Bernie Goldberg on 'Love Affair' Between Obama and Media

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," January 26, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: President Obama, like many other liberals before him, is used to nothing less than adoration by the press. They fought over him, they tear up on the air, and they have chills running up and down their legs, so when someone like Rush or Mark Levine or yours truly questions or criticizes a liberal, well, they immediately shoot back, and they are given cover by their friends in the press.

For instance, CNN has labeled Rush's comments about not wanting the president's liberal agenda to succeed as, quote, "hate speech." While news anchor, Campbell Brown, called them, quote, "outrageous.'

And joining us tonight with more on this phenomenon, and exclusive look at his brand-new book, "A Slobbering Love Affair: The True and Pathetic Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media," is our very own Bernie Goldberg.

Great to see you. Thank you for being with us.

BERNARD GOLDBERG, "A SLOBBERING LOVE AFFAIR" AUTHOR: Always good to see you, Sean.

HANNITY: "Bias," you first wrote in — I'm sorry, 2001.

GOLDBERG: December 2001 it came out.

HANNITY: Number one best seller.

GOLDBERG: Right.

HANNITY: OK. This — who would have ever imagined that we'd get to this point. Let's go to the premise of the book.

GOLDBERG: Here's the point that we've gotten to. This isn't a book about media bias. They have taken the next step. This is a book about media activism. You know about judicial activism?

HANNITY: Sure.

GOLDBERG: Judges decide what's right because they feel it's right. That's what happened here. I don't call the book a "Slobbering Love Affair" for nothing. They slobbered all over Barack Obama. And let me say this, Sean. I don't, I don't hold Barack Obama responsible for that. He got to be a fool not to, not to.

HANNITY: It's a gift.

GOLDBERG: Absolutely, but they did it, I think, because they not only wanted to be partisan witnesses to history, they wanted to help shape history.

HANNITY: Yes, I use the phrase for the entire year last year that we're going to look back at 2008 as the year that journalism died.

GOLDBERG: Right.

HANNITY: And I add this to it. The single biggest contributors to Barack Obama's campaign was the fawning media coverage. Accurate?

GOLDBERG: The media was his base.

(LAUGHTER)

GOLDBERG: The media was his base.

HANNITY: In other words, press secretaries you could even say.

GOLDBERG: Except — yes, you can say that, and I don't think it's that outrageous. Look, why did they do it? Why do they do it? I mean his positions weren't that much different from Hillary Clinton's positions? They did it because Barack Obama was young, he was cool, he was black, and he was liberal.

Let me assure you, and everybody watching this knows this is true, no matter what side of the line they're on.

HANNITY: Right.

GOLDBERG: If we had just inaugurated our first black president who was a conservative Republican, I guarantee you, there wouldn't be the slobbering that we're seeing.

HANNITY: Bur wait a minute. We've seen conservatives, African- American conservatives slandered, besmirched, called every name in the book.

GOLDBERG: Right.

HANNITY: Friends of mine.

GOLDBERG: Right.

HANNITY: Niger Innis, Michael Steele.

GOLDBERG: Michael Steele.

HANNITY: Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell. Think of the names they've been called over the years. You know, if this were a Republican, you're right. There would be a difference. Why?

GOLDBERG: Yes, but you see — because he's a liberal, he's a liberal Democrat, not a conservative Republican. They — talk about the great historical moment, and the thing that bothers me in the sense about liberals is they seem to think they have a monopoly in understanding that this was a great historical moment or that the inauguration was a great historical moment. We understand that.

HANNITY: Sure.

GOLDBERG: We.

HANNITY: I've said it many times.

GOLDBERG: Yes. We appreciate that. But the reason that they got so excited over this man in a way they would never get excited over Michael Steele, who I think is great.

HANNITY: I love Michael.

GOLDBERG: Because this man is a liberal black man. And when they say that this is great for the country that we've elected our first black president, well, they wouldn't have felt that way if it was a conservative Republican, and, by the way, one other point. We didn't elect in a sense, of course, we did elect the black president, but there's no such position in this country as the black president of the United States.

He didn't run as a black man, he can't govern as a black man, and they better start to treat him as the president of the United States.

HANNITY: Well — now it is all about the agenda. Where do you stand on taxes? I mean where do you stand on the economy? Are you going to meet with Iran? Are you not going to allow drilling? These are the issues.

But this term, I've used the term Obama-mania.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

HANNITY: And it's almost cult like and people are mesmerized, hypnotized. I describe it and define it as the euphoric feeling of omnipotent ecstasy that people get at the very sight of Barack Obama.

GOLDBERG: Yes. That's right.

