This is a rush transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," December 8, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: Reverend Jeremiah Wright. He returned to the pulpit and took aim — at one of his favorite targets, little old me, in his Sunday sermon. He compared Obama's ascension to the White House with Jesus' biblical struggles and also had some choice words for the American media.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT: Jesus says upon this rock I will build — listen to the promise — my church and the gates of hell — listen to the promise — the gates of hell neither ABC nor CNN, the gates of hell. Neither Hannity nor O'Reilly, the gates of hell, neither TIME, TIME magazine, Chicago Sun-Time, Chicago Tribune, neither hell, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Nothing will be impossible with God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: And joining us now the president of the National Action Network, the Reverend Al Sharpton.
• Video: Watch Sean & Alan's interview
All right. Am I Satan, gates of hell?
REV. AL SHARPTON, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: I thought he named CNN, ABC.
HANNITY: No, no. He named Hannity by name, which by the way is the sixth.
SHARPTON: You were on the bottom rung.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Well, you know me. Do you think I'm a good person?
SHARPTON: I think you intend to be good. I think you have bad judgment.
HANNITY: No, I didn't ask you if I intend to be good.
SHARPTON: I think you have bad judgment. I think you're a good person. But — I mean he attacked the media, and the media has been attacking him. I mean, I haven't spoken to Reverend Wright, I'm not speaking for him. But I don't see how the media could lambaste a man for months and then you're upset that he makes a reference to them in a sermon?
HANNITY: I read your book about being a — child preacher. I know that faith is important to you. You and I — we've had long discussions about God and faith and religion.
SHARPTON: Right.
HANNITY: There's a lot you and I agree on.
SHARPTON: Right.
HANNITY: About faith.
SHARPTON: Absolutely.
HANNITY: All right. We're both Christian.
SHARPTON: And I'm sure Reverend Wright and you would agree on some things if you hadn't...
HANNITY: I don't know. I don't believe in black liberation theology. I don't believe in — it has its roots in socialism and redistribution, Reverend Cone, his controversial works.
SHARPTON: Well, first of all, liberation theology comes out of the Exodus. You don't believe in the liberation of the Israelites in the bible?
HANNITY: No, no. Not the same thing. Black liberation theology, and we've done extensive reports on this program and on "Hannity's America," it's rooted in a far more controversial point of view which is what he quoted, because I interviewed Reverend Wright.
SHARPTON: Yes, but black liberation theology is rooted in the biblical expression of liberating oppressed people.
HANNITY: Let me ask you a question.
SHARPTON: That's biblical.
HANNITY: Do you — when you say GD America, when you see after 9/11, the Sunday after we lost friends that day, Reverend, right here in New York.
SHARPTON: I lost friends.
HANNITY: I lost friends.
When you say America's chickens have come home to roost.
SHARPTON: And is no different than right wing ministers that said that America was.
HANNITY: Forget about right wing, let's talk about him.
SHARPTON: But let's.
HANNITY: What about this guy?
SHARPTON: What I'm saying is that you can't talk about him out of context. There were ministers on both sides of the political spectrum that made their interpretation of 9/11.
HANNITY: You're making an excuse.
SHARPTON: I'm not making excuses.
HANNITY: Are you friends with him?
SHARPTON: You are.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: Will you criticized him.
SHARPTON: I know Reverend Wright.
HANNITY: And you criticized him.
SHARPTON: Well, I disagree with Reverend Wright. I said that during the campaign.
HANNITY: What do you disagree with him on?
SHARPTON: I do not agree with depicting 9/11 in a sense that we did not as Americans lose a lot.
HANNITY: The USKKK of A?
SHARPTON: What I said the same when Hagee and others said things that were distasteful. I said the same when right-wing ministers said because we allowed certain sexual preferences in America.
HANNITY: Here's my last question.
SHARPTON: ... that's why we had 9/11.
HANNITY: (INAUDIBLE) to Colmes.
SHARPTON: Did you condemn them?
