This is a partial transcript from The Beltway Boys, November 30, that has been edited for clarity. Click here to order the complete transcript.
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JUAN WILLIAMS, GUEST CO-HOST: I'm Juan Williams, in for Mort Kondracke.
FRED BARNES, CO-HOST: And I'm Fred Barnes. We're The Beltway Boys .
Great to have you here, Juan, and...
WILLIAMS: Good to be here.
BARNES: ... the hot story is this alarm that's been sent over to the United States, I believe, by Al Qaeda. Now, we have these two simultaneous terrorist attacks in Kenya a couple days ago, one at this resort used by Israelis, where a truck bomb killed a lot of people, and then a surface-to-air missile, a couple of them, were fired at a charter plane leaving the Mombasa, Kenya, airport. Now, that's the more alarming one.
But here's what I, here's what I've drawn from this, and I think U.S. officials have as well, that even though some new Palestinian group claimed credit, this looks like Al Qaeda, which has operated in Kenya before, remember, blowing up our embassy there in 1998. And -- along with the one in Tanzania.
So it looks like Al Qaeda's involved. It looks to me like Americans now overseas are more vulnerable than ever. It's hard for them to hit a target in the United States now. But softer targets overseas where Americans may be, we have 10,000 Americans in Indonesia alone. Americans are vulnerable. And particularly American planes, American airliners with, with these people have these surface-to-air missiles, not landing in the United States somewhere but, you know, landing at some overseas airport where the security isn't that good.
You had another incident, this terrorist attack in Israel at a polling place where they were voting in the primary for the -- to renominate, ultimately to renominate Ariel Sharon as the Likud Party candidate. He'll probably win the January 28 election.
You know what I think the situation is now, Juan, that Americans overseas are as vulnerable to terrorists as Israelis are every day, and maybe they're even more vulnerable, maybe more so.
WILLIAMS: Well, you know what, Fred? What you've just said is bad news for the American tourism industry going into the holiday season, because many Americans are going to take what you said seriously. And I think they're going to wise up for themselves and say it's not worth that trip.
In fact, as you pointed out to me earlier in the green room, it's surprising that Israelis are going off to East Africa to that resort knowing that Al Qaeda and many of their sympathizers are very much active in that part of the world.
BARNES: Indeed.
WILLIAMS: Now off to the next big story, Fred. Going South in the United States to Louisiana, and the Senate race between Mary Landrieu and Suzanne Haik-Terrell. I think that's a big story this coming week. President Bush goes...
BARNES: Yes.
WILLIAMS: ... down there for the first of three, count them...one, two, three...visits.
BARNES: ...I know...
WILLIAMS: Now, not only does Bush go down there, guess what? Your old friend Bill Clinton, that's right, your good buddy...Bill Clinton...
BARNES: My man.
WILLIAMS: ... will go down there to a Bayou classic, a football game between two historically black colleges to try to stir up...the black vote for Mary Landrieu. Now, this is going to have intense consequences, because...he might play well in the African-American community...
BARNES: Right, yes.
WILLIAMS: ... we don't know how he's going to play well in...
BARNES: Yes.
WILLIAMS: ... with the white community...
BARNES: Yes.
WILLIAMS: ... in much of the rest of the state.
This has consequences not only in Louisiana but up here in Washington this week...even as negotiations were about to begin between the new Senate majority leader...
BARNES: Right.
WILLIAMS: ... and Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader...
BARNES: Right.
WILLIAMS: ... I should have said Trent Lott is the new Senate majority leader...
BARNES: Right.
WILLIAMS: ... what you're seeing is, they're saying, We want to know exactly how large that Republican margin will be.
BARNES: Right.
WILLIAMS: If Mary Landrieu...
BARNES: Yes.
WILLIAMS: ... gets elected, it's 52 Republicans...
BARNES: Yes.
WILLIAMS: ... and will have direct impact in terms of Senate committee assignments.
But as far as we know right now, according to the very latest polls, those polls show...
BARNES: Yes.
WILLIAMS: ... Landrieu up by about...
BARNES: Yes.
WILLIAMS: ... 16 points, 50 percent...to 34 percent.
BARNES: Yes, yes, yes. I don't believe that poll. There are other polls showing Terrell up by 6 or 8 points. It really depends on, as I think you know, how, how big you think the black vote will be. If Bill Clinton's very successful and there's a huge turnout of black voters, Landrieu's going to win. If, as I expect, a moderate turnout, then that's going to certainly help Terrell.
You know, Bush, three stops -- who'd have thought he'd be going to Shreveport, to Munro, and then to New Orleans? I mean, Munro and Shreveport are to build up the Republican...
WILLIAMS: Right.
BARNES: ... vote, New Orleans to cut into that Democratic vote. I think it's amazing, the president spending all that time.
In the end, I think Terrell has a chance...I think...I think she's going to squeak by and become the first Republican senator from Louisiana's since Reconstruction.
WILLIAMS: And I think you're wrong, I think you're really wrong.
BARNES: Yes.
WILLIAMS: I think Suzy Haik-Terrell, by the way, you know, a former councilwoman in New Orleans...
BARNES: Right.
WILLIAMS: ... not in the rest of the state, and I think that the GOP inside the state, Mike Foster, the governor, Congressman Cooksey, who was -- who himself wanted that seat...
BARNES: Yes.
WILLIAMS: ... wanted the opportunity, I don't think they've coalesced behind her yet. The coalesce -- coalition -- the coalition really is being formed here in Washington by President Bush, by Karl Rove, his political adviser, who want to win that seat in the very worst-
BARNES: They do.
WILLIAMS: ... way.
BARNES: Yes, they do, they do.
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