This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," September 8, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: Continuing now with our lead story: the president's speech tonight and the proposed American Jobs Act. Joining us now from the White House, press secretary Jay Carney. Mr. Carney, nice to see you. Thanks for coming in tonight.
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Bill, it is great to be here. Thanks for having me.
O'REILLY: All right. Well, I hope you feel the same way in seven minutes. Now you know…
CARNEY: I'm sure I will.
O'REILLY: …you know I'm a simple man, all right. You better than anyone. And here is what I don't understand about what the president did tonight. The Republicans are never going to vote to increase taxes on the affluent. They're not going to do it, all right. They have too much invested in telling you guys we want a smaller government. They're not going to do it. So why continue to bang the drum? Why continue to build the American Jobs Act around higher taxes that the Republicans aren't going to vote for?
CARNEY: Well, as you know, Bill, the president worked very hard with the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, in what he hoped, and what we believe the Speaker hoped, would be a grand bargain to deal with our deficit and debt in a significant way, $3 trillion to $4 trillion over the summer. That did not come to pass. But as the Speaker himself said, he put revenues on the table and we believe that if we're going to address our serious economic problems, we need to do it in a balanced way. And that if Democrats and the Republicans are each willing to put their sacred cows, take on their sacred cows a little bit and compromise so we can get big things done. As for the American Jobs Act, yes, the president believes we need to take action now because we have an economic situation that requires action. We could do that…
O'REILLY: Of course. And we all -- what we all want and there was some very good things there. But I'm telling you, the Republicans in the House are not going to vote for an escalation of the tax rate for the affluent and businesses. They're just not going to do it.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: All right, why didn't the president -- why didn't the president wait for two weeks and give us the speech and then how he's going to pay for it, rather than saying, here is the speech, pass it now, and in two weeks I'll tell you how we're going to pay for it? It doesn't make a lot of sense.
(CROSSTALK)
CARNEY: Well, first of all -- OK, well, let me answer, the president actually will submit a bill early next week, the American Jobs Act..
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Yes.
CARNEY: …which will specify how he proposes paying for the American Jobs Act. A week from Monday, he will put forward his broad comprehensive proposal for significant deficit reduction and debt control beyond the $1.5 trillion mandated by the Congress.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: All right, so we get a two…
CARNEY: That will also -- but -- but you will get specific pay-fors on the American Jobs Act next week.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: But why didn't I get it tonight? You know, now I have to watch him again. Why -- I want it all tonight.
CARNEY: It's not -- we're submitting a bill -- no, no. It's not a speech. We're submitting a bill, I won't make you watch him give a speech again.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: I mean, I get paid for doing this. I feel sorry for the folks. All they want to do is watch "Dancing with the Stars" and now they got to come back to see how he's going to pay for it.
All right. Weren't -- would you deliver the president a message for me personally? You've got to stop with Warren Buffet.
CARNEY: Absolutely.
O'REILLY: You've got to stop with Warren, OK. Warren is 88 years old or something. He says his secretary pays more tax. It's not true. He's talking about…
(CROSSTALK)
CARNEY: His secretary pays…
O'REILLY: No. He's talking about -- you know it's true, Jay. Don't try to fool me.
CARNEY: Sure.
O'REILLY: Don't try to fool me.
CARNEY: I'm not.
O'REILLY: He's talking about capital gains, Warren Buffet. The secretary pays federal income tax. It's two different taxes. But Warren and the president are trying to fool us. Stop it. Not good. We all got it.
CARNEY: His effective tax rate, as you know, is significantly lower than the top marginal rate…
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Because he's paying cap gains, not income tax.
CARNEY: …for all the reasons carved out in the tax code and what the president is simply saying is that over the last 10 years, as you know well, Bill. You know, there are folks out there in your audience you speak to every night, as you said, millions of people, who understand that the middle class in this country over the last decade flat-lined.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Jay…
CARNEY: That was before the recession.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Jay, I know you know what I'm talking about. Warren Buffet pays taxes on capital gains. Not income tax.
CARNEY: No, I hear you.
O'REILLY: All right. So the president basically told the nation tonight that he wants to raise capital gains tax in the middle of a -- of a terrible economy. That's insane. You can't do that.
CARNEY: The president -- the president has simply said, as he said for a long time now, that he believes that in the time when we need to get our economy going and create jobs, that everybody needs to…
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: He can't raise taxes. Nobody is going to vote for that. All right, now, the president did say something I really, I really support. Roll the tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I want to see more products sold around the world said with the three proud words, "Made in America." That's what we need to get done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: "Made in America". Right on. "Made in America." Correct?
