White House using sequestration to punish kids?
Eric Bolling makes the administration an offer they can't refuse
This is a rush transcript from "The Five," March 7, 2013. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
ERIC BOLLING, CO-HOST: Welcome back, everybody.
By now, you've heard that the president is canceling the White House tours for the kids. Kids like these.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOOL CHILDREN: The White House is our house. Please let us visit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLLING: Well, here is Jay Carney's lame explanation about why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Secret Service, like other agencies of government, is affected by the sequester. The Secret Service presented options that ranged from canceling tours to potential furloughs and cuts in overtime. And in order allow the Secret Service to fill its core mission, the White House made a decision that we would unfortunately have to temporarily suspend these tours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLLING: Decisions, Mr. President, decisions. Hmm.
It was you that decided to phony up for a boy's weekend golfing with Tiger Woods. It was you that decided to take the family to Hawaii for Christmas. And you decided, Michelle and kids should go skiing in Aspen and that's good for them, by the way.
But why shut doors on the kids in Iowa and Florida and Texas?
I'll make you a deal, Mr. President. Jay Carney, grab a pencil.
Let these families take their White House tours next week and I will cover the added expenses. The word is, it will cost around $74,000. If I can get the White House doors open, I'll pick up the tab. Mr. Carney, you know this is an offer you can't refuse. Give me a call.
Bob, really? Really?
(CROSSTALK)
BOB BECKEL, CO-HOST: Of all the place, all over the country --
BECKEL: Listen, listen.
GREG GUTFELD, CO-HOST: Wait a minute. I think we just realized that "The Five" is not your primary source of income.
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, CO-HOST: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
GUTFELD: Is this your show your hobby? Just something you do?
BOLLING: I care that much.
ANDREA TANTAROS, CO-HOST: What if Kimberly and I volunteered to do the tours, can we get in on that?
GUILFOYLE: Yes.
BOLLING: Can I perfectly honest to you? I will absolutely write the checks if they open the doors next week.
TANTAROS: Wow.
GUTFELD: My vacation to Hawaii, Eric, was canceled due to sequestration.
BECKEL: Well, you know --
(CROSSTALK)
BOLLING: Oh, I see --
BECKEL: I wouldn't connect the golf and Hawaii trip with any of this. But I would say this, that they clearly recognize that about a week ago, they had gone too far.
Now, I defend Obama, as you all know on this show every single day. On this one, I feel like the only fire hydrant at the Westminster dog show. I cannot bring myself to understand why there wasn't something else to be cut.
It's one of those things that is such a good story, that how they would not expect it to travel around. Now, if you notice, Obama is beginning to call the Republicans. He's had some of them down. Get to this about his dinner. But I think he's finally decided that he's going to have to now change his tactic.
BOLLING: But, Kimberly, today, that sound bite from Jay Carney was from today.
GUILFOYLE: Yes.
BOLLING: He had to say, you know what? We change our mind, the kids really need to see the White House.
GUILFOYLE: They are behind the story now, instead of ahead of it. And it's kind of interesting that they had this kind of political mishap, because generally speaking, they've been able to make themselves look good no matter what the outcome, here with the situation like this with the kids.
They should have avoided this photo op with the kids, oh, please let us in the White House. It's our house. And that visual image, that has an impact. That's something people can understand.
BOLLING: Why not, Andrea? Why -- those kids, by the way, they were featured last night on, I believe, ABC. Do you think today the White House would say, you know what? This is really affecting our kids. Maybe we're going to change, we're going to find another place to cut.
TANTAROS: This is a tin ear at its finest. They seem to not ever clean up messes when they first happen, which is the first rule of crisis communication. And then you have stories we're advertising for 400 jobs, stories about the three calligraphers employed by the White House for $277,000.
I mean, it's just not believable. And, basically, President Obama saying, I'm choosing not to manage the sequester for public relations purposes. And it totally blew up in his face.
BECKEL: He is trying to manage the sequester. I think he's going to get sit down with Republicans. But Eric had a good idea for himself.
Obama should have taken this from his campaign fund and say, I'll pay for it.
GUILFOYLE: Yes, no kidding.
BOLLING: There is another idea. Anything.
Go ahead.
GUTFELD: This is a presidential equivalent of a child slamming the door after being grounded. And Obama is not going to clean his room until he gets a tax increase.
But I don't know -- I'm not -- I'm not that sympathetic. I --
GUILFOYLE: You don't like kids.
GUTFELD: No, Iowa sixth graders -- let me finish -- are going to D.C.
for a field trip? When I was in sixth grade we went to a petting zoo down the road with a shelf of disease rabbits.
GUILFOYLE: Are you jealous?
GUTFELD: I am for God's sakes! By the way, they're going to turn any misfortune that occurs and they're going to blame it on the sequestration, no matter what happens. If a dog gets hit by a truck, they're going to say the sequestration drove the truck.
BECKEL: You know, I was in the hospital two nights ago and immune specialist came in. I bet that's what happened to you. You got bit by one of those rats.
GUTFELD: And you're saying that with a cast on your hand.
BOLLING: Can we take this story quickly. We only have about a minute or so. The White House last night, President Obama invited 12 Republican senators to the White House and talk about -- I'm not sure what they talked about, Andrea. You have any intel on it?
TANTAROS: I think this ridiculous that they would hold it at the Jefferson Hotel, at the plume restaurant where it's $250 for a wine tasting. I get maybe they didn't want to do it on Obama's turf at the actual White House.
But, look, the visual, the split careen of senators like Rand Paul trying to do what they were doing in the Senate, and these other old dog senators drinking wine and swilling and rubbing elbows and hobnobbing with President Obama when it's a P.R. ploy. President Obama was using those senators. Why would they believe, Bob, after five years, somehow he wants to extend olive branch?
BECKEL: The audience for this is not in Washington, D.C. or New York City. It's for the country. And they see Obama inviting these people and things could --
GUILFOYLE: They think it's nice.
TANTAROS: They should have rescheduled.
GUTFELD: I think you should pay for that dinner.
BOLLING: I probably did. You're probably going get a bill from them either way.
GUILFOYLE: You know what? That was too flashy. It looks like fancy people, 1 percenters hobnobbing.
TANTAROS: The White House chef, you are already paying the guy.
GUILFOYLE: Totally.
BOLLING: That's good point.
(CROSSTALK)
GUILFOYLE: They can afford them. You got to work furlough for the day.
TANTAROS: The BP oil spill went on for weeks they didn't think about it. They don't seem to like any sense of reality.
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