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Published January 27, 2017
This is a rush transcript from "The Five," August 12, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GREG GUTFELD, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Greg Gutfeld, along with Andrea Tantaros, Bob Beckel, Eric Bolling, and she jumps rope with the shoelace, it's Dana Perino.
This is "The Five."
(MUSIC)
GUTFELD: Now, whenever a comedian dies tragically, the headline always reads: "Sad Clown." It's the cliche. Laughter is born from suffering.
But comics are like construction workers, dangling from the high girders. Once in awhile, a great one falls, like last night.
Remember when you first saw him?
(BEGIN 'HAPPY DAYS' VIDEO CLIP)
ROBIN WILLIAMS, ACTOR: Greeting, Fonzie. Remember me? Mork from Ork? You once called me the nutso from outer space.
HENRY WINKLER, ACTOR: I must be dreaming or something like that, you know? I mean, of course, I'm dreaming. That's why Mary never heard of me.
WILLIAMS: Sorry, real thing. I had to zap your mind to make you forget. Didn't want you to go bozo city.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: When the lovable commit suicide, platitudes will flow. You hear people say, "he had so much going for him" and "he was so funny," as if both prevent suicide. But clinical depression creates an added layer of self-loathing, because to the outside world you have all your parts, yet inside you're broken.
Williams was known for his demons, a romanticized label for addiction. Alcohol and drugs are the non-stigmatized remedy for depression. You are the life of the party if you drink, but unstable seeing a shrink.
And while it's better to be rich than poor, money doesn't buffer you from affliction. So what does?
Ask a happy person and the answer is never "I'm happy because I'm a comedian." That's the rub with Williams. His job was absorbing the brutal absurdities of life and translating them for us day in and day out and that's really hard.
Waxing sentimental is fine, but follow Mork's example instead: Think of the vets. Williams often performed for the troops. A veteran commits suicide almost every hour, or about 22 a day. They were not sad clowns and they will never trend on Twitter.
Williams understood that. We should too.
So there are so many entry points to his career that your age dictates the Robin Williams that you know. So, at 49, it was Mork.
What about you?
DANA PERINO, CO-HOST: I remember "Mork and Mindy", and I had the nanu nanu shirt.
GUTFELD: Of course.
PERINO: I can do the little things.
And they had -- their house was supposedly in Boulder, Colorado. I grew up in Denver and I actually believed that their house was in Boulder. And I thought it was kind of cool that we were all from Colorado.
That's when I first knew him, although seeing that clip with the Fonz, I remember that too. I remember watching that on TV.
GUTFELD: He started on "Happy Days", Eric, and then he blew up from there because people wanted him that. When did you --
ERIC BOLLING, CO-HOST: I don't remember the "Happy Days." I don't remember that at all. "Mork and Mindy", but, man, some of the phenomenal movies he's been. What an actor! He could have so many characters.
I mean, I think the one point in Aladdin, which he was using his voice, he had 50 different characters in "Aladdin". My favorite, by far, "Birdcage". Just love him in "Birdcage."
But for me the best -- Robin Williams was at his best when he was sitting with either Jay Leno or Johnny Carson or David Letterman and just vamping, just ad libbing. It was phenomenal. It was just so much fun to watch.
GUTFELD: Speaking of the films, let's throw a montage and I'll get to the pair over here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
WILLIAMS: Good morning, Vietnam!
Hello! Oh, I'm sorry to frighten you, dear. I must look like a yeti in this getup.
Excuse me? Are you looking at me? Did you rub my lamp? Did you wake me up? Did you bring me here and all of a sudden, you're walking out on me, I don't think so.
You do Fosse, Fosse, Fosse! do Martha Graham, Martha Graham, Martha Graham! Or Twyla, Twyla, Twyla! Or Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd! Or Madonna, Madonna, Madonna!
Look at me, son. It's not your fault.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
PERINO: I like that.
GUTFELD: What was your Robin Williams favorite, Andrea?
ANDREA TANTAROS, CO-HOST: I'm with Eric on "The Birdcage." I think he was so funny in that movie. It didn't make it as big as "Good Will Hunting" or the others, but I just thought his role was just hilarious.
"Mork and Mindy" because I had older siblings that watched the show. I remember being very little and hearing the nanu nanu. But "Good Will Hunting", when he gives advice on that bench, about love, it's one of the best scenes from any movie.
So, it's really -- it's very sad, but your monologue was really good, Greg. I mean, he didn't just show up and have to act. He had to show up in the face of mental illness and make people laugh, which is really hard to make feel laugh regardless of what you're dealing it, but he did it battling depression, which was really hard.
