'This Week' Transcript: Pastor Rick Warren

I said I'm looking for the day I can say that we've lost the equivalent of a jumbo jet.

TAPPER: Well, you look good. Good luck with the rest of the diet and good luck, and happy Easter.

R. WARREN: Thank you. Happy Easter.

TAPPER: You can find more of our interview with Pastor Warren at ABCNews.com/thisweek, including his reaction to the Trayvon Martin shooting and his congregation's ambitious peace plan which he's taking to every country on the globe.

Plus, later in the show, a very personal conversation with Rick Warren and his wife Kay on how they've overcome the struggles in their own lives.

But, up next, our powerhouse roundtable weighs in on all the week's politics. Mitt Romney is all but the Republican nominee. So why won't his rivals quit?


RICK SANTORUM, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's half-time. And who is ready to charge out of the locker room in Pennsylvania for a strong second half?


TAPPER: And the controversy at the home of the Master's golf tournament. At critics right to be peed off?


JIMMY KIMMEL, LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY KIMMEL: Augusta National Golf Club is being criticized. They have a longstanding policy of only allowing men to members of their club. People don't seem to understand, the reason they don't admit women at the club has nothing to do with sexism, they're just trying to keep them away from Tiger Woods. (END VIDEO CLIP)



OBAMA: One of my potential opponents, Governor Romney, has said that he hopes a similar version of this plan from last year would be introduced as a bill on day one of his presidency. And he even called it marvelous. Which is a word you don't often hear when it comes to describing a budget. It's a word you don't often hear generally.

ROMNEY: President Obama thinks he's doing a good job. I'm not kidding. He actually thinks he's doing a great job. It's enough to make you think that years of flying around on Air Force One, surrounded by an adoring staff of true believers telling you that you're great and you're doing a great job, it's enough to make you think that you might become a little out of touch.


TAPPER: Oh, it's on. It's on.

And now we're going to talk about it all on the "This Week" roundtable. We're joined as always by George Will. Chrystia Freeland, editor of Thompson Reuters Digital. The Washington bureau chief for Yahoo! News David Chalian. Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan. And author and Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson. Happy Easter and happy Passover to all of you.

George, I'll start right with you. You heard President Obama trying to tie the House Republican budget like an albatross around Mitt Romney's neck. Will it work?

WILL: Well, Romney did the tying himself. This normally very risk-averse candidate has embraced this. So as you say, game on.

A few weeks ago, Geithner was -- Treasury Secretary Geithner was testifying before Ryan's Budget Committee. Ryan said, "do you have a plan to correct the fiscal trajectory of the country?" Geithner famously now said, "we don't have a plan. What we know is we don't like your plan." And that is going to be the strategy.

And I don't blame the president. He can't run on his signature achievement, excuse me, which is health care, which is intensely unpopular and perhaps unconstitutional. Can't run on the stimulus that didn't stimulate. The recovery that's the worst since the depression. Green jobs are now emblematic of crony capitalism and failed political investing. What is he going to run on? Well, no, I throw my hands up.

TAPPER: Chrystia, you think it's actually not -- I didn't hear George criticized it as a bad decision, but you think it's not unwise for him to go after the Ryan budget?

FREELAND: I think George was damning with faint praise there, about (ph) there's no other alternative. I think actually, it's terrific that the president is focusing on this, and terrific that Mitt Romney is focusing on it. Because I think that Ryan budget crystallizes the real voice that the Americans face. It is either a Republican version which is no new taxes, shrink the state, and that would be great for everyone. Or what the Democrats are saying, is we think the shape of the economy right now and the shape of our government spending requires higher taxes and more support for people at the bottom. It's a very clear choice. And I think that that's great. Americans will choose in November which version of the economy and actually which version of society do they want.

TAPPER: David, you and I were talking about this earlier this week. This was really basically the beginning of the general election this week. What did you hear from President Obama and Mitt Romney as they launched their general election campaigns?


