From A-Rod to Anthony Weiner, where have our American heroes gone?

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," August 5, 2013. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: While many of our public figures are landing themselves in hot water, questions are being raised about who our children should be looking up to. Now, with our nation's favorite pastime announcing multiple suspensions for players caught using performance-enhancing drugs, former heroes like A-Rod and Ryan Braun, are they no longer fit to be role models for your kids?

In the world of politics, we definitely don't want anybody looking up to scandal-plagued mayoral candidate wannabe Anthony Weiner or former Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer or even San Diego mayor Bob Filner.

So, who is left? Were all the heroes gone? Here with reaction to this widespread cultural decay, are radio TV talk show host, the Sean Compton Production, Billy Cunningham and Third Way co-founder, Matt Bennett. Guys, good to see you. Thanks for being here.

MATT BENNETT, THIRD WAY CO-FOUNDER: Good to be here. Thanks, Sean.

BILL CUNNINGHAM, TV AND RADIO HOST: Sean, good evening.

HANNITY: Billy Cunningham, you're close friends with Pete Rose, one of the greatest players of all time, played with Johnny Bench.

CUNNINGHAM: Yes.

HANNITY: Now this today, what is your reaction, sir?

CUNNINGHAM: You know, Sean Hannity, in the good old days when men were men, gay meant you were happy and AIDs was an appetite depressant, you get to look up to teachers now having sex with students, politicians now licking women's faces in San Diego. We had a Hollywood stars like John Wayne and others you could look up to, we had the Roman Catholic Church. Look at the scandal there.

In fact, Lance Armstrong, who I thought was one of the greatest stories in American sporting history, has been found dirty and now is getting sued all over the place.

I believe, Sean, and I think you would agree with me, that role models are those individuals you have dinner with. It's moms and dads and brothers and sisters and poppies and nannas, and aunts and uncles and that you can't look toward anyone for a role model except within your own family.

HANNITY: I agree. But Billy Cunningham, I was a New York Mets fan growing up. I wanted to be Tom Seaver. Help me out. You're friends with Pete Rose. One of the greatest players ever.

CUNNINGHAM: And there is no better man, he's a man's man and a woman's man. Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and others, Frank Robinson went to Pete for years and said, come clean, it's all going to be OK. Pete could not confront the truth, and A-Rod, I think is not confronting the truth.

And let's face it, Dwight Goodman is probably one of your heroes. How did that work out, Sean?

HANNITY: It didn't work out too good. The only question I have -- I want to see the details of the case. Matt, I want to know what happened. Why a 211-game suspension. The rules say, 50, 100. There has to be something beyond what we think happened to give that big of punishment. Your reaction?

BENNETT: I think that's right, I was listening earlier, and I think it will be very interesting to hear what the details are. But you know, what? I agree with the guests you had on earlier. I think Johnny Bench is right. There are still a lot of heroes out there. Bryce Harper is a stand-up guy in Washington, he's doing a lot of things. All you have to do is look to A-Rod's left and you have got.

HANNITY: Derek Jeter.

BENNETT: Derek Jeter.

HANNITY: Yes.

BENNETT: Who -- I hate the Yankees personally, but Derek Jeter is a stand-up guy.

HANNITY: That's your problem. You're Democrat and you hate the Yankees. That's two big problems. You got two big --

BENNETT: Two strikes. I'll start with two strikes. But my kids, I have got kids, both boys 13 and 10, and they can look up to guys like Bryce Harper and Derek Jeter, I think there's still plenty of guys out there as Johnny was saying for them to look up to in sports and in politics, too.

HANNITY: Well, look at the guys, look, Anthony Weiner. You got him. You can't look up to him, you can't look up to Eliot Spitzer, Jim McGreevy, Bob Filner. Those are Democratic -- you know, I don't hear Democrats, it's a war on women by your party?

BENNETT: Oh, come on. This is a bipartisan problem. You got David Vitter, you got Mark Sanford, you got Duke Cunningham, there are plenty of guys on both sides of the aisle.

And look, this isn't old problem. Half of Shakespeare is about how power corrupts and powerful men do bad things sometimes involving women.

HANNITY: Yes.

BENNETT: But -- it's not new. There are plenty of people I think even in politics, even in Washington, degraded town, debased, where there are plenty of role models.

HANNITY: Maybe, I don't want to get too political. Didn't a lot of this change, though, Billy Cunningham with the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky, didn't it sort of lower the bar 10 notches lower?

CUNNINGHAM: Sean Hannity, we look at the Eisenhower, even Kennedy despite all the revelations we didn't know about, but when Clinton turned the Oval Office into the oral office, that became a big problem. And now every politician from Anthony's wiener to the mayor of San Diego now wants to use Clinton as a role model, that I can brave this thing out, I can smear my opponents, give my girlfriend some benefits, pay off a few people.

And Clinton stayed in office. I think when history is written, 1997 and

1998 will be a watershed moment when Clinton got away with that, all hell has broken loose ever since. I blame Hillary and I blame Bill.

BENNETT: Come on. Hell has been breaking loose for centuries, they've been doing this for centuries, it's just that we got a press that's chasing it a little bit more than they used to be. They've been doing this a long time.

HANNITY: Well, you know the story, say it ain't so.

CUNNINGHAM: Yes.

HANNITY: I mean, these kids, they deserve better role models, and for those that have the public eye, I think ball players, whether they like it or not, they have got to admit that these kids are looking up to them, they're emulating them, they're buying their shirts, they're wearing their hats.

BENNETT: No question.

CUNNINGHAM: And Johnny Bench would have hit 65 homeruns in 1972. If Bench had Juice, which he never did, the greatest catcher of all time, he would have hit 65. And that's why A-Rod has got a problem. His numbers are fictitious.

But I'm a lawyer, Sean Hannity. I want to see the evidence. I think you should get to 50 games. Past that I think might be heaping too much on A-Rod.

HANNITY: I think he might actually win his appeal unless they've got something we don't know about. Well, time is going to tell. I think they should have released it today.

All right, guys. Good to see you.

BENNETT: Then the Yankees will have to pay him.

HANNITY: Billy Cunningham -- my Yankees will be back next year. Bad injury year this year, all right?

Good to see you both.

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