CQ Radio: Newt Gingrich And Tim Pawlenty
As I have promised this week, we will have a blockbuster program tonight on CQ Radio, my BlogTalkRadio show at 9 pm CT tonight. During this week, I have conducted interviews with former Speaker Newt Gingrich and current Governor Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty talked with me about his efforts as national co-chair of John McCain's presidential exploratory committee, discussing the points of conservative discontent with the Senator. Pawlenty is engaging and thoughtful, and his perspective on the campaign is intriguing.
Newt Gingrich may have been one of the most challenging interviews I've ever conducted. Brilliant, outspoken, and with an excellent sense of history, Gingrich pulls no punches in this conversation. He analyzes the midterm elections, calls conservatives to arms to make a positive case for the agenda, and castigates the presidential candidates for jumping the gun on the electoral cycle. Our first topic is the critique he released today on the agreement with North Korea earlier this week:
* This agreement does not immediately address North Korea’s suspected highly enriched uranium (HEU) program—only its plutonium. North Korea has reportedly made a verbal promise addressing HEU, but it was not included in the text.* This agreement does not require North Korea to turn over its existing plutonium and any warheads it may have—hence it does not “denuclearize” the peninsula.
o North Korea’s negotiator reportedly said the nuclear weapons material was in the hands of the military and beyond his control, implying that the material cannot be covered in an agreement negotiated by the civilian foreign affairs ministry.* This agreement is very similar to the 1994 Agreed Framework (see below), and in effect rewards the bad behavior of the North Korean regime. Therefore, this agreement will serve to encourage, not deter, other rogue states in pursuing WMD.
He discusses these objections in very strong terms during the first part of the interview. Gingrich also talks about his new project, American Solutions for Winning the Future, to pursue non-partisan solutions that go beyond sound bites and petty politics. He announced a new YouTube contest for 120-second videos on why taxes should not get raised.
Don't miss this show. We'll have time for some phone calls at 646-652-4889.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on February 15, 2007 7:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)