TAPPER: What did you hear as you listened to the candidates?

NOONAN: I heard the beginning of what is going to be a tough and maybe even brutal campaign. We were talking in the green room about something feels funny this year. Something feels unsatisfying, but also sort of negative I think is an obvious word.


TAPPER: What do you think is Mitt Romney's biggest challenge going forward, as he emerges from this very contentious primary season?

DYSON: Well, he has got a problem staying on message, but he has got to find what that message is first and stay on it. He's obviously got the 800-pound elephant in the room that he supported the version of health care that's now been adopted. So if indeed the Supreme Court finds it unconstitutional, then that's not just a black mark against Mr. Obama, President Obama, that's a black mark against Mitt Romney too, so he has got some explaining to do, Lucy, as well.

I think also his problems with women are huge. I mean, the tone-deaf character of Republican rhetoric about female contraception, about their relationship to the state, about who owns their uterus and how their health care is supported is incredibly discouraging when you hear from a Republican candidate who shows no sensitivity and has only personal and existential references to his wife in his own $100, $200 million home, as opposed to -- that is his domestic budget -- as opposed to being concerned about those who are the least of these.

Look at the New York Times today, top of the fold, look at what's happening to poor people, and poor women in particular. One out of four American women who are poor have children and they don't have anybody to help them. And the shredded safety net is horrible. So he's got a lot of problems.

TAPPER: One of the big problems that President Obama might have is the economy. We got a jobs report this week, 120,000 jobs were added, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in March. That means an 8.2 percent unemployment rate, 14.5 broader measure of unemployment. George, what does this mean for November, these numbers?

WILL: Well, 120,000 jobs is about what you need to create to stay even with the growth of the work force. Fact. 5.1 million fewer jobs right now, fewer Americans working now than were working when the recession started in December of 2007. I go back to the fact that the recovery is absolutely terrible.

TAPPER: And, David, if this continues, this trend -- it's not a trend, it's one month -- but if it continues, can President Obama be re-elected?

CHALIAN: If this becomes a trend, the idea of a stalled recovery, he is not going to have an easy time getting a hearing from the American electorate overall. That is their entire thing. Again, the biggest truism of the cycle so far, these trend lines matter more than the actual numbers. There's no doubt that that's true, even more so in this presidential cycle. But if the whole story line going into the summer and coming out of the summer at convention time is a stalled recovery or multiple months slipping backwards? I think no matter how negative a frame he builds around Mitt Romney, it is going to be very, very hard for him to get the full hearing from the electorate.

TAPPER: Chrystia?

FREELAND: Yes, I think this is a real issue. And the key point is, it was looking pretty good up until then. We had three months of 200,000 jobs. People were starting to get really excited. And I think the reason you're having such a worried reception of the latest numbers is the expectation was it would be around 200,000. So I think it is an issue.

I think we have to be careful, though, you know, one month doesn't make a trend yet. And you know, we're going to have to see. What I think it really shows is actually echoing George, the fragility of the recovery. You know? It's not robust.

NOONAN: I think one of the things here that will have some impact on the election is that every time a jobs report comes out, Americans look at the number, see if the arrow is up or down, and then they look at each other and say, they don't count the people who have given up looking. And everybody in America knows somebody who's given up. So there is not a sense of forward momentum here.

TAPPER: Very quickly, because we have to take a break.

DYSON: You have four million jobs added in the last two years. 600,000 in the last three months. And we know that presidential -- the historical data says this: If a president is having recovery at a higher percentage, if the trending is upward despite the actual empirical fact of the loss of jobs, he'll get reelected. So Obama right now, the trend is friendly toward him. We don't know what it will be later on, but right now I don't think he's in bad shape.

TAPPER: We have to take a quick break. We have a lot more coming up. Our powerhouse roundtable will continue in just a moment. Hillary for president, again? What is behind the talk?