HANNITY: You chronicle all this in the book.

GOLDBERG: Well, the book.

HANNITY: It is slobbering.

GOLDBERG: It's slobbering, there's no question. The book does two things, and you said something earlier today that was right on the money and I've thought about it since. This book would be funny if it weren't so serious.

HANNITY: It's — it is funny. I laughed.

GOLDBERG: When you, when you looked at some of the things these people said, and it's not just, not just, although this is my — my single favorite, I've got a thrill running up my leg, Chris Matthews.

HANNITY: Well, we're going to — you've got that right.

GOLDBERG: You know, when you read all of these things, you say, are you kidding me? You know what, liberals as well as conservatives know that the media rolled over for Barack Obama. Liberals may not care that the media rolled over because they rolled over for their guy, but everybody knows.

HANNITY: Everybody knows.

GOLDBERG: And let me just say this — quickly. The danger in all of this is if nobody trusts the media anymore and there's evidence in the book that conservatives don't, liberals don't, they don't believe in the media anymore, then the media's only role is to keep an eye out on government, for us.

HANNITY: Well, no, no.

GOLDBERG: Because we don't trust them, who's going to listen when they sound the alarm?

HANNITY: But it's interesting. The attacks against little old me.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

HANNITY: You know, look at the — he's mentioning Rush, he's attacked — Obama has attacked me about name about 10 times.

GOLDBERG: Can I give you a — can I give you a theory on this?

HANNITY: Yes, I want to hear.

GOLDBERG: I think it's not about you personally or Rush personally, but about what you and Rush represent, conservative talk radio. Right? The two biggest guys in conservative talk radio.

I know Barack Obama has said that he doesn't want to reintroduce the fairness doctrine, but there are liberals in Washington, Democratic liberals in Washington like Nancy Pelosi who do.

HANNITY: Right.

GOLDBERG: And when I heard what he said about Rush.

HANNITY: Yes.

GOLDBERG: Just over the weekend, I'm thinking is this a shot — is this a shot across the bow that we're going after conservative talk radio if you guys don't get into line because if it is, there's going to be a backlash like you haven't seen.

HANNITY: Right. That (INAUDIBLE). Stay right there. Now we're going to have some examples when we get back. We're going to have more with Bernie Goldberg. A terrific book. His book, "A Slobbering Love Affair," and he's going to dissect the Obama-mania media love fest. We've got some very specific examples, we'll show.

And it is time for the debut of the Gitmo all stars. It's a who's who of prison's worst residents in Gitmo. Now some of these guys may be coming to a jail near you. Tonight's feature, "Bali Bombing Mastermind Ham Bali."

Plus Nancy Pelosi's perverse connection between the stimulus package and contraception. Yes, I know, I don't get it either but we'll ask Dick Morris. He's coming up straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: Now just last week we watched President-elect Obama become President Obama and get sworn into office, but who helped him get there? Well, according to Bernie Goldberg, it was his biggest cheerleaders, and that being the liberal media.

Now in Bernie's new book, "A Slobbering Love Affair, The True and Pathetic Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media," he details how the left-wing media went beyond its usual bias and why their actions threaten our very democracy, and we continue now with Bernie.

GOLDBERG: Can I break some news first very briefly?

HANNITY: Yes. Sure.

GOLDBERG: My sources told me tonight that when Barack Obama took office, literally when he took office.

HANNITY: Right.

GOLDBERG: He found out that the economy was in worse shape than he thought, and he had to lay off 17 journalists.

(LAUGHTER)

HANNITY: You know what my sources tell me? That he actually was raising people from the dead and turning water into wine. And.

GOLDBERG: Well, he was the messiah. The messiah can do that. Why are you shocked?

HANNITY: All right. Let's go to this. I — we all know the tingly feeling comment that Chris Matthews made.

GOLDBERG: Right.

HANNITY: We all know that one. I didn't know this until I read your book, and I highly recommend this book. But he was on "The Tonight Show" a year ago.

GOLDBERG: Oh yes, yes, yes.

HANNITY: If you're actually in the room when Obama gives one of his speeches, and you don't cry.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

HANNITY: . you're not an American.

GOLDBERG: Right. Can you imagine — let me ask you audience. Can you imagine if Sean Hannity said that about Ronald Reagan. You're not an American if you don't cry. They would be calling you a fascist, a Nazi, and — and those will be the nice things, yet here is a guy — this isn't political analysis. This is a man crush. Chris Matthews.

(LAUGHTER)

GOLDBERG: Chris Matthews had a man crush on Barack Obama.

