GOD AND GORE ON MSNBC
[From the Media Research Center comes this transcript of a live Chris Matthews report at around 1:12 AM eastern time. Sally Quinn, incidentally, is the writer who told Larry King last year, "We were talking about - speaking for all women, if I may - Toni Morrison wrote in The New Yorker that Clinton was our first 'black President,' and I think, in a way, Clinton may be our first 'woman President.' And I think that may be one of the reasons why women identify, because he does have a lot of feminine qualities about him: The softness, the sensitivity, the vulnerability, that kind of thing."]
Sally Quinn: One of the things I thought was so interesting about [Gore's concession] speech tonight was that he was so natural and so truthful and I think he doesn't know what he wants to do but I think he may have do, something to do with religion. I mean maybe go to divinity school or go on some kind of retreat or something like that. I wouldn't be at all surprised because I think he's a lot more religious than people know. I mean he referred to God several times in his speech tonight and once when I was interviewing him about a year ago he said you know there's an expression in my faith, WWJD, do you know what that is?"
[Cross talk]
QUINN: What Would Jesus Do, and he said I never make a political decision that I don't ask myself what would Jesus do.
CHRIS MATTHEW [seen staring in disbelief with mouth agape]
ANDREW SULLIVAN: You mean Jesus would have contested West Palm Beach?
[Laughter and cross talk]
PAUL BEGALA: Well, he is spiritual, not simply just religious. You know, he really doesn't just simply go through the motions. This is a really . . .
Matthews You mean his switch on abortion rights was driven by religion?
Begala: It is woven in his life. I don't know his position, I haven't talked about abortion rights.
Matthews: Oh come on, it's all politics when it comes to that issue. I just, let's go to Lawrence, he was guffawing at that last little commentary.
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL: Chris, if there is a politician in America who asks what would Jesus do, they might ask it but they certainly don't then do what Jesus would do and Al Gore . . .
Matthews: They just do it sort of for background information.
O'Donnell: And Al Gore certainly hasn't lived a political career that way. You can ask Bill Bradley if he thought he was running against Jesus in New Hampshire.