"New York Times" Refuses To Publish John McCain
BECK: Welcome back to LARRY KING LIVE. Filling in for Mr. King, my name is Glenn Beck. We want to introduce a couple new people to you. Ben Stein is a commentator, economist, attorney, actor, TV personality, a just generally good guy. He's got a new book out, "How To Ruin the United States of America." He also supports McCain. He is also the host of a movie called "Expelled." Jamal Simmons is an adviser to the Democratic National Committee who supports Obama. And David Gergen is returning with us again. Ben, let me start with you. "The New York Times" has decided not publish an op-ed submitted by John McCain in response to the op-ed on Iraq by Barack Obama. It was published last week. This time, the newspaper issued a statement. And it says, if I may quote: "It is standard procedure on our op-ed page, and that of other newspapers, to go back and forth with an author on his or her submission. We look forward to publishing Senator McCain's views in our paper, just as we have in the past. We have published at least seven op-ed pieces by Senator McCain since 1996. 'The New York Times' endorsed Senator McCain as the Republican candidate in the presidential primaries. We take his views very seriously." Do you buy any of that, Ben?</s>BEN STEIN, COMMENTATOR, ECONOMIST, ACTOR: Well, I can tell you this, as a person who's been a columnist for a number of years for "The New York Times," they're very, very strict and often extremely maddening in their requirements and requests of columnists. So I do take it seriously. I mean I gather what Senator McCain said was a little vague. I'm positive that if he works with them, they will run what he has to say. But can I go back to something you said a moment ago in your previous group? You know, why is the media so in love with Barack Obama? This is something that goes beyond anything I've ever seen. A friend of mine said, oh, they love him because he's African-American, he's the affirmative action candidate. That's not true. The media ripped Jesse Jackson to pieces. They don't even pay any attention to Alan Keyes. Something is going on here that transcends race, that transcends the historical uniqueness. It's like a mad junior high school crush between the media and Obama. It's like a junior high school crush for the first time someone's ever been in love.</s>BECK: Jamal, don't you think that it is the media elites and the extreme left? They're in love with him. We've never had a candidate this far left.</s>JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, I don't think so.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McGovern was this far left.</s>SIMMONS: I don't think so.</s>BECK: OK. No, no...</s>SIMMONS: But the real issue here.</s>BECK: That wasn't the question.</s>SIMMONS: The real issue here...</s>BECK: That was...</s>SIMMONS: That was the question you asked Ben.</s>BECK: That was not the question.</s>BECK: I know. The question to you is about -- about...</s>SIMMONS: I thought you were trying to be a straight host tonight.</s>BECK: I can't do it. I can't...</s>SIMMONS: You can't do it, can you, Glenn?</s>BECK: I tried to</s>SIMMONS: Well, actually, there is a question that he is the most liberal Senator in the Congress.</s>BECK: There is?</s>SIMMONS: And there is. I mean you...</s>BECK: Look at the record.</s>SIMMONS: I mean just because you declare it, doesn't make it so. You're not Jeb Bush. This isn't Florida. And so I think you've got to -- I think you've got to take a look at Barack Obama's entire record and you've got say that, listen...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're right.</s>SIMMONS: ...this is a guy who was...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're right.</s>SIMMONS: ...who was for -- not for going into the war in Iraq because he knew it was wrong. He's got the judgment. This is a guy who said that we needed more troops in Afghanistan. Now everyone else is saying that we need more troops in Afghanistan. He said he was for a time line. Now Mr. Maliki and President Bush and everyone else is talking about timelines or time horizons or whatever else it is. So he's been a leader out here in the mainstream of where Americans are. If you look at the American public, 60 percent of the people agree that it's time for us to get out of Iraq and come on home.</s>BECK: OK. Let me go to David Gergen. I want to play an ad that John McCain was running and ask you if you think this is fair at all. Here's the ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gas prices $4, $5 -- no end in sight, because some in Washington are still saying no to drilling in America, no to independence from foreign oil. Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?</s>UNIDENTIFIED SUPPORTERS: Obama! Obama!</s>BECK: I mean that -- that's not fair at all. John McCain is just as responsible for high gas prices in -- at the pump as Barack Obama is right now. Neither of them wanted to drill for oil. They both had the same policy. That's not fair, is it?</s>GERGEN: No. I thought that ad was fine until it got to that line about who can you blame. And then you show Obama. And what we didn't hear there was the cheering in the background -- "Obama! Obama! Obama!"</s>BECK: Right.</s>GERGEN: You know, so I thought that line -- I thought that ad went way over the line. But I want to tell you, it's good to see Ben Stein back on the air so much. He offers trenchant observations.</s>GERGEN: But I -- and I think it's worth recalling...</s>BECK: And you're a handsome man.</s>GERGEN: No. He does. And I just...</s>GERGEN: You know, and...</s>GERGEN: Yes. You can say oh, absolutely. But I want to tell you, you know, it wasn't so long ago that I remember a lot of people thought why in the world is this media in love with John McCain? You know, John -- the media was supposed to be his political base. You know, tell the media -- the media -- I think the media has -- is -- has something of a crush right now on Obama. But I think it comes and goes and I think they're going to be -- you know, I think they're struggling right now on how to get into a more balanced coverage. And that's why I think the McCain campaign has to provide something more themselves. They have to -- you know, we learned from the master, Ronald Reagan, that if you want to get media attention, you have to do it in ways that are dramatically interesting. He had a lot to say and he also did it in a dramatic way.</s>BECK: Ben Stein?</s>STEIN: Well, I mean there's no -- there's just no two ways about it, McCain is an amazing human being. He's a great -- a genuinely great man. He's a pitiful campaigner. He's like the grandfather that -- your parents want you to have over to dinner and you say no, we know he's a war hero, but do we have to have dinner with him again? Whereas Obama is an incredibly good speaker. Every word he says is hackneyed left-wing platitude, but he's an incredibly good speaker. I mean McCain is just a very dismal campaigner. He's a great guy...</s>BECK: So can you win...</s>STEIN: ...but he's a dismal campaigner.</s>BECK: Can you win like that, Ben Stein, in today's America?</s>STEIN: If somebody has...</s>BECK: Could Abraham Lincoln win?</s>STEIN: Oh, yes. If somebody can rev him up and get him started, yes.</s>BECK: Not the</s>STEIN: But I mean he's just not a crotchety old guy.</s>BECK: Not the question.</s>STEIN: And an old folks home look about...</s>BECK: Thomas Jefferson was a horrible public speaker. Abraham Lincoln, horrible public speaker. Could they win in America today?</s>GERGEN: What are you talking about? What are you talking about?</s>STEIN: I don't think that's true.</s>GERGEN: I mean come on...</s>STEIN: I don't think that's true. I think he was a great public speaker. He did that Lincoln-Douglas debates...</s>GERGEN: He was absolutely compelling.</s>STEIN: He was kind of a great speaker. He was a kind of a great speaker. But I don't...</s>BECK: Thomas Jefferson?</s>STEIN: I don't know, McCain's got a -- no, but Lincoln. I think he's got to do something quite dramatically better. And he's really got to change himself a lot.</s>BECK: All right...</s>STEIN: And it can be done. Mrs. Clinton did it. It can be done.</s>BECK: Hang on. We'll be right back. We're going to take a quick break here on LARRY KING LIVE.