TAPPER: Do you think that there's still a possibility she might run? Wouldn't you love to see her run again?


TAPPER: And with the final round of the Master's today, will we ever see a woman wearing the green jacket?


(UNKNOWN): What would we say to our your granddaughters? How would you explain (inaudible.)

BILLY PAYNE, CHAIRMAN, AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB: Once again, though expressed quite artfully, I think that's a question that deals with membership.



TAPPER: You said your favorite member of the Obama administration is Secretary Clinton. Do you think that there's still a possibility she might run?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: I don't know. It's -- it's entirely up to her. If she changes her mind and decides to run, I'll be happy. I -- but I don't think -- that's light years away.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA.), MINORITY LEADER: I do think though that the secretary should entertain the thought of running. I would love to see Secretary Clinton become the nominee for president in 2016.


TAPPER: Nancy Pelosi endorsing for 2016, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. We'll get to that in a second in our roundtable. But first, George Will, I want to -- I want to start the conversation with you about this kerfuffle between President Obama and the Supreme Court. He gave remarks earlier this week about the Supreme Court's pending ruling on the health care legislation. You think that it will be found unconstitutional?

WILL: I think it probably will if I had to bet on it. What the president said was, the Supreme Court, or as he calls them a "group of unelected people" were to strike down a law passed by what he calls "strong majorities", seven votes in the House, 60 votes in the Senate only because corrupt prosecutors from his Justice Department knocked Ted Stephens out of the Senate. Leave that aside. He said it would be unprecedented. Well, in fact the Supreme Court in 2008 in a ruling about the habeas corpus right of detainees at Guantanamo Bay struck down an important portion of George Bush's signature achievement, which is the apparatus of the War on Terror. Five to four decision. The junior Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama applauded the court for doing that.

TAPPER: So, Michael I want to go to you because I know you actually don't have a problem with what President Obama said.

DYSON: No, not at all. I mean I'm glad that he's engaged himself in a very serious expression. And -- and look, it's much ado about nothing. I think the right wing is making hay over what is a reason considered viewpoint. That is to suggest that an activist court, which has been remonstrated against by the far right with viciously escalating rhetoric, is now meeting its own end. And Obama's saying, look if you've been complaining about an activist court then don't have this activism work in your defense.












TAPPER: Let's switch from the dicey topic of racism to the dicey topic of sexism. Because I do want to talk about Augusta golf tournament.

Both President Obama and Mitt Romney weighed in about Augusta Golf Club saying they should admit women. Chrystia, you have some thoughts on this, because IBM, a major sponsor of this golf tournament, of this Master's tournament has a special little role in this, this year.

FREELAND: Right. I mean, I think this shows how far behind the times Augusta is. Because IBM is now run by a woman, their CEO is a woman. And IBM has been a big sponsor and traditionally the CEO of IBM becomes a member. Well, they can't do that because of this little reason that she has two Xs.

What to me is really astonishing about all this when you stand back and think about is the way in which even today, sexism is the legitimate form of discrimination.

I mean, imagine if Augusta had an overt policy of we don't admit Jews, we don't admit blacks.

TAPPER: They only admitted blacks in 1990.

FREELAND: In 1990, but imagine if today that were the case. We wouldn't even be talking about--

TAPPER: George it's an anachronism, right. I mean, you can admit that.


FREELAND: You could have black clubs. Jewish clubs.


DYSON: That's a false analogy, because women haven't been in control of American power, distribution of recourses, and matriarchy hasn't been the predicate of American political life. So that is a false analogy when you talk about...


FREELAND: Let's say that apartheid is OK, right. They say black people have their areas and white people have their areas.


NOONAN: I continue not to understand the totemic importance of Augusta so that every year we have this little argument. Forgive me, but these are fellas who want to get together want to hit little ball with sticks into holes in the ground. It never seems to me to be big enough to draw the lightning it draws each year at this time this argument.

