Fmr. Govs. Vilsack and Huckabee on "Hannity & Colmes"

HANNITY: Senator Obama heads into Election Day looking to pick off his many remaining undecided voters as possible, along with Senator McCain.

With us now for a look at the campaign strategy and now a look for the final day, former Iowa governor, Obama supporter, Tom Vilsack with us.

Governor, how are you? Good to see you.

TOM VILSACK (D), FORMER IOWA GOVERNOR: Good, Sean. How are you?

HANNITY: All right. Now, when Barack Obama, this tape emerges, says, if somebody wants to build a coal plant -- and by the way, I listened and read the entire thing. And he repeats this throughout this.

But he says if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can, but it's just that we'll bankrupt them, and then he says, you know, to the elderly and everybody else, under my cap and trade plan, electricity rates are going to skyrocket.

Let me ask you a question. Why would anyone not be suspicious of his support for the middle class if he's promising electricity is going to go up and he's promising to bankrupt an industry.

Are there any other industries he's planning on bankrupting?

VILSACK: Well, I think, Sean, what he's planning on doing is investing in clean energy which would allow us to have coal plants that.

HANNITY: That's not what he said.

VILSACK: Well, no, but I think that's exactly what he's been saying throughout this entire campaign, investing.

HANNITY: No, I -- I'm quoting him. I have his exact word.

VILSACK: Well, I'm quoting him as well. $15 billion a year in research and development to figure out how to sequester carbon and to make -- to allow us to have coal plants that are clean coal. He said this repeatedly throughout the campaign.

What he's talking about is dirty coal plants. It is fairly clear we're not going to be able to continue to have that kind of energy produced in this country.

HANNITY: Yes.

VILSACK: We want clean coal.

HANNITY: All right. Let me ask you on the issue of taxes, which has become a big issue. Joe Biden says it's people's patriotic duty, Senator Obama said that he wants to spread the wealth around, he said, you know, when have they taken a virtue as selfishness.

The top 10 percent, Governor, pay now 70 percent of the tax bill. The bottom 50 percent of income tax only pay 2.9. At what point do you think that is redistribution of wealth, and do you think that hurts the economy?

VILSACK: What this is all about, Sean, is basically empowering the middle class one more time to grow this economy, allowing the.

HANNITY: I didn't ask you that.

VILSACK: Well, that's the answer to your question. You're giving the middle class a tax break. They, obviously, have not benefited under the Bush economic-McCain economic plan. They will benefit under the Obama plan. Tax relief to the middle class.

HANNITY: All right.

VILSACK: . will stimulate -- consumption.

HANNITY: So here's my point. So the top 10 percent pay 70 percent of the bill, they're going to pay more under the Obama plan, the bottom 40 percent that pay no federal income taxes under the Obama plan they're going to get a check.

Why should we not view that as a new form of welfare and why would that plan work when Reagan had 21.5 percent interest rates, 12.5 percent inflation, 10 million lost jobs, and he dropped taxes for the top marginal rate from 70 to 28 percent?

Why would we not call it welfare?

VILSACK: Tax relief for 95 percent of working families, Sean, going back to the Clinton rates for the top wage earners where we created 22 million new jobs and had an expanding economy. That's all Senator Obama wants to do is get this economy back on track.

HANNITY: So you support welfare.

COLMES: Hey, Governor, it's Alan Colmes. You know it's amazing to me they want to call it socialism when McCain does it -- I mean when Obama does it. When McCain wants to hand out checks to everybody for health care, that's not a redistribution of wealth or when he wants to buy up bad mortgages, that's not redistribution of wealth, or when he supports what we've always had, a progressive tax system in this country, which no one is looking to overturn, unless you want to support the fair tax or flat tax, which McCain has not been talking about.

So McCain supports the same progressive tax system which is -- you want to call it redistribution -- that we've had forever practically, right?

VILSACK: Well, you know, frankly, fellas, I think we have gotten to the point in this campaign where the debates, the issues, have all been decided and discussed, I think people in this country are ready to decide.

You know this is a tough need for Senator Obama, it's bittersweet, his grandmother's loss, I'm sure, makes it very difficult for him to end this campaign, but I think America is ready to vote, and I'm confident that when people go to the polls tomorrow, they are going to vote for change.