And if there was one silver lining, it's that people are talking more about depression and it has become something more not mainstream, but before, it was very stigmatizing. People can have conversations about getting help and spotting the warning signs. And maybe the real reasons why people do this.
I mean, one of my best friends, her mom committed suicide and people said, well, that's a very selfish act committing suicide. But people don't understand, they are dealing with a lot of mental health issues.
GUTFELD: Yes, they don't see it as selfish.
TANTAROS: They don't.
GUTFELD: They see it as a relief.
TANTAROS: Yes, as a relief and sparing other people because they don't think they are worth staying around.
GUTFELD: Bob, bring up the depression aspect and also the fact that he had drug issues, which were well-known -- so well-known I made fun of him about it last week.
TANTAROS: You did, you did.
GUTFELD: Do you suspect that the drugs lead to depression or that depression leads to drugs as a form of self-medication, or a combination?
BOB BECKEL, CO-HOST: The latter. By the way, I thought your monologue was excellent. I -- and my favorite was "Good Morning, Vietnam", because it showed in there, you know, when he -- when he fell in love with that Vietnamese, and you know, you could see -- Robin Williams was a guy that was a sad man in many ways.
You could see -- you could see the depression in him. But I think people who are depressed -- look, of the people who commit suicide in this country, 40,000 a year, 20 percent, 25 percent are alcoholics or addicts. Generally, the reason for that is alcohol and drugs take the pain away. I mean, it's the way that they can deal with it.
Now, he decided some years ago to go cold turkey, which I find amazing. Very few people can do that.
I can only imagine the depression to come back in and not have access to alcohol and drugs for him. And then when he went back out again, I think that was -- he saw that as a great failure. But the guy was haunted obviously, which made him, in many ways, that's where his talent comes from.
GUTFELD: Yes, we all heard about this like everybody else last night. Conan O'Brien actually informed his audience at the time and here's the reaction to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, COMEDIAN: This is unusual and upsetting, but we got some news during the show that robin Williams has passed away. It's absolutely shocking and horrifying and so upsetting on every level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: So, Dana, so usually when something like this happens, you immediately think it's a hoax. It always shows up somewhere on Twitter.
PERINO: You have to kind of double check to make sure, but that's terrible news to hear anyway. I'm sure they knew each other and they were probably very good friends. It's also very difficult news to deliver to the audience.
I think what's interesting is what you saw in the media outpouring of everybody -- whether social media or on television like we are doing now, is that we value people who can make us laugh. And we mourn them because we think, now we're going to miss them so much because of all they did for us.
And it's very interesting in Hollywood how many people just this year when we talked about Philip Seymour Hoffman, whether it's the drugs or the depression that drives one another, seemingly outside of Hollywood, you think -- gosh, these people have everything they could ever want in life. But yet somehow they are extremely lonely and so vulnerable they decide to take their own lives.
GUTFELD: Is it possible that not having everything you want, Eric, actually prevents you from thinking too much about the suffering? I don't know.
BOLLING: You talk about having everything, but this is a disease. It's a brain disease. You have so much, how come you have cancer?
GUTFELD: Good point.
BOLLING: How dare you have cancer?
Here's my question to you. People who are that funny, who really just tap into that sense of humor, the aggregate sense of humor, is there a dark side? Is it because they have a dark side?
GUTFELD: I think it's -- I mean the comedians, I deal with a lot of them on "RED EYE:. By nature, they're always introspect -- to come up with material, they have to think about dark things. It's the weird absurd parts of life that turn into great material, and the best comic are observational. And he -- you know, he went pretty far into the darker parts of his life and his world. And that might take a toll.
BOLLING: He went deep diving into those intricacies of people, of humanity. That was what was so funny. He made fun of it. He'd bring it on and say, ha ha, look at this. And that was his humor.
BECKEL: He tried, he really tried to help himself. He checked into Hazelden and he said, I want to get clean. Hazelden has an excellent program for depression and alcoholism and drug addiction.
He went there for two months and then came back out. But then the problem is that always as in this case, he took on a lot of work. And I think -- it's like Lindsay Lohan. You know, you just can't come off these things and go right back into a whole lot of work, and knowing full well that people are going to expect you to do very, very well. And I'm not sure he thought he could do that well.
GUTFELD: Yes.
Andrea, people seem to think performers are more likely to commit suicide. I looked this up. They actually do. I mean, musicians, authors, artists, and comics tend to. What beats them are dentists.
So, what -- you know, could you -- could you blink depression or a suicidal ideation with performing?
TANTAROS: You know, I don't know. Dr. Brad Gorsky is always in a charming mood when I'm around. I don't know if he's nitric oxide or what, I mean, he doesn't have to deliver bad news to me, I haven't had a cavity in forever.
