jon: April 4, 2012.
From comedy central's world news
Headquarters in new york, this
Is "the daily show" with jon
Stewart.
(cheers and applause)
Captioning sponsored by
Comedy central
( theme song playing )
( cheers and applause )
jon: Welcome to "the daily
Show"!
My name is jon stewart.
Big one tonight.
Our guest jack goldsmith, the
Author of a new book on e
Limits of presidential power.
I'm sorry, that must be a
Typoment I thought that said
"limits."
(laughs)
Let's begin tnight with last
Night's trio of primary nights
For... Victories, mitt romney.
He beat santorum in wiscsin,
He beat rick santorum in
Washington, d.C., beat him 70%
To "wasn't even on the ballot."
(laughter)
It was without question one of
The best primary showings for
Rick santorum yet.
Or to put it another way...
everybody knows he's going to
Be the nominee.
game over.
rick santorum is done.
you lose!
Good day sir!
(laughter)
jon: How over is this race?
Candidate newt gingrich didn't
Even bother giving a speech last
Night.
Fox took time out to cover the
Razzies and cnn actually let the
Sacred magic screen duty be
Handled by john king's
Understudy.
let's bring in cnn's tom
Foreman.
Tom, I guess they're letting you
Play at the magic wall tonight.
(laughter)
jon: Ladies and gentlemen,
During tonight's performance the
Role of magic screen finger
Banger will be played by tom
Foreman.
You know how long foreman has
Been waiting for this moment?
(laughter)
Every primary night for the past
Six months he's been sitting in
His dressing room staying ready.
Zoom out, zoom in.
Is john king here yet?
How's he feeling?
Did he come in?
Oh, he came in.
I'll call my folks and tell them
Not to watch.
The point is everybody know it
Is primary is over.
we have now reached the point
Where it's half time.
jon: Almost everybody.
(laughter)
Everybody but santorum.
This is going to get ugly.
half the delegates in the
This process have been selected
And who's ready to charge out of
The locker room in pennsylvania
For a strong second half?
(cheers and applause)
jon: Game's over, kid.
It's over.
You're done.
This is this isn't the scene in
The sport dras ma where the
Coach gives the inspiring speech
And the team comes back to win
The playoff.
This is the scene with hilary
Swank hits her head on a stool
And never boxes again.
(audience reacts)
(laughter)
You preferred the quillly wonka
(bleep), huh,?
Is that what it is?
Perhaps santorum is drawing
Inspiration from the stirring
Tale of another man who didn't
Quit when things looked hope
he lost almost every early
Primary.
Only won one until may.
They said "get out of the race,
We need a moderate."
In 1976 ronald reagan didn't get
Out of the race.
He took that race the entire way
To the convention.
And he fell short, and in the
Fall republicans fell short.
(laughter)
jon: I guess what I'm saying
Is I should have thought this
Anecdote through.
(laughter)
Because now that I'm at the end
Of it I realize that my point
Here is to be if I stay in this
Thing long enough I'll lose.
But at least I will also divide
My party.
(laughter)
Santorum 2012 is what I'm... Oh,
Wait.
Are you playing the long game
Here, santorum?
then four years later they
Fought him again.
We need another moderate.
We have to defeat this
Democratic incumbent and this
Time a the republican
Establishment lost.
I see where you're going with
This.
Santorum 2016, that's where
You're going!
I think that's where you're
Going.
let's not make the mistake of
1976 again.
Let's bypass that error and move
Straight to 1980.
(laughter)
jon: So santorum 1980!
No!
Reagan 2012.
No (bleep).
(laughter)
I really don't know who to vote
For now.
I'm inspired and confused.
Comparing yourself to reagan
Aren't you selling yourself a
Little snort
general washington
Understood.
(laughter)
jon: And your situation and
George washington's is analogous
How?
general washington
Understood: Some of the best
Ideas and some of the best
Plans.
In fact, what has made this
Country great is that we have
Listened to real significant
Voices of everyday americans and
He did, that's why he crossed
The delaware, surprised the
Hessians and turned the tide of
The revolution.
(laughter)
jon: You know, senator
Santorum your campaign is on a
Boat but I don't think it's
Washington's boat, if you know
What I mean?
