This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," August 31, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Controversy erupted today after President Barack Obama announced that he intends to unveil his jobs plan in the form of a speech to a joint session of Congress. However, one little itsy-bitsy problem. Now, the Speaker of the House has essentially declined the president's request.
Now things are just a little different for "The Anointed One" now that he's not on Martha's Vineyard. And it all started when the president sent a letter to Speak of the House John Boehner to formerly ask that the joint session be held next Wednesday night. Well, not so coincidentally, that happens to be the same night of the next Republican presidential debate.
But let not your heart be troubled. Today, the White House press secretary, he generously announced that he wouldn't mind if the Republicans rescheduled their debate, which has been on the books for months. By the way, the debate organizers have dismissed Mr. Carney's suggestion, and that brings us to Speaker Boehner who in light of the pending GOP debate and other legislative concerns, has asked that the speech take place on Thursday instead.
We're going to get Ann Coulter's reaction to this -- match, coming up straight ahead.
Meanwhile, it was high noon deep in the heart of Texas yesterday as the two Republican presidential front runners, well, they collided for a brief moment. And the showdown took place at the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in San Antonio. And despite being on the turf of his political rival, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney showed he was not afraid of taking a shot at the Texas Governor Rick Perry. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, I'm a conservative businessman. I spent most of my life outside politics. Dealing with real problems in the real economy. Career politicians got us into this mess and they simply don't know how to get us out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And joining me now with reaction to all the drama in D.C. and beyond, is the author of the New York Times best seller "Demonic," Ann Coulter is back. Coulter, how are you?
ANN COULTER, AUTHOR, "DEMONIC": I'm fine thanks. How are you?
HANNITY: I'm good.
COULTER: Good to see you in studio.
HANNITY: All right. This is pretty amazing. All right. So, the president is on his vacation, I'm going to come up with a plan, I'm three years into by administration, it's time to get a plan, shovel ready jobs. All right. Putting all that aside, he has to pick, what bright light around the president?
COULTER: I think it was intentional.
HANNITY: Of course it was.
COULTER: I think it was petty and the idea that he will not take a day off, come back early from Martha's Vineyard vacation to come up with these jobs plan, but he will just try to interfere with the Republican debate. I also like that it wasn't the way it was originally reported, the White House told NBC that they were allowed to reschedule the Republican debate. Which does at least give the order of things, the White House, the boss of NBC.
HANNITY: Yes.
COULTER: And I think Boehner is doing absolutely the right thing. Now Obama not only looks petty, he looks weak. Boehner said no. Come do it.
(CROSSTALK)
Why not do it Tuesday? Why not the day right after Labor Day? No, he's going to do it Wednesday. Not quite immediately after Labor Day, not Thursday, can't wait until Thursday.
HANNITY: Well, you know, one day, 24 hours we haven't had a plan for three years.
COULTER: And it is going to be the same old nonsense, anyway. I mean, the idea that he's calling a Joint Session of Congress for this, I mean, that is for the State of the Union addresses, for an announcement of war after an attack on the nation. Joint Session of Congress just to hear the same old nonsense from this guy?
HANNITY: No, well, it is almost like he's reaching down into his inner crybaby child side. And you know that they planned this. Somebody thought what a great idea, we'll put the Republicans in the box. They are going to say no to the president, he will look good and they will seem petty.
COULTER: I think Boehner looks great.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: This was on the books forever.
COULTER: Yes.
HANNITY: And he wasn't going to stop his vacation to give this speech.
COULTER: Right.
HANNITY: So, I think this is going to backfire on whatever genius came up with this idea.
COULTER: I think that is right particularly once we hear the same nonsense in his speech. I mean there's no possible way, Obama could come up with some actually useful idea for creating jobs, because he is a dyed in the wool liberal and liberals don't know how to do it.
HANNITY: Well, the president already said he now supports extending the gas tax. He's talking -- we'll talk about this later. Shovel-ready jobs, new infrastructure spending.
COULTER: Right.
HANNITY: New investment.
COULTER: They want a new stimulus bill with the shovel ready jobs. Because the last stimulus bill only funded public school teachers' pensions. By the way, I'm always telling you that clips I want you to run over and over again until your viewers are complaining. You have to do the one where Obama says, he wants to get gas prices up to $7 in order to encourage people to drive less.
