This is a rush transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," March 12, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMIAH WRIGHT, CHICAGO TRINITY UNITED CHURCH: Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people. Hillary can never know that. Hillary ain't never been called a (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: That was video Fox obtained from Barack Obama's controversial spiritual adviser of more than 20 years, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Now, it seems that another preacher at Obama's church is also following in the pastor's footsteps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. OTIS MOSS III, TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST: For anybody who is tuning in the video screen, who normally doesn't tune in, you're looking for something, Reverend Jane. What's up Hannity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: What's up, Hannity? And to make matters worse, the church is raising questions with the IRS because of how they're campaigning for Obama at the pulpit. We continue now with our panel. First of all, I will not let up on this issue, Jeanine Pirro. If his pastor went to Libya, Tripoli with Louis Farrakhan, a virulent, anti-Semitic racist, his church gave a lifetime achievement award to Louis Farrakhan. That's been Barack Obama's pastor for 20 years. And we will continue to expose this until somebody in the mainstream media has the courage to take this on. Do you agree this should be an issue?
• Click here: watch the panel discuss Obama's controversial preacher
JEANINE PIRRO, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATE: It's clearly ab issue. And I think the person who should be asked about it is Obama. Maybe he'll have the opportunity. Here's the bottom line, we can't all be responsible for what other people say.
HANNITY: His pastor, the one who inspired audacity of hope.
PIRRO: You know, I would venture a guess that a lot of people go to churches or synagogues don't agree with everything their preachers say. That's not the issue. They shouldn't be politicking from the pulpit. That's why the IRS is getting involved.
HANNITY: I don't want to talk about that. I want to go to Dee Dee Myers. Dee Dee, first of all, would you attend a church where your pastor traveled to Tripoli with Louis Farrakhan, that your church gave a lifetime achievement award to Louis Farrakhan? And would you call yourself friendly with a man from the Weather Underground who admits to bombing the Pentagon and the capital building, and said in 2001 he wished he had done more?
DEE DEE MYERS, AUTHOR, "WHY WOMEN SHOULD RULE THE WORLD": Sean, I'm not here to sit in Barack Obama's shoes.
HANNITY: I'm not asking you that. Would you go to a church — that's not fair. This is a simple question.
MYERS: I'm not going to get into saying what kind of church I would and wouldn't go to, Sean. I might not go to your church because I don't agree with you on things that are ...
HANNITY: I won't go to a church that's friends with a racist and an anti-Semite. Was so hard about saying that, Dee Dee?
MYERS: I think Senator Obama has dissociated himself or denounced.
HANNITY: That's weak. That's a weak answer.
MYERS: It's not a weak answer. And I think Jeanine Pirro is exactly right. We don't have to be held accountable for everything that is said by every one of our supporters if we're running for president, or by everything that is said by the pastor of our church.
ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: And if that is Kate Obenshain, don't we have to hold — Yeah. Go ahead. Go ahead Dee Dee. Finish up.
MYERS: What are you saying? Are you saying, Sean, that Senator Obama agrees with those sentiments? Is that the point that you're trying to make? That those are his sentiments?
ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Obama has said they're not. He's been very clear. He's distanced himself from Farrakhan. Now Kate Obenshain, if you're going to hold Obama's pastor accountable for Obama, or hold him accountable for everything his pastor does, then we have to hold John McCain accountable for John Hagee, who has been denounced by the Catholic League for making anti-Catholic comments...
OBENSHAIN: No. Actually —
COLMES: ... called it a great whore, an apostate church, the anti-Christ and a false cult system, and John McCain is honored to receive that man's endorsement. So don't we have a double standard here?
OBENSHAIN: No, actually —
HANNITY: That's not his pastor.
OBENSHAIN: Actually, he said very clearly that —
COLMES: It's not a standard. It's someone he's honored to have the endorsement of.
OBENSHAIN: Ok. My turn. My turn! He said he does not endorse everything that everybody says who gives him money. I think the interesting point here is what Obama did say last week about Reverend Wright. He said that some of the things he said are considered controversial. It's very similar to what Obama said at the Ohio debate trying to avoid distancing himself from Louis Farrakhan.
COLMES: He did.
OBENSHAIN: YES. Obama wants it both ways. He does not want to lose the support of people who follow Farrakhan and Reverend Wright, but he doesn't want to be considered too close to them.
COLMES: He's been very clear —
OBENSHAIN: Well, you know what? When you're running for president, you have to take a stand and you have to say, I do not support those sort of views.
COLMES: Then shouldn't John McCain say he doesn't support the views of a man who makes anti-Catholic statements?
OBENSHAIN: He did, I believe. He said I'm not — I don't agree with everything — a
COLMES: And Obama says he does not support anti-Semitism, as expressed by Louis Farrakhan.
HANNITY: Leave the church.
OBENSHAIN: He very narrowly. Alan, he very narrowly distanced himself from the anti-Semitic comments.
COLMES: May I speak please? Jeanine, where do you stand on this.
PIRRO: I already answered him.
COLMES: What about John Hagee.
HANNITY: We've got five seconds.
PIRRO: Five seconds, hit me.
HANNITY: Yeah. Well, I would say leave the church and you agree with me.
PIRRO: I'm not saying leave the church. I'm saying come out and say what you think. It's like driver's license, no driver's license. Answer the question. They should all answer questions.
HANNITY: Alright.
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