Cavuto hosts Bastian to blast Clinton

On the February 5 edition of Fox News Your World, host Neil Cavuto interviewed "gold star mom" Debra Argel Bastian, who blasted Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) position on Iraq as having "more waffles than the House of Pancakes" and of "playing God." Bastian referenced Clinton's February 2 speech at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting in which she vowed to "end this war" if she becomes president in 2009. Bastian added that she was speaking out because of the poor "morale of the troops" and that "with Hillary Clinton possibly coming on the scene in 18 months or so, it will be a disaster for the United States." No one else was interviewed during the segment to balance Bastian's attacks. Throughout the segment, an onscreen graphic read: "Bastian: Hillary Clinton has no guts to be commander-in-chief."

Cavuto also made no mention of Bastian's links to Move America Forward, the conservative group co-founded by Melanie Morgan. Bastian is the group's director of military outreach.

Later in the segment, Bastian repeated the discredited claim that "in 1995 [Clinton] banned the military uniform from the White House." After Bastian's charge, Cavuto noted that "the Clintons dispute that" and added "we could be here a while debating that." As Colorado Media Matters noted, the allegation that Clinton imposed a ban on the wearing of military uniforms in the White House was reported as early as April 1, 1993, in a Washington Post article that referred to "[a] whole series of apocryphal anecdotes [that] have made the rounds and fed military disaffection." With regard to "the one about Hillary Rodham Clinton's ban on uniforms in the White House," the Post reported that it "[a]lso didn't happen." Similarly, Newsweek reported in December 2005 that "[t]here are still soldiers who swear by the myth that she banned uniforms at the White House." In a March 15, 1993, article, U.S. News & World Report noted," Among other poisonous rumors is the tale that the Clintonites are preparing to order military personnel to wear civilian clothes, not their uniforms, whenever they enter the White House." U.S. News noted that the White House denied the story.

As Media Matters for America noted, Bastian previously appeared on the December 15, 2006, edition of Your World and bashed Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA) for expressing interest in holding talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Bastian said that "Kerry should not be conducting business the way he did in the Vietnam War" and that Kerry "should have been tried for treason" although neither Bastian nor Cavuto mentioned that Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) who, at the time, was planning to visit Syria as well. Specter traveled to Syria and met with Assad in late December. Additionally, while on a visit to Iraq organized by Move America Forward, Bastian said of Kerry following his "botched joke" before the November 2006 midterm elections: "I am spitting mad at John Kerry for insulting our troops. Duck and run was his specialty in Viet Nam."

From the February 5 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto:

CAVUTO: Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton says that she will end the war in 2009 if she is elected president. My next guest says that is because she really doesn't have the guts to win the war. With us now is gold star mom Debbie Argel Bastian. Her son, Air Force Captain Derek Argel, was killed in Iraq, I believe, Memorial Day of 2005. Is that right, ma'am?

BASTIAN: That's correct.

CAVUTO: It's good to have you back. Thank you for taking the time.

BASTIAN: Thank you, Neil, and the message from the troops today is thank you for having me on. I have read a lot of emails about coming on this program.

CAVUTO: I actually saw some of those, Debbie. They're big admirers of you and, of course, the sacrifices your son made. Do they feel now, and do they feel, that given the divisiveness in the war that as [earlier guest and grandson of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill] Winston S. Churchill just told us, it's affecting morale?

BASTIAN: I think finally I'm able to say that it is affecting some morale. The troops are mad. They want to hear some good, positive feedback from the U.S., and they're not hearing it. The media, once again, is turning on the troops. And this business with Hillary coming on and saying that she will pull the troops out after -- this woman has more waffles than the House of Pancakes. She came on before and she said that we can't have a date certain. Now she's saying there will be a date certain, and twice to the American public now, she has spoken out and said, "I will get the troops out of Iraq." Playing God also.

CAVUTO: But she's not the only one saying that, right? Virtually all of the prospective candidates for the nomination, some even have tougher deadlines than she does. What do you make of that?

BASTIAN: Nothing but politics. I mean, somebody wants to win this race. The White House is obviously for sale in the next election. That's not the way that it's supposed to be. But I'm speaking out right now because of the morale of the troops with Hillary Clinton possibly coming, you know, coming on the scene in 18 months or so, and it will be disastrous for the United States. Right now, Iran is planning a missile near a city near you or me or -- and our presence in Iraq is very, very important to maintain the presence there so that we can also be watchdogs.

CAVUTO: Debbie, let me ask you this, one of the friends, and I'll only identify him -- a friend of your son's who wrote you, and I hope I get this right, he said, "none of this can happen" -- talking about progress in Iraq - "because all of them live protected by the patriots that earn the right with their blood to have their truth spoken by these so-called professional journalists. Why don' t all of them spend four, six, 12 months actually fighting? I bet then they would change the way they think." It sounds like some bitter heroes.

BASTIAN: Well, they are bitter, Neil, because of what they are hearing out of the media. And John, that you got that email from, no last name, but is a hero that my son really looked up to. And John said that knowing the outcome for my son's plane that day, he would have followed him in. They need -- the media does not want to listen to us, and again, God bless you for allowing the gold and blue star families to speak that actually have troops in the field or have lost someone. I do agree with Hillary Clinton on one thing, and that is that she has spoken and said not everyone got to vote last time. I'm going to be working very hard and ensure, Mrs. Clinton, that I will be working to make sure that every single one of our troops has the opportunity to vote, and it will not be for Mrs. Clinton. She has progressively -- I mean, in 1995 she banned the White -- she banned the military uniform from the White House.

CAVUTO: By the way, Debbie, the Clintons dispute that. I guess we could be here a while debating it. But I do want to ask you, there is division amongst the some of the Republicans, as you know, ma'am, about going forward. Senator [Sam] Brownback [R-KS], Senator [Chuck] Hagel [R-NE] , indicating right now that they're not for some of this troop surge that the president outlined. So if you had a candidate for president right now, Debbie, who would it be?

BASTIAN: Well, of those that have come forward right now, it would certainly be John McCain because he has the most military experience, and this country needs a person that is going to step up to the plate. We are almost certainly going to go to war with Iran. We don't need someone who's going to retreat, back up, and say, "I'm willing to be president, but not commander-in-chief." And I think that the troops really respect John McCain. And that's who they will go with.

CAVUTO: All right. Debbie, I always enjoy when you come by. You give us some real sober perspective, and we can never forget your son' s heroism or yours since. Thank you very, very much.

BASTIAN: Thank you, Neil.