I think fame has a lot to do with it too, because again, when you're in the public eye, you enjoy the public eye for the most part, maybe he didn't. But you're looking to get awards and accolades and do what you love.
If you're making people laugh, you get your feedback by making them laugh or delivering a great performance. So, there's always the pleasure to please all these other people, more so than regular folks that aren't famous. But celebrities, they have the same issues as everybody else. It's just heightened because everything they do is under a microscope.
I think it's pretty incredible that Robin Williams, he didn't have a negative headline surrounding him. I mean, a lot of these guys have negative headlines, like (INAUDIBLE) and they do bad things and they say really stupid things. He never did that.
He kind of got ahead of the people that may have said something negative about his addiction by putting it out there.
GUTFELD: Right.
TANTAROS: Which I thought was really smart, because -- you know, then no one can criticize him because he says, look, I own this, I have a problem. He even joked about going back to rehab for a tune-up.
But I just think it's really hard if you're mentally ill, period, but to be in the public eye and the pressure to make people laugh, it could have been the reason.
BECKEL: You know, very few of those comedians who stand up there, you think about movies. You have the ability to have another take, right? They can do five takes, 10 takes. A comedian has to stand up there with a brick wall behind him and microphone in his hand and he's got to perform right away. And they either are going to laugh or they're not going to laugh.
And a lot of them did go out there stoned because it was a way to kind of deal with the -- I think in a funny way, they are dark. They are also kind of -- they're not really like people people, you know? The ones I have -- we went down to a comedy club with a group of us, and I had a chance to talk to some of the comedians afterwards. And two of whom were alcoholics. One guy particularly from Australia who struggled with his demons, and still was, you know? He said that's the way it is in this business.
GUTFELD: I want to get to this before we go. This is a tape of Marin County officials discussing the cause of death. It's kind of grim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIEUTENANT KEITH BOYD, MARIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: The personal assistant was able to gain access to Mr. Williams' bedroom and entered to find Mr. William clothed in a seated position unresponsive with a belt secured around his neck with the other end of the belt wedged between the closed closet door and the door frame. The preliminary -- and I again say -- preliminary results of the forensic examination revealed supporting physical signs that Mr. Williams' life ended with asphyxia due to hanging.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTFELD: Dana, you know, listen to a press conference, when do we reach it's the "none of our business" threshold? Or is there a no longer one?
PERINO: I think they crossed a line. I don't know why that couldn't -- anything that reporters are looking for, for their detail for their stories could have been done in a press release or in a statement from the coroner. They made it very clear.
I don't see the need to have a press conference like that for that kind of detail.
GUTFELD: I guess maybe because there's so many reporters there, right, Eric?
BOLLING: I guess, it's a huge appetite for it. You look at TV ratings last night, everything spiked when the news broke across all the venues. People wanted to know.
Look, I'm for more information. I wasn't bothered by it. I actually want to know. I think there's some indication of maybe a cut to a wrist and possibly some sort of note. I just -- I would like to know. I just want to know more.
BECKEL: Six hundred thousand people try to kill themselves every year in America. Try, I mean, they really -- maybe don't -- but they go to emergency rooms.
This goes down very much the impact, at least from our standpoint, of John Lennon and Princess Diana, and Robin Williams, I put them all on the same level, and I think that kind of impact.
TANTAROS: It's interesting the different angles the day after. So "The Washington Post" took issue with the academy for tweeting out a picture of his character as the genie and saying in a tweet, "Genie, you're free." So, there's been an editorial asking the question, is the suicide contagion?
GUTFELD: Right.
TANTAROS: Are we glorifying suicide?
So, I think in the days to come, I find it interesting to see where the editorial angles go on this and people start to look at the issues. But it is a pretty good question to ask. I mean, with a cartoon, are we celebrating something that's very, very sad? I don't know. I'm interested to see where it goes in the next couple of days.
GUTFELD: All right. Well, much more to come on THE FIVE.
But before we go, here's what Robin Williams hoped he'd find in the after life. Back in a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
WILLIAMS: There's seating near the front. The concert begins at 5:00, it will be Mozart, Elvis, or one of your choosing. Or just it's nice if heaven exists, to know that there's laughter. That would be a great thing. Just to hear God goes, two Jews walk into a bar --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PERINO: It was one of President Obama's favorite things to talk about on the campaign trail in 2012.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq. We did. And in 2014 our longest war will be over.
I am proud that when I promise to end the war in Iraq, I did.
I told you we'd end the war in Iraq, we did.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
PERINO: But President Obama is not taking credit for pulling our troops out of Iraq anymore. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
OBAMA: Keep in mind, that wasn't a decision made by me. That was a decision made by the Iraqi government.
