty years before what happened 457 00:33:34,955 --> 00:33:39,075 Speaker 1: would happen. It turned out. Let's see January nineteenth, two 458 00:33:39,115 --> 00:33:44,555 Speaker 1: thousand and nine to January twentieth, twenty sixteen seventeen. Rather 459 00:33:44,635 --> 00:33:48,035 Speaker 1: we had eight years and one day. This is what 460 00:33:48,195 --> 00:33:52,035 Speaker 1: I read with no edits on the night of January nineteenth, 461 00:33:52,035 --> 00:33:54,715 Speaker 1: two thousand and nine, which I will take as the 462 00:33:54,755 --> 00:33:58,315 Speaker 1: start of how we got where we are right now, 463 00:33:58,675 --> 00:34:02,115 Speaker 1: where the last guardrail turned out to be made out 464 00:34:02,155 --> 00:34:08,155 Speaker 1: of paper mache. We have tortured people. You and I. 465 00:34:09,275 --> 00:34:13,835 Speaker 1: This is the people's democracy. We are those people. These 466 00:34:13,915 --> 00:34:17,155 Speaker 1: are our elected officials. That they did not come to 467 00:34:17,235 --> 00:34:20,155 Speaker 1: us and ask us to act thusly in our names 468 00:34:20,235 --> 00:34:24,675 Speaker 1: is unfortunate, indeed criminal, But it is also almost irrelevant. 469 00:34:25,155 --> 00:34:27,875 Speaker 1: They work for us. They work for us, and they 470 00:34:27,915 --> 00:34:32,755 Speaker 1: tortured people, And so we have tortured people. You and 471 00:34:32,835 --> 00:34:36,515 Speaker 1: I know we have tortured colleague shak Mohammad. We not 472 00:34:36,555 --> 00:34:39,075 Speaker 1: only know about it, we have now heard it boasted 473 00:34:39,115 --> 00:34:41,115 Speaker 1: about by one of the men who, as of tomorrow 474 00:34:41,315 --> 00:34:47,315 Speaker 1: will no longer work for us, George Walker Bush quote. 475 00:34:47,635 --> 00:34:50,675 Speaker 1: The techniques were necessary and are necessary to be used 476 00:34:50,675 --> 00:34:53,835 Speaker 1: on a rare occasion to get information necessary to protect 477 00:34:53,835 --> 00:34:57,115 Speaker 1: the American people. Mister Bush said to Fox News on 478 00:34:57,195 --> 00:35:00,755 Speaker 1: January eleventh. One such person, who gave us information was 479 00:35:00,755 --> 00:35:04,275 Speaker 1: colleague Shak Mohammad. I'm in the Oval office. I'm told 480 00:35:04,275 --> 00:35:07,075 Speaker 1: that we have captured colleague Shake Mohammad and the professionals 481 00:35:07,075 --> 00:35:10,755 Speaker 1: believe he has information necessary to secure the country. So 482 00:35:10,875 --> 00:35:13,195 Speaker 1: I asked what tools are available for us to find 483 00:35:13,235 --> 00:35:16,075 Speaker 1: information from him. They give me a list of tools, 484 00:35:16,075 --> 00:35:18,915 Speaker 1: and I said, are these tools deemed to be legal? 485 00:35:19,315 --> 00:35:22,515 Speaker 1: We got legal opinions before the decision was made. I 486 00:35:22,555 --> 00:35:25,315 Speaker 1: think when people study the history of this particular episode, 487 00:35:25,395 --> 00:35:28,075 Speaker 1: they will find out we gained good information from colleague 488 00:35:28,075 --> 00:35:31,395 Speaker 1: Shack Muhammad in order to protect our country. We believe 489 00:35:31,475 --> 00:35:35,195 Speaker 1: that the information we gained helped saved lives on American 490 00:35:35,315 --> 00:35:41,955 Speaker 1: soil unquote. Never Mind mister Bush's delusions here. Never Mind 491 00:35:41,995 --> 00:35:45,075 Speaker 1: all primary sources who witnessed the interrogation of colleague Shake 492 00:35:45,155 --> 00:35:47,875 Speaker 1: Mohammad said they got nothing from him until they started 493 00:35:47,955 --> 00:35:51,435 Speaker 1: buddying up to him. Never Mind that mister Bush's supporter's 494 00:35:51,475 --> 00:35:55,715 Speaker 1: favorite torture construction, the mythical ticking time bomb scenario, not 495 00:35:55,835 --> 00:35:58,715 Speaker 1: only did not transpire here, but mister Bush has not 496 00:35:58,755 --> 00:36:01,915 Speaker 1: even had the imagination to pretend it did, just in 497 00:36:02,035 --> 00:36:06,475 Speaker 1: order to slightly cover his moral tracks. The key is 498 00:36:06,515 --> 00:36:09,195 Speaker 1: that this statement, if it had been under oath, would 499 00:36:09,195 --> 00:36:13,635 Speaker 1: have been a confession to a war crime. Mister Bush 500 00:36:13,715 --> 00:36:18,355 Speaker 1: is proactive. I asked what tools are available. Mister Bush 501 00:36:18,435 --> 00:36:20,475 Speaker 1: is aware of the legal haze in which he steps, 502 00:36:20,675 --> 00:36:23,435 Speaker 1: and I said, are these tools deemed to be legal? 503 00:36:24,035 --> 00:36:27,195 Speaker 1: Mister Bush realizes the tools he has chosen have been used. 504 00:36:27,395 --> 00:36:32,075 Speaker 1: We gained good information from colleague Shaik Muhammad. Since we 505 00:36:32,115 --> 00:36:35,075 Speaker 1: know from previous admissions at the Pentagon that colleage Shik 506 00:36:35,115 --> 00:36:38,155 Speaker 1: Muhammad was waterboarded, we can infer that mister Bush knew 507 00:36:38,195 --> 00:36:41,075 Speaker 1: he would be waterboarded and knew afterwards that he had 508 00:36:41,115 --> 00:36:48,515 Speaker 1: been waterboarded. Mister Bush is guilty. He is guilty as sin. 509 00:36:48,675 --> 00:36:52,115 Speaker 1: Mister President Elect, you were first asked about all this 510 00:36:52,355 --> 00:36:55,875 Speaker 1: on the eighteenth of April last I am proud to 511 00:36:55,915 --> 00:36:58,315 Speaker 1: say you were asked about it by a fellow who 512 00:36:58,395 --> 00:37:00,715 Speaker 1: got onto his high school newspaper while I was the 513 00:37:00,835 --> 00:37:05,915 