HANNITY: Well, the reason is because, if you inflate your tires and get a tune-up, we will get better gas mileage.
COULTER: The reason is, because liberals are nuts. And they believe in this global warming, or they claim to, so that they can make us all live, I don't know like the Indians.
HANNITY: All right. I know it can be very difficult for to you talk about anybody other than Chris Christie -- Chris Christie, what is with the smile?
COULTER: I said nothing about Chris Christie.
HANNITY: So, what do you think? Look at the poll numbers, Perry has come out strong, Romney is hanging in there.
COULTER: Right.
HANNITY: Bachmann is doing well. Palin is not in, but she still polling very well. Who do you think, you know, at this point, what do you think of Perry? I haven't asked you about him.
COULTER: Umm, I think the fact that he leaps to the head of the polls does show enormous dissatisfaction with Romney and for good reason. Though, we may have to get used to it if my love in Trenton, New Jersey, doesn't jump in. But I think Christie or rather Perry does have some problems of his own. And I think it is very important for people to remember that there's a difference running and being elected in Texas, versus Massachusetts or New Jersey. I mean, basically, Perry has won elections in a state that is entirely the Republican base.
HANNITY: Wait a minute, South Carolina, he's up 24 points. I mean, he's got.
COULTER: Yes. That's our base.
HANNITY: OK. But wait a minute. And more over, but the important point is when your entire electorate is a conservative Republican base, you don't have room to make a single mistake. And Perry has made mistakes. He's made big mistakes on illegal immigration.
HANNITY: Don't you see a big vulnerability here in terms of Obama, the economy stays --
COULTER: Oh yes, yes, yes.
HANNITY: Look, Maxine Waters criticizing him is important. Maxine Waters is going to vote for Barack Obama.
COULTER: Right.
HANNITY: She's not going to vote for a Republican, but percentage of his base stays home because they are out of work, the economy has not gotten better, hope and change has fizzled out.
COULTER: Right. No, I agree, Obama has a total glass jaw it could be that any of these candidates could win but you may as well run your best candidate and also you want a think about which candidate is going to govern probably. I would also say that since I think if Christie doesn't jump in, it is going to be Romney perhaps, this is wrong, but that is my guess, I'd want Perry or Romney. We also -- about the United States Senate, because in both cases, we want a Republican president who will sign the things that a Republican Senate will send up. This should be a good year for Republicans in the Senate. So, don't forget about those elections, too.
HANNITY: Let me ask you this. If Governor Christie doesn't run, which I don't think -- look, I've asked him enough times and I'm taking him at his word.
All right. So, he doesn't run. Would you want whoever gets the nomination to pick Christie as VP or maybe somebody like Marco Rubio?
COULTER: No, it's definitely got to be Marco Rubio. I don't know who the presidential candidate is going to be. I know the vice presidential candidate is going to be. It's going to be Marco Rubio. Unless he turns it down. And I don't know why he would.
HANNITY: Well, I don't know why he would. And I don't think he should. Because I think he's the future Republican any way.
COULTER: Although, it is getting to the point now. The reason Marco Rubio is just seems like such an obvious choice, he is the choice of the Tea Party. He is the choice of Hispanics. He's the choice for Florida which is normally a swing state. Obama's numbers are so bad in Florida, he may not even need somebody from Florida. Let's go for somebody from California, try to take that state.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Do you think it is a possibility?
(LAUGHING)
COULTER: No, but I do think Obama has a real glass jaw but things could change.
HANNITY: One last question.
COULTER: Powers of incumbency. And he has the mainstream media.
HANNITY: What do you think of all these attacks, Congressional Black Caucus members including, we are going to show this next, Andre Carson, you know, standing by these comments about the Tea Party wanting to lynch African-Americans. And Tea Party members are terrorists, they can go straight to hell, they're racist. Why do you think they are ratcheting up? Because obviously, strategy that Democrats --
COULTER: Well, I think it is a somber and mature response to the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords where we've all decided to, you know, cut the hyperbole in political rhetoric.
HANNITY: So, this is all the Kumbaya moment. All right. Coulter, good to see you.
COULTER: Good to see you.
HANNITY: I'll let you know as soon as Christie tells me what his decision is.
COULTER: I think I'm going to know first. He better tell me first.
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