(cheers and applause)
Here's the thing, rick, while
You're throwing around
Comparison to george washington,
Here's the other analogy people
Are throwing at yo
if I were mitt romney I would
Put up millions of dollars of
Ads in pennsylvania today and
Let him know if you say in this
Race you make me sweat this out
And you stop me from focusing on
Barack obama.
You know what I'm going to do?
I'm going to reduce you to
Rubble in your home state and
Then just like rome I'm going to
Go to carthage and I'm going
Salt the earth to make sure
Nothing ever grows back there
Again.
(audience reacts)
jon: Do not anger joe
Scarborough.
(laughter)
Or he will, like general sherman
March through your hometown and
Burn the (bleep)ing place to the
Ground.
(laughter)
Romney will crush his enemies,
See them delivered before him
And here the lamentations of
Their women.
By the way, the phrase "salting
The earth" refers to an ancient
Practice of conquering armies
Sabotaging farmland to prevent
It from growing crops.
That fact brought to you by
Salt.
(laughter)
Turn your french fries into
Carthage.
(laughter)
We'll be right
(cheers and applause)
jon: Welcome back.
You know the country-- this
Country of ours-- it remains
Sharply divided over the tragic
Killing of trayvon martin by
George zimmerman and lately
There's been a new suggestion ma
That maybe we shouldn't be
Focusi on this one incident so
Much at all.
Nobody says a word about the
Fact that almost half of the
Murders in the United States are
Of black people and 90% of them
Are committed by other black
People.
the national media doesn't do
Stories about blackon black
Crime.
where's the outrage about the
Black-on-black crime.
nobody has a March for them.
It's outrageous.
jon: For more we're joined by
Senior black correspondent larry
Wilmore.
(laughter)
Lairly.
thank you, jon.
Two things: One, no one has
Marches against blackon black
Violence?
Hmm, these just a few from the
Last six months.
What do you think these people
Are doing?
Do yo think there's that many
Tyler perry movie openings?
(laughter)
jon: Actually, I think there
Might be that ma tyler perry
Openings.
and number two, the
Difference between the trayvon
Martin shooting and black on
Black crime is that word crime.
You know, that thing that people
Get arrested for?
Since the court of public
Opinion is the only court that
Will take the case, everyone
Feel it is need to jump in and
Defend or condemn zimmerman.
To the right he's an unfairly
Victimized dudley do-right and
To the left he's elmer fudd if
You had hunting down black
People.
"shh.
Be vewwy quiet.
I'm wacially profiwing negwoes."
(laughter)
jon: That is a very good
Elmer fudd.
thank you, jon.
Thank you.
Look, the point is somehow the
Death of a 17-year-old kid got
Turned into a chance to score
Ideological points.
if I had a son he would look
Like trayvon.
is the president suggesting
That if it had been a white who
Had been shot it would have been
Okay?
Disgraceful.
trayvon was hunted down like
A rabid dog
why even have a trial based
On what some members of congress
Are saying.
please don't send me anymore
Tweets about having this
Conversation that I'm a racist
Or a race baiter.
don lemon, you are a fixated
On this one issue over and over.
We want to hear the news, not
Your personal agenda.
Go work for b.E.T.
(audience reacts)
go work for b.E.T.?
(bleep) you!
(laughter)
What is that?
Twitter speak for go back to
Africa?
jon: It seems... So the right
Has this... They have to defend
People who are maybe
Legitimately sick of being
Called racist and the lef is
Defending people who are
Legitimately concerned about
Racial profileing but it seems
We can't talk about this actual
Case because it devolves into
People leveling or defending
Themselves against charges
Against racism.
exactly, jon, that's right.
That's why we're going to have a
Racist time out.
jon: What?
america, for the next five
Minutes no matter what is said
Nobody's racist.
jon: A racist time out?
(laughter)
focus.
The point is this.
If we remove accusations of
Racism we can finally talk
Calmly about the racial
Elementss of this story.
jon: So there is some racial
Elements in this story.
Some racism in this story?
we got a hispanic guy with a
Jewish name killing a black guy?
It's got to be in there
Somewhere.
(laughter)
Follow me, john.
George zimmerman sees a black
Guy in a hoodie, black guys in
Hoodies have reportedly been
Breaking into homes so though
Not racist, maybe a little
Race-y.
jon: But zimmerman follows
Him even though the police told
Him not to.
That's got to be race-ish.
no, that's just stupid.
(laughter)
After that point we have
Different accounts of what
Happened.