What I just find interesting is the degree to which this issue keeps oncoming up as if this was my decision. In order for us to maintain by e me, that was made by the Iraqi government. What I find interesting is the degree to which this issue keeps oncoming up as if this was my decision. In order for us to maintain troops in Iraq, we needed the invitation of the Iraqi government.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
PERINO: So, which is it? Did Obama end the war as promised, or did the Iraqis do it for him?
We're going to discuss it here.
Eric, let me start with you. Is it unfair to say that the disaster in Iraq that President Obama talked about over the last several days is a direct consequence of his decisions? Is that fair or unfair?
BOLLING: I'm going to say President Obama is -- has a very, very short memory. Let's talk about this. Put this in context for one minute. President Obama just said I can't figure out why they are blaming me for this. He's the one who announced the pullout.
In 2010, al-Baghdadi was -- he was released -- I'm sorry, 2009, al- Baghdadi was released. He is now the head of ISIS. He was released as part of the pulling out of Iraq decision. We're going to pull out of Iraq and he was a prisoner for four years and then he was released.
He's now the one rampaging through Iraq. So all of President Obama's decisions that he's made are metastasizing themselves right now. He has to take credit. Why can't you just own up and say, this is what we decided.
We didn't expect it to be as fierce and as tense. We thought they were jayvee and we made a mistake and we're going to deal with it accordingly.
Instead, he's like, no, I didn't say it. Why did you say?
Meanwhile, we have it on tape. I think you were generous. You only used three or four of the times that he said --
PERINO: Oh, sure, we could have gone on, but we have to save time for Bob's block so he doesn't get mad at the end.
Bob, do they think we don't have tape to see what the president talk about?
BECKEL: Look, when he talked about ending the war, ending the U.S. involvement in the war is what he was talking about. I don't think anybody in their right mind thought that this war was going to go away. I mean, as I've said many, it never should have started and --
PERINO: When he says - OK, fair enough, I understand the never should have started point. But President Obama ran for reelection saying that he fulfilled his campaign promise to end the war in Iraq and pull the troops out, right?
BECKEL: That's right.
PERINO: Now, he's saying that actually that he doesn't want credit for that?
BECKEL: Well, no, I think that he's trying -- he's walking a fine line here that's a little bit difficult to walk.
But let me just say one thing in response to this jayvee thing. These guys are jayvee. They are the most worst, wretched, horrible murders, but they are only between 2007. If the Iraqi military had stood their ground the way they're supposed, the way our tens -- hundreds of millions of dollars went to train these guys --
BOLLING: Are they winning? Are they winning?
BECKEL: They dropped their guns and ran. They're a bunch of wusses.
BOLLING: Is ISIS winning? Are they taking cities?
BECKEL: No. Actually, Kurds are taking two back from them.
BOLLING: Bob, you can't call them, where are you going to defend -- of all the things you defend, you're going to defend the jayvee comment?
BECKEL: If you had a decent military who's willing to stand up, you could have stopped these guys.
PERINO: We actually have a decent military.
BECKEL: In Iraq? Of course, we have on.
PERINO: One of the things that the Pentagon said over the week on Friday, I believe it was, is that they are frustrated with the limited goals that have been set out because the Pentagon's own words, we are not making a dent in the problem.
So, how does a president expect America to support what he's saying now? I mean, I think Eric is right. If he would show a little humility, we could say, OK, we're behind you, let's go get him now and we can discuss the fallout and the blame later on.
TANTAROS: I think the best word would be, show a little -- instead of humility, ownership. I think he would have more people behind him if he would stand up and say, yes, I'm responsible for getting the troops out. I do not believe in military involvement in Iraq.
However, this problem has escalated, so I'm not going to put resources, men and women, on the ground, because I don't believe it. I've been against it for a long time. So, I'm going to be consistent. This is what I'm going to do. But I do take ownership of ending that war in Iraq.
I think a lot of people would support him, because I listened to him give that speech last week on the airstrikes and his rationale for it, there was a lot of it I agree with. I said I absolutely agree with that.
However, when you look at the missiles they are using, people have used the word pinprick operation. If this is in the United States interest, to go in there and eradicate them -- then flatten them, then do it all. But don't do these little things just to look good. Be either 100 percent in it or out of it.
BOLLING: They are trying to keep them away from the Kurds.
PERINO: Let me have Greg in here since we only have a minute left, Bob.
You could -- obviously, you could comment on anything, but let me try to put this question to you. Please don't ban the phrase yet. If we do not elect military deal with the actual disease, are we just going to basically have symptoms that crop up over and over? And not just in Iraq, but all over the world?
