How the Wingnuts will frame Kerry

BECKEL: Welcome back to Hannity Colmes. I'm Bob Beckel, sitting
in tonight for Alan Colmes.Earlier today Senator John Kerry blasted
President Bush's $2.6 trillion budget plan. Kerry said, quote, This
budget is like an Enron budget: smoke the numbers, cook the books,
hide the truth and hope no one finds out.
Are Kerry's complaints legitimate or is it just bad blood left
over from the presidential campaign?
Joining us now is former speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich.
He's the author of the book, Winning the Future: A 21st Century
Contract with America. He's also the host of Pope John Paul II:
Pope of the People, which will air this Sunday at 9 p.m. on FOX
News Channel.
Mr. Speaker, welcome.
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Thank you.
BECKEL: Now I would like your -- I'd like your views on what you
think the motivation was behind Kerry's attack on George Bush,
besides the fact George Bush has put us in the largest deficit of
any president in the history of America.
GINGRICH: Well, I think...
BECKEL: That was a loaded question, wasn't it?
GINGRICH: No, no, no. Listen, I'm quite -- you know, you're a
real professional. I think if you were advising Kerry you would
tell him this is a bit early to be purely negative.
It's a little striking to me that he is consistently now, from
voting against Condoleezza Rice to be confirmed as secretary of
state, through a series of speeches, he's unrelentingly negative.
And I don't think that helps the Democratic Party, because I think
what they actually need is an alternative vision for the future.
So I was a little surprised at how bad tempered and, I thought,
overly negative his comments were today across the board, not just
on the deficit but on personnel appointments and other kinds of
issues.
BECKEL: You know, as a rule of thumb, I think, about politics,
when you lose one, it's good idea to take about a year off before
you say anything. I'm not sure he's taking that advice.

(SNIP)

HANNITY: All right. Let me ask you one last question. You
mentioned John Kerry basically following the Al Gore model of being
the unhinged ex- candidate.
But yesterday, before MoveOn.org, an organization that ran ads
on their web site comparing George Bush to Adolf Hitler. You had
Hillary Clinton there. You had Robert Byrd there. You had Ted
Kennedy. You had Harry Reid, one out-screaming the other.
What is -- what can we take from this, you know, that and the
threat to shut down the United Stats Senate by Harry Reid earlier
in the week? How -- what are we to make of what they're doing here.
Go ahead.
GINGRICH: You -- you may have just coined the right phrase in
the way you asked that question. Maybe they're becoming the
unhinged party.
BECKEL: That may be -- that may be an answer that. Let me ask
one fast question.
HANNITY: Got to let him answer my question.
BECKEL: Go ahead. Can I ask one question? It's really important.
GINGRICH: I think you may be on to something, Sean. I think they
have become unhinged, and I think they get so rattled watching
somebody like, for example, John Bolton who's actually dedicated to
protecting American interests gets sent to the U.N. That is so
unnerving if you're a liberal Democrat.
Then you had Kerry, by the way, attacking the president over
Paul Wolfowitz when even the French today were saying nice things
about Wolfowitz. Now, if you are to the left of the French, I think
unhinged may be the new word for the new Democratic Party.
BECKEL: It also may be the answer about Tom DeLay being a little
unhinged himself.
Though I don't have a chance to ask you a question, it's too
bad. Richard Nixon said I'm not a crook. Is Tom DeLay one? I don't
know that either.