CARNEY: Hallelujah, right.
O'REILLY: OK.
CARNEY: Absolutely.
O'REILLY: Who was sitting -- who was sitting with the first lady tonight? Do you know who was sitting with her?
CARNEY: Well, there were a variety of folks.
O'REILLY: Jeffrey Immelt, GE CEO. Jeffrey -- you know Jeff, right? He's a big tall guy. Jeffrey Immelt?
CARNEY: Sure.
O'REILLY: Guess who moved his airline division to China and his med tech division from Wisconsin to China? That's Jeffrey Immelt. "Made in America," Jay? Why -- you, Jay, you should walk and throw him out of that box.
CARNEY: He's -- he's a lot bigger than I am. Bill, you're big enough. Maybe you could have done it.
O'REILLY: I would have done it if you let me and gave me permission.
CARNEY: The president is not saying that every American company should not have any business overseas. The president is saying that we as a country and then as a government should be creating incentives for American businesses to hire…
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: And I'm right with you, Jay.
CARNEY: …hire American workers and build products in America.
O'REILLY: I am right with you.
CARNEY: And that -- and his -- his program is designed to help do that.
O'REILLY: OK, I'm with you, Jay. And so is 95 percent of my audience. But you know who is not with you?
(CROSSTALK)
CARNEY: Hey, Bill, and I would say…
O'REILLY: Do you know who's not with you? Jeffrey Immelt. And he's sitting with the first lady, Jay. It doesn't look good. It doesn't look good.
CARNEY: Mr. Immelt has done a lot of good work on the jobs council with Kenneth Chenault and others, other CEOs who are working hard to propose ideas to help get this economy going.
O'REILLY: All right. Next time when you have that guest list, just check it with me, you know. I'm giving you a hard time. But we have to do this. All right, now Tapper gave you a hard time the other day.
CARNEY: Sure.
O'REILLY: Jake Tapper, that ABC pinhead. You know that maybe…
CARNEY: Sure, sure, I know Jake.
O'REILLY: He was giving you the hardest time about Jimmy Hoffa saying that he wants, I guess, the Tea Party to be exterminated by "The Sopranos" or something like that. I'm not quite sure. But anyway, he asked you point-blank…
(CROSSTALK)
CARNEY: I don't think that's…
O'REILLY: Right, you know, it's something. He asked you point-blank why the president didn't repudiate Hoffa's overheated rhetoric and -- and you didn't -- you kind of just blew it off.
CARNEY: Well look, Bill, I -- I think that the American people are tired -- the story here isn't about what people who aren't elected and sent to Washington said. It's not about like somebody's association through six degrees and their party and what they said…
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Look, I know. But you should have said, look the president doesn't feel that way.
(CROSSTALK)
CARNEY: What people care about are not the sideshows. Well, look the president feels, as he said tonight, that we need to put party ahead of country. We need to listen to the American people.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: All right.
CARNEY: We need to do the things that we can agree on in a bipartisan way. And look, I -- I think you probably saw that Speaker Boehner put out a statement after the president's speech…
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: He wants to work with…
CARNEY: I think that's great. And I think Eric Cantor did, too.
O'REILLY: Absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
CARNEY: Absolutely.
O'REILLY: I want them to get it done.
CARNEY: It's great for Americans and good for everybody.
O'REILLY: And so does -- and so does my audience. We want to have the economy turn around.
Final question, we got this terror alert deal. Can you give us any more specifics on that, Jay?
CARNEY: Well, I can tell you, Bill, as I'm sure your viewers know, that since the raid in Abbottabad in Pakistan that brought justice to Usama bin Laden, we have known from information gathered there that Al Qaeda, not surprisingly, has been focused on, in a general way, significant dates, and the anniversary, 10-year anniversary of 9/11 is certainly one of them.
For the past four months, Homeland Security adviser to the president, John Brennan, has been running a process to make sure we're preparing appropriately for this anniversary, taking all necessary precautions. Just two days ago the president chaired a meeting of his Homeland Security team to look at the preparations and evaluations, to make sure that we were doing everything that was necessary to be hyper vigilant in this situation. And -- and you can be sure that in relation to the…
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: All right, so we're -- we have nothing to be worried about at this point. You guys got it under control.
CARNEY: Well, we have to be vigilant all the time. We have to be vigilant all the time and that's what we're doing.
O'REILLY: All right. Jay, you're always welcome on the program. Thanks for taking the heat tonight. And we appreciate it. Directly ahead…
(CROSSTALK)
CARNEY: It's always been a pleasure. Thanks for having me.
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