CNN "Blowhard" Glenn Beck has a winning formula: prophesying WWIII with a smile

NOT NECESSARILY THE NEWS Could Glenn Beck be the next Rush Limbaugh?

At first glance, Glenn Beck looks a lot like all of the other uptight conservative firebreathers who think World War III is upon us and that you are going to Hell for one reason or other. He wonders aloud whether Islam is evil, doesn't want to stop global warming, avoids R-rated movies, and thinks The Sopranos are, somehow, responsible for the collapse of decency in our culture. But he's also a self-proclaimed former alcoholic cokehead who spent much of his life playing Britney Spears songs for preteens as a DJ and freely describes himself as a "blowhard." And he's kind of funny. Not to mention the fact that he's a Mormon, and they don't really believe in Hell.

Beck's show, which launched in May, airs on CNN's Headline News and is a shticky, self-deprecating mishmash of deadly serious warnings about terrorism and goofy comic bits that recall his background in talk radio. Last month, Glenn Beck was up a whopping 85 percent in viewers for the daily 7 p.m. timeslot and up 116 percent in the news demographic of 25 to 54 year olds, making him the fastest-growing personality in cable news. In September, he beat MSNBC's long-established Hardball With Chris Matthews in young viewers.

Beck sat down with Radar in his cramped CNN office to discuss the controversy over his recent interview with Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, his beef with Keith Olbermann, and whether or not he overstated his brief stint at Yale University.

RADAR: In November, you had this to say to Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress: "I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.'" You're a Mormon. Explain to me the difference between you asking Keith Ellison that question and me asking you to prove you're not a polygamist.
GLENN BECK: It was a poorly worded question, and if I could take anything back I would take back the wording of that question. Because what the question really was is: Do you understand that there is a feeling among Americans when you are faced with a Muslim, especially a Muslim who is, in my view, soft on military action, that—okay, are you a part of the good Muslims or the bad Muslims? Do you understand that there is this feeling, right or wrong, and can you address how do we know who, you know, cause the bad guys will say they're good guys, too? How do you know the difference? Because Muslims, and not all Muslims, are not standing up forcefully and saying, here's the fatwa against Osama bin Laden. So if you won't do that, how do I know?

Do you think Ellison hasn't done that?
No, it wasn't an Ellison question. It wasn't directed to Ellison. And it wasn't coming from me and it wasn't directed to him. It was more of an umbrella picture. This is the way many Americans—not all Americans, but many Americans—will feel. And I think it's the exact same reasonable question that you would ask, or that you would feel, if you were a Catholic. I don't think the Catholic Church has come out strong enough against pedophilia. They've done some things, but they haven't stood up and said, Pedophile priests are an abomination in the eyes of God and it won't be tolerated, and then done everything they could to root it out. If I were a Catholic, and I knew this priest for years, before I leave him with my 10-year-old son, I would at least want to say, You're one of the good priests, right? And that's what I wanted him to address. That's what I think Muslims need to be aware of. Until you stand up and lead the charge against those who are destroying your religion, it leaves that shadow of a doubt that only leads to trouble. Because when you inject fear, then you're in real trouble. Then people make stupid, ungodly mistakes like people made with the Japanese in WWII.

I make sure everybody is very clear of what I am politically. I want you to know, look, this is coming from a guy who's a recovering alcoholic rodeo clown with limited education, who's conservativeSo your position is that Muslim Americans need to be prepared for the stupid, ungodly mistakes of their countrymen?
I'm saying that the average Joes that are busy raising their families, they ask themselves, Why isn't the Muslim community leading the charge? Their religion is being hijacked and destroyed. And so it leaves a question out there. Well, why not? I believe that Islam is being used by people who want political power, who have taken the words of the Koran and applied them in the most horrific sort of way. Just like the people who go shoot abortion doctors in the name of Jesus. They take and they twist it for their own sick, evil purposes. I am baffled, like the average Joe, on why there isn't a stronger outcry on grabbing their religion back. But you know what? I say the same thing about my faith. There are polygamists in Utah. They are not members of my faith. And if you listen, go back into the archives on my radio show, you'll hear me say, "What the hell is wrong with you Mormons? Why aren't you leading the charge to clean those people up? Because it hurts your own religion."

Being in that position, a member of a faith that's viewed with suspicion, you understand how a Muslim might feel resentful of being asked to declare their allegiance, right?
Do I understand how people can feel that their faith is under attack? As a Mormon, you bet I can.

Ellison also drew fire from folks like radio host Dennis Prager and Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) for taking the oath of office, at a private ceremony, with his hand on the Koran. But you supported Ellison on that.
Everybody thinks that freedom of religion is all about take the baby Jesus out of the town square. It's not. It has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with, you don't have to belong to the Church of England. You don't have to be a Christian. You don't have to be a Jew. Tom Cruise can take the oath on Dianetics if he wants. That is quintessential freedom of religion. And we should celebrate it. What's so bogus about that whole episode is, it shows that it's really not about religion. It's really not about anything other than fear of Islam. And that goes to the root of the question that I was trying to ask Keith Ellison. There is a feeling of mistrust. Help us get past that. It was a bogus issue from the get-go. It's people trying to use fear to whip people up against Islam. That is exactly what I'm talking about.

And you don't think that saying things like, "The Muslims will see the West through razor wire if things don't change" contributes to that atmosphere of fear?
That's a warning that people are stupid. And the time to solve issues and make things clear is not when the world is on fire. God forbid somebody drops a nuke in an American city. Well, when that happens, and then you inject fear into it, the time to set us straight that there is good Islam and bad Islam, that 90 percent of Muslims are good—that's no longer the time to do it. The time to do it is right now. Stand with me shoulder to shoulder. That Ellison question I wish I could take back and rephrase. The razor wire? No. Because that has nothing to do with Islam. That has everything to do with what stupid people do in times of crisis. And that is a warning. If I see a threat, I need to say it. I will say it. It's important to say it. The problem with our country is that we're afraid to talk to each other. We don't even allow mistakes. We don't even allow someone to misphrase a question.