Speaker 1: editor Will Bunch the Philadelphia Daily News. I think you 514 00:37:05,995 --> 00:37:10,955 Speaker 1: are right you President elect Obama told him if crimes 515 00:37:10,955 --> 00:37:13,995 Speaker 1: have been committed, they should be investigated. You are also 516 00:37:14,155 --> 00:37:16,635 Speaker 1: right that I would not want my first term consumed 517 00:37:16,635 --> 00:37:19,515 Speaker 1: by what was perceived on the part of Republicans as 518 00:37:19,995 --> 00:37:22,835 Speaker 1: a partisan witch hunt because I think we have too 519 00:37:22,875 --> 00:37:25,875 Speaker 1: many problems we have to solve. So this is an 520 00:37:25,915 --> 00:37:32,955 Speaker 1: area where I would want to exercise judgment unquote. Good amen, 521 00:37:33,955 --> 00:37:37,155 Speaker 1: But in that brief interview was born, or at least elucidated, 522 00:37:37,395 --> 00:37:45,075 Speaker 1: a loophole genuine crimes as opposed to really bad policies. 523 00:37:46,675 --> 00:37:49,915 Speaker 1: Vice President elect Biden echoed this on December twenty first, 524 00:37:50,075 --> 00:37:52,435 Speaker 1: in a statement to which your transition team has directed 525 00:37:52,515 --> 00:37:56,115 Speaker 1: all those to whom this is a paramount issue. He said, 526 00:37:56,475 --> 00:37:58,955 Speaker 1: the questions of whether or not a criminal act has 527 00:37:58,955 --> 00:38:01,835 Speaker 1: been committed or a very very bad judgment has been 528 00:38:01,835 --> 00:38:08,235 Speaker 1: engaged in is something the Just Department decides. After his 529 00:38:08,315 --> 00:38:11,355 Speaker 1: comment last week with straightforwardness that was like water to 530 00:38:11,435 --> 00:38:15,315 Speaker 1: a lost soul in the Sahara that waterboarding is torture, 531 00:38:15,915 --> 00:38:18,955 Speaker 1: your nominee at Justice, mister Eric Holder, echoed all this. 532 00:38:19,595 --> 00:38:23,355 Speaker 1: We don't want to criminalize policy differences that might exist 533 00:38:23,395 --> 00:38:26,715 Speaker 1: between the outgoing administration and the administration that is about 534 00:38:26,715 --> 00:38:31,235 Speaker 1: to take over. But mister President elect, you have a 535 00:38:31,315 --> 00:38:36,235 Speaker 1: confession since this statement of a structure of policy prefacing 536 00:38:36,275 --> 00:38:42,115 Speaker 1: policy itself for mister Biden, you have had mister Bush's confession. Moreover, 537 00:38:42,155 --> 00:38:44,955 Speaker 1: since mister Biden's statement, you have a legal assessment from 538 00:38:44,995 --> 00:38:49,515 Speaker 1: within the bowels of the Bush administration itself. Quote, we 539 00:38:50,075 --> 00:38:54,355 Speaker 1: tortured Mohammad al Katani, Judge Susan Crawford told The Washington 540 00:38:54,395 --> 00:38:57,755 Speaker 1: Post a week ago. His treatment met the legal definition 541 00:38:57,835 --> 00:39:01,755 Speaker 1: of torture. That was why. Judge Crawford added that as 542 00:39:01,755 --> 00:39:04,635 Speaker 1: the Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether or 543 00:39:04,795 --> 00:39:08,515 Speaker 1: not to bring detainees at Guantanamo Bay in trial, she 544 00:39:08,675 --> 00:39:15,035 Speaker 1: decided in Katani's case not too This, mister President elect, 545 00:39:15,075 --> 00:39:17,795 Speaker 1: was not the obvious waterboarding of colleague Sheik Muhammad. This 546 00:39:17,915 --> 00:39:21,715 Speaker 1: was a more insidious combination of legally approved procedures that 547 00:39:21,875 --> 00:39:27,755 Speaker 1: still nearly killed this man Katani. The techniques were all authorized, 548 00:39:28,075 --> 00:39:30,915 Speaker 1: Judge Crawford continued, but the manner in which they applied 549 00:39:30,955 --> 00:39:34,355 Speaker 1: them was overly aggressive and too persistent. This was not 550 00:39:34,475 --> 00:39:37,275 Speaker 1: any one particular act. It was just a combination of 551 00:39:37,275 --> 00:39:39,715 Speaker 1: things that had a medical impact on him that hurt 552 00:39:39,955 --> 00:39:43,515 Speaker 1: his health. In fact, mister President Elect, the records at 553 00:39:43,515 --> 00:39:47,595 Speaker 1: GITMO showed that Katani's heart beat eventually slowed to thirty 554 00:39:47,635 --> 00:39:52,515 Speaker 1: five beats per minute. Quote. It was abusive and uncalled 555 00:39:52,555 --> 00:39:57,235 Speaker 1: for and coercive, clearly coercive. I sympathized with the intelligence 556 00:39:57,275 --> 00:39:59,835 Speaker 1: gatherers in those days after nine to eleven, not knowing 557 00:39:59,835 --> 00:40:02,395 Speaker 1: what was coming next, and trying to gain information to 558 00:40:02,475 --> 00:40:04,435 Speaker 1: keep us safe. But there still has to be a 559 00:40:04,475 --> 00:40:09,595 Speaker 1: love that we should not cross. Unfortunately, what this has done, 560 00:40:09,635 --> 00:40:16,555 Speaker 1: I think has tainted everything going forward. Sadly, as commendable 561 00:40:16,595 --> 00:40:19,875 Speaker 1: as the intention here might seem, this country has never 562 00:40:20,035 --> 00:40:25,195 Speaker 1: moved forward without first cleansing itself of its mistaken past. 563 00:40:26,155 --> 00:40:29,315 Speaker 1: In point of fact, every effort to merely draw a 564 00:40:29,355 --> 00:40:32,275 Speaker 1: line in the sand and declare the past dead has 565 00:40:32,315 --> 00:40:35,435 Speaker 1: served only to keep the past alive, and often to 566 00:40:35,475 --> 00:40:41,595 Speaker 1: strengthen the past. We compromised with slavery in the Declaration 567 00:40:41,675 --> 00:40:46,155 Speaker 1: of Independence and in the Constitution, and four score and 568 