Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show # 118C1
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "Opening Monologue"
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show # 118C1 - "God in the Oval Office" (the faith-based presidency of George W. Bush), and "Chronicling Kerry." Hosted by Tucker Carlson, with guests David Horowitz and Richard Cohen. Tucker Carlson delivers opening monologue. U.S. President George W. Bush says, "Prayer and religion sustained me." President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush seen at church service, their heads bowed in prayer. President Bush says, “God wants everybody to be free... When I make decisions, I stand on principle, and the principles are derived from who I am." U.S. Senator John Kerry says, “It’s one thing to be certain. But you can be certain and be wrong." President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush walking out of church with a priest.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "Segment Preview/Show Open"
Show host Tucker Carlson previews upcoming segment called "Take 2" with guests David Horowitz, editor of Front Page Magazine, and Richard Cohen of the Washington Post. Title card.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "Personal Beliefs of President Bush"
Show host Tucker Carlson discusses how critics and supporters view the personality of President Bush. U.S. President George W. Bush, wearing a cowboy hat, using chainsaw to cut through a log. President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush walking inside church, both wearing black. Cover of the book “Faith, Certainty, and the Presidency of George W. Bush." Hands folded in prayer. President and First Lady Bush seated at long table with their heads bowed in prayer. President Bush waving as he walks down the stairs of Air Force One.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "President Bush and God"
U.S. President George W. Bush, wearing glasses, seated at desk in the Oval Office, signing document. President Bush seated with his head bowed and eyes closed at a church service. President Bush speaking from church pulpit during service. Show host Tucker Carlson in studio with Ron Suskind of the New York Times Magazine, talking about Bush's relationship with God. Suskind is not clear what the President truly believes, but the signal he sends to the conservative Evangelical base has them believing the President is a messenger of God. The challenge for Bush now is to continue sending that message, but not going too far where he loses votes in swing states. Carlson asks if it is a good thing that the country has a President who believes he is carrying out God’s will. Suskind says past American presidents have stayed away from that kind of thinking, which makes the message coming from President Bush new yet troubling.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "God in Politics"
Show host Tucker Carlson says equally troubling is the reactionary nature of either side-- secular and religious voters-- when it comes to the mention of God in politics. Ron Suskind of the New York Times Magazine agrees that this is an issue that even plagued the founders of the Constitution, referring to the piety of power. In the case of President George W. Bush, what Suskind finds interesting from those who are with the President or have known him in the past four years is that he has retreated from the embrace of rigorous analysis and embraced relying on his gut, and in the belief that God affirms his instincts.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "God in Politics"
Show host Tucker Carlson brings up a quote from historian Bruce Bartlett, a critic of U.S. President George W. Bush, where he compares the religious faith of the President to beliefs and fundamentalism of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic fundamentalist enemies. This strikes Carlson as a hysterical comment seeing as the policies of the President have been in line with traditional Republican conservatism. Ron Suskind of the New York Times Magazine tries to explain Bartlett’s point by saying that there are those who are fearful of the President’s fundamental-like certainty when he makes comments like, “We will rid the world of evil." Some Republicans are troubled by President Bush’s binary-like view of the world (good vs evil). This concern is mainly held by well educated Republicans while Republicans in the Midwest and rural communities are most receptive to that kind of thinking.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "God in Politics"
Show host Tucker Carlson wonders if it would be better to have a President whose strength and faith come from God rather than a President whose absolute value is getting re-elected. Ron Suskind of the New York Times Magazine argues that most Presidents have embraced faith on a personal level but President George W. Bush may have crossed a threshold after September 11th where he began to believe that his actions were a part of God’s divine plan and his administration seems to be going in the direction of a faith-based Presidency. While past Presidents, starting notably with Abraham Lincoln, have said that God’s will cannot be divined to us, President Bush has not made that affirmation. Carlson thanks Suskind. Segment ends.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "Re-Election Rally"
Composite (unclean) footage with text showing Warren McGraw, a Democrat running for re-election on the Court of Appeals in West Virginia.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "Political Policy vs Cultural Identity"
