ANNOUNCER:   CROSSFIRE. On the left, James Carville and Paul Begala; on the right, Robert Novak and Tucker Carlson. In the 
CROSSFIRE:   Is taking responsibility for the uranium line enough? 
BUSH:   I'm not interested in talking about intelligence unless it's cleared by the CIA. 
ANNOUNCER:   Then, should heads roll for the mistake in the State of the Union? 
SEN. BOB GRAHAM  , PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:   The problem is not George Tenet. The problem is George W. Bush. 
ANNOUNCER:   Plus, a former president fires back at one of our hosts -- today on CROSSFIRE.    Live from the George Washington University: Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson. 
BEGALA:   Hello, everybody. Welcome to CROSSFIRE. In the Oval Office today, President Bush once again said the buck stops with the CIA for the mistake in his State of the Union speech. But he went on to tell reporters he had -- quote -- "darn good intelligence -- unquote -- on Iraq. But the question more Americans are asking is, does the president have darn good credibility? Before we get to that, though, you can believe me when I tell you we'll begin tonight's show with a darn good political briefing, our CROSSFIRE "Political Alert." As a candidate, George W. Bush said he knew where the buck stops. 
BUSH:   Leaders must be responsible. And in our great democracy, the top responsibility rests with the president of the United States. I'm prepared to assume this awesome responsibility. 
BEGALA:   But, as president, Mr. Bush has sounded less like Harry Truman and more like Flip Wilson. You remember, the devil made me do it? The trouble is, "The New York Times" reports that CIA Director George Tenet had personally urged the White House not to make the false claim about Iraq's nuclear program months before Mr. Bush's State of the Union address. You know, a public defender I knew once told me that most of his client's defense was the SODDI defense. SODDI defense, I asked? Oh, yes, some other dude did it. Welcome, my friends,to the SODDI presidency. Some other dude did it. 
CARLSON:   Look, it was -- ultimately, it was President Bush's responsibility to say the right things in the State of the Union. He didn't. He's going to take the lumps for it. But if the question is -- and it is -- how did this happen, the answer really clearly is, the CIA screwed up. The CIA told President Clinton that the Iraqi government had a nuclear program. It told President Bush the same thing. Both repeated it. And it turns out, on this one specific point, the CIA was wrong. Bush shouldn't have repeated it. But, ultimately, the CIA messed up. And so did Bush. 
BEGALA:   No. No. Bush should take personal responsibility for it, because it's only one of a whole lot of whoppers of mass dimensions that we got from George W., George "Whopper" Bush. 
CARLSON:   OK. Dick Gephardt, Joe Lieberman and Dennis Kucinich have become -- quote -- "persona non grata" among black voters. They're racists, basically. That's the verdict from the NAACP. Kweisi Mfume, the organization's president, blasted the three Democrats in a speech today. Their crime: supporting the poll tax, agitating for the repeal of the Voting Rights Act? You'd think so. But no: failing to give free speeches at an NAACP lunch this afternoon. That was their crime. The senators couldn't come because, unlike many other candidates, he takes his day job seriously and didn't want to miss time in Congress. But that's not good enough, said Mfume. If you don't address our group for free, you're unacceptable to all black people. It's that simple. Actually, it's racial bullying of the nastiest, most vulgar kind. The NAACP has engaged in it for years, almost always to the detriment of Republicans. Now that it's aimed at Democrats, maybe they'll be courageous enough to object to it. And they should. But don't hold your breath, because they're too afraid. 
BEGALA:   They did nothing of the sort. Where do you get this from? Why do you hate the NAACP? They're a wonderful, honorable organization. 
CARLSON:   Because, if you disagree with them, they imply that you're racist. And that's outrageous. 
BEGALA:   Mfume didn't imply that any Democrat or a Republican was a racist. 
CARLSON:   Yes, he did. 
BEGALA:   He said, it's a dumb political move not to go there. And I think it is. By the way, George W. Bush stiffed them as well. 
