ANNOUNCER:   CROSSFIRE. On the left, James Carville and Paul Begala. On the right, Robert Novak and Tucker Carlson.  In the CROSSFIRE, need a good book to start the new year? We've got one from the left, and we've got one from the right. James Carville and Tucker Carlson throw their books at us. Plus, some political crystal ball gazing. Today on CROSSFIRE. From the George Washington University, James Carville and Robert Novak. 
NOVAK:   Welcome to CROSSFIRE. And happy new year. You're sure to have more time on your hands now that the football season is wrapping up and winter is setting in. So today we're looking at a couple of books you may want to add to your reading list. Merely coincidental, they're by co-hosts of this program. James Carville's latest book sounds like it's written for Democratic presidential candidates, called "Had Enough? A Handbook for Fighting Back." You know, James, you are very seldom uncertain about anything, not correct about anything. But you ask a question, which is very rare for you. And you ask, why is it that Democrats were calling on Al Gore to concede the election when no Republicans called on George Bush to concede? Let me answer that question for you. Because Democrats knew that Gore had really lost the election, and the Republicans knew that Bush had won it. 
CARVILLE:   Of course, Al Gore won the election. Every recount that accounted all the ballots he would have won. He would have won by 25,000, had they contested the Palm Beach thing. It's ridiculous. And one of the problems that people have with the Democratic Party is that we look too weak and too confused. And what they need is Democrats need to start operating from a position of strength, and that's one of the points I make in the book. This is not from some weak-kneed Democrats that want to go around and apologize to everything. It's the greatest political party found in the history of the world.  
NOVAK:   It strikes me, James, that you want them to just misrepresent things all over... 
CARVILLE:   I don't want them to misrepresent anything. It's about winning the recount. 
NOVAK:   Here's an example. Here's on page 50 -- I'm sorry, 56 and 57. What type of leader likes wearing a military uniform? And you have Gadhafi... 
CARVILLE:   Right. 
NOVAK:   Castro, Arafat, Mao Tse-Tung, Arafat, the little guy from Korea, Saddam Hussein, then you end up with George W. Bush. 
CARVILLE:   Right. Right. 
NOVAK:   Now, I might add somebody else you didn't put in there is Winston Churchill, who always liked to have his -- always liked to go around in the navy uniform, even though he never served in the navy. But here is another guy I'd like you to see. Here he is, in his naval uniform. He never served in the navy. And he was a great man. Now I want to show you somebody else that liked to wear a uniform who never served in anything except the ROTC band. Let's take a look at that. How do you like that flight jacket? Is that a dress-up, pretend military guy? 
CARVILLE:   First of all, Bob, you're getting gassed up about nothing. He has a jacket on. 
NOVAK:   That's one thing we're clear on. 
CARVILLE:   The second thing -- are you asking me about my book, or are you just answering the question anyway because you're scared I'm going to answer it. 
NOVAK:   You don't have an answer, do you? 
CARVILLE:   OK. Do you mind me answering the question? The point I was trying to make is most people usually outgrow this kind of foolishness. The other point I was making, when he had a chance to wear the uniform when he was in the Air National Guard he never showed up. So why in the hell, if you got the chance to do it, why not do it? It's a tongue-in-cheek thing; it's something we Democrats understand. Humor is something you Republicans can't, because you go through life taking yourselves so damn seriously. 
NOVAK:   I know you well enough to know when you don't have an answer... 
CARVILLE:   I gave you an answer. I gave you an answer. 
NOVAK:   When you don't have an answer you yell. 
CARVILLE:   Most people outgrow it. When he was a young man and had a chance to wear it, he... 
NOVAK:   How about that guy in the flight jacket? 
CARVILLE:   It's a flight jacket. I have a jacket that says "United States." It don't mean that I'm president. You don't know the difference between a flight jacket and a uniform? I do. 
NOVAK:   I have sat at this table... 
CARVILLE:   I'll explain to you the difference between a flight jacket and a uniform. 
NOVAK:   He didn't have a uniform on the carrier either. 
CARVILLE:   Yes, right. 
NOVAK:   You know that too. You know that. You admit that. 
CARVILLE:   He had a flight suit on when he went through the -- Why didn't he show up for the National Guard meetings, Bob? Why didn't he show up? 