00:40:46,315 --> 00:40:49,915 Speaker 1: nine years later we had buried six hundred thousand of 569 00:40:49,915 --> 00:40:53,795 Speaker 1: our sons and brothers in a civil war. After that 570 00:40:53,875 --> 00:40:57,115 Speaker 1: war's ending, we compromised with the social restructuring and protection 571 00:40:57,195 --> 00:40:59,475 Speaker 1: of the rights of the minorities in the South, and 572 00:40:59,555 --> 00:41:02,715 Speaker 1: a century later we had not only not resolved anything, 573 00:41:03,035 --> 00:41:05,595 Speaker 1: but black leaders were still being as assassinated in the 574 00:41:05,635 --> 00:41:09,275 Speaker 1: cities of the South. We compromised with Germany in the 575 00:41:09,275 --> 00:41:12,835 Speaker 1: reconstruction of Europe after the First World War. Nobody even 576 00:41:12,915 --> 00:41:16,515 Speaker 1: arrested the German Kaiser, let alone conducted war crimes trials 577 00:41:16,555 --> 00:41:20,275 Speaker 1: then and nineteen years later there was an indescribably more 578 00:41:20,315 --> 00:41:24,515 Speaker 1: evil Germany and a more heartrending Second World War. We 579 00:41:24,635 --> 00:41:27,955 Speaker 1: compromised with the trusts of the early nineteen hundreds. Today 580 00:41:27,955 --> 00:41:32,635 Speaker 1: we have corporations too big to fail. We compromised with 581 00:41:32,675 --> 00:41:35,795 Speaker 1: the Palmer raids and got McCarthyism, and we compromised with 582 00:41:35,875 --> 00:41:39,915 Speaker 1: McCarthyism and got Watergate. We compromised with Watergate, and junior 583 00:41:39,915 --> 00:41:43,275 Speaker 1: members of the Ford administration realized how little was ultimately 584 00:41:43,315 --> 00:41:45,915 Speaker 1: at risk, and they grew up to be Paul Wolfowitz 585 00:41:45,955 --> 00:41:51,875 Speaker 1: and Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. But mister President elect, 586 00:41:52,035 --> 00:41:55,955 Speaker 1: you are entirely correct as you say what we have 587 00:41:56,035 --> 00:41:58,675 Speaker 1: to focus on is getting things right in the future, 588 00:41:59,235 --> 00:42:01,355 Speaker 1: as opposed to looking at what we got wrong in 589 00:42:01,395 --> 00:42:05,315 Speaker 1: the past. That means prosecuting all those involved in the 590 00:42:05,355 --> 00:42:09,235 Speaker 1: Bush administration's torture of prisoners and starting at the top. 591 00:42:10,475 --> 00:42:12,475 Speaker 1: You are also right that you should not want your 592 00:42:12,515 --> 00:42:15,355 Speaker 1: first term consumed by what was perceived on the part 593 00:42:15,355 --> 00:42:19,475 Speaker 1: of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt. But your only 594 00:42:19,595 --> 00:42:25,515 Speaker 1: other option might be to let this set and fester indefinitely, because, 595 00:42:25,555 --> 00:42:30,875 Speaker 1: mister President elect, someday there will be another Republican president, 596 00:42:31,555 --> 00:42:34,915 Speaker 1: or even a Democrat, just as blind as mister Bush 597 00:42:35,115 --> 00:42:39,515 Speaker 1: to ethics and to this country's moral force. He will 598 00:42:39,555 --> 00:42:42,995 Speaker 1: look back to what you did about mister Bush, or 599 00:42:42,995 --> 00:42:47,355 Speaker 1: what you did not do, and he will see precedent, 600 00:42:48,435 --> 00:42:52,315 Speaker 1: or as Cheney saw, he will see how not to 601 00:42:52,355 --> 00:42:58,475 Speaker 1: get caught next time. Prosecute, mister President elect. Even if 602 00:42:58,475 --> 00:43:01,595 Speaker 1: you get not one conviction, you will still have accomplished 603 00:43:01,635 --> 00:43:05,275 Speaker 1: good for generations unborn. Merely by acting. You will deny 604 00:43:05,355 --> 00:43:08,635 Speaker 1: mister Bush what he most wants right now, without prosecutions, 605 00:43:08,715 --> 00:43:11,275 Speaker 1: without this nation standing up and saying this was wrong, 606 00:43:11,635 --> 00:43:15,595 Speaker 1: we will atone. Mister Bush's version of what happened goes intoe. 607 00:43:15,755 --> 00:43:19,475 Speaker 1: The historical record of this nation. Torture was legal, It worked, 608 00:43:19,595 --> 00:43:27,475 Speaker 1: It saved the country. The end, we have tortured people, 609 00:43:27,875 --> 00:43:32,915 Speaker 1: You and I, mister President elect. This is the people's democracy. 610 00:43:33,835 --> 00:43:39,635 Speaker 1: We are the people. These were our elected officials. That 611 00:43:39,715 --> 00:43:41,755 Speaker 1: they did not come to us and act thusly in 612 00:43:41,835 --> 00:43:45,715 Speaker 1: our names is unfortunate and indeed criminal, but it is 613 00:43:45,755 --> 00:43:51,795 Speaker 1: almost irrelevant. They worked for us, they tortured people, and 614 00:43:51,875 --> 00:43:56,435 Speaker 1: so we have tortured people. Thus, beginning tomorrow, it is 615 00:43:56,555 --> 00:43:59,915 Speaker 1: up to you not just to discontinue this, but to 616 00:44:00,035 --> 00:44:03,475 Speaker 1: prevent it. At the end of his first year in office, 617 00:44:03,515 --> 00:44:06,275 Speaker 1: mister Lincoln tried to contain, extualize the Civil War for 618 00:44:06,275 --> 00:44:09,795 Speaker 1: those who still wanted to compromise with evils of secession 619 00:44:09,875 --> 00:44:13,235 Speaker 1: and slavery. The struggle of today, Lincoln wrote, is not 620 00:44:13,395 --> 00:44:18,075 Speaker 1: altogether for today, It is for a vast future. Also, 621 00:44:19,555 --> 00:44:23,075 Speaker 1: mister President elect, you have been handed the beginning of 622 00:44:23,115 --> 00:44:27,475 Speaker 1: that future. Use it to protect our children and our 623 00:44:27,555 --> 00:44:32,395 