From the 04.29.2011 edition of CNN Newsroom:
The Transcript:
After the surprise decision to release his official birth certificate, President Obama stepped up to the podium to explain. He poked fun at the years-long birther controversy, and then he started poking fun at the press for how it covered the issues. At some points, he even got a little angry. But his mood was lighter later at a fundraiser in New York City.Why does CNN CONTINUE to allow misinformed loons like Loesch, who makes Phyllis Schlafly (a well-known polemicist and kook) look like a sane lady in comparison and is a GIANT embarrassment to St. Louis,
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My name is Barack Obama.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I was born in Hawaii.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: The 50th state of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: President Obama's decision to finally release that piece of paper surprised critics and allies alike. On both sides, reaction was swift. Joining us now, CNN political contributors Dana Loesch and James Carville. Welcome to you both.
DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Both of you, Dana, James -- I interviewed the chairman of the Republican party a short time ago. and he talked about the birther issue and how he felt that its time to move on. I just want you to listen to a bit of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: The primary voters will decide in Iowa, in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and the rest of the country as to who they want to represent them on the Republican ticket. It's not my job to play police officer with the candidates. It's up to the voters to play police officer --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So Dana, what I was asking Mr. Priebus, and that's why he answered in the way he did -- I asked him why he didn't call on Donald Trump to stop talking about the birther issue and move on if he really wants, like every politician, to move on from this issue. Should he do that?
LOESCH: I don't know that Preibus could actually stop Trump from talking about whatever Trump wants to talk about. I mean, it's Donald Trump. And in the press conference that he gave immediately following the president's press conference, was in my estimation, his victory lap. So, I don't think you could have the RNC chairman call Donald Trump and say can you maybe not talk about this anymore? Can we move on to something else? I don't think it would be successful.
COSTELLO: James, what do you think?
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, look, not this guy, but think of the speaker of the House who actually knows better saying, well, as far as I know, he was born in America. Then asked him, would you tout all these birther bills by these idiot congressmen doing this stuff, and he said, well, that's not my job to tell congressmen -- Well, dude (ph), that's exactly your job, Mr. Speaker, is to whip your caucus in line. That's why you have a leader and whip.
They're all like that trying to fool around with this idiot. And this is the most idiotic issue I've seen in American politics. And it was just a crock of nonsense. I don't think the president should have done what he did yesterday. Just let these people go make fools of themselves.
COSTELLO: I get you. We're going to talk about that in just a minute. But Dana, I want to go back to you. I mean, will we move on from this issue? Will everybody shut up about it?
LOESCH: You know, yesterday whether the long-form birth certificate was released, we suddenly saw the high unemployment solved, the high gas prices solved and the quagmire in Libya was immediately resolved as well. Except not. So, hopefully!
COSTELLO: Hopefully. And James, why do you think he shouldn't have produced his original birth certificate?
CARVILLE: Why should he? There's no doubt in any sane person's mind that that's what Hawaii requires that. They released that and people could see it. And no one -- it's nonsense. Let these people make fools of themselves. I think it's good for the country to see how many idiots there are out there. We need to get -
(LAUGHTER)
CARVILLE: It's a good way to conduct a idiot census in America to see who all the birthers are. It was a good thing. and working politically for him because all of the Republicans that knew anything were trying to run away from this thing, and they couldn't get rid of it.
I find Trump to be very entertaining. I'm kind of for him. I was for Palin, but she didn't want to talk enough. And then Newt stopped talking, and then Bachmann doesn't talk enough. I want more Trump. We ought to have him on TV every day.
COSTELLO: Well, Dana, it is an interesting question. Because some say all this talk about birther and now producing -- President Obama should produce his college records that this kind of talk is hurting the Republican brand. Is it?
LOESCH: Well, I have to say, too, Carol, that I think the biggest loser in all of this was Philip Berg. Now, he was the Democrat and aide to Hillary Clinton that started it. He's the grandfather of the birther movement. So, I don't know so much it's a strictly Republican brand because it began --
COSTELLO: But frankly, nobody remembers that. Nobody remembers that. All we think about now is Donald Trump and the Republican party.
LOESCH: There's a lot of people doing a lot of hard work making sure people don't remember that. I will say that when you -- some of the stuff I've seen that has been proposed -- I think the birther bill in Arizona where they added you have it to have your baptismal certificate and everything. I've been baptized. I don't have a baptismal certificate. I wouldn't be able to produce one if one was called on me. So, sometimes I think it goes a little bit too far.
Now, I think what this does is it highlights there's a double standard between how investigated Bush was and previous presidents have been and how people didn't go after the president with his records. I think if anything, I think it shows the double standard.
COSETLLO: James, do you agree with that? I know we did --
CARVILLE: Aww, no. By the way, you know, if a Jew runs - if a Jewish person runs in Arizona, do you have to produce a baptismal certificate? I mean, all this stuff - again, it is a very good way for us to take a census of all of the idiots in the United States and let them surface. I think it should have gone on. And by the way, it was Hillary's campaign that found the announcements in the Hawaii paper, so that pretty would debunk all of that foolishness.
Again, Trump -- he's the Republican frontrunner, and he's perfect for them. He's overweight, he's self-indulgent, and he's a simpleton. And he embodies the principles of the modern Republican party --
COSTELLO: OK, Dana, a short last word to that. A short last word.
LOESCH: You can be a simpleton and be as successful in business as Trump has been and be able to fall down and pick yourself as many times as Trump has. I mean, you can disagree with him all you want. I disagree with him on the birth certificate issue, but I won't call him an idiot.
COSTELLO: I got to wrap it up --
CARVILLE: He's also been bankrupt four times. He's just like the Republicans. LOESCH: Not personally. Only his businesses.
COSTELLO: We'll have to continue this offline, as they say. James Carville, Dana Loesch, thank you so for the conversation this morning.
On Twitter, Matchbox 20 frontman and solo singer Rob Thomas said: "dear dana loesch, please stop. you are hurting america. this is not a game."
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