NOVAK:   He did show up. 
CARVILLE:   No, he didn't. His own general said he never saw him. 
NOVAK:   He never saw him. My general... 
CARVILLE:   You don't have an answer. You don't have an answer, Bob. 
NOVAK:   My general... 
CARVILLE:   The president of the United States tells   National Guard meetings. This is not the "Wall Street Journal" editorial page. I speak the truth. 
NOVAK:   My general never saw -- My general never saw me when I was on active duty, because I kept out of his way. All right. Now, you say, as one of the advises that you give to Democrats, "Be positive." You say be positive. I have sat across from you for a year and a half, hearing reams of negativity, of attacking people. Isn't that hypocritical for you to say be positive? 
CARVILLE:   Did you read the book? 
NOVAK:   I read it. I stayed up all night reading it. 
CARVILLE:   There are 42 separate proposals I talk about, how Bill Clinton is the greatest president we ever had. How he helped create a $5.6 trillion surplus, how he helped create the largest economic expansion we had in history, how he created an America that was respected around the world, how he did the family and medical leave, about how he really led this nation. I talk about positive things all the time. This audience has sat here, heard me time and time again talk about positive things. I've talked about how these Democrats can contrast themselves with the administration. Now, am I going to sit by and let an administration lie about getting us into a war they have no plan to get us out of? Of course, I'm not going to say that. It was the 3rd Infantry Division that said when they got to Baghdad, they had no plan and no idea what to do. So I'm saying yes, I have relentlessly been positive. 
NOVAK:   Can I ask another question, James? 
CARVILLE:   Go ahead. 
NOVAK:   You know, James, you have a lot of humor in the book, I've got to admit. I do. But some of it's black humor. 
CARVILLE:   All right. 
NOVAK:   And let me just show you an example of black humor. You write, "I think if Al Gore was president, it is significantly less likely that the attacks of September 11 would have happened in the first place." Are you trying to be funny there? 
CARVILLE:   No, I'm not trying to be funny at all. And if you look in the King (ph) Report -- there's already a story in the paper -- you will find that President Bush had many indications that this was happening and didn't act on it. They're going to be several books that are going to be coming out this year that are going to say the same thing. Al Gore would read the intelligence reports when he was vice president so thoroughly, that he would go to McClain and ask for backup. I really believe, and I pointed out in there, I think very well. I said I can't say for a certainty. How do I know if something would have happened or something else wouldn't have happened? But every person that studied terrorism said the Clinton White House was much more aggressive than the Bush White House ever was in fighting terrorism prior to September 11. That's just a fact, and what I do is I report facts in the book. I don't report facts to make you feel comfortable, Bob. I report facts that are there for people to look at, that are part of public record. Facts that are going to come out increasingly this year. 
NOVAK:   James, I always am very candid with you. And I think you appreciate it. I think this book is mostly worthless. 
CARVILLE:   OK. 
NOVAK:   And -- but let me say -- I said mostly, not entirely. Interspersed through the books there are some really good recipes. 
CARVILLE:   That's right. 
NOVAK:   And on page 200 -- there's no 200 in this book. On page -- what is it? -- twenty-three, there's a recipe for red bean soup that you got from your momma... 
CARVILLE:   That's correct. 
NOVAK:   ... in Louisiana. And I -- my mouth watered just watching the directions. I think the book is worth buying just for this red bean soup. Now, the question I have is after... 
CARVILLE:   I don't give a damn why you buy it. Just buy the thing. 
NOVAK:   After you have -- We have onions and garlics and ham hocks and smoked sausage and Worcester sauce all going in this soup. What do you do about heartburn after you have some of Carville's red bean soup? 
CARVILLE:   See, heartburn is for wimps, man. That's for these guys that get attacked and want to get Terry McAuliffe in there. When you eat a little red bean soup, I've got, like, a nice salad recipe in there. If you have, like, a little nice bottle of wine to go down, that will soothe your heartburn just fine. And at the end, you have some bread pudding, another recipe I have. 
NOVAK:   OK, James, thank you very much. 
CARVILLE:   Thank you, Bob. 
NOVAK:   In just a minute, we'll switch hosts and books. Tucker Carlson will be here to tell us about his book and his adventures in the cable news business, from the spin room to CROSSFIRE.