But the one thing we know for
Sure, zimmerman killed trayvon
And the police let him go.
jon: Ah!
So the place were racist!
not this time.
They were following the law.
Now, according to "stand your
Ground" as long as zimmerman
Felt threatened he ha the right
To respond with lethal force.
jon: So stand yo ground law
Is racist!
I get it now!
no, you don't get it, shut
Up.
jon: All right.
(laughter)
You don't even have to go in
Front after a jury.
You tell the cops the scene
Of the crime you were standing
Your ground and they'll give you
The benefit of the doubt.
That's the culprit.
jon: Ah-ha!
(laughter)
The benefit of the doubt is
Racist!
(laughter)
exactly, jon.
Exactly.
jon: I don't know... Wait.
Black people don't get the
Benefit of the doubt?
in shooting cases?
(laughter)
It's the one entitlement black
People can't get from the
Government, jon.
(audience rets)
Look... Oh, shut up.
Plaxico burress went to prison
For two years when his gun
Accidentally went off in his
Pants!
He couldn't get the benefit of
The doubt for shooting himself!
(laughter)
By the way, black on black crime
Widely reported.
jon: So you think white
People get more benefit of the
Doubt in shooting cases?
well, maybe not even
Consciously, jon, but look.
When vice president dvp shot his
Buddy in the case, oh, it was
Just two white guys having fun
With guns!
(laughter)
Hey!
You pumped your buddy full of
Bird shot?
You didn't mean that, I give you
The benefit of the doubt.
(laughter)
Come on, jon, can you imagine if
Obama shot eric holder in the
Face?
(laughter)
Come on!
Trust me.
One of those (bleep)ers woul be
Going to jail.
The only thing is, that would be
The length of the sentence.
jon: Did you just call
President obama the "n" word?
(laughter)
of course, not, jon, give me
The benefit of the doubt.
(laughter)
I was thinking of eric holder.
(laughter)
jon: That's it?
So soon?
Our five minutes is up.
I was going to ask you about
Cornrows.
not gangster.
jon: All right.
Thank you, larry.
Larry wilmore
(cheers and applause)
jon: Welcome back.
My guest tonight, he served in
The bush administration's office
Of legal counsel, he's currently
A professor at harvard law
School.
His new book is called "power
And constraint: The accountable
Presidency after 9/11."
Please welcome back to the
Program jack goldsmith!
(cheers and applause)
How are you?
Jack, it's nice to see you again
We heard you'd written a book
About post-9/11, executive power
I thought for sure "power and
Constraint" would be about the
Unrestrained executive, the
Imperial presidency.
Your premise seems to be that
Our actual checks and balances
Have done a pretty decent job of
Constraining executive power.
that is correct.
Everybody focuses on how
Powerful the post-9/11
Presidency is.
And it is powerful.
We've forgotten or haven't seen
All the different ways in whi
Courts, the press, human rights
Organizations, people inside the
Executive have pushed back
Against the presidency and
Changed what he's dghin
The bush administration and the
Obama administration.
jon: You make a point about
There's very small group of
Civil rights attorneys who got
The bush administration to
Address indefinite detentionand
Habeas corpus.
they were very successful in
Bringing landmark supreme court
Cases.
They won some very important
Decisions.
They got what they wanted which
Was habeas corpus judicial
Review of the guantanamo
Detainees.
They were able to get 600 or 700
People out.
But when the courts looked at it
And congress got involved as
Well they decided hey, it turns
Out it is lawful to detain these
People and gitmo indefinitely
And now it has the imprimatur of
The federal courts.
jon: Is that constraining the
Presidency or just codifying
Things we did not think were
Possible and have now accepted
And maybe shouldn't because this
Is a war of no end.
well, that's an important
Question, it's a big question.
Who is "we" that thinks we
Shouldn't do that?
jon: I mean me and you.
(laughter)
the courts have pushed back
Quite a lot against the
Executive and they still allow
Them to detain but the standard
Is much narrower than it used to
Be.
His powers are narrowly
Confined.
He has extraordinary powers.
He used military commissions to
Engage in targeted killings.
jon: Does it feel worse
Because obama campaigned to
Repeal that state of affairs?
So much of his rhetoric was "we
Do not have to sacrifice our
Values for our safety" and then
He got in the office and went
"well, actually, that value
Could go."
right, and this is a large
Part of what the book is about
Because obama in January of 2009
Everyone thought that everything
Was going to change and what
Happened was that he didn't...