Speaker 1: distant descendants from anything like this ever happening again. If 624 00:44:32,435 --> 00:44:35,795 Speaker 1: you are worried about the Republicans viewing any torture prosecution 625 00:44:36,075 --> 00:44:38,995 Speaker 1: in the way you postulated to Will Bunch a partisan 626 00:44:39,035 --> 00:44:41,515 Speaker 1: witch hunt, you can remind them that the woman who 627 00:44:41,555 --> 00:44:48,595 Speaker 1: said all that, Susan Crawford, is a lifelong Republican. So, 628 00:44:48,715 --> 00:44:51,115 Speaker 1: mister President Elect, beyond whatever else will come out as 629 00:44:51,155 --> 00:44:54,235 Speaker 1: the whistleblowers began to say what they're going to say 630 00:44:54,995 --> 00:44:59,955 Speaker 1: just after noon tomorrow, you have your predecessor's unofficial confession, 631 00:45:00,795 --> 00:45:04,115 Speaker 1: and you have this singular evaluation by a principle in 632 00:45:04,155 --> 00:45:11,675 Speaker 1: your assessor's administration, this kind of line level confession. They 633 00:45:11,715 --> 00:45:16,235 Speaker 1: are guilty of this, Mister President elect. They are guilty 634 00:45:16,235 --> 00:45:20,715 Speaker 1: as sin. Since he talked to my friend Bunch in April, 635 00:45:20,755 --> 00:45:23,395 Speaker 1: mister Obama's only lengthy comments about this were made to 636 00:45:23,395 --> 00:45:26,355 Speaker 1: George Stephanopolis on January eleventh of this year. See if 637 00:45:26,395 --> 00:45:30,155 Speaker 1: a disturbing theme becomes evident, Obviously we are going to 638 00:45:30,195 --> 00:45:33,555 Speaker 1: look at past practices. I don't believe that anybody is 639 00:45:33,595 --> 00:45:36,115 Speaker 1: above the law. On the other hand, I also have 640 00:45:36,155 --> 00:45:39,755 Speaker 1: a belief that we need to look forward as opposed 641 00:45:39,795 --> 00:45:43,915 Speaker 1: to looking backwards. Later, my instinct is to focus on 642 00:45:43,995 --> 00:45:47,275 Speaker 1: how do we make sure that moving forward we are 643 00:45:47,275 --> 00:45:52,035 Speaker 1: doing the right thing. Later, still, my orientation is going 644 00:45:52,075 --> 00:45:58,755 Speaker 1: to be to move forward. Finally, what we have to 645 00:45:58,755 --> 00:46:01,755 Speaker 1: focus on is getting things right in the future, as 646 00:46:01,755 --> 00:46:04,635 Speaker 1: opposed to looking at what we got wrong in the past, 647 00:46:04,715 --> 00:46:11,435 Speaker 1: asked January nineteenth, two thousand and nine, on MSNBC, the 648 00:46:11,555 --> 00:46:18,555 Speaker 1: night before Obama took office, imploring him to not let 649 00:46:18,555 --> 00:46:22,995 Speaker 1: the legal violations of the torture statutes by the Bush 650 00:46:23,035 --> 00:46:28,515 Speaker 1: administration go unpunished, in large part because it would warn 651 00:46:30,195 --> 00:46:33,115 Speaker 1: all those to come that all they had to do 652 00:46:35,075 --> 00:46:40,795 Speaker 1: was to act in some fashion that would cloak their 653 00:46:40,835 --> 00:46:47,115 Speaker 1: sins as president or around the presidency, and they would 654 00:46:47,115 --> 00:46:51,995 Speaker 1: not be prosecuted and could not be prosecuted. Before there 655 00:46:52,155 --> 00:47:00,755 Speaker 1: was Supreme Court presidential immunity, there was de facto presidential immunity. 656 00:47:01,275 --> 00:47:05,315 Speaker 1: And are we paying the price for it now? Because 657 00:47:05,315 --> 00:47:08,075 Speaker 1: mister Obama was right. What we have to focus on 658 00:47:08,195 --> 00:47:11,595 Speaker 1: is getting things right in the future, as opposed to 659 00:47:11,635 --> 00:47:15,115 Speaker 1: looking at what we got wrong in the past and 660 00:47:15,235 --> 00:47:22,035 Speaker 1: doing that we got things wrong in the future. I'm 661 00:47:22,075 --> 00:47:26,075 Speaker 1: not right, George Crowing A pleasure to have you here. 662 00:47:26,075 --> 00:47:28,075 Speaker 1: Thank you. This is the best news show ever. I 663 00:47:28,155 --> 00:47:30,195 Speaker 1: toil that to one of your producers, and I want 664 00:47:30,235 --> 00:47:32,675 Speaker 1: you to know that I've seen them all and it's 665 00:47:32,835 --> 00:47:35,435 Speaker 1: just for especially the first thirty five minutes. Thank you. 666 00:47:35,555 --> 00:47:38,155 Speaker 1: It's just just unparalleled. I got bad news between you 667 00:47:38,195 --> 00:47:40,075 Speaker 1: and I. We got six minutes to completely still that 668 00:47:40,155 --> 00:47:45,435 Speaker 1: in here. That's good. 669 00:47:53,715 --> 00:48:00,115 Speaker 3: This is Sports Center. Wait, check that not anymore. This 670 00:48:00,995 --> 00:48:05,035 Speaker 3: is Countdown with Keith Olberman. 671 00:48:05,075 --> 00:48:08,515 Speaker 1: And, as promised in an almost completely ad libbed edition 672 00:48:08,875 --> 00:48:12,555 Speaker 1: of The Big Show, a final comment about sports. You 673 00:48:12,595 --> 00:48:15,075 Speaker 1: may or may not have heard about this. It is 674 00:48:15,675 --> 00:48:21,195 Speaker 1: simply the most ridiculous idea I have heard proposed by 675 00:48:21,235 --> 00:48:25,915 Speaker 1: anybody in any position of authority in any sport in 676 00:48:25,995 --> 00:48:28,595 Speaker 1: my lifetime. And if I make it to the end 677 00:48:28,595 --> 00:48:31,915 Speaker 1: of next month, I'll be sixty six years old. I've 678 00:48:31,955 --> 00:48:34,475 Speaker 1: seen a lot of crap, and this is the worst. 