The Phone Call

Kerry Strategist and Commentator Paul Begala on CNN 11/3 (PM):

BEGALA: Wha... Theh... Deh... Weh... They got beat! No, they were right to try to get new voters in as well, but they just got out, uh, out-hustled, out-organized, out-whatever, out-motivated by the Bush staff. I mean, Kerry's job was to motivate Democrats and to persuade independents. He did that. But the president just simply did a better job at his game, and I think that you got to give the president credit for that. He raised issues in the right way. He found those folks; he motivated them. He got them out to vote, and now's got, you know, now he has a real mandate. I spent four years saying that he "wasn't fully legitimate." He's fully legitimate now, and he's got a majority of the vote in a high-turnout election. There's nothing more legitimating than that.

Kerry Strategist and Commentator Paul Begala on CNN 11/4 (AM):

BEGALA: At election time he does good job of revving up these divisions, ehh, eee, uhh... attacking gay rights and suggesting maybe they're going to limit abortion rights. Let's put him to the test now. He's got the House. He's got the Senate. He's obviously got the White House. Let's see him speak out, eeeh, if he thinks abortion really is murder? Fine, let's put cops in hospitals, Mr. President. Let's ban abortion. You know, you think that gay rights is wrong? Fine, let's outlaw being gay the way Texas did for many years in years and start locking up the homosexuals. You know, the truth is he won't do any of that because this is all just a cynical ploy to manipulate good people with strong values and to use their votes and get them at the election. Then he's going to go back to his big-business agenda. You watch.

Think Begala got a special phone call late on 11/3? I report. You decide.