Pinheads and Patriots (9 page)

O'Reilly:
Okay. Uh, United States and Poland, putting the missile shield in Poland.

Obama:
Mm-hmm.

O'Reilly:
All right? Putin doesn't like it.

Obama:
Right.

O'Reilly:
Are you gonna keep that missile shield in there?

Obama:
I think that we have to make sure that, uh, uh—and I have said this before. The Russians are playing a game, and they pretend that this missile shield is directed against all their interests.

O'Reilly:
Yeah, it's ridiculous. It's a defensive thing.

Obama:
It's, it's a defensive thing. And we—

O'Reilly:
So you are gonna keep it there then?

Obama:
And, and given, given what has happened in Georgia, I think that we have to send a clear signal that Poland and other countries in that region are, are not gonna be subject to intimidation and aggression—

O'Reilly:
Okay, so I just want to get this on record. If you are elected President, you are keeping the missile shield in Poland?

Obama:
I believe that the missile shield is appropriate. I want to make sure it works, though. I want to make sure it works.

O'Reilly:
Well, we are testing—

Obama:
And that's one of the problems that we have got.

O'Reilly:
So Putin, uh, comes out last week and he says, “Hey look, uh, we are gonna reimpose our dominance on all of the countries that surround us. And we don't care whether you like it or not, because you are tied down in Afghanistan—Iraq and Afghanistan—and we are gonna do what we want to do.”

Obama:
Sure.

O'Reilly:
Such a nasty little guy, number one.

Obama:
[
Laughs.
]

O'Reilly:
And would you agree with that assessment?

Obama:
[
Laughs.
] Well, that—I'll agree with the assessment that, uh—I wouldn't look into his soul and, uh—

O'Reilly:
Yeah.

Obama:
—and think I know him.

O'Reilly:
And I'll put a cowboy hat on the guy.

Obama:
Yes.

O'Reilly:
This is gonna be a problem, all right?

Obama:
Oh, this is a huge problem.

O'Reilly:
Okay. And, and you are gonna have to confront Putin—

Obama:
And we are going to—and that's exactly right.

O'Reilly:
Maybe not militarily, and maybe you can do it other ways. But Europe is weak and Europe is cowardly—

Obama:
Right.

O'Reilly:
You know, what are they gonna have? Another meeting? Yeah, Putin is quaking, aren't they? Isn't Putin quaking about that? They are gonna have another meeting—

Obama:
Well, you know what? And here, here, here is the one thing I would say…. There are, there are two things where we can have some leverage over Russia. Number one is that, commercially, they are tied up with Europe, and they are increasingly integrating. Their stock market has taken a beating since they went into Georgia.

O'Reilly:
Yes.

Obama:
But that—

O'Reilly:
Like they care.

Obama:
Well, Putin may not care, but there are a whole bunch of folks that are—

O'Reilly:
They do. Right.

Obama:
There are a whole bunch of millionaires in Moscow who do care, all right? So that's a leverage point. And the Europeans can be helpful in applying that leverage point, and that's point number one. The second thing that we have to do is actually defensive: We have got to get our energy policy straight. As long as they are getting over $100 a barrel for oil, then they are gonna be able to act—and that's the biggest problem we have.

O'Reilly:
Yeah, let's get to the economy. I want you to react to a couple of steps that I, that I pulled outta here. You are a big “tax the rich” guy.

Obama:
[
Laughs.
] Yeah.

O'Reilly:
Aren't you?

Obama:
Just you, Bill.

O'Reilly:
I know.

Obama:
I think you are making too much money.

O'Reilly:
You and Hillary both, you just want to take my money.

Obama:
[
Laughs.
]

O'Reilly:
And you can have it; I mean, I don't care if I live in a hut.

Obama:
[
Laughs.
]

O'Reilly:
All right. And you want to “tax the rich.” Under President Bush—

Obama:
Yes.

O'Reilly:
—the government—the federal government derived 20 percent more revenue than under President Clinton. Did you know that?

Obama:
Well, the, uh—

O'Reilly:
Did you know that?

Obama:
The, the economy grew, Bill.

O'Reilly:
It grew. That's right.

Obama:
The economy grew, so—

O'Reilly:
Under President Bush—

Obama:
—so, so of course, uh, the, uh, the—

O'Reilly:
—the, the economy grew 19 percent more than Clinton.