DYSON: Well, let's move from Freud -- from totem to taboo. The taboo against women is problematic. And to justify it in any other fashion is ridiculous. And as Chrystia said, if it was about race, if it was about a certain kind of class, well it is that, but any other element we would be outraged.

We have to be outraged the fact again in 2012, that women can't participate. If we're so advanced and so enlightened as a democracy, which I think we are, then let's catch up with our ideals and make our practices reflect them.



DYSON: That's not diversity, that's the same old thing. That's not diversity. Diversity would be departing from a particular practice. And the particular practice has been white men enjoyed it then you let in some black men and some other folk. The real diversity would be to include women in the process.

WILL: No, your point is that Augusta has to be brought into line with the prevailing consensus. Let the prevailing consensus -- let them go their own way.

DYSON: Not necessarily consensus, because the consensus was, lot of white people were against the civil rights marches and movements. Wait a minute, I'm telling George that the polls said that most white people disagreed, but now they wouldn't. So you can't predicate it upon consensus. How about conscience? How about truth? How about a tradition that's worthy of defense? How about openness to people?

FREELAND: You don't have to impose diversity of them, but you could boycott them. You could say, we're not going to be a sponsor.


TAPPER: We only have a few more minutes left. I do want to get to the topic that we addressed at the top of this segment which is Hillary Clinton as a possible 2016 presidential candidate.

She has said she's not interested in doing it. But, David, is this serious? Do people want her really to run?

CHALIAN: Well, we certainly do, right? We can't get enough of it in the press. We hope this comes true.

But I talk to a Clinton insider this week, Jake. Everyone in her world thinks she really has made the decision not to run. They think this is -- that she speaks very differently about it. She really is quite serious about not returning to public life when she is done with her role as secretary of state.

They also understand that we will never tire of about talking about this. One insider said to me not until some other person is taking the oath of office on January 20th, 2017 will the conversation stop about Hillary Clinton in 2016.

TAPPER: Peggy?

NOONAN: I think it's an inevitable conversation. I take her at her word that when she leaves secretary of State she is going to rejoin life in some different way and maybe relax a little bit and get off the plane.

The conversation about her will continue in part because she is one of the few people in my view who has gotten out of the -- who is in the Obama administration whose reputation from her work there has been enhanced as opposed to roughened and gone down.

TAPPER: George, you would like to see her run, but not for the same reason that Nancy Pelosi would like to see her run.


DYSON: And I think she's one of the smartest people in politics, bar gender. I think she's incredibly savvy. She's got enough hawkish reputation to satisfy the conservative Democrats and enough liberal leanings to appeal to those who are more progressive. And she just looks very good, as Peggy said, in all the things that she's been in office so far. She is very stateswoman like. And I think she commands a certain kind of respect.


And what has changed about Hillary now, she is running as a very successful secretary of state in a difficult environment, right? I mean, that could have really been a poisoned chalice.

DYSON: With one caveat, she was a senator. And I she at least had that element.

FREELAND: Sure, but why did she get elected to the Senate?

TAPPER: We have to take a break. We're going to have you guys take it to the green room. And we'll have that on ABCNews.com.

When we come back, more from Pastor Rick Warren, plus his wife Kay, taking us inside their marriage and their very personal struggles.


KAY WARREN, PASTOR WARREN'S WIFE: I'm not sure you like me. And I was like, what? Of course I like you. And he's like, no, I know you love me, but I'm not sure you like me.


TAPPER: When I traveled to Saddleback Church, I had the chance to speak with Pastor Warren alongside his wife, Kay. She has a new book out, "Choose Joy," which describes her life's new philosophy and how their struggles over three decades over marriage have sometimes made her anything but joyful.


TAPPER: I think a lot of people would look at you and think, you're lovely, you're intelligent, you have an adoring husband. You certainly don't--

R. WARREN: Why wouldn't she be joyful?

TAPPER: You certainly don't want for anything?

