BEGALA:   Welcome back to CROSSFIRE. Time now for "Fireback." But, first, let's check our audience poll. We asked folks if they thought that the Iraq uranium controversy was a serious issue. Lookie here. Almost all of the Democrats think yes, 84 percent. But guess what? Seventy-eight, almost all the Republicans, say no. So we're a divided nation once again.  
CARLSON:   Are you saying this is a partisan issue, Paul? 
BEGALA:   Well, it appears that way, Tucker. 
CARLSON:   I think is the point I was making during the interview segment, but yes. 
BEGALA:   It is. But credibility for the president shouldn't be partisan. It's a shame for him, but he should have told the truth. Estee Campbell of East Hampton, New York, says: "Just 16 words. Just 16 words. If that's the official line excusing George Bush's misstatement about Iraq as a nuclear threat, I would remind the Bushies that it only took eight words, 'I did not have sex with that woman," to unleash the Republican dogs of impeachment on President Clinton." 
CARLSON:   All right, to which I would reply with three words: Get over it. George Principe of West Palm Beach, Florida writes: "John Kerry backed the war in Iraq, having the same intelligence the president had, and now he blames the president for misleading us into war." That's a little surprising, George. I degree. 
BEGALA:   I am tempted to say that John Kerry has a lot more intelligence than George Bush, but that would be a cheap shot. And I would never say anything like that about our president. Mary Hanson of Chimney Rock, North Carolina writes: "I find it hard to believe that the president could rehearse his State of the Union speech and not question which country in Africa he was referring to. Could it be that those who actually run our government consider this president on a need-to-know basis?" 
CARLSON:   I love that. Yes. I'm not even going to respond to that. And next up, a viewer from Texas, George H.W. Bush, in fact, a former president, told "Texas Monthly" the other day: "You don't expect Paul Begala to worship George W. Bush" -- parenthetically, no, you don't -- "so I just tune him out now. He was a fairly engaging person back in the old days, but he's off my list."    Meaning, I think, Christmas card list. 
BEGALA:   Right. I had mentioned this Congressman King just before he left. And he pointed out, you were never an engaging guy, Paul. So...    Look, I admire President Bush's service from the days as a 19-year-old Naval pilot in the Second World War, through his time as president. And now as a dad, he's taken up for his son. And I think that's a wonderful thing. So I do feel terrible if it hurts Mr. Bush's feelings. He's a wonderful man. 
CARLSON:   OK. Good. You should moderate your rhetoric then and that might go a long way. 
BEGALA:   No. If I agree with George Bush on everything, one of us is not doing our job. And I have an idea which one. 
CARLSON:   Yes, ma'am? 
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:   Hi. My name is Kylie (ph). And I'm from Ithaca, New York. And I have a question about Bush's reelection. I wondered if you guys thought that this would -- this current scandal would hurt his reelection chances, despite the fact that he was apparently successful in ousting the Iraqi regime. 
CARLSON:   It probably doesn't help. On the other hand, Democrats have to convince voters that they can protect the country from terrorism. And they haven't. By 40 points, they're losing that question. There's no chance a Democrat will win until they close that gap. And I don't see how they're going to. 
BEGALA:   Tucker's right. The Democrats have to close that gap. The problem is, the president has now opened up a credibility gap. And his greatest political strength, until this month, was that the American people thought he was telling the truth. Now the majority of Americans no longer believe that he's a truth-teller. That is a catastrophic political problem for George Bush. 
CARLSON:   He said something wrong. He got bad intelligence. 
BEGALA:   So did Bill Clinton, but we didn't go to war over it. He just had a girlfriend on the side. 
CARLSON:   That was a lie, Paul. 
BEGALA:   That's not the same thing, you know? 
CARLSON:   After you. 
BEGALA:   From the left, I'm Paul Begala. That's it for CROSSFIRE. 
CARLSON:   And from the right, I'm Tucker Carlson. Join us again tomorrow for yet more CROSSFIRE.