Obama:
Right.

O'Reilly:
See, this is what I am not getting about you Democrats—

Obama:
No. No, no, no, no. Hold on, Bill.

O'Reilly:
Nineteen percent—

Obama:
Wait, wait, wait, wait. Don't, don't—hold on a second now. I mean, because you know, you, you, you—you know the famous saying about “There are—there are lies, damn lies, and statistics”?

O'Reilly:
Yeah.

Obama:
I mean, well, you and I can—we can play a statistics game—

O'Reilly:
I know, I know it's bull—I know it is—

Obama:
So, so, so what…. Well, let's, let's, let's be clear on the record, all right?

O'Reilly:
All right.

Obama:
The, uh…. During the Bush administration—

O'Reilly:
Yeah?

Obama:
—there was economic growth. Not as fast as during the 1990s, okay, but there was growth during the Bush administration. But what happened was, that wages and incomes—for ordinary Americans—the guys who watch your show—

O'Reilly:
Yeah.

Obama:
—the guys who you advocate for and you speak for on this show—

O'Reilly:
Right.

Obama:
—their wages and incomes did not go up.

O'Reilly:
Why?

Obama:
They went, they went down.

O'Reilly:
Do you know why?

Obama:
And the reason they went down—

O'Reilly:
Yeah?

Obama:
—is because most of the corporate profits and increased productivity went to the top—not just 1 percent—but the top one-tenth of 1 percent.

O'Reilly:
All right. Let me submit to you that you are wrong—

Obama:
And as part of, as part of—

O'Reilly:
Let me submit to you that you are wrong, okay?

Obama:
Right, okay, make your argument.

O'Reilly:
We have been studying this issue—because we want to be fair and balanced and give all sides.

Obama:
Right.

O'Reilly:
The reason the wages have been depressed—and they are not that much: it's about four or five hundred dollars, uh, for the Bush administration, real wages up; and about two thousand under the Clinton administration—is because there are 10 million immigrants—new immigrants—in the workforce—most of whom are illegal aliens.

Obama:
Bill—

O'Reilly:
Those 10 million—

Obama:
—I totally disagree with you—

O'Reilly:
—with their, with their salaries—

Obama:
Yeah?

O'Reilly:
—have brought it down. But again, that's statistics, yes.

Obama:
But, but, but, but—

O'Reilly:
But let's get back to “tax the rich.”

Obama:
All right, but, but what—so let me just finish making my point.

O'Reilly:
All right.

Obama:
The fact is, for people in your income bracket—and mine—

O'Reilly:
Right.

Obama:
Now, we, we, we both come from humble beginnings and we worked our—and we were talking before the show. And the fact that, only in America, could we have this success.

O'Reilly:
Absolutely.

Obama:
And, and I—and I am not somebody who begrudges that success. I want people to—

O'Reilly:
But you want 50 percent of my success—

Obama:
No, I don't want it—

O'Reilly:
Yeah, you do.

Obama:
No, I don't—

O'Reilly:
That's your tax rate.

Obama:
That is not true—

O'Reilly:
Fifty.

Obama:
What I am—

O'Reilly:
Fifty.

Obama:
What, what I have said is, is that, uh, uh…. Now let's be clear about this—

O'Reilly:
Payroll tax and, and income tax—50.

Obama:
Well, listen—listen up. Now, let me—now, let me make sure that we are clear on, on the facts here. I would take your marginal rate back to what it was under Bill Clinton—

O'Reilly:
Yeah, and that was 39.

Obama:
And that was—you go back to 39.

O'Reilly:
Right.

Obama:
You can afford that. That's point number one. Well, you can't deny that you can afford it.

O'Reilly:
Yes.

Obama:
It's not gonna hurt you.

O'Reilly:
I am not gonna deny that.

Obama:
All right? In exchange, I am cutting taxes—for 95 percent of Americans. Ninety-five percent—

O'Reilly:
Well, guess what? Well, that's class warfare—

Obama:
It's not—95 percent—

O'Reilly:
And—

Obama:
—is not class warfare.

O'Reilly:
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Obama:
And I am saying that 95 percent of the American people are getting a tax break—three times the amount of tax relief under my plan than John McCain's. And that's not my statistic—