679 00:48:34,995 --> 00:48:37,995 Speaker 1: Surprisingly enough, it comes from a guy I went to 680 00:48:38,075 --> 00:48:42,715 Speaker 1: college with, Robert Manfred, Commissioner of Baseball, the man they 681 00:48:42,835 --> 00:48:45,635 Speaker 1: chose in order to make Bud Selig look like a 682 00:48:45,675 --> 00:48:49,755 Speaker 1: Hall of Fame. Commissioner Rob Manfred has floated an idea 683 00:48:50,275 --> 00:48:54,795 Speaker 1: of allowing once a game per team, in every baseball game, 684 00:48:54,915 --> 00:48:58,875 Speaker 1: presumably during the regular season and in the postseason and 685 00:48:59,035 --> 00:49:03,595 Speaker 1: in the World Series, to defy the primary cardinal rule 686 00:49:03,635 --> 00:49:08,235 Speaker 1: of the game, thou shalt bat, in order he wants 687 00:49:08,275 --> 00:49:11,955 Speaker 1: to have teams have a choice once again to have 688 00:49:12,115 --> 00:49:18,955 Speaker 1: a golden at batch, a golden ball, a golden well, 689 00:49:18,955 --> 00:49:21,075 Speaker 1: there's another word I'm thinking of now, but I'll leave 690 00:49:21,075 --> 00:49:25,915 Speaker 1: it alone, But it would shower you with excitement. The 691 00:49:25,955 --> 00:49:30,355 Speaker 1: golden ball would be an opportunity for a team to 692 00:49:30,395 --> 00:49:34,035 Speaker 1: defy the batting order. If it says your worst hitter, 693 00:49:34,075 --> 00:49:35,875 Speaker 1: the worst hitter of all time is up in the 694 00:49:35,875 --> 00:49:37,955 Speaker 1: bottom of the ninth inning, with the winning run at 695 00:49:37,955 --> 00:49:41,875 Speaker 1: second base, you have to have him hit or pinch 696 00:49:41,955 --> 00:49:44,235 Speaker 1: it for him and remove him from the game. Those 697 00:49:44,355 --> 00:49:47,035 Speaker 1: are the rules. They have been the rules since the 698 00:49:47,035 --> 00:49:50,035 Speaker 1: beginning of time. It's not like basketball, and this is 699 00:49:50,075 --> 00:49:52,195 Speaker 1: always one of the great selling points of the game. 700 00:49:52,435 --> 00:49:55,075 Speaker 1: This and the fact that there's no clock, which they 701 00:49:55,075 --> 00:49:57,035 Speaker 1: haven't mentioned in the last couple of years since they 702 00:49:57,075 --> 00:50:01,955 Speaker 1: installed a clock. But the primary idea was you could 703 00:50:01,955 --> 00:50:05,875 Speaker 1: not have Lebron James take every one of your crucial shots. 704 00:50:06,155 --> 00:50:09,755 Speaker 1: Michael Jordan could have the ball at any time. Tom 705 00:50:09,795 --> 00:50:13,235 Speaker 1: Brady would throw the ball every time, nearly every time 706 00:50:13,275 --> 00:50:16,715 Speaker 1: the New England Patriots or his other teams needed him two. 707 00:50:18,115 --> 00:50:20,635 Speaker 1: In hockey, the shot could always be taken by your 708 00:50:20,675 --> 00:50:24,915 Speaker 1: best shooter. But in baseball, there are nine batters and 709 00:50:24,995 --> 00:50:27,355 Speaker 1: how they come up, how you order them is the 710 00:50:27,435 --> 00:50:31,155 Speaker 1: fundamental strategy of a game of baseball and thus a 711 00:50:31,195 --> 00:50:34,435 Speaker 1: season of baseball, and Rob Manfred wants to change that 712 00:50:34,795 --> 00:50:38,195 Speaker 1: once again. You can take out your worst hitter and 713 00:50:38,235 --> 00:50:42,155 Speaker 1: have anybody you want hit for him at that moment. 714 00:50:42,555 --> 00:50:46,155 Speaker 1: If you have the worst hitter on the Los Angeles Dodgers, 715 00:50:46,555 --> 00:50:50,635 Speaker 1: Chris Taylor who bat it. I don't know. I believe 716 00:50:50,635 --> 00:50:53,555 Speaker 1: the number was in negatives last year. If he's due 717 00:50:53,595 --> 00:50:55,795 Speaker 1: up in that game winning situation, you can take him 718 00:50:55,835 --> 00:50:59,915 Speaker 1: out and have show Hey Otani bat or anybody else 719 00:50:59,955 --> 00:51:05,355 Speaker 1: you want. It's a total joke. It is a total 720 00:51:05,435 --> 00:51:09,275 Speaker 1: prostitution of the point of baseball. The point of baseball 721 00:51:09,475 --> 00:51:13,115 Speaker 1: is that in that clutch situation, your hero can only 722 00:51:13,195 --> 00:51:17,075 Speaker 1: be the hero if it's his turn. The reason baseball 723 00:51:17,115 --> 00:51:20,875 Speaker 1: has been part of America for two hundred years, almost 724 00:51:20,915 --> 00:51:24,355 Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty years professionally is that it is 725 00:51:24,835 --> 00:51:28,955 Speaker 1: that balance between the individual star and the team unit. 726 00:51:29,635 --> 00:51:32,595 Speaker 1: You don't have the choice of giving that at bat 727 00:51:32,675 --> 00:51:35,555 Speaker 1: to the best player. You can't have the best pitcher 728 00:51:35,595 --> 00:51:38,435 Speaker 1: throw that one pitch for a variety of reasons. But 729 00:51:38,515 --> 00:51:41,235 Speaker 1: in the situation with a hitter who could conceivably come 730 00:51:41,315 --> 00:51:45,555 Speaker 1: up every day every year, you can't just say, Okay, 731 00:51:45,595 --> 00:51:47,995 Speaker 1: I'm putting Chris Taylor on the bench just for this 732 00:51:48,155 --> 00:51:52,035 Speaker 1: crucial moment and bringing in Babe Ruth. It can't do it, 733 00:51:53,115 --> 00:51:55,475 Speaker 1: and he wants to do it now. There has been 734 00:51:55,515 --> 00:51:57,275 Speaker 1: some version of this in which it would only be 735 00:51:57,315 --> 00:52:00,435 Speaker 1: allowed in extra innings, which they've already destroyed by having 736 00:52:00,515 --> 00:52:03,875 Speaker 1: a runner start each extra inning at second base with 737 00:52:03,955 --> 00:52:09,635 Speaker 1: nobody out, because we want less baseball, not more. But 738 00:52:09,755 --> 00:52:13,475 Speaker 1: this idea of having somebody be able to come in 739 00:52:13,555 --> 00:52:17,235 Speaker 1: and hit in the clutch in that critical situation sounds 740 00:52:17,315 --> 00:52:20,835 Speaker 1: great the way a three point contest in the middle 741 00:52:20,875 --> 00:52:23,915 Speaker 1: of a baseball game would sound new and exciting and invigorating. 