GUTFELD: Yes, I mean, the thing is, if you say no boots on the ground to boots that are already on the ground, they rejoice, because they know you don't have the will to fight, ands I think you have to do that.
You know, he's changing his tune. The reason why President Obama is changing his tune is because he refuses to take any blame. He passes more bucks than an ATM. And this is -- he will never accept victory -- I'm sorry, he will never accept responsibility because to him withdrawal was always more important than victory.
Victory in Iraq was America's victory. Withdrawal --
BECKEL: What victory?
GUTFELD: We won that war, Bob. We won that war.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: Let me finish.
BECKEL: OK, go ahead.
GUTFELD: I'm sorry. Victory in Iraq was America's victory, but withdrawal, because that was his point, was his victory. So, he put his own political victory over America's.
BECKEL: Ok, let me just say to you that the idea to say that war was won when you had --
TANTAROS: Joe Biden said that.
(CROSSTALK)
BECKEL: Fine, Joe Biden says a lot of things.
TANTAROS: It's the greatest achievement of the Obama administration.
BECKEL: The point is, the idea that you put this guy, Maliki, in there and you got a very fragile government, and you say, now, we won the war, it's fine. We didn't win that war.
TANTAROS: Just saying what the vice president said.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: There's a lot of troops that won that war, a lot of troops.
BECKEL: They did -- I'll say this.
(CROSSTALK)
BECKEL: No, no, I said, they gave them a chance. I think the troops gave it a chance and they built a lousy government and a lousy military. And we were supposed to get it built and it didn't work.
GUTFELD: Surge, baby.
PERINO: Whose fault is that?
BECKEL: It's our fault.
PERINO: OK. Ahead, Hillary Clinton has started to distance herself from President Obama on foreign policy. And one of his strongest supporters got super testy about it. And we're going to tell you what happened, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLLING: Yesterday we told you about the war of words being waged between the Obama and Clinton camps. According to The Atlantic, Hillary took issue with President Obama's foreign policy failures, saying, quote, "'Don't do stupid stuff' isn't exactly good foreign policy."
President Obama didn't take that sitting down in his golf cart. Accordingly -- according to The Daily Beast, in a meeting with lawmakers, President Obama allegedly proclaimed criticism like Hillary Clinton's horse, bullied (ph), and he used the word that they won't let me say that I begged -- and I've got a pull to say on TV but they won't let me say it, nonetheless.
Ands, the war of words going on, and then Hillary Clinton after -- providing criticism apologizes or tries to make amends with President Obama.
TANTAROS: Dem on Dem violence. Did you bring the popcorn, Eric?
BOLLING: Not yet.
TANTAROS: We knew this was coming. We knew this was coming. We've seen people in the Clinton camp. We've seen Stephanopoulos tee up President Obama with the question to sort of trap him. We've heard the chattering class, the Paul Begalas of the world, start to criticize the president.
But this one, this is the shot over the bow from Hillary Clinton's camp directly. And it's going to be really fun to watch. I mean, it's brilliant strategy by the Clintons. They do this better than anybody else. I think the Obamas don't trust them and are wary that, now that she's out of the administration, she's going to start to launch attacks at them and put distance. But she has to do that.
The only thing I would say is she's going to take heat from the progressives on this. Right, from the far left. The more she goes after them, the more she'll take from the progressives.
But her strategy is, forget this; forget them. They have nowhere else to go. I'm going to be the anointed one. It's my turn. So good luck finding somebody else.
BOLLING: Hang in there, Bobby. I have a nice sound byte really to tee you up in just a second.
Greg, good strategy or bad?
GUTFELD: No. What this does, it makes it harder for Republican candidates to tie Hillary to President Obama as a dangerous lefty who puts us in harm's way. She's now essentially John McCain in a Talbot's pantsuit and -- and getting heat from progressives helps her with undecided and independents who are a little worried about crazies. And so she looks less crazy. That's my theory.
BOLLING: Your thoughts on whether it was good strategy or not and also Axelrod pushing back on Hillary Clinton pretty hard, too?
PERINO: I think that she's trying to be the Goldilocks of foreign policy. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. She wants -- maybe she'll be able to thread the needle, to say it again.
But I also think that President Obama, they are in for a very long two years if they decide to take a swipe back every time a Democrat tries to distance themselves between now and the election. Because it is going to happen. And it has to come from the top, an instruction to the team that says, "Let the Democrats have it out. It's better for us if we just keep quiet about it."
It's time that President Obama stops campaigning. He won. Now he's in the second term. He doesn't have to worry about it so much anymore.
