Dr. Phil McGraw (FNC)
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," September 3, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a strong, independent, feisty woman.
DR. PHIL MCGRAW, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I have a problem with people that I'm dating. How do I find someone who can handle my type of personality?
MCGRAW: So what's your personality? I'm getting scared now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Direct, very direct and upfront.
MCGRAW: Why don't you guys come back in here? I want somebody on either side of her here.
Let me tell you, just from a guy point of view, you've got to separate it. Because you are somebody that a guy doesn't have anything to offer. You know, because you don't need anything, right? You're independent; you're strong. You make your own way in the world. So how is a guy going to impress you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: All right. That was a scene from "Dr. Phil," which is set to kick off its eighth hit season on Monday, September the 14th. And by the way, the show's going to debut live right here from New York City.
Joining me now to talk about the big premier week is Dr. Phil himself.
How are you? Good to see you?
MCGRAW: Good to see you, man.
HANNITY: Welcome back. Now, you've got Oprah — you went on Oprah's show this year for the first time since you left her.
MCGRAW: I did. First time in seven years. We taped it just the other day. It airs Thursday, September 17. So it's in our — she launches the 14th. So do I. And this airs on the 17th. It was really nostalgic going back.
HANNITY: I read all these stories, Oprah and Dr. Phil are fighting. None of that is ever true, right?
MCGRAW: What do you think?
HANNITY: It's crazy.
MCGRAW: It's crazy. She and I are great friends and have been for, oh, gosh, almost 15 years now.
HANNITY: Yes.
MCGRAW: You know, I met her back in the mad cow case days when they were after her there. We're still business partners. We're still great friends.
In fact, it was so much fun when I went back and did the show for the first time in seven years. And it really was nostalgic walking through those doors again and everything.
In the first segment, you know, she said, "Aren't you and I supposed to be feuding?" And she put up all the headlines. She put up all the headlines from these ridiculous tabloids. And one of them is "I will destroy you." She said are you destroying me or am I destroying you? I forget which it is. You know, it's always some crap.
HANNITY: She was on your show last year.
MCGRAW: When we did our 1,000th show. That show was all because of Oprah, her support, her vision. There would be no Dr. Phil if Oprah hadn't launched that. So I asked her to come celebrate the 1,000th show with us. And of course she did. We talk all the time. She's a great gal.
HANNITY: One of the things — I think the reason for your success, for whatever it's worth, you've got this — I don't know how to explain it. You've just got this level of simple, basic truth-telling, common sense. And it's uncommon. It's not that common anymore.
MCGRAW: It's not common enough. And I'll tell you where it comes from. I grew up really poor. I mean, really poor. And, you know, I watched all the politics. You deal with those every night. They're doing this stimulus plan and this, and that. I guess that's all for the next generation or something.
Because the people that I'm talking to, what they want to know about that is what does this mean at my house? What does this mean right now when my husband is out of work and I'm out of work? They're towing our cars off. It's time to buy school clothes for our kids. We can't buy school clothes for them. We don't know what to do.
Those are the kinds of — those are the kind of letters I'm getting. Then we read all of these big programs and big headlines and all this rhetoric. Whether it's Democrat or Republican, they're saying, "What about me now?"
HANNITY: Look, I'm not going to drag you into political discussion. That's not what you do here. I do worry, though, that there is a mentality that has emerged in this country. You know, we have gotten away from John Kennedy: ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
Everybody wants to know what they're going to get? You know, are we going to get a free college education? Are we going to get a car? Baby bond? Health care? Do you think we have become too dependent on other people?
MCGRAW: There are some people looking for a free ride. I will guarantee you there is no question about it. Most of the people, I spent a lot of time in Detroit. And...
HANNITY: Me too.
MCGRAW: ... most of the people up there, those are people that have worked hard for a long time. And are having — and they're losing their houses. These aren't people looking for a free ride. They just want a chance.
HANNITY: They want to work.
MCGRAW: "Put me in, Coach." That's what they're looking for. And what I've seen with "The Dr. Phil Show." We are starting our eighth year. I mean, that's a long time for me. Oprah is going into 25. So I mean, that's like a weekend for her.
But we're going into our eighth year. And the questions are changing. I mean, they really are. People are asking, you know, what do we tell our kids? How do we not feel guilty? How do we not fight and blame each other? How do we keep our marriage together during these tough times? Those are the things we are having to deal with.
HANNITY: If you look at tough economic times, usually it precedes a high level of divorce. We're already at a 50 percent divorce rate.
Look, I've watched you on your show. This is why I like you and admire you so much. I've watched you confront people in marriages. "Why do you talk to your wife that way? Why are you abusing your children? Why are you selfishly taking drugs and alcohol when you need to be doing the right thing?" And that's why I think you're so successful.
MCGRAW: That's what bugs me. And I realize, for example, we're seeing — and in some communities I'm hearing from the domestic violence hotline people that their frequencies are going up like 30, 40 percent in one month, because people are so frustrated, and you take it out on who is handy. You know, who's right there with you. You know, you don't go to yell at the guy...
HANNITY: Take it out on me...
(CROSSTALK)
Take it out on your wife or husband.
MCGRAW: You take it out on your spouse. And so I think the real tragedy is not if we lose — it's bad if people lose their house, if they lose their car. I don't trivialize that. But what I really would hate is if they lose their marriage and their family as a product of this. Because there's a trickle down. The economic trickles down into the relationship. They turn on each other, and it falls apart.
HANNITY: So then, if you can give one piece of advice in the short time we have left in this segment, you know, how — if you see these troubling times, how do you prevent that inevitable result or that predictable result from happening?
MCGRAW: People talk about topics because they're safe. They will talk about, "Hey, you left the tricycle in the driveway? Why do you that? You didn't put the toilet seat down." They pick easy, safe topics.
The real issue is, if I'm a husband, I feel like a failure that I'm not providing. And so I get defensive about that.
People have got to sit down and talk about the issues. They've got to say, "Look, however we got here, we got here together. We either did all of this spending together. We overreached together. We didn't plan ahead. We didn't see the government's bad decisions. Whatever it is, we got into this together. Let's get out of this together."
This stuff can either be a wedge that's driven between you or it can be the glue that hangs you together. And I think this needs to be the glue.
HANNITY: The part that I do like about Oprah. And I don't like her politics. But I do like her show, because its foundation is really good values. I think she has good values. I think you have good values. And it's a really needed urgent message today. So we really wish you the best in your coming season.
MCGRAW: You know, one last thing I will say, and I know it's true of Oprah and it's true of me. I sit down before every show, and I weigh very carefully what I'm going to say to people. And when I say hard things, that's not easy for me to do sometimes.
HANNITY: It doesn't seem like it. It seems like it comes out pretty easy.
MCGRAW: I know, but you know, I think it's my job. I think it's my job. But it is hard for me to tell people the truth, but they need to hear it. And I owe them the truth.
HANNITY: I believe that. And you know what? That's why people want the truth badly.
MCGRAW: Sean, thanks so much. Good luck to you.
— Watch "Hannity" weeknights at 9 p.m. ET!
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