742 00:52:24,035 --> 00:52:28,035 Speaker 1: Because we're losing the young people, we're not growing the game. 743 00:52:28,235 --> 00:52:31,355 Speaker 1: There is an argument ongoing in New York between two 744 00:52:31,395 --> 00:52:34,675 Speaker 1: of the primary announcers for the two teams, Michael Kay 745 00:52:34,795 --> 00:52:36,515 Speaker 1: of the Yankees, who's been a friend of mine for 746 00:52:36,555 --> 00:52:39,235 Speaker 1: about twenty five years, and Howie Rose of the Mets, 747 00:52:39,235 --> 00:52:42,195 Speaker 1: who's been a friend of mine for about forty five years. 748 00:52:42,315 --> 00:52:44,795 Speaker 1: And they have been going back and forth kind of inadvertently, 749 00:52:44,875 --> 00:52:47,275 Speaker 1: because Michael thinks this is a way to grow the 750 00:52:47,355 --> 00:52:50,275 Speaker 1: game and get youngsters interested in it, and how He, 751 00:52:50,675 --> 00:52:53,635 Speaker 1: of course thinks it's completely crazy, and how he is 752 00:52:53,755 --> 00:52:57,675 Speaker 1: right because among other things, and I haven't seen this emphasized, 753 00:52:57,755 --> 00:53:01,355 Speaker 1: if they actually did this in one regular season game, 754 00:53:01,395 --> 00:53:04,035 Speaker 1: where you could come in and have this guy bat 755 00:53:04,315 --> 00:53:07,715 Speaker 1: during all games, not just extra inning games, and extra 756 00:53:07,715 --> 00:53:10,875 Speaker 1: inning games average nine or ten percent a year. So 757 00:53:10,915 --> 00:53:14,275 Speaker 1: there's every team plays about sixteen seventeen somewhere in there 758 00:53:14,475 --> 00:53:17,395 Speaker 1: extra inning games a year. But if you could conceivably, 759 00:53:17,675 --> 00:53:20,635 Speaker 1: in that clutch moment, have show Heyotani come in one 760 00:53:20,675 --> 00:53:23,275 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty two extra times. And mind you, this 761 00:53:23,355 --> 00:53:25,515 Speaker 1: is in addition to his other at bats. He could 762 00:53:25,515 --> 00:53:27,835 Speaker 1: have just popped out to second base and then you 763 00:53:27,875 --> 00:53:31,195 Speaker 1: give him another chance to give the get the winning 764 00:53:31,275 --> 00:53:34,395 Speaker 1: run home from second. The same man could bat twice 765 00:53:34,435 --> 00:53:37,515 Speaker 1: in a row, or you could bat him ahead of himself. 766 00:53:37,555 --> 00:53:39,915 Speaker 1: Show Aotani is on deck, you could pinch it, show 767 00:53:39,955 --> 00:53:42,355 Speaker 1: he Otani for the guy hitting ahead of shoe Heotani. 768 00:53:43,275 --> 00:53:46,235 Speaker 1: It's literally a home run contest in the middle of 769 00:53:46,275 --> 00:53:50,315 Speaker 1: a game that counts. It further dilutes the concept of baseball. 770 00:53:50,355 --> 00:53:52,715 Speaker 1: But to the point I was just making one hundred 771 00:53:52,715 --> 00:53:55,995 Speaker 1: and sixty two, theoretically extra at bats would be given 772 00:53:55,995 --> 00:53:59,075 Speaker 1: to show Heyo Tani. What would happen to all the records? 773 00:53:59,755 --> 00:54:03,435 Speaker 1: How many home runs would Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron, 774 00:54:03,555 --> 00:54:06,195 Speaker 1: or for God's sakes, even Arry Bonds have hits if 775 00:54:06,195 --> 00:54:08,195 Speaker 1: they had an extra one hundred and sixty two at 776 00:54:08,275 --> 00:54:13,955 Speaker 1: bats every year. The numbers are meaningless. Now the statistics, 777 00:54:13,995 --> 00:54:17,075 Speaker 1: the entire history, the contact between baseball and its past, 778 00:54:17,195 --> 00:54:20,235 Speaker 1: would be totally obliterated, and it would be reduced to, 779 00:54:20,315 --> 00:54:24,795 Speaker 1: as I said, a home running contest. The reason Michael 780 00:54:24,835 --> 00:54:27,115 Speaker 1: Kay and others have pointed out that this needs to 781 00:54:27,115 --> 00:54:29,755 Speaker 1: be done is that baseball is not getting the younger audience, 782 00:54:29,915 --> 00:54:32,795 Speaker 1: even though the younger audience has increased on TV and 783 00:54:32,955 --> 00:54:35,755 Speaker 1: radio in any event for baseball over the last couple 784 00:54:35,755 --> 00:54:38,275 Speaker 1: of years. But the point is that it isn't growing 785 00:54:38,315 --> 00:54:41,875 Speaker 1: the game, meaning that Michael and many other well intentioned 786 00:54:41,875 --> 00:54:44,595 Speaker 1: baseball people have over the course of fifty years of 787 00:54:44,595 --> 00:54:47,195 Speaker 1: the drip drip drip of this term, we're not growing 788 00:54:47,235 --> 00:54:51,035 Speaker 1: the game. They've fallen victim to this nonsense. Growing the 789 00:54:51,115 --> 00:54:55,795 Speaker 1: game is the owner's euphemism for we want more money. 