They are not going to vote for John McCain's way of taking this country (INAUDIBLE) the last eight years.

COLMES: By the way we -- we extend our condolences to the Obama family for his loss of his grandmother tonight.

What can -- what can happen between now and tomorrow? Can anything -- what do you expect to change, and as Dick Morris suggested, could the pollsters all be wrong, and we're going in a very different direction than we think we're going based on all the numbers?

VILSACK: You know, I'll tell you, we -- we've taken a look at the numbers for the 18 to 29-year-old voting bloc. When John Kerry won that voting bloc, which is the only one that he won, he won it by 9 percent.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden are going to win it by 20 to 30 percent. These young people are going to vote in record numbers. America is going to vote in record numbers, that's a great thing for the country, and I think they're going to vote for change.

It's very clear. Senator Obama has been speaking about the country. Senator McCain was put in a position because of the Bush policies to talk about himself. I think when it comes right down to it elections are always about the future, and I think people are going to vote for change and a better future. That's why I think we're going to see.

COLMES: What do you see happening in your state in Iowa?

VILSACK: Well, the one register had a 17-point poll in Obama's favor. Remember, this is a state that elected George Bush by 10,000 votes, voted for Al Gore by 4,000 votes.

It's obviously significantly changed. I think we're going to see a victory in Iowa. I think we're going to see also victory in my state of my home, my birth place, Pittsburgh, I think Pennsylvania is also going to go for Senator Obama.

I've campaigned in Minnesota and Missouri for him. I think those states are also in good shape.

COLMES: Hey, Governor, thanks so much for coming on. Appreciate it very much.

VILSACK: You bet.

COLMES: The Governor Tom Vilsack.

(Commercial Break)

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HANNITY: The Diageo/Hotline polled voters about the congressional election and found that, as of today, 44 percent plan on voting Democratic. Thirty-nine percent will cast their vote for a Republican. The poll indicating Democrats may be losing some support, as their lead is now only 5 percent as opposed to 8 a week ago.

Joining us now is the host of the red hot "Huckabee." By the way, you had Lorne Michaels. You had Bill Maher -- who by the way, hates me; I don't know what it is -- on your program. It was a great show this weekend. Mike Huckabee, FOX News contributor, host of "Huckabee" right here on the FOX News Channel.

What do you make of the brand issue, and that is that the Republican brand isn't as well? But it was like 20 points before, and now it's down to five. Is that -- is that a sign something's going on? Maybe people not liking Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid?

MIKE HUCKABEE, HOST, "HUCKABEE": I think when they start thinking about having a Democrat president and then Pelosi and Reid, all being able to virtually do whatever they want to do, I think it gives people pause. What we ought to do is postpone this election for about five more days, and those numbers will get even closer and may surge the other way.

HANNITY: And listen, would you recommend that -- that Democrats, by the way, listen to this program to vote Thursday?

HUCKABEE: I think that's a great idea. What I've been trying to tell the Democrats is that the election has been postponed until Thursday or Friday. Tune in to FOX and we'll tell you exactly where to come.

HANNITY: By the way, the most humorless people that absolutely have zero sense of humor, that is a joke.

HUCKABEE: You know what? I've got to tell you something, Sean. When I interviewed Lorne Michaels, he told me that he gets a lot more grief from Democrats and liberals than he ever does from the Republicans and the conservatives. He says the Republicans have a great sense of humor, and this is from a guy who lives off parody and satire. I thought it was a very interesting point.

HANNITY: I thought -- I thought that Governor Palin was terrific, on the show. And I thought -- I was watching. I thought it was a really good...

HUCKABEE: I thought she did a great job.

HANNITY: And then Senator McCain did a great job this weekend. We've always known that about Senator McCain. He's come on this program for years. He used to call me. He goes, "You and Colmes are doing pretty good for a bunch of former homeless guys." You know? So he always had a good sense of humor, as you have.

HUCKABEE: Well, let me talk about something that isn't funny. It's not funny to think about the Democrats getting total control of the House, the Senate and the White House.

HANNITY: No, that's frightening.

HUCKABEE: It really isn't.

COLMES: Hey, Governor, by the way, Hannity has offered to finally give me a ride in that new hybrid car of his Thursday to the polls.

