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it's the closed caption transcript
i missed the first few seconds of the interview
....it made it sound, and there's
been interpretation to this
effect that he was in effect
confirming that the united
states used this water boarding,
this technique that has been
rejected by the international
community that simulates a
prisoner being drowned, if you
will.
And he was in effect, supposedly
confirming that the united
states has been using that.
>> Wolf, that is a mighty house
you are building on top of that
mole hill.
A mighty mountain.
This is complete distortion.
He didn't say anything of the
kind.
>> Because of the dunking?
Using the water.
The dunking?
>> I understand your point.
It's kind of the point of a lot
of people right now to try to
distort the administration's
position.
And if you really want to talk
about that, I watched the
program on cnn last night which
I thought, your 2006 voter
program, which I thought was a
terrible distortion of both the
president and the vice
president's position on many
issues.
It seemed almost straight out of
democratic talking points.
Using phrases like domestic
surveillance.
When it is not domestic
surveillance that anyone has
talked about or ever done.
It's surveillance of terrorists.
It's people who have al qaeda
connections calling into the
united states.
So I think we are in the season
of distortion.
And this is just one more.
>> But there have been some
cases where innocent people have
been picked up and interrogated.
Held for long periods of time,
and then simply said, never
mind, they are let go.
>> Well, are you sure these
people are innocent?
>> They are walking around free
right now.
Nobody's arrested them.
>> You made a point last night
of a man who had a bookstore in
london where radical islamists
gathered.
Who was in afghanistan when the
taliban were there.
Who went to pakistan.
You know, I think that you might
be a little careful before you
declare this as a person with
clean hands.
>> You are receiving to the cnn
"broken government" special.
This is the one john king
reported on last night.
>> Right there, wolf.
Broken government.
What kind of stance is that?
Here we are.
We are a country where we have
been mightily challenged over
the past six years.
We've been through 9/11, we've
been through katrina.
The president and the vice
president inherited oo
recession.
We are in a country where the
economy is healthy.
That's not broken.
This government has acted very
well.
We have tax cuts responsible for
the healthy economy.
We are a country that was
attacked five years ago.
We haven't been attacked since.
What this government has done is
effective.
That's not broken government.
So, you know, I shouldn't let
media bias surprise me, but I
worked at cnn once.
I watched a program last night.
>> You worked in cross fire.
>> And I was troubled.
>> All right.
Well that was probably the
purpose, to get people to think.
To get people to discuss these
issues.
Because --
>> Well, all right.
Wolf, I'm here to talk about my
book.
But if you want to talk about
distortion --
>> We'll talk about your book.
>> Right, but what is cnn doing?
Running terrorist tape of
terrorists shooting americans.
I mean, I thought duncan hunter
asked you a very good question,
and you didn't answer it.
Do you want us to win?
>> The answer of course is we
want the united states to win.
We are americans.
There's no doubt about that.
>> Then why are you running
terrorist propaganda?
>> Well all do respect, this is
not terrorist propaganda.
>> Oh, wolf.
>> This is reporting the news.
Which is what we do, we are not
partisan.
>> Where did you get the film?
>> We got the film, look, this
is an issue that has been widely
discussed.
This is an issue we reported on
extensively.
We make no apoloies for showing
that.
That was very
carefully-considered decision
why we did that.
And I think, I think --
>> Well I think it's shocking.
>> If you are a serious
journalist, you want to report
the news.
Sometimes the news is good,
sometimes the news isn't so
good.
>> But wolf, there's a
difference between news and
terrorist propaganda.
>> And if you put it in context,
if you put it in context, that's
what news is.
We said it was propaganda.
We didn't distort where we got
it.
We didn't distort anything about
it.
We gave it the contents.
Let's talk about another issue
in the news and then we'll get
to the book.
The democrats are now
complaining bitterly in this
virginia race, george allen.
Using novels that jim webb, his
democratic challenger has
written in which there are
sexual references.
And they are making a big deal
out of this.
I want you to listen to what jim
webb said today in responding to
this very sharp attack from
george allen.
>> Now, do you promise, wolf,
that we are going do talk about
my book?
>> I do promise.
>> Because this seems to me a
mighty long trip around merry go
round.
>> This is the news today and
your name has come up.
That's why we are talking about
it.
So listen to this.
>> There's nothing that's been
in in of my novels that in my
view, hasn't been either
illuminating surroundings are
defining a character or moving a
plot.
I'm a serious writer.
I mean, we can go and read lynne
cheney's lesbian love scenes if
you want to get graphic on
stuff.
>> Jim webb is full of baloney.
I have never written anything
sexually explicit.
His novels are full of, um,
sexual explicit reference tons
sest.
Sexually explicit references to,
well, I don't want my
grandchildren to turn on the
television set.
This morning imos was reading
from the novels.
And sit triple x-ralted.
>> Here's what the democratic
party put out today.
The democratic senatorial
campaign committee.
Lynne cheney's book featured
brothels and attempted rape.
In 1981 she wrote a book called
"sisters" which featured a
lesbian love affair.
In 198 lynne cheney wrote about
a republican vice president who
dies of a heart attack while
having sex with his mistress.
Is that true?
>> Nothing explicit.
And actually that is full of
lies.
It's just absolutely not true.
>> Duh write a book entitled
"sisters."
>> No, not necessarily.
This description is a lie.
I'll stand on that.
>> There is nothing in there
about rapes and brothels?
>> Wolf, could we talk about a
children's book for a minute?
>> We can talk about the
children's book.
>> I think our segment is like
15 minutes long and we've now
done ten minutes.
>> I just wants to clarify
what's in the news.
>> Sex, lies and distortion.
That's what it is.
>> This is an opportunity to
explain.
>> Wolf, I have nothing to
explain.
Jim webb has a lot to explain.
>> He says as a serious writer
and novelist, a fiction writer
he was doing basically what you
were doing.
>> Jim webb is full of baloney.
>> We'll leave it at that.
Let's talk a little bit about
your book "our 50 states."
A family adventure across
america.
>> And one of the reasons I
wrote this book because we
spend so much time, nowadays,
talking about things that are
negative.
And it's not the fault of any
particular segment of the
society, but we have come to
define news as bad news.
And so our kids get a steady
diet of this is wrong, the
government is broken, the war
isn't working, the economy's
terrible.
Even when those things aren't
true, our kids are getting a
steady dose of negativity.
What robin and I wanted so much
to do is to talk about what a
wonderful country it is.
We wanted to give our kids
something positive, and I hope
that's what we've done in this
book.
It's very, very pro-american.
This is a book that's very
patriotic.
There is no question about our
view that this is the greatest
country in the face of the
earth.
And that is what we want kids to
take away from it.
>> Indeed, the kids who read
this book will learn a lot about
the 50 states.
That's what it's called.
But a lot of the landmarks in
those 50 states.
>> Not just landmarks, but the
vast variety and diversity of
our culture.
We have everything from the
preservation hall banned in new
orleans to mariacci music in
texas to the phil harmonic in
boston.
All kinds of food.
There is a lovely little girl in
this book whose name is annie
who writes back to her grandma
again and again about the
different foods she is enjoying
or not.
In boston she says the beans are
great but she's a little
doubtful about the cod.
Not just about landmarks but
also the kind of history and
culture that I think kids will
enjoy very much.
>> And it is beautifully
illustrated.
>> Robin glasser is a dear
person.
>> We can certainly disagree on
what is news and what is
serious.
But we can agree this is a
beautifully-done book.
>> I appreciate that, thank you,
wolf.
>> How is your husband doing?
Always concern about his health.
>> I'm not sure why there's
always concern about his health.
He's been out on 140 campaigns.
Raised some $40 million for
republican candidates around the
country.
He's been very busy.
He has been serving the nation
very well as I think george bush
has been a really great leader
for us during this time of some
trials.
>> We are going to leave it
right there.
It was kind of you to come in.
>> Thanks, wolf.
>> You came armed.
I guess you knew what you wanted
to do.
>> Wolf, I am always prepared
for you to ask questions that
maybe aren't quite fair, but
they are pretty tough.
>> You did a good job.
>> Thanks, wolf.
>> Thank you.
And for more on mrs. Cheney's
book "sisters" and her current
best seller "50 states" let's
bring in our internet reporter
jacki schechner.
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