790 00:54:56,395 --> 00:54:59,435 Speaker 1: If you are a baseball fan, you should not and 791 00:54:59,675 --> 00:55:03,115 Speaker 1: could not have any interest whatsoever in whether or not 792 00:55:03,195 --> 00:55:06,355 Speaker 1: there are sixty and other people sitting in the ballpark 793 00:55:06,395 --> 00:55:09,715 Speaker 1: with you or six. You should not care whether there 794 00:55:09,755 --> 00:55:14,435 Speaker 1: are five million people watching baseball or fifty million baseball 795 00:55:14,515 --> 00:55:17,035 Speaker 1: fans watching at the same time you are. There are 796 00:55:17,195 --> 00:55:20,275 Speaker 1: certain important indicators as to the health of a game 797 00:55:20,315 --> 00:55:23,075 Speaker 1: that those numbers reflect, but no teams are going out 798 00:55:23,115 --> 00:55:27,035 Speaker 1: of business. The last baseball team that actually went bankrupt 799 00:55:27,955 --> 00:55:32,395 Speaker 1: was in nineteen seventy. The Seattle Pilots went bankrupt, and 800 00:55:32,435 --> 00:55:35,235 Speaker 1: the guy in Milwaukee who was thus able to obtain 801 00:55:35,395 --> 00:55:37,955 Speaker 1: them and move them to Milwaukee, where they had become 802 00:55:37,955 --> 00:55:41,235 Speaker 1: the Milwaukee Brewers by putting down something like ten thousand 803 00:55:41,315 --> 00:55:43,915 Speaker 1: dollars of his own money, was a car salesman named 804 00:55:43,955 --> 00:55:46,755 Speaker 1: Bud Selig, a commissioner of baseball who turned out to 805 00:55:46,795 --> 00:55:49,515 Speaker 1: have a lot of millions of dollars because a team 806 00:55:49,555 --> 00:55:52,915 Speaker 1: went bankrupt. No baseball teams are going bankrupt. The worst 807 00:55:52,955 --> 00:55:57,875 Speaker 1: economic situations in Tampa in Oakland, these are still profit 808 00:55:57,915 --> 00:56:01,835 Speaker 1: making operations, and any owner who's dissatisfied with how much 809 00:56:01,875 --> 00:56:05,075 Speaker 1: money he makes can simply sell the team, probably ten 810 00:56:05,115 --> 00:56:07,875 Speaker 1: to twenty times what he paid for it. Baseball teams 811 00:56:07,875 --> 00:56:11,035 Speaker 1: are now worth a billion dollars each minimally, how much 812 00:56:11,075 --> 00:56:13,555 Speaker 1: do you think the Boston Red Sox would get if 813 00:56:13,595 --> 00:56:15,755 Speaker 1: you suddenly got tired of it? Because the game is 814 00:56:15,795 --> 00:56:18,555 Speaker 1: not growing enough? And yes, maybe they'll come a day 815 00:56:18,795 --> 00:56:22,475 Speaker 1: when franchises are worthless and owners make less, and so 816 00:56:23,075 --> 00:56:25,515 Speaker 1: perhaps the teams will only be worth half a billion 817 00:56:25,555 --> 00:56:29,155 Speaker 1: dollars in any event, This is not about improving the 818 00:56:29,195 --> 00:56:31,475 Speaker 1: game or getting the youngsters, or having the Golden Ball, 819 00:56:31,675 --> 00:56:34,035 Speaker 1: or seeing sho Heo Tani back five times a game 820 00:56:34,115 --> 00:56:36,195 Speaker 1: rather than four and hit one hundred and thirty three 821 00:56:36,195 --> 00:56:38,555 Speaker 1: home runs in a season and finish second in the 822 00:56:38,675 --> 00:56:41,235 Speaker 1: National League with that number. That's not what this is about. 823 00:56:41,275 --> 00:56:44,755 Speaker 1: This is about getting the owners more money. And it's moronic, 824 00:56:45,155 --> 00:56:48,035 Speaker 1: and everybody buying into it doesn't even see that they're 825 00:56:48,075 --> 00:56:52,475 Speaker 1: just serving rich people to help them get richer. It 826 00:56:52,555 --> 00:56:54,915 Speaker 1: is part of a fundamental issue of what's wrong with 827 00:56:54,995 --> 00:56:59,435 Speaker 1: this country. We began to fetishize not people having money. 828 00:56:59,475 --> 00:57:02,155 Speaker 1: There's nothing wrong with people having money. I encourage people 829 00:57:02,235 --> 00:57:05,835 Speaker 1: to have money. I have money myself to have more money. 830 00:57:06,035 --> 00:57:08,955 Speaker 1: I often take the opportunity to get more money. But 831 00:57:09,035 --> 00:57:12,035 Speaker 1: when that becomes the only thing in life, as I've 832 00:57:12,075 --> 00:57:17,235 Speaker 1: said many times in the nineteen seventies, business coverage investment, 833 00:57:17,355 --> 00:57:20,835 Speaker 1: the Wall Street Markets and such business coverage on television 834 00:57:20,955 --> 00:57:23,835 Speaker 1: in this country, other than in the event of economic 835 00:57:23,875 --> 00:57:28,195 Speaker 1: crashes or depression or price controls. Like Richard Nixon put in, 836 00:57:28,315 --> 00:57:32,475 Speaker 1: the economic coverage on television consisted of Walter Cronkite somewhere 837 00:57:32,515 --> 00:57:34,635 Speaker 1: in the middle of the show, just before the second 838 00:57:34,755 --> 00:57:38,155 Speaker 1: or third commercial on the CBS Evening News saying Wall 839 00:57:38,155 --> 00:57:42,395 Speaker 1: Street closed, mostly higher today and relatively active trading. This 840 00:57:42,555 --> 00:57:45,795 Speaker 1: was the CBS Evening News. That was it. There were 841 00:57:45,795 --> 00:57:49,395 Speaker 1: no networks devoted to business coverage. There was no lionization 842 00:57:49,515 --> 00:57:52,955 Speaker 1: of great investors or inventors. There was nobody interested in 843 00:57:52,995 --> 00:57:55,595 Speaker 1: who the hell Warren Buffett was. And yes, these men 844 00:57:55,635 --> 00:57:58,195 Speaker 1: were important behind the scenes, but then they'll die the 845 00:57:58,395 --> 00:58:01,435 Speaker 1: day to day lives of ordinary Americans. They didn't amount 846 00:58:01,435 --> 00:58:06,115 Speaker 1: to a rat's ass. Collectively, owners in baseball were known 847 00:58:06,195 --> 00:58:08,715 Speaker 1: only when they screwed things up or move their teams 848 00:58:08,755 --> 00:58:12,595 Speaker 1: to other cities. Walter O'Malley became famous for being hated. 