Obama didn't lack the courage of
His convictions on civil
Liberties.
He got into power, he had the
Responsibility for national
Security and it turns out that a
Lot of the practices that the
Bush administration had been
Engaged in had been changed and
Altered some quite a lot, some
Quite a little.
Much had been approved by courts
And the system had basically
Become legitimated and when he
Had the responsibility for
Keeping the country safe he
Wasn't going to walk away from
That legitimated system.
And in some instances he tried
To walk away, trying to close
Gitmo, trying to have civilian
Trials and he wasn't able to
Because the same forces that
Pushed bush towards the center
Pushed obama towards the center
As well.
jon: We also know that
Certain of those constraints
Were inherent in the way that
The original regime had been set
Up.
In other words, you couldn't
Take these trials to civilian
Courts because so much of the
Information we had gotten from
Terrorists was coerce sod if you
Did that you couldn't unravel
That.
some he couldn't unravel and
People in gitmo were the hardest
Thing.
That was the hardest situation
To unravel.
so are we just to accept
Because it's been legitimated
That there are individuals right
Now that we will hold forever
Who will never have an
Opportunity for what we would
Consider a due process.
well, they've had very
Significant due process.
I bet if you go back and look at
Your shows from decade ago....
jon: Oh, we were so young
Then.
if you look at the kind of
Thins you were insisting on
Back then I bet one was judicial
Review.
You were probably insisting on
Habeas corpus.
jon: Our habeas corpus week
Was very popular with the
College kids that year, I
Remember.
the truth is that the
Detainees in wartime are getting
More procedural protections than
They've ever had before and many
Have been released even though
They were fighting for the
Enemy.
But you're right.
We have gotten down now to a
Number of the issues.
There are people that are...
There are a military commission
Some of them, the president
Wants to try some of them in
Vilian court but congress
Won't let him.
There are a group of people who
Will be detained indefinitely
And there's no alternative.
So what the government has done
Is ramped up the protections to
Make sure the facts are right
And they've had full judicial
Review.
That the circumstances of
Their... Their living
Circumstances are as good as
They can be.
jon: But ultimately we have
To trust the executive in that.
I don't think you have to
Trust the executive.
The executive has to go before
The court and make his case.
jon: Military court?
no, federal courts.
All the people in got go to...
Guantanamo bay go to the supreme
Court potentially and this is
One of the great advances.
One of bush's problems was that
He resisted judicial review and
That was one of the many reasons
Why people didn't trust what he
Was doing.
jon: Are you worried about
General civil liberties and the
Sort of window that has been
Pushed about data mining, the
Government's ability to just
Collect data from its citizens,
This supreme court case about
Strip certains for even minor
Infractions, things that we are
Just tending to accept and the
Slippery slope we go down when
We do that?
of course I worry about it.
I worry about the size of the
Government, the size of the
National security bureaucracy,
The size of the executive branch
And the amazing scary powers it
Has and nothing in my book
Suggests we shouldn't be
Vigilant in questioning and
Criticizing but I think there
Are all sorts of constraints and
Check herbs and watchers looking
At the president to make sure
What he's doing is lawful and
Useful.
jon: Believe me, I was ready
To open this up and be right
"we're all months away from
Living in a gulag."
(laughter)
But you make a good case that
There is a very healthy system
In place that attacked these
Excesses and does find a way,
Maybe not immediately to
Constrain them maybe not back to
Its original form.
that's right, back to the
Original form but we're notn a
Pre-9/11 world.
We haven't been attacked in a
Long time in this country but
Inside the executive branch
They're worried about the next
Attack and it's not a pre-9/11
World so we had this powerful
Presidency and an indefinite war
And my book is about the various
Constraints that have grown up
To check and legitimate as it
Goes forward.
It's not just the oval office.
I sit up in my office and do
This all night so...
(laughter)
It's really just an interesting
Argument, so well laid out.
"power and constraint."
On the bookshelves now.
Our fiend jack goldsmith.
(applause)
jon: That's our show,
Everybody, join us tomorrow
Night, anthony bourdain will be
Here.
Here it, is your moment of zen.
santorum never had a chance.
I said after south carolina he
Was like a chicken with his head
Chopped off.
The chicken is dead, the only
Person that don't know it is the
Chicken.
He can flop