ANNOUNCER:   CROSSFIRE. On the left, James Carville and Paul Begala.  On the right, Robert Novak and Tucker Carlson. Tonight: book 'em. Three of the year's most controversial authors defend their views and attack some of ours. She says the way liberals talk about the right is nothing short of slander. He says the president is ignoring the most important lesson of his daddy's re-election campaign. And this former judge is ready to make the case against lawyers. Tonight on CROSSFIRE. From the George Washington University, Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson. 
BEGALA:   Good evening. Welcome to CROSSFIRE. If you're a loyal CROSSFIRE viewer, our crack research team has developed your demographic profile. You're very likely to be intelligent, well informed and politically sophisticated. Most important, you appreciate high quality programming at affordable prices. One more thing, you're very likely to be an avid reader. 
CARLSON:   Not to mention a snappy dresser. Tonight you get the best of both words, our annual CROSSFIRE book program. Authors of three of the most intriguing and possibly profound book of the year will be subjected to some of the toughest questioning any where. In fact, one of the authors happens to be sitting across from me. A little later, my colleague on the right Bob Novak will join me to try to expose some the remarkable claims Mr. Paul Begala makes in his book. But we begin with one of the lightning rods of the conservative movement. Columnist Ann Coulter spent much of the year perched atop the best-seller list with her ferocious book "Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right." In it, Coulter slashes at a number of media figures: Katie Couric, Peter Jennings and CROSSFIRE's own James Carville. He joined me for the interview. Miss Coulter joined from us a safe distance, our Los Angeles bureau. 
CARVILLE:   Ms. Coulter, you got a lot of things to say about a lot of people in the media and liberal media and even some things to say about the conservative media, but you   some of my favorite topics, gossip and sex. Let me put up a quote from you from the "Washington Post". She, meaning you, Ann Coulter, said yesterday that "National Review" editor -- the "National Review" by the way is one of the most prestigious conservative publications in the country. "National Review" editor Rich Lowry and his deputies are just girly-boys. So I'd like to ask you about a couple of his deputies and see if -- get your opinion if he's a girly-boy or not. Is Ramish Purnaru (ph) -- is he a girly-boy or not? 
COULTER:   No, he's a friend of mine ... 
CARVILLE:   No, girly-boy or not a girly-boy ... 
COULTER:   ... and an excellent writer.    Wait. 
CARVILLE:   Go ahead. 
COULTER:   Was that the end of the question or ... 
CARVILLE:   No I was asking you, Rich Lowry is a girly-boy? Is ... 
COULTER:   I was responding to a question about why they had dropped my column, recommending that we take an extra little gander at swarthy men going -- flying commercial aircraft in America after ... 
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:   Right. 
COULTER:   ... September 11 and remarking that perhaps they were a bit hysterical in light of the fact that six months later "National Review" came out for racial profiling at airports. I think that is -- and I did accurately describe what was going on, though I have to say a lot of people were hysterical after the war. We -- the nation was under attack, so I don't really blame them.  
CARVILLE:   That's interesting. But I just -- we have established that Lowry, in your opinion, is a girly-boy. Is Mr. Purnaru (ph) a girly-boy? 
COULTER:   No, but I am pleased that you are illustrating an aspect ...    ... put together an MTV video, I can put this in it. I wrote a book that has ... 
CARVILLE:   Right. 
COULTER:   ... you know, thousands of facts, studies, quotes - 35 pages of footnotes ... 
CARVILLE:   Right. 
COULTER:   ... and what you're trying to do is go through and find some quote that will -- that will expose me as a wild bigot so that people can just dismiss the idea of the book ... 
CARVILLE:   No ma'am, I'm not accusing ...    ... I'm not accusing you of being a bigot ... 
COULTER:   I don't -- I have ... 
CARVILLE:   I don't know if you're a bigot. I do know you're a fool. 
COULTER:   Oh, I'm a fool. Well let me ... 
CARVILLE:   Of course you are. 
COULTER:   ... retract my book then. This is precisely ...    ... the problem ... 
CARVILLE:   Well I don't care about your book. 
COULTER:   ... in America.  
CARVILLE:   Right. 
COULTER:   And I must say I barely mention you -- is the question going on?    Sorry, I didn't hear ... 
CARVILLE:   Go ahead. 
CARLSON:   Let me address --- hello, let me address one of the ideas in your book. I want to read you a quote you wrote -- a pretty amusing quote. We'll put it up on the screen. 
COULTER:   Thank you. 
CARLSON:   Here it is. "George Bush doesn't actually have to be a penis head for some portion of voters to believe absolutely without hesitation that he is a penis head. That's the beauty of controlling all major sources of news dissemination in America. It ensures that liberals will never have to learn how to argue beyond the level of a six--year old". Now obviously I agree with the last point. I work on CROSSFIRE. I know. But the first point, that there's this conspiracy, this liberal conspiracy ... 
COULTER:   Conspiracy is your word, I believe, Tucker. 
CARLSON:   Well no, but I'm just -- that's what -- that's the implication, that the press is really sort of in a league with its various parts and that they're aligned against the right. That's a conspiracy. Is that what ... 
COULTER:   This is why conservatives have to write books. I put things in my own words, which interestingly enough, I find the better words ... 
CARLSON:   Yes. 
COULTER:   ... and the point of that is that, as James just demonstrated, we'll be able to use it as a clip for the MTV version of my book. This is how Democrats argue. Instead of engaging ideas, generally you're either an idiot or a fool, as he just called me, or you're crazy ... 
