Bob Beckel manages to get Sean Hannity to admit that anyone who claims to be a family values politician and doesn't live up to that ought to resign, b
June 23, 2009

Bob Beckel manages to get Sean Hannity to admit that anyone who claims to be a family values politician and doesn't live up to that ought to resign, but Hannity feigns stupidity on knowing where John Ensign stands on the subject.

BECKEL: Can I just speak to what you did in this segment here for a second?

HANNITY: You can do whatever you want.

BECKEL: You go to this thing with John Ensign, right, about Harry Reid. He's more popular than -- now, this is a guy -- you're a big family values guy. Here's a guy that cheats on his wife, not just with somebody, but somebody on his staff who's married. Now what do you think? Are you defending John Ensign?

HANNITY: That sounds like a liberal Democrat to me.

BECKEL: That was good.

PRAGER: Wait, wait, wait. What does have it to do with...

BECKEL: Excuse me. Excuse me for a second, Mr. University Prager. I want -- I want him to answer this question.

HANNITY: My answer is, if you're going to be a family-values candidate and a family-values politician, and you don't live up to that, I think you should resign.

BECKEL: Well...

HANNITY: I don't know where he stands.

BECKEL: Oh, he's big.

HANNITY: But with that said, it is interesting that Harry, you know, Prince Pelosi, Prince Harry and Princess Pelosi. His ratings are lower than the guy that had an affair.

BECKEL: All I'm saying is let the record show that that you called for John Ensign to resign.

HANNITY: I don't know where he stands on the issues.

PRAGER: OK. Let me just said this. On behalf of people who say, "If we are going to demand that everyone who advocates anything noble be perfectly noble, no one will ever advocate anything noble." It is a terrible idea that, if someone falls short of ideals he advocates, he has to quit advocating it. I don't agree with that.

HANNITY: What about a minister in the pulpit that is preaching the gospel...

PRAGER: Yes.

HANNITY: ... and that minister doesn't live up to what the gospel says. And they're trying to, you know, exhort people to think. Don't they have an obligation to be legal?

FEELEY: American people want transparency and they want honesty. That's what they want from their leader, they don't necessarily want to be on one side or the other. But whatever you believe in, they want you to stand for that.

PRAGER: You should, but first of all, a senator and a minister have two roles. And I'd much rather have a senator whose values I agree with who cheats on his wife or, for that matter, embezzles funds than a guy who is the opposite. I would rather have had a guy in World War II who wanted to fight World War II, wanted to fight Hitler, than a pacifist who was faithful to his wife.

I mean, any public affairs we care more about what they advocate...

HANNITY: Does it reveal a part of your character? I mean, I think this is the deeper question, guys. Does it reveal a part of your character in that, if you can't live up to that standard -- "I promise to love, honor, cherish, be faithful, to forsake all others" -- why should anyone in the public trust you?

PRAGER: Well, we both come from faith traditions, meaning Judaism and Christianity, that looks on king David rather -- rather positively.

HANNITY: That's true.

PRAGER: And the guy not only committed adultery, but got the guy killed whose wife he slept with.

BECKEL: Can I make one suggestion here? Could we get off philosophy and back to politics.

HANNITY: Why did you start it?

BECKEL: I didn't start it. Wait a minute. I started it because I wanted you to be honest about this guy Ensign who's apparently a guy who is a family values guy.

HANNITY: Here's a question. Let's throw this out.

BECKEL: Let's get on to our anti-Obama rap. And then we'll be happy. You'll be happy, and I'll be sane. Go ahead.

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