CARLSON:   Paul, that's not what he said. He said they're persona non grata. 
BEGALA:   Look, when people don't come on CROSSFIRE, I attack them. It doesn't make me a racist or them a racist. 
CARLSON:   Paul, he compared -- yesterday, he compared his enemies to members of the KKK. That's not acceptable rhetoric. That's outrageous. And he should not say that. 
BEGALA:   He didn't say that about any of these candidates for president. Well, the Bush administration has announced that it has launched Operation Ivy Serpent, a military campaign targeting Saddam Hussein's loyalists in Iraq. This follows on the heels of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Sidewinder, Operation Peninsula Strike, Operation Desert Scorpion, even what one wag dubbed Operation Desert Spam, which required sending nasty e-mails to Saddam's henchmen before the war. Meanwhile, yet another American hero, tragically, has been killed in Iraq, bringing the total number of American troops who have died in Iraq since President Bush landed on that aircraft carrier declaring mission accomplished to 81. No word he yet on when the administration will launch Operation We Don't Have a Clue About the Occupation, but President Bush is working full time on Operation Blame George Tenet. 
CARLSON:   I don't know. I don't think that's fair. Ultimately, President Bush pushed this war. He argued that it was in America's vital interests. And if it turns out to be a mistake -- and we won't know that for years -- he will solely take the blame. This stuff about blaming Tenet, it's ridiculous. You were against the war from the very beginning. You've been consistent about it. I'll give you that. But nobody ever thought, even its most vigorous advocates, that it would be without casualties or easy. And it hasn't been. 
BEGALA:   I agree with that. But the president also misled us about the occupation. That may turn out to be the biggest whopper he told. 
CARLSON:   That's ridiculous. That's ridiculous. 
BEGALA:   Yes. We have lost 81 guys and women since he declared mission accomplished. He shouldn't have declared mission accomplished on that carrier. He shouldn't have taken us into the war to begin with. 
CARLSON:   He said the war was over, which it was. It doesn't mean the violence is over, because it's not. Jerry Springer has officially thrown his chair into the ring. Springer filed a statement of candidacy, in part to avoid legal problems from a 30-minute infomercial and fund-raising plea that he's already running. Incidentally, you can buy his C.D. of favorite rockabilly hits on that, although not in Ohio. Springer, a former Cincinnati mayor and city councilman continues to make appearances around the state. He says he'll make a final decision on challenging Republican Senator George Voinovich by the end of this month. For those of you who are keeping score at home -- and we hope you all are -- if Springer runs, he would join Al Sharpton, Dennis Kucinich, Carol Moseley Braun, Howard Dean and John Kerry as leading lights of the Democratic Party seeking office this fall. And if you're not smiling by now, you should be, because, say what you want about the Democratic Party. It is amusing as hell. 
BEGALA:   Look, I think that Springer is one of the most engaging and effective guests we have ever had on this program. 
CARLSON:   I love him. 
BEGALA:   And I love when elites make fun of him, because it shows how out of touch you are with ordinary people. Millions of people watch that show. And they're good Americans. And they pay taxes. And they deserve representation in the Senate. 
CARLSON:   I like Jerry Springer. And if you want to defend him... 
BEGALA:   I do. 
CARLSON:   ... as the archetypical Democratic Senate, more power to you. 
BEGALA:   I'll tell you what. He never lied to us about a war. I'll say that for Jerry Springer. They may throw chairs and talk about tawdry subjects, but he never lied to us about war. I'd rather have that. I'd be more ashamed of Bush than I would be of Jerry Springer any day of the week. 
CARLSON:   So that's the comparison, Bush, Jerry Springer?  
BEGALA:   Yes, yes. 
CARLSON:   Not much of a defense. You stand up for your candidates. Good for you. Refighting the war against Saddam Hussein: Democrats believe they can win the 2004 election with conspiracy theories. Can they? We will debate it. We'll be right back.
