The Beltway Boys' Tip Sheet for the Week of Sept. 30

This partial transcript of The Beltway Boys, September 30, 2001 was provided by the Federal Document Clearing House. Click here to order the complete transcript.

And here's our "Tip Sheet" for next week's action. Mort, I know you're ready.

KONDRACKE: I'm ready.

BARNES: OK. Item one, the U.N. General Assembly meets next week to talk about global terrorism.

KONDRACKE: Well, the important thing happened on Friday, when the U.N. Security Council, which is the important policy-making body of the United Nations, unanimously voted for a crackdown on terrorism. I mean, the, the, the General Assembly is a wind tunnel, and I'm sure that you're going to hear a lot of wind being passed about, about what is terrorism, and, you know, how the U.S. and, and Israel are bad guys and so on.Doesn't mean anything.

BARNES: You mean you're not going to be all ears to hear what Myanmar and Sierra Leone have to say?

KONDRACKE: You got it.

BARNES: Benin?

KONDRACKE: You got it.

BARNES: All right.

Item two, it's put up or shut up time for Rudy Giuliani

, the mayor of New York City, on his political future.

KONDRACKE: Well, you know, I -- I'm, I'm still against term limits, I, you know, I would have loved to see Giuliani stay on legally. But the fact is that he tried to stay on in the end by stealth and by trying to muscle...

BARNES: Right.

KONDRACKE: ... other, other candidates. That was bad. I like your idea about the FAA. But if I were Governor George Pataki, I would watch my back.

BARNES: Yes. You know, he's -- as, as great a job as he's done since September 11, he's not indispensable. Ronald Reagan was, George Bush may be as our leader in the war on terrorism, but I'm afraid Rudy's not.Item three, Federal Reserve meets again next week, look for a quarter-point rate cut.

KONDRACKE: Well, I hope it's more than a quarter-point, because this economy is really in the dumps, and it could use a half-point, I think. This is Alan Greenspan's moment of truth, not only on a rate cut, but on sounding the gong so that they can get, they can get a stimulus package going in time to, to put spending money in people's pockets.

BARNES: Yes, I wish he would push for a cap gains cut in -- because then Congress would do it.

All right, item four, peace talks resume in the Middle East next week as Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres meet.

KONDRACKE: Well, you know, this is all for show. I mean, Sharon, Sharon, Sharon has allowed Peres to meet because the United States was leaning on him. Arafat is, is meet, is agreeing to this meeting because he wants to pretend that he's not a terrorist, you know. So nothing's going to really get done, and it -- and nothing will get done until the Palestinians decide that they're for peace, which they're not at the moment.

BARNES: Yes, but the point, the point of that U.N. resolution, shouldn't Arafat have to kick out his terrorists, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, before that meeting?

KONDRACKE: He will say that they're not terrorists of global reach.

BARNES: All right.  Item five, the Senate hopes to complete work on the defense bill. President Bush's primary ally in pushing it through, his new best friend, Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle.

KONDRACKE: Yes, Daschle's trying to keep out extraneous measures from, from mucking up the bill. The important thing is that, that Bush has decided that, that missile defense is not a first priority any more. He's taken $400 million of missile defense money for terrorism.

BARNES: Yes, but most of the money is going to be for defense.

KONDRACKE: Coming up, congressional unity is beginning to show signs of partisan strain, perhaps. We'll ask a key member of the Democratic leadership. Stay with us.

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