BOLLING: Bobby, President Obama said, if you -- if you disagree with his policy, it's horse you know what. But listen to a few people who also probably disagreed with the way he handled the situation in the Middle East and elsewhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Could we have done more in terms of both overt and covert assistance earlier to the opposition? I think the answer is almost certainly yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you support the recommendation by Secretary of State -- then-Secretary of State Clinton and then-head of CIA General Petraeus that we provide weapons to the resistance in Syria?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you support that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLLING: OK. So two secretaries of defense, one secretary of state, a general all disagreed. Are they all full of horse?
BECKEL: No, I don't think they are at all. There's a legitimate debate going on. But I'll tell you the thing about Hillary Clinton: If she runs, most frontrunners cannot move to the center until they get through their base. Right? To get there.
She's such a strong frontrunner right now, she can roll right over there and go right to the center before Republicans find what's happening to them. She will be a centrist candidate by the spring when usually you have to get yourself in the way left, back to the middle after you go through the Democratic primary.
BOLLING: Can I throw this out here? Does anyone see a similarity to the last time -- the first time she ran, where she kind of stepped on herself a few times, but then President Obama saw the opening and ran right through? Is there anyone that can take that opening that she's providing, a far-left progressive? Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, I don't think he's far enough left, is he?
GUTFELD: I would say everybody seems to be clinging to Warren. But I want to -- the interesting thing that I find about it, it's Obama's argument against arming the moderate Syrian rebels were that they were doctors, farmers and pharmacists. Did he forget something, that Assad is an ophthalmologist, and that didn't stop him from killing thousands of people. So I think you can arm farmers and doctors and...
PERINO: I -- I think that it could come down to, for independents, a matter of character. So the repeated pattern that I see is let something go forward and then criticize it later, but when she was in a position to have said something at the time, she gets quiet. So maybe that's she was being a loyal soldier. Fine, but will the real Hillary Clinton please stand up?
BOLLING: Over here really quick.
BECKEL: Give her some credit. She -- a lot of people opposed that decision by Obama, but as part of the cabinet, you either had to sit there and get behind it or get out.
PERINO: Exactly. That's what I'm saying: it's a matter of character.
BOLLING: You have a problem, very quickly. She was there, though, when she was making these decisions. She was secretary of state. Where was she?
BECKEL: She was arguing. She was arguing.
BOLLING: Raise your hand and say something.
TANTAROS: She's going to say that she did. So it's his word against his word. His word isn't that great right now; his credibility is not doing very well.
Do I think someone can outflank her on the left? Maybe. But she's pretty big. I mean, she's got the media in her camp. She really -- she's got her husband to help her out.
I think what will hurt her is if she takes too many positions that are antithetic to the Democratic Party. So remember when she ran to the right of most Republicans on immigration and said they're taking jobs away from white Americans? If she does those type of things just to go where the polling is going, she may risk something in her own party.
BOLLING: Got to go. Next the police shooting of a black teen in Missouri sparks a second day of riots. The NAACP has come out to condemn the violence. Will other African-American leaders follow suit? That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TANTAROS: For the second night in a row, protests in Ferguson, Missouri, where a police officer fatally shot an unarmed black teen turned violent. Amid all the turmoil, the president of the NAACP is calling for calm to honor the slain Michael Brown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CORNELL WILLIAM BROOKS, NAACP PRESIDENT AND CEO: We are here to remember a young man. He was nonviolent. He never got into a fight. If you want to honor his memory, honor his memory by seeking justice, nonviolently.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TANTAROS: Brown's parents are also calling for an end to the violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL BROWN SR., VICTIM'S FATHER: I don't want no violence. We don't want no violence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael wouldn't have wanted no violence.
BROWN: Do it the right way. We need justice for our son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TANTAROS: Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson had originally planned on releasing the name of the officer involved in the shooting, but amid the threats of violence against his department, he chose to withhold the name.
All right. Before we get to the withholding of the name, Bob, the comments from the NAACP president seemed to be right on point. Set the right tone.
BECKEL: He fortunately got out there before Al Sharpton did.
TANTAROS: Well, Sharpton now has also condemned the violence.
BECKEL: Yes, I know. He has -- you know, Al has a way of condemning things at the same time he stokes it, you know?
GUTFELD: Yes. Did he condemn the violence that he caused years ago in New York?
BECKEL: That's right. Good point. I think it's a very good message that this guy -- the NAACP gave and the kid's parents. There's a lot of unanswered questions here, but I think that the last thing they need is to have pictures of rioting in the streets. It feeds into the stereotype of people in the ghetto. And I think that is a sad thing.
TANTAROS: You know, Eric, the police department made an effort the first night not to go out actively and take on the protesters. They went out last night; they used tear gas. So the first night, they tried to minimize the violence. Do you think they've handled it well by holding his name, the cop's name involved in this and pulling back a little initially as not to maybe escalate or get another casualty?