Show host Tucker Carlson in studio with David Horowitz, editor of Front Page Magazine, and Richard Cohen from the Washington Post. Carlson poses question of whether a political party’s programs and policies are now less important than how well they identify with the current culture in the country, creating a static problem where one side cannot be won over by the other side simply because there is an entrenched cultural divide. Horowitz agrees, says the country is polarized by differing cultural values. He uses President George W. Bush as an example, appointing a diverse cabinet and signing an education bill, yet hated by the left due to his cultural values, his open discussion about his faith in God, and the war in Iraq. Cohen believes the Bush administration has worsened the cultural divide by not attempting to bring the left and center to their side, instead moving to the right and isolating voters. Bush no longer seems comfortable in his own skin. Carlson agrees.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "Iraq War & Cultural Divide"
David Horowitz, editor of Front Page Magazine, thinks the war in Iraq, not cultural differences, is what troubles President George W. Bush and has created a political divide in the United States. He blames former Vice President Al Gore and former President Jimmy Carter for denouncing President Bush when he went to the United Nations in the lead-up to the Iraq war, thus making the war a political partisan issue. Host Tucker Carlson thinks the Democrats rolled over, gave little resistance to the President in the lead-up. Richard Cohen of the Washington Post agrees, notes that only within the last three weeks has there been significant criticism from the Democrats on the war. Horowitz says the Dems have attacked the President as a liar, a fraud, someone who has betrayed the country. Cohen says other conflicts (including the Korean War) have had the non-governing party criticize the sitting party and President. The criticism is warranted here because the reasons for going to war have proven to be spurious. Horowitz, referencing the Vietnam War, maintains that criticism from the minority party only occurs when the war is lost or nearing its end. Cohen fires back that the leadership of the Democratic Party has not called for an end to the war, and have only criticized the way the war has been carried out.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "Candidate John Kerry"
Show host Tucker Carlson wonders if it might be beneficial for Democratic candidate for President John Kerry to simply speak his mind, which would seem to lead to calling for an end to the war in Iraq. Richard Cohen of the Washington Post honestly does not believe that is what Kerry really thinks. He believes opposite, that pulling out of the war and the area will only create more chaos. Carlson thanks both guests as the segment ends.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "Diary of a Political Tourist"
Show host Tucker Carlson introduces the Back Page segment, speaks with filmmaker Alexandria Pelosi about her latest project, "Diary of a Political Tourist," which focuses on Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry. Carlson notices that, unlike U.S. President George W. Bush, Kerry is camera-shy and wonders why that is.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "Diary of a Political Tourist"
Filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi does not know why Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry was camera-shy. She believes Kerry missed a real opportunity for people to get to know him better. Both host Tucker Carlson and Pelosi agree that documentary is a good way for politicians to open up to the American public. Carlson notes that candidates change from the time they campaign to when they are given the chance to govern, and he asks how U.S. President George W. Bush has changed from the time she knew him on the campaign trail. Pelosi notes that pre-9/11 and in the campaign, President Bush was a man comfortable in his own skin, laid back, a fun person to be around. Now it appears that he is in a bubble, surrounded by yes-men, and has lost touch with the common man. Carlson refers to Pelosi’s movie where she notes that political candidates essentially spend two years flying on chartered planes, eating terrible food, and having no privacy. He wonders what that does to a person. Pelosi sees that it disconnects them from reality, placing them instead in a media-created surreal universe. Candidates are afraid to be honest and instead follow a banal script that avoids any semblance of controversy. Carlson asks Pelosi what she learned from Kerry that the public does not know. “The less you say, the further you’ll go."
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "Diary of a Political Tourist"
Filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi comments on how winning in politics means following a script, to avoid speaking honestly. Show host Tucker Carlson asks if they are the same people that we see on television; Pelosi says no, the candidates people see on TV are like little clones that the media created for sound bites. Carlson jokes that that is what Pelosi’s job now is, to show the real person. Pelosi laments that Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry did not let that happen. Carlson thanks Pelosi, tells her she is welcome to come with a camera to his house anytime.
Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered - Show 118C1 - "End of Show Thoughts"
Show host Tucker Carlson gives end-of-show monologue bucking the perception that voting is an obligation. If the viewer does not like the choices presented to him or her, then not voting is perfectly acceptable. Carlson signs off. Credits roll.