K. WARREN: Joy has to be something that's more permanent. And it's in God. The bottom line is joy is really only found in God, because he's the only thing in our lives that cannot be taken away.

Everything else -- Rick could die, I mean, he could die tomorrow. Our church could decide that they don't want us to be here anymore. All of those things could be gone in an instant. And for me to experience joy, it's got to be in something that's going to be last. Can't be taken.

TAPPER: So it's not just faith in Christ. It's the idea that there is -- that that's all that really matters.

K. WARREN: I think just faith by itself isn't enough. It's got to be what I do with that. Joy is a settled assurance that God is in control of the details of my life. It's about developing a quiet confidence and assurance that ultimately everything is going to be all right. We have had some pretty rough things in the last few years. And I can honestly say that I have more joy. I have cried more, but I have more joy.

TAPPER: You talk about some pain that your family has had. What are you talking about?

K. WARREN: Well, you know, I was molested as a child. And that created a lot of disruption and dysfunction in me, and carried over into adulthood. Our daughter -- we call her daughter in love -- had a brain tumor three and a half years ago, and she nearly died and was in the hospital for five weeks. Her son, her seven-week-old baby, had been born prematurely and nearly died. We have close family with some mental illness. For us it has been challenging and it has been difficult.

TAPPER: The book also is revealing about your marriage. It talks about a time that Rick said he wasn't sure if you even liked him.


TAPPER: So how are you guys sitting here today?

R. WARREN: Oh, I'm hopelessly in love with this woman.

TAPPER: I guess the question is why is she here.



R. WARREN: Yes, that's a good question.

K. WARREN: He just said to me, I'm really not sure you like me. And I was like what? Of course I like you. And he's like, no, I know you love me, but I'm not sure you like me. And I am like, what are you talking about? And he said, you're just -- you constantly just pick at me. And you know, at first, I was like, yeah, right. And -- but when I seriously thought about it, he was right. He was exactly right. I had developed -- I'm a perfectionist, and I had just spent way too much time pulling apart the things in him that I didn't like, instead of concentrating on the part of him that is so incredible and so fantastic.

R. WARREN: Oh, talk more about this. Please, go on.


K. WARREN: You're smart, you're loving.

R. WARREN: You know, the bottom line on this is, is that if you have to have things perfect in order to be joyful, you're never going to be joyful.

K. WARREN: No. I really think that life is more like this parallel set of train tracks where joy and sorrow run next to each other inseparably. Some of the highest moments in our life are still tinged with that little piece of everything is not perfect. And even in the saddest, most painful moments in our lives, the sun is still shining, there's still beauty in this world, and those train tracks, they just go side by side.


TAPPER: Our thanks to Rick and Kay Warren.





TAPPER: Finally today, all week you have been tweeting and facebooking us your questions at #askgeorge. And since George is not here this week, I'll take on a few of your questions. Our first one this week comes from Ford Griswold, who asks, "Newt has some great ideas. How will he remain influential when he doesn't win the nomination?"

Well, I think he'll become influential the same way he became influential after he resigned from the speakership, and that is he'll continue to be in Washington putting out ideas, talking to reporters. And I have no doubt he'll continue to be an influence in his party.

My twitter friend Diane asks, "would you accept the job as White House press secretary if it were offered for you?"

TAPPER: I would not. For any president, and I'll tell you why. Being a press secretary and being a reporter, they are the exact opposite jobs. One person is trying to shade the truth and hide the truth. The other person is trying to uncover the truth. That, of course, is probably not how press secretaries would describe their roles.

More questions next week. Send them in at #askgeorge on FaceBook or anytime on ABCnews.com.

That's all for us today. Tune in to "World News With David Muir" tonight. He'll have the latest headlines, plus a look at a new way to minimize your pain at the pump. Thank you for sharing part of your Sunday with us. George Stephanopoulos will see you back here next week.


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