Geraldine Ferraro on Obama and Wright

This is a rush transcript from "America's Election HQ," April 30, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MEGYN KELLY, "AEHQ" CO-HOST: Well, Hillary Clinton putting in her two cents tonight on Obama's pastor problems with FOX's very own, Bill O'Reilly. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY, FOX HOST: Can you believe this Reverend Wright guy? Can you believe this guy? What do you think?

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D-NY) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know, I'm going to leave it up to the voters to decide.

O'REILLY: No, what do you think as an American? You're an American.

CLINTON: Well, what I said when I was asked directly is that I would have not stayed in that church.

O'REILLY: No, no, no. But you're an American citizen. I'm an American citizen. He's an American citizen, Reverend Wright. What do you think when you hear a fellow American citizen say that stuff about America? What do you think?

CLINTON: Well, I take offense at it. I think it's offensive and outrageous. And, you know, I'm going to express my opinion, others can express theirs. But, you know, it is part of, you know, just an atmosphere that we're in today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY: And coming up in just about 10 minutes now, Bill O'Reilly will be here live to talk about his exclusive sit-down with Senator Clinton.

But first, with us tonight, FOX News contributor and Hillary Clinton supporter, Geraldine Ferraro. Hi, Geraldine.

• Click here to watch the interview

GERALDINE FERRARO, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: And we did not color coordinate.

KELLY: You and Hillary didn't call each other this morning about the pink memo?

FERRARO: No, no. I think that was so funny.

KELLY: All right. So, that is the first time we've heard her come out with such strong language about Reverend Wright — outrageous, offensive. Is it any accident of that she does it one day after Barack Obama uses similar language?

FERRARO: Let me just — she was push in that position, because if she opens her mouth about Reverend Wright, there's going to be some charge coming at the Obama campaign that she's racist. I mean, that's what's been going on. I have to tell you something, and, you know, I kind of tend to look at these things a little bit differently than most. I happen to think that this is in some ways, an inoculation that Obama has given himself for the general election.

KELLY: Really?

FERRARO: Well, and let me tell you why I feel that way. I don't know who started it, but I watched television for the last couple of days and watched all the media at reminiscing whatever made the Reverend Wright do this? Well, can anybody explain that what made him wait three months after this thing started to turn around and all of a sudden have the most coordinated way of dealing with the press pushing him out and the next day the most coordinated campaign by Axelrod coming up and explaining about this loony uncle or crazy uncle or whatever he said about him?

If you think about it, this is the perfect time to have this come to a head, right now, because it's - you know, simmering for several months and people are dissatisfied with how Barack Obama has responded. This gave him an opportunity to come out and hit hard the first time. Will he lose anything in the primaries?

Well, you know, if you've been listening as I have, and I'm sure you have for the past several weeks, he's got the states, you'd just heard that. He's won more states than she has. He has the popular vote once they don't count Michigan and they don't count Indiana. He has the pledged delegates.

KELLY: Michigan and Florida.

FERRARO: I'm sorry — your Florida and Michigan. And he also is turning around saying, "I've got the super delegates." So this cannot hurt him in his view on.

KELLY: Do you think this was coordinated?

FERRARO: You know, I would be too cynical if I thought that they actually went out and planned it, and I actually tossed that around with one of my partners this afternoon, and he said, I said Axelrod is very smart, he says, "Actually, he's not that smart." But this has been an incredible campaign, but if I wanted to inoculate somebody for a general election, I'd say, "Get it out, make sure it's out early."

KELLY: Because you don't think — do you not think that Republican machine has.

FERRARO: They're going to go after him.

KELLY: You think it's dead for them now even when they get to the general election?

FERRARO: It's not dead, but I have to tell you, it is going to be much harder for them to raise it than now. In this way, he can, in his mind because whole campaign has been about process. You cannot turn around and hurt him at this point.

KELLY: OK. Let's say he can't turn around and hurt him. Is the damage already done? We're going to be looking at these FOX Poll numbers that came out today. He's down in almost every category. He's been hurt already. Does he rebound from that? (INAUDIBLE) beat McCain?

FERRARO: That's what it is. Now, he's the victim. We're all wringing our hands saying — this poor man, how is he in this position, he can't do anything. Reverend Wright is kind of off his rocker doing this. I don't know if that's really — I mean, the man is a very smart man, Reverend Wright is a very smart man, and he's also very devoted to Barack Obama and he to the Reverend Wright. How would he do something like this? I mean, that is just inexplicable to me unless he thought that in the long run that this would get it out there, and move it so that Barack Obama could get past it.

KELLY: Interesting. What was all the theorists have said that he just did it because he didn't care about Barack Obama. Here is another point of view tonight from Geraldine Ferraro.

FERRARO: I think (INAUDIBLE).

KELLY: Thank you so much for being here.

FERRARO: Thank you.

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