CARLSON:   Well, wait a second ... 
COULTER:   ... it's either scarily weird or dumb, and so you can never engage in ideas. That is ... 
CARLSON:   Hold on. Slow down ... 
COULTER:   ... beginning of the chapter. 
CARLSON:   No, Ann, I'm not accusing you of any of those things -- being dumb or ... 
COULTER:   No, I'm explaining the quote you just ran.    You asked ... 
CARLSON:   But ... 
COULTER:   ... the chapter. 
CARLSON:   OK, the bottom line question I have is you're obviously on the right -- so am I, good for you. But, you've done well in spite of that. Doesn't that say something, that if they're -- you know, if the liberals do control the media and I think generally they do. They're -- conservatives can still vanquish them or rise above or whatever. Isn't that -- aren't you a demonstration that that's true? 
COULTER:   It does say something. What it -- what it says something about, and this is an important point, is the great common sense of the American people, despite the constant browbeating, 24 hours a day, on the major networks on all major newspapers and magazines. The American people really have shown an enormous capacity to withstand the propaganda, especially in those media, which I describe as the   media where they are allowed to choose. That is the Internet, radio, and books, where conservatives absolutely dominate the lists, dominate the top Internet sites, dominate talk radio. When Americans are given a choice, they choose conservatives. They're not given a choice on ABC, NBC and CBS. 
CARVILLE:   Well let's -- first of all, I want to -- no liberal thinks that President Bush is a penis head. We think he's actually an airhead, but there's a difference between the two. Let's go to your book and let's take a quote out of the book here. Like Catholic schoolgirls engaging in wild promiscuity to prove they aren't fanatics, and we're going to talk about a real liberal here as opposed to some of these pseudo liberals.  Robertson (ph), that is Pat Robertson (ph), consistently takes to most pathetically moderate, establishment positions within the Republican Party. Do you think Robertson is a real liberal? 
COULTER:   That is so preposterous to take that quote and suggest...    ... where I wrote it that I was suggesting that he was a liberal. I was saying nothing of the sort. That is not the point... 
CARVILLE:   ... is he a pathetic moderate? 
COULTER:   I'm sorry, I thought you were done with your question. 
CARVILLE:   No. 
COULTER:   What's your question? 
CARVILLE:   I've rephrased my question. You're right, you didn't say I want to be accurate, that Pat Robertson is a pathetic moderate. 
COULTER:   Are you done with your question now? 
CARVILLE:   Yes, I'm done. 
COULTER:   Because you know what? Another way liberals avoid engaging in ideas is to constantly, constantly interrupt conservatives on air, to talk over them, to filibuster them. It's as if liberals are afraid if -- an articulate conservative position ever escapes into the world it will put a religious hex on them. What are you so afraid of? Let me talk. Let me answer your question. Both of the quotes that you have both just put up really are sort of odd quotes to be using to take them completely out of context ... 
CARLSON:   Ann ...    ... hold on. Stop for a sec. 
COULTER:   I'm not accusing you ...    ... of being a liberal, but first I will describe the penis head quote. That was in the chapter in which I point out that liberals can be deprived of half their arguments if they could never call another Republican dumb. That is the chapter that is detailed in the number of times Republicans, especially presidential candidates, are called dumb. The point I was making in the middle of that paragraph, that sentence there, was that it's on the order of, you know, a six--year old who has been deprived of all capacity to melt logical counter arguments calling ... 
CARVILLE:   Well you're right ... 
COULTER:   ... everything a penis head, calling everything stupid. 
CARVILLE:   ... but conservatives ramble and you're rambling right now. 
COULTER:   And on the ... 
CARVILLE:   ... ask you the question -- I want to ask you the question -- Robertson, is he a pathetic moderate? Is that your opinion of Pat? Is he defined pathetic moderate ... 
COULTER:   That is in a chapter on the religious right in which I've tried to figure out what the religious right was, and from reading through, you know, endlessly, it ultimately comes down to either one man, Pat Robertson, or a majority of Americans, as the "New York Times" seems to define the religious right, anyone who wants his taxes cut and believes in it being even higher than the "New York Times." My point in going through Robertson's position right there, which I follow up with, is to say that if he didn't go on TV and yap about God all the time, yes he would be Jim Jeffords of Vermont, even be ...    ... concerned moderate Republican. If that's what liberals are frightened of, they scare easily. 
CARLSON:   OK, then speaking of moderates, I mean I think -- I think it's actually fair to call the current president, President Bush, a moderate. I mean it's an insult, but I think it's true. Are you disappointed in him, in his endorsement in signing the campaign finance bill, the steel tariffs coming out yesterday in favor of settlements for the partners, the gay partners of firemen and cops in New York, et cetera, et cetera. I mean I could go on. He's obviously not as conservative as you are. Do you feel like he's betrayed conservatism?  
COULTER:   Oh, absolutely not. I think he's been a great president. I think he's been a fabulous wartime president, as I describe in the book. OK, he sells out on a few namby-pamby issues, but he has been a magnificent leader and most of all, I would say consider the alternative. 
CARLSON:   We have to take a quick break but when we come we'll ask Ann Coulter why she compared Katie Couric to Hitler's wife. Later, two against one: Bob Novak and I grill Paul Begala on his new book. It's a sight you won't want to miss. He cries. We'll be right back.