HANNITY: All right Let's roll some tape on Matthews.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC ANCHOR: (INAUDIBLE) straight here. This is the network that has opened its heart to change, to change, and its possibilities. Let's be honest about it. These people watch this network out here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDBERG: They sure do.

HANNITY: This is the network.

GOLDBERG: Yes. Let me do this slowly for Chris' sake because he's so clueless, he doesn't get it. It's one thing to comment.

HANNITY: Yes.

GOLDBERG: Commentators are allowed to comment.

HANNITY: Sure.

GOLDBERG: . on your commentary show. He was anchoring a news event. The inauguration was a news event. First of all, how does MSN — only at MSNBC, they pick four.

HANNITY: They are the Obama network.

GOLDBERG: . ultra liberals to — you know to anchor a news event. And he's saying, that Obama's for change and we're the network of change. This is so insane that — you learn this in journalism 101.

By the way, this is why Jay Leno, this is why Jay Leno said that right after the election Obama held a party at his headquarters, MSNBC.

HANNITY: Right. Right. You — that's pretty funny. All right, now you chronicled — I was all over the Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright stories.

GOLDBERG: Good for you.

HANNITY: OK? And you write and thank you, you said a lot of nice things in the book. Here is Keith Olbermann criticizing — George Stephanopoulos was the one guy in the mainstream media.

GOLDBERG: That's right.

HANNITY: . asking the question. He had been on my radio show the day before, I said are you going to ask the question? Let's just roll the tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH OLBERMANN, MSNBC: ABC asking not a single question about Afghanistan or Pakistan, but abdicating journalistic decision making of its own to take dictation literally from Sean Hannity on Tuesday writing Stephanopoulos a question for Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: I didn't write it. I.

GOLDBERG: You suggested it. What's the difference who suggest the question? This was the first time a big, important, mainstream journalist, George Stephanopoulos, who by the way, his wife told us that he cried.

HANNITY: He cried.

GOLDBERG: During the inauguration. The inauguration was a wonderful thing, but an anchorman is crying at the inauguration? This is not good. The story should have been what is the relationship between Barack Obama and Bill Ayers? Maybe it's flimsy, maybe it's not. But what is it? Instead the story became you because you, because.

HANNITY: Little old me.

GOLDBERG: A conservative had the nerve to give one of their guys a question.

HANNITY: The guy did bomb the Capitol. He did bomb New York City police headquarters. He did bomb the Pentagon.

Now let me, let me get this one last thing in here, this from The Washington Post, if we can put it up on the screen here.

This is very common. "The sun glinted off chiseled pectorals sculpted during his four weightlifting sessions each week, and a body toned by a regular treadmill runs and basketball games."

By the way, Bernie, he shoots hoops. That makes.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

HANNITY: That's got to make him a great president.

GOLDBERG: Well, I would agree with that because I shoot hoops, too.

HANNITY: You play basketball, too.

GOLDBERG: Yes. But that had to be.

HANNITY: Yes.

GOLDBERG: And if I'm wrong, I would like somebody at the "Washington Post" to tell me. I'll keep an open mind. That had to be the single most embarrassing sentence ever published.

HANNITY: It's not.

GOLDBERG: In The Washington Post.

HANNITY: It's common. That's what your book points out. This is common.

GOLDBERG: I know. I know. But — but that's worthy. They were talking about Barack Obama's exercise regimen. That's worthy of a romance novel with Fabio on the cover.

(LAUGHTER)

HANNITY: All right. Let's go to Dave — one more, David Gergen about Obama during the DNC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GERGEN, CNN ANALYST: In — many ways it was less a speech than a symphony. It — that it moved quickly, it had a high tempo at times, inspiring, and then it became more intimate and slower, all along sort of interweaving a main theme about America's promise, echoes of Lincoln, of King, even of Reagan, and of Kennedy.

It was a — it will not be in the annals — I don't think it was as good as his civil rights speech class speech, but as a political speech, it was a masterpiece.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDBERG: Great, it was a masterpiece. I would expect nothing less from David Rodham Gergen. But.

(LAUGHTER)

HANNITY: You're on your game tonight. Go ahead.

GOLDBERG: But it wasn't a speech so much as it was a symphony? You have to be embarrassed when you talk that way.

HANNITY: And they want the censorship doctrine for us.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

HANNITY: They want to silence us.

GOLDBERG: Yes, because, because there isn't enough slobbering going on.

HANNITY: Bernie, I've got to tell you, I laughed, but I really want to cry when I think about the fact that everything in this book is true. You talk about Palin derangement syndrome. We'll have you back on a weekend and we'll talk about that.

GOLDBERG: Well, great. Great.

HANNITY: Good luck with the book.

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