American Morning

Hey, Victor, good morning.

VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning. Happy holidays.

O’BRIEN: Thank you, likewise.

Former RNC communications director Clifford May.

CLIFF MAY, FMR. RNC COMM. DIR.: Good morning. Merry Christmas.

O’BRIEN: At the end of the day it comes down to that, doesn’t it? But before we talk about that, let’s actually talk about the news that we’ve been reporting since yesterday at this time, 22 people killed, 72 others injured in that attack on Mosul. Election workers dragged into the streets and executed over the weekend. Before that, in a poll, a new poll, the question is how has the U.S. handled Iraq over the past few months? 58 percent say they disapprove.

Cliff, I’m going to let you start with this. All bad news? Is support for the war just crumbling?

MAY: Well, I certainly hope not, because what we were learning in recent days we didn’t know already, is just what kind of enemy we are fighting. These are people who shoot election workers in the streets. These are people who bomb churches as they did yesterday also, mosques in Najaf and Karbala. These are people who are members of Ansar Al Sunna, which is a group clearly tied to Al Qaeda.

Now, In 1993, when we got hit in Somalia, we ran. In ’83, in Beirut, when we got hit at our embassy and our barracks, we ran. In Iran, when they took our hostages in ’79, we did nothing about it. This time, we need to stay and defeat once and for all this terrible enemy that has been fighting us for more than 20 years. If we don’t defeat them in Iraq, tell me where we are going to make our stand?

O’BRIEN: Victor, analysts have almost unanimously said it’s going to get worse before it gets better, especially as we head into the elections. I mean, Doesn’t cliff have a point? You got to, at some point, just wait it out.

KAMBER: Well, if it was your son or daughter, your aunt our uncle, I don’t know that waiting it out because President Bush or Donald Rumsfeld says we should wait it out. We made a mistake. The whole premise is a mistake. I think once we’re there, we have to defend what we have gone into. But 1,300 Americans have died, over 10,000 wounded. No end in sight. No plan to get out. And it’s getting worse. My heart goes out. This time of year, the holidays when you think about family being together, it’s a horrible, horrible situation, and we have not contained this situation. We have not brought about stability. Having an election makes no sense. I will put that aside, but we have to find a way to stabilize the country, and it’s not stabilized.

O’BRIEN: Another topic. You guys were talking about this yesterday, everybody was, this happy holidays versus merry Christmas. There’s a new poll out, and the polls says that what would say to someone you just met? 56 percent of people overall say they say “merry Christmas,” 41 percent would say “happy holidays.” As we know, it’s broken down between Republicans and Democrats, as you guys sort of pointed out this morning at our greeting. 71 percent of Republicans would say merry Christmas, 54 percent of Democrats would say happy holidays. Cliff, would you really prefer — I mean, do you have a dog in this fight? Do you care if I say happy holidays or merry Christmas to you?

MAY: Listen, I’m not offended either way. But one of the things that wonderful about this country, is we don’t just tolerate each other’s religions, we respect them, we even celebrate them. I mean, you have Christians going to Jews houses for Passover and Hanukkah. You have Jews who go to see Santa Claus, and to go to see the Christmas lights. At the White House, you have Hanukkah and Christmas parties, and parties at the end of Ramadan as well. I think that’s a great thing, and I think we shouldn’t be offended. It’s wonderful we have this attitude toward one another’s holidays, and we should be proud of that.

O’BRIEN: Here, here, I agree with that. Vic, what do you think? Is this sort of much ado about nothing?

KAMBER: No, no, I totally agree with the one difference, is that I think there should be a level of sensitivity. You know, I’m a Christian, my father was a Pentecostal minister, and we grew up in a Jewish community in Chicago, Jewish ghetto I called it. We were the only Christians around. And you learned about sensitivities. I learned about how people were treating me and vice versa.

So I think trying to — we always say that’s politically correct. But there is nothing wrong with being politically correct if you are sensitive to someone else. Happy holidays, in fact, recognizes that you want to greet somebody; no sense throwing your religion through their face.

MAY: Vic is a lot more sensitive than I am. But it just doesn’t offend me if people say to me happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Eve Murbarak (ph). I happen to think it’s all wonderful.

O’BRIEN: Do you think it’s offensive, Vic, if you see religious symbols in public places that are not symbols of your religion? KAMBER: Well, that bothers me not in the way you say, offensive — I just — I really do believe in the difference of church and state. And until we can come up with some symbolic thing to honor all religions, I do find it offensive to take and put a Nativity scene or some Jewish relics up, or some Buddhist relics in areas where other religions exist. I do think it’s offensive.

I have no problem if do you it in your home or on your lawn. And I don’t think of Santa Claus and Christmas trees in that way, but I think Nativity scenes and religious relics I have problems with.

MAY: I don’t know about relics, but there’s a Christmas tree, and there’s a Menorah right now in the White House just a few blocks from here. I’m not offended by that. I think that’s a great thing.

O’BRIEN: All right, that’s going to be the final word this morning. Kamber and May joining us. Nice to see you guys.

Have a great holiday, OK.

KAMBER: Great holiday.

MAY: Seasonal greetings.

O’BRIEN: And merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah, happy end of Ramadan, happy Kwanzaa. Anybody I left out?