BOLLING: I mean, I don't know. I think had they gone in with, you know, the heat of the first night, the animosity, the anger that was going on, they probably would have caused more.
That said, the poor business owner, what was he involved? What did he do? He had nothing to do with it. His store was looted, his windows broken; the violence was forced upon him.
Hats off to the family, the parents who, in a couple days, came out and said, "Everyone, calm -- you know, calmer heads prevail here. This is what's important." Completely agree. They're fantastic.
And regarding the Al Sharpton, how about for once he just stays out of it? You know, why do we need him to condemn it or say go for it? Just -- I don't -- his presence alone is inciting violence.
BECKEL: That's like asking a rabid dog to stay away from hamburgers.
TANTAROS: OK. I want to ask you about the media coverage of this. August is notoriously known as a slow news cycle. Do you fear that this could end up turning into another Trayvon Martin case, where people just use it for political gain, the Al Sharptons of the world, and try and pit people against each other instead of getting to the facts?
PERINO: It doesn't feel that way to me based on Mr. Brooks' comments, the NAACP president, then the parents. I think, actually, the police force in response to this has tried to be as responsible as possible.
So I think that I'm going to trust the adults here. I think that they're doing the right thing. And the media has not been short of any news to cover this month on other fronts, foreign policy-wise, and so hopefully, I don't think it will escalate to anything more.
TANTAROS: DOJ has already launched an investigation, and maybe rightfully so. We just don't know yet. But Eric Holder said he's going to be looking into it. A lot of people say it's not enough; this needs to go further. The president has weighed in on this, as well.
It's really sad, though. It's a tragedy. It's a huge tragedy.
GUTFELD: Well, the NAACP is a great example of leadership of who can learn from this. There -- any group that is dealing with conflicts or extremism in their midst, like say Muslim groups, condemn and preach against the vile acts of, say, radical Islam. They can learn from this.
The problem when you come out with this statement is that protesters listen, but looters don't. And you have to make the distinction that looters are opportunistic criminals. They look for times and periods in which it is -- law enforcement is vulnerable, because they're dealing with other things. They aren't actually enraged. What they are is opportunistic.
BECKEL: They also are a minority. I would bet you they could care less about this kid. I mean, they took an opportunity here and they broke into stores. I would -- I would venture to say the vast majority of the people in the black community there kept...
BOLLING: Of course.
BECKEL: ... and did not go into the stores. But what are the pictures you see? Of people looting.
GUTFELD: That's news. And they always -- you know, looters generally loot where they live. So they don't really care if they're destroying their own community.
BECKEL: This is what Greg -- I'm sorry.
PERINO: I think you're talking -- like remember two years ago, I think it was, the flash mobs that were taking place in a few of the inner cities and it was really hot in the summertime. Doesn't seem to be the same situation, because that violence was sparked by no event. It just was spontaneous.
This actually does seem like there's a legitimate grievance, and the parents are asking for the way to get justice in the right way.
TANTAROS: Unlike L.A. The L.A. riots, they knew exactly what had happened, and they rioted because of what they perceived. This, no one really knows what happened. There's no facts. They're just, as you point out, Greg, opportunistically looting for their own benefit.
BECKEL: I just hope that the Muslims take heed to what Greg said. You can use a little lesson from the NAACP, you know? They really could.
TANTAROS: Next, if you had to pick the coolest city in America, which one would it be? New York perhaps? Maybe L.A. or Miami? You might be surprised to hear which city landed at the top of Forbes list. It will surprise you, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKEL: Well, this is a liberal block, so it's real short. So let me get right to it. I'm going to cut this (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a list of the coolest cities in America. And guess what? A lot of people don't like Washington, D.C., but Washington, D.C., was on top of the list. And it's my hometown, because they took into account age. They took into town restaurants. They took into account a lot of different things. And Washington, by far, I think is a superior city.
Go ahead, Eric.
BOLLING: It was cool; it wasn't superior.
BECKEL: It was cool.
BOLLING: Washington happens to be one of my favorite cities, maybe my favorite city in the United States. I wouldn't call it the coolest city, though.
BECKEL: Why?
BOLLING: Well, because you have Miami; you have L.A.; you have New York, pretty hip and trendy cities when it comes to cool. But listen, one day I hope to live in Washington, and I hope to be in the...
PERINO: Getting closer.
BECKEL: Got an answer here soon on "The Five." Stay tuned for Bolling for Senate.
TANTAROS: Senator Bolling.
BECKEL: Yes. God help us.
Greg, you wrote the "Cool" book. What do you think?
GUTFELD: The reason why they said Washington, D.C., is cool is because it's the home of Captain Cool, which is President Obama.
