Democratic National Convention: Salon.com's Jake Tapper Discusses Convention Comedy
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, for another view of the convention, we turn to Washington for correspondent for Salon.com, Jake Tapper, joining us from Long Beach, California. Jake, thanks for joining us.</s>JAKE TAPPER, SALON.COM: Of course, nice to be here.</s>KAGAN: how about that Reform Party? I know you tend to try to find a little humor in life and in politics, there must be no end to it where you are?</s>TAPPER: You don't even have to try to come up with the jokes, they are already supplied here. I went up to two cops today, and I asked them how they can tell -- how they can differentiate between the future assassins and just the regular delegation here, and they laughed and said that it is indeed a house full of some interesting characters.</s>KAGAN: ON a kind of serious note, how do you think that is all going to shakeout? Are we looking at the end of the Reform Party as we know it?</s>TAPPER: No, I don't think so. I think what is going to happen is Pat Buchanan will get the nomination. He has abided by the rules. You know, he and his sister Bay are old-school, old-time politicians, they know what they are doing and they have locked up this nomination by bringing in all the Buchanan supporters, And a lot of people don't like that, but a lot of people got in bed with Pat Buchanan last fall, and now they are waking up with something of a hang-over.</s>KAGAN: Kind of like the Reformers never knew what they -- they never saw it coming?</s>TAPPER: Well, you should have seen it coming. He has been saying some pretty controversial things for the better part of the last half century.</s>KAGAN: Looking ahead to here in Los Angeles, to downtown Los Angeles, with Joe Lieberman joining the ticket with Al Gore. You wrote an interesting column for Salon.com talking about being too Jewish and how you are not comfortable -- and you say that you are Jewish yourself -- but you are not comfortable seeing necessarily a Jew on the ticket, but so much talk about Joe Lieberman and he is Jewish in almost every sentence that you hear about him.</s>TAPPER: Well, it's not that I mind the fact that you know they mention the fact that he is not just Jewish, but observant, an Orthodox Jewish. It is not that I mind that they bring that up, but I think Gentiles are a lot more comfortable with this then a lot of Jews are. I was talking to Abraham Foxman, president of the Anti-Defamation League, and he said that the Jewish community is a lot more insecure than he realized it was before Lieberman was picked. And I think what makes us all so uncomfortable is the fact that, with Lieberman being on the ticket, now we are going to have to hear a lot of anti-Semitic comments. We heard it just a day or two ago when the head of the Dallas branch of the NAACP made some very anti-Semitic comments. He, of course, was reprimanded and resigned. But, still, it is just ugly, and I just don't like to hear about it.</s>KAGAN: Well, the stuff that you do like to hear, I know, is humor. As you head up here to downtown Los Angeles, do you think that you will be finding some funny nuggets at the Democratic National Convention.</s>TAPPER: Well, thank God for the Democratic Party for providing the nuggets for us. First of all, we have Bill Clinton doing, after a -- a few days after Al Gore picks Joe Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew on the ticker, Bill Clinton does his own little day of atonement, his own little Yom Kippur yesterday, and atones for the sins of Monica once again. And then, of course, we have Al Gore pulling a Sister Souljah and distancing himself from Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, who is having a fund-raiser at the Playboy mansion. So, again, even though the Democrats might be dressed a little better than the Reform Party people, they are providing the comedy, and I don't have to do much work about that.</s>KAGAN: Well I think you will have to do some more work. When you get up here to downtown, you have to come by CNN "MORNING NEWS" and join us in person. Love to have you back.</s>TAPPER: Of course, of course.</s>KAGAN: Great, Jake Tapper, Salon.com, thanks for joining us.</s>TAPPER: Thank you.