HANNITY: Before.
SHARPTON: Did you condemn them?
HANNITY: Some of them, yes. I don't know which ones been particular.
SHARPTON: Well, are you making excuses?
HANNITY: No, no, I don't know them, but we know him, and I'm talking about him. Here's my question. I think — do you believe Barack Obama went to this man's church for 20 years. He told us I had no idea — my spiritual mentor who went to Libya to meet with Khadafi with Farrakhan who's a racist and anti-Semite?
Do you believe him when he says to America that he had no idea Reverend Wright believed these things?
SHARPTON: Absolutely. Absolutely.
HANNITY: You believed him?
SHARPTON: I think when Barack Obama stood up knowing that there would be sizeable portions that would question why and took his stance where he agreed and disagreed with Reverend Wright, it was one of the most courageous acts we've seen in politics.
ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: By the way, excuse me. Hold on, hold on.
HANNITY: He was not courageous.
SHARPTON: You asked me a question.
COLMES: Wait a minute. We're short on time. Excuse me.
HANNITY: He was absolutely expedient.
SHARPTON: Expedient to who?
COLMES: We had.
HANNITY: For him.
COLMES: We had an election, we litigated all this during the election.
SHARPTON: Yes.
COLMES: The American public decided that this is not an issue.
SHARPTON: But you understand, Sean was attacked. One of ten people, he was eight on the list attacked. And he can't get over it.
(LAUGHTER)
COLMES: He (INAUDIBLE) wanted it. That's what the issue is.
HANNITY: Wait a minute. I've been attacked more than anybody.
COLMES: Hold on, hold on a sec. Excuse me.
(CROSSTALK)
COLMES: The fact of the matter is, let's understand what black liberation theology is.
SHARPTON: That's correct.
COLMES: Because I don't think most people understand what it is. Could you help us understand?
SHARPTON: Black liberation theology comes as a theology that emanates out of the bible fighting against oppression that was specifically tailored to the black experience to inspire people to fight oppression.
COLMES: So when he says GD America, he doesn't really literally mean that, it's a kind of hyperbole, as you point out.
HANNITY: Excuse me.
COLMES: Here's a man that.
(CROSSTALK)
COLMES: You drive him nuts here.
(CROSSTALK)
COLMES: Excuse me, Mr. Hannity. My turn to speak.
(CROSSTALK)
SHARPTON: Here's the man who was a surging on as a president. So I mean, come on, this man is not one that has a history of that.
COLMES: Right. We hear hyperbole from Hagee. We hear hyperbole from the people that John McCain embraced and sought their endorsements during the campaign, but I didn't hear that level of hyperbole directed against John McCain.
SHARPTON: Well, not only that, I mean, when we talk about — I hear tonight Sean saying that there was an ad on Jeremiah Wright that McCain never ran.
HANNITY: We're going to show it.
SHARPTON: The Democrats never ran the ads they could have ran on Hagee. Hagee stood with John McCain.
HANNITY: He didn't sit there for 20 years, Reverend Al.
(CROSSTALK)
COLMES: Excuse me. It's my turn to be on this show. Yes.
SHARPTON: Thank God that we did not get in that kind of divisiveness, and by the way, Barack Obama won by a landslide. I don't think one ad would have changed that.
COLMES: People have made their decision. They saw the evidence, they saw the tapes. They decided that it wasn't going to be an issue.
SHARPTON: And it was a landslide for Barack Obama. And I remember, Sean.
HANNITY: 57 million voted the other way.
SHARPTON: ... what you said right in that chair.
HANNITY: Right here.
SHARPTON: As you said, you are my friend, I meet and socialize with you, we talk religion, we don't agree on much on politics.
COLMES: All right. We.
SHARPTON: You sat right in that chair and told me that John McCain was going to win. Can you look at the camera and say I was wrong, Reverend Al?
COLMES: OK. We got to run, Reverend.
Coming up, we're going to talk about.
HANNITY: I was wrong, Reverend Al.
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