Also, you've got a lot of young people flocking there for government jobs, which we pay for. So we're paying for their cool.
The coolest cities are cities that aren't that showy. Dusty, dirty towns with roadhouses. Like Trucking (ph) or Sedona -- well, Sedona's a little -- Tucson, yes. Some place that you end up in a tumble weeds, cheap hotel with a bottle of scotch.
PERINO: No, I really think that might with one of the first phrases (Ph) I ever heard on TV.
BECKEL: Do you want to say anything about cool Washington is?
TANTAROS: You're really making history, Bob.
BECKEL: Yes, I am. I do that every day.
TANTAROS: I lived in Washington for five years. I like it and appreciate it more now that I've left. There were some cool aspects to it. There's, what, U Street. Then Chili Bowl. There's the 930 Club.
GUTFELD: I got thrown out of there.
TANTAROS: You can get good music if you want it.
I do take a little bit issue, though, with being the coolest.
BECKEL: They talk about the suburbs. They include the suburbs in that. Think about New York. What do you got? Jersey. I mean, come on. We have Bethesda.
TANTAROS: Why do you knock on Jersey so much? They don't...
BECKEL: ... taking a look.
TANTAROS: I happen to think it's a beautiful place.
GUTFELD: You probably hate the towns that have liberal mayors.
BECKEL: No, I don't really.
BECKEL: That's the problem with Jersey.
BOLLING: Is that really what...
BECKEL: Oh yes, I'm supposed to get out of here. Because this is a liberal block, I'm just going to hang out.
PERINO: You never asked me what I thought.
BECKEL: I'm sorry. Dana, you're from there. I'm sorry. Go ahead.
PERINO: Washington, D.C, I think, is a great place for young people. But I think that two cities that will -- that are cooler that don't get enough attention but are about to are Charleston and Savannah.
BECKEL: Now she built the house. "One More Thing" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GUTFELD: Time for "One More Thing" -- Eric.
BOLLING: I'll go back quickly. Of all the things Robin Williams has done in his career, this is probably my favorite. 2007, Kuwait troops on the way to Iraq. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBIN WILLIAMS, COMEDIAN: I come here for you. It's good to be in a room withe with a big (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I just got out of rehab, that's a good choice. Because I was violating my standards quicker than I could lower them. Uh-oh. I'm not going to forget that. I've never had an audience just go, forget you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLLING: Actually, what we didn't see there was all the troops turned, and they respected the flag. And Robin Williams stood there, humbling respecting the flag the same way. That's cool.
GUTFELD: Bob.
BECKEL: Depression was the cause -- depression and addiction -- of Robin Williams' suicide. There are a lot of young people who try to commit suicide and do commit suicide each year. If you're a mother or father who has a child who has depression, almost certainly they're going to turn to addiction. You need to intercede in it as early as possible.
And there's a great organization. the suicide prevention hot line. I think we have the number here. If you think your kids are depressed and if you think that they are using either alcohol or drugs, please call and do yourself a favor. I don't know if we got the number. It's at the bottom. Make the call; it's worth it.
GUTFELD: Dana.
PERINO: OK. That is sad. What I'm going to talk about is happy. Well, it's happy for everybody but Bob and Greg. It's Jasper's great weekend down in South Carolina. Let's take a quick look, because you haven't seen this, Bob. This is Jasper in a side car. I was sitting behind him. My husband has a Harley with a side car.
BOLLING: Wearing those glasses?
PERINO: I need to put goggles on.
BECKEL: We almost got through the show. Almost got through the show without listening to the name of that dog.
GUTFELD: Andrea, do you have a giraffe and a forklift?
TANTAROS: How did you know? That was my weekend. So to speak.
OK. I just proved my point just now. My "One More Thing" is that men say "Uh" and men say "Um," according to new research. Although I just didn't prove my point, because I said "Uh." I thought it was interesting, and you want to know why?
BECKEL: Why?
TANTAROS: Well, because people use "um" when they're trying to decide what to say, and "uh" when they're trying to decide how to say it.
BECKEL: Oh.
PERINO: I like that. That's good information.
TANTAROS: Yes. And as people get older, they don't use "um" or "uh," because they know what they think and they don't care.
BECKEL: All right. Real quick.
GUTFELD: Real quick, my favorite invention, Starwood Hotels has a bottler. It's a three-foot butler that comes to your hotel room and delivers items like toothbrushes and drinks and stuff. I love this, because I don't like to tip those people.
PERINO: That's what happens when you have a minimum wage.
GUTFELD: I'm kidding. By the way, Bob, it's not sexy. They did that in case...
(CROSSTALK)
GUTFELD: All right. "Special Report" is up next.
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