849 00:58:13,995 --> 00:58:18,355 Speaker 1: And now we are relatively ready to have the commissioner baseball, 850 00:58:18,355 --> 00:58:20,795 Speaker 1: who by the way, went to the Industrial and Labor 851 00:58:20,835 --> 00:58:24,275 Speaker 1: Relations College at Cornell where he studied how to screw 852 00:58:24,395 --> 00:58:27,755 Speaker 1: labor rob Manfred wants to make them even more money 853 00:58:27,875 --> 00:58:31,675 Speaker 1: because they're not making more money faster enough, instead of 854 00:58:31,715 --> 00:58:34,675 Speaker 1: doing what previous owners and commissioners have done. When the 855 00:58:34,715 --> 00:58:37,235 Speaker 1: profit margins were not one hundred and seventy eight percent 856 00:58:37,275 --> 00:58:41,155 Speaker 1: every year. They've done sillier things in the past. They 857 00:58:41,235 --> 00:58:43,755 Speaker 1: used to just simply add another team and charge some 858 00:58:43,995 --> 00:58:47,195 Speaker 1: idiot two billion dollars for a team that didn't exist. 859 00:58:47,835 --> 00:58:52,155 Speaker 1: The Tampa Bay Rays, the Arizona Diamondbacks exist because previous 860 00:58:52,195 --> 00:58:55,155 Speaker 1: owners in the nineteen eighties tried to knock down the 861 00:58:55,195 --> 00:58:59,675 Speaker 1: prices of salaries. This was the price that Baseball paid 862 00:58:59,715 --> 00:59:02,875 Speaker 1: for the owner's collusion. Again, the owners screwing up, and 863 00:59:02,955 --> 00:59:07,395 Speaker 1: now they want to complete destroy the uniqueness of the 864 00:59:07,435 --> 00:59:11,075 Speaker 1: game another one of its ten or twelve unique elements 865 00:59:11,235 --> 00:59:14,795 Speaker 1: that separates it from basketball, that separates it from hockey, 866 00:59:14,835 --> 00:59:17,595 Speaker 1: that separates it from football, that separates it from soccer. 867 00:59:17,715 --> 00:59:21,915 Speaker 1: They want to take away the point, the difficulty. They 868 00:59:21,955 --> 00:59:26,435 Speaker 1: want to dumb it down. The Golden rule, the Golden 869 00:59:26,515 --> 00:59:32,675 Speaker 1: at bat, the Golden I don't know, the Golden corral. 870 00:59:34,075 --> 00:59:39,595 Speaker 1: Its nonsensical, stupid, destructive, and Baseball should fire its commissioner 871 00:59:39,635 --> 00:59:43,835 Speaker 1: immediately for even giving voice to it. And your understanding 872 00:59:43,995 --> 00:59:47,955 Speaker 1: of the crux of the problem in baseball is in 873 00:59:47,995 --> 00:59:52,875 Speaker 1: this this commissioner. The previous commissioner was a baseball fan 874 00:59:53,115 --> 00:59:56,315 Speaker 1: who used to go to baseball games and enjoy baseball, 875 00:59:56,475 --> 01:00:00,075 Speaker 1: and he had many stupid, mistaken ideas, and he had 876 01:00:00,115 --> 01:00:04,835 Speaker 1: a vanity the size of ten knees. But he liked baseball, 877 01:00:04,835 --> 01:00:07,355 Speaker 1: and he wanted to see good baseball. I have no 878 01:00:07,515 --> 01:00:12,555 Speaker 1: idea if Rob Manfred likes baseball or not, but I 879 01:00:12,555 --> 01:00:15,395 Speaker 1: would like to see an adaptation of his rule. I'd 880 01:00:15,435 --> 01:00:18,115 Speaker 1: like to have a golden Commissioner moment in which, in 881 01:00:18,395 --> 01:00:22,275 Speaker 1: a matter of a clutch situation, once in every big decision, 882 01:00:22,675 --> 01:00:25,475 Speaker 1: I could swap him out and put in the best 883 01:00:25,475 --> 01:00:29,235 Speaker 1: commissioner I had, which in this case would be anybody 884 01:00:29,315 --> 01:00:44,795 Speaker 1: but him. I've done all the damage I can do here. 885 01:00:44,875 --> 01:00:48,955 Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to this unusual edition of Countdown 886 01:00:48,995 --> 01:00:51,155 Speaker 1: where I could barely see anything written in front of 887 01:00:51,195 --> 01:00:55,115 Speaker 1: me other than some very large font notes. And again, 888 01:00:55,195 --> 01:00:58,155 Speaker 1: how did you do the Obama special comment from two 889 01:00:58,195 --> 01:01:01,635 Speaker 1: thousand and nine? I recorded that earlier. In any event, 890 01:01:01,715 --> 01:01:03,995 Speaker 1: you know the credits. Brian Ray and John Phillip Scheneil 891 01:01:04,075 --> 01:01:07,035 Speaker 1: do the music, and there's Nancy Faust with the special 892 01:01:07,035 --> 01:01:11,475 Speaker 1: pithy musical comments. And the sports music is from ESPN 893 01:01:11,515 --> 01:01:14,595 Speaker 1: two by Mitch Warren Davis, and some other music in 894 01:01:14,635 --> 01:01:17,875 Speaker 1: there is from No Horns Allowed. In any event, I 895 01:01:17,955 --> 01:01:20,515 Speaker 1: did write this number down in big letters on the 896 01:01:20,595 --> 01:01:24,155 Speaker 1: door to the studio, five hundred and nine days until 897 01:01:24,195 --> 01:01:27,555 Speaker 1: the scheduled end of the Lane Duck presidency of Lame 898 01:01:27,795 --> 01:01:32,875 Speaker 1: Donald Duck. The next scheduled countdown is Sunday. We'll see 899 01:01:33,515 --> 01:01:38,435 Speaker 1: or possibly maybe we won't see. Wish me luck. My 900 01:01:38,555 --> 01:01:40,795 Speaker 1: vision is not in jeopardy. It's just that I can't 901 01:01:40,875 --> 01:01:43,115 Speaker 1: really see and I'm supposed to not be doing this, 902 01:01:43,195 --> 01:01:46,155 Speaker 1: So don't tell doctor Renee Richards. Thank you in the 903 01:01:46,195 --> 01:01:49,515 Speaker 1: interim bulletins, as the news warrants, as long as I 904 01:01:49,515 --> 01:01:52,795 Speaker 1: can find my own studio till the next time, whenever 905 01:01:52,835 --> 01:01:56,035 Speaker 1: that is. I'm Keith Aulderman. Good morning, good afternoon, good night, 906 01:01:56,395 --> 01:02:17,755 Speaker 1: and good luck. Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production 907 01:02:17,955 --> 01:02:23,275 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 908 01:02:23,355 --> 01:02:26,715 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.