Michael Moore interview (4 of 4) Iran, Iraq, oil, taxes

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KING: How about Sarah Palin? Is her family -- should that be in the campaign at all, whether her daughter is pregnant or not?
MOORE: Not at all. I agree completely with Barack Obama. This is the family, the children especially -- minor children should not be discussed. It's off limits. I've always felt that way. I did not like it when the Clintons were in the White House, and Chelsea Clinton was a young teenager, and John McCain, if you remember, made that horrible joke, where he said that Janet Reno was actually the father of Chelsea Clinton, that Janet Reno -- she was a love child or something of Janet Reno and Hillary Clinton, and even used the word ugly. It was so beyond the pale that McCain would do that, would say that.
From that point until now, I just think the kids, the family, leave them alone. I agree with Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael, why do you think young Americans are so non-concerned with the mounting budget deficits and the fact that our children and ourselves are going to have to pay all this debt and all the health care for the veterans coming back from Iraq? And why aren't we more motivated to vote and move on those issues like balancing our budget and protecting our veterans?

MOORE: I think this is a great question, because we're spending right now, Larry, 350 million dollars a day on the war in Iraq...This is a tax that has been put upon the young people that they're going to pay for the rest of their lives. If I were a young person, I would be very upset about this, because we've essentially stolen a big part of your future from you, because you're going to be working to pay off the mistakes of your parents and your grandparent's generation.

KING: We have an email question from Marko in New York City: "the mantra drill, baby drill makes it look like a lot of Americans still think oil is the only source of energy. Why don't you do some propaganda about renewable energy sources?"
MOORE: Any intelligent person knows that's the way we need to go. It's not going to happen as long as the oil company's candidate has a chance of winning the White House. Larry, let me just tell you this. The AP had this story out a few weeks ago. They took a look at how much of the profits the oil companies are making right now. These record profits are returned to the shareholders. In the last study, over 50 percent goes back to the shareholders, in terms of dividends or buy backs of stock.

In 2000, it was only 30 percent of the profits went back to the shareholders. In 1993 -- are you ready for this -- the total amount that went back to the share holders from the profits of the oil companies, one percent, one percent in 1993. And I think shareholders of the oil companies in '93 were living a pretty good life then. They