HANNITY: I bought a new -- I bought a new hybrid Escalade this weekend. I'm doing my part for the environment.

COLMES: But you said I could get a ride if I go to the poll to vote on Thursday.

HANNITY: OK. It's a deal.

COLMES: Governor, look, do you really think when people go to the polls they're thinking of Harry Reid and they're thinking of Nancy Pelosi? Or are they thinking of their local commerce (ph) person and senators? They're not thinking of, "OK, I want Obama, but I hate my" -- you know, people are not thinking about divided government when they're going to the polls. They're thinking about their local races. Right?

HUCKABEE: They are thinking about that, but let me tell you one of the things that's hurt the Democrats the last few days. I don't know if there's time to catch up.

But the fact that these numbers keep changing. You hear 250, 200. Then it's 150. Now it's 100. You know, the fact that all the surrogates and the Obama people can't settle on where the tax break and where the tax increase is going to come. My gosh, Alan, it sounds like an auction, not a proposal.

And it's very obvious that what ultimately is going to happen is that most of Americans who make money are going to have to give some up to finance this give-away, new welfare institution to other people.

COLMES: But this is a giveaway by a Republican administration. This is a problem that people perceive.

Obama is outpolling McCain on where -- who would be better for the economy right now, according to the new FOX poll out today. And so people don't want to reward the party that they perceive as having gotten us into the mess.

HUCKABEE: Well, there's a lot of fault. And you know, if Barney Frank and Maxine Waters and some others would have reined in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac when they had the opportunity, but they stonewalled.

But this is not unique to the Democrats. Look, I've been as harsh on Republicans, especially on the bailout. Nobody beat them up more than I did, because I think it was a dumb idea. But what we're talking about is a long-term issue of who's going to be most likely to raise our taxes. And I think that that's a pretty evident issue here.

COLMES: All right, Governor.

HUCKABEE: Not going to be the Republicans.

COLMES: I know you're familiar now with hard breaks. You're a big TV star, so we're going to take a quick break.

More with Huckabee after the break. Plus, our final thoughts on the candidates, the campaigns, and what we expect to happen on election day, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: Now, just a reminder: our Freedom Concert tickets are back for the summer of 2009. Now, at all eight performances we're going to have our good friends, musical stars Billy Ray Cyrus, Charlie Daniels. And by the way, I may sing "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

COLMES: Please.

HANNITY: Just for charity. Michael W. Smith, Lee Greenwood and much, much more. Colonel North is going to be there.

And as always, the net proceeds will go to the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund for the children of slain heroes.

And by the way, our cities are Houston, San Diego, Vegas, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Dayton, Atlanta, and Dallas-Fort Worth, and the New York-New Jersey area.

And Governor Huckabee, by the way, is going to be joining us.

And by the way, we have Christmas gift boxes. The only place to get your tickets is at Hannity.com. And we're only going to sell it definitely this week. I don't know if we're going to sell it beyond this week. And - - because demands are pretty strong.

COLMES: But can I just say one thing? It's great to raise money, and it's a great cause, but wouldn't you raise -- wouldn't you raise more money if you didn't sing?

HANNITY: Governor -- Governor, will you sing "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" with me with Charlie?

HUCKABEE: I won't sing, but I'll play bass on it. How's that?

HANNITY: You'll play bass on it?

HUCKABEE: I've played with Charlie Daniels, and he's an amazing human being. I would love to be able to do that.

HANNITY: Well, we've got another star in here. I don't know if I'm allowed to say he's here. Am I allowed to say you're here?

BRAD PAISLEY, COUNTRY MUSIC STAR: Yes, you can.

HANNITY: Are you sure?

PAISLEY: Yes.

HANNITY: Brad Paisley is sitting out here. He's a good friend of ours. And hopefully, he'll come to one of our shows.

But Hannity.com, Freedom Concert, eight cities. Mike Huckabee will be there.

Mike, good to see you.

HUCKABEE: Thank you.

HANNITY: Thanks for being with us.

HUCKABEE: Nice to see you, Sean.

HANNITY: Go vote.

HUCKABEE: Alan, take care.

HANNITY: We'll see you back here tomorrow for special election coverage.