Joy Behar took it a step further citing “the boy who cried wolf” to exclaim that the Bush administration no longer has credibility due to past so-called “lies.” And dismissed this new warning as “a joke.”
Token non-liberal Elisabeth Hasselbeck very boldly responded noting Secretary Chertoff’s “gut feelings” were likely based on intelligence. She also noted Joy Behar’s and other leftists’ catch 22 standards for the administration’s terror policy stating: “If he didn’t say it and then there were an attack, what would we be saying? Why didn't he say it?”
The entire transcript is below.
BARBARA WALTERS: I went to a party over the Fourth of July and the Homeland Security secretary, Michael Chertoff, was at the table I was at. And, and--
ELISABETH HASSELBECK: Did you feel safe?
WALTERS: -he was reassuring that everything was very safe, okay. That was– when was the Fourth of July, last week? A week ago?
JOY BEHAR: Yeah, There he is. He’s kind of cadaverous isn’t he?
WALTERS: He is–well he didn’t have the beard when I was--
BEHAR: He's scary-looking, the guy. You put the scariest person in charge of security. Put somebody good-looking there.
HASSELBECK: Wait, wait a minute, you want somebody to look like Snoopy to be in charge of Homeland Security?
BEHAR: How about Billy Dee Williams? He's on the show. He looks good. Somebody like him.
[Applause]
WALTERS: So, no matter what he looks like, and he didn't have the beard and mustache when I saw him. So he told the "Chicago Tribune" yesterday that he had, I'm quoting, “a gut feeling about the increased risk of terrorism attacks.” A gut feeling. He said it was based on feeling on more public statements from Al Qaeda, attacks in Europe, etc. Then he said there's no specific threat in mind. So why do they tell us?
BEHAR: It's very scientific, a gut feeling. Didn't George Bush once look into Putin's eyes and say I trust him, just by looking in his eyes? Like they're in a gay bar or something. I mean, this type of Homeland Security, this type of government that’s being run on gut feelings --
HASSELBECK: Wait a minute.
BEHAR: –and intuition–
HASSELBECK: Hang on, do you think--
BEHAR: What about the C.I.A. And F.B.I.? [Applause]
HASSELBECK: Excuse me, but don't you think that this is more intelligence based instinct and also based on facts that there was a lot more activity last summer that Al Qaeda is building up and having more activity along Baghdad, and, and--
WALTERS: Tell us something specific.
HASSELBECK: –the Pakistani border is, like, alive right now with their activity.
BEHAR: So is Iraq. So is Iraq, honey.
WALTERS: Let me say what he said. He said it's based on feeling of more public statements from Al Qaeda, he doesn’t say where, attacks in Europe, there have been the attacks in Great Britain, and that, quote, “summertime seems to be appealing to them.” But, he says, there is no specific threat. Well, I mean, we know that. What I think of-- what do we do? I mean, something--
DEBI MAZAR: How do you protect yourself?
HASSELBECK: September 11, okay? That's right after the summer. I think if you go back and if anyone is saying okay let me think, when should we be most prepared for a hurricane? Dare I say that word now. But, when should we be prepared for a hurricane? You would think, okay, the summertime has lent itself to --
BEHAR: You mean like they did with Katrina, like that?
HASSELBECK: Well, I mean–yeah, exactly.
[Applause]
WALTERS: Elisabeth, how does it help– how does this help us–how does it help us to know this?
BEHAR: Exactly. The orange alert and everybody panics.
WALTERS: There is no orange alert. And he says, if you can, make sure you get out of town -- I don't know, stay in town. But I don’t know how it helps to say I have a gut feeling we’re going to have a terrorist attack but I don't know anything --
HASSELBECK: Don't you think each citizen has a right, especially in a time of war though to be more aware and if it is a heightened security time? That’s his job to tell us.
MAZAR: But what’s he doing about it is what I want to know?
HASSELBECK: I’m sure he’s doing--
BEHAR: Did you ever hear the story of the boy who cried wolf? This is what this is.
HASSELBECK: You think that's what this is? We are in a war.
BEHAR: It could be. I don’t believe them.
HASSELBECK: I'm going to show you pictures that get sent to me, I’m going to show you pictures that get sent to me from people who are in Iraq, what's going on. They are so graphic that I haven't dare bring them on the show, because it--
BEHAR: So what about it, what about it?
HASSELBECK: You should see the things that they do, the atrocities. If, we cannot live in the world that we lived in pre-9/11 to think that we’re so safe --
BEHAR: You think I don’t know that? You think I don't worry about that?
WALTERS: Elisabeth, I think we can all agree that there are terrible things happening in Iraq and there are terrible things happening in Afghanistan. What we are talking about is to say there will be a terrorist threat, I have a gut feeling, but there's nothing we can do about it. But what I'm saying is we're more alert, I'm not too sure I know what we’re alert for, but what good does it do to have that his gut feeling without anything to back it up?
HASSELBECK: What if he didn't say it?
WALTERS: He may be helping himself. But what if he says is you should make sure that you have this, or this, or this, or that or here are some precautions you can take, other than, you know, there may be a terrorist attack. We all know there may. So that's what I'm saying.
BEHAR: They should just put his picture up there. That will scare them. Really, it's a joke, Elisabeth. Let’s face it.
HASSELBECK: I don't think it's a joke at all.
BEHAR: It's a joke to run public policy like that, on his gut feeling.
HASSELBECK: If he didn't warn us– if he didn’t say that he thinks this is a time of importance that we should have a heightened awareness of, of a potential–if he doesn’t say these things-- this is his job.
BEHAR: But why now?
HASSELBECK: If he didn’t say it and then there were an attack, what would we be saying? Why didn't he say it?
WALTERS: He hasn't said heightened awareness. He hasn’t said Orange. He just says I feel there may be–
HASSELBECK: It is orange.
WALTERS: No, there was no heightened awareness signal. He just said I'm afraid --
BEHAR: He’s got a gut feeling.
HASSELBECK: I'm glad he's got a gut feeling. It’s better than no gut feeling at all in his position. He should have an intelligence-based gut feeling based on our national security.
WALTERS: And I think the gut feeling should perhaps give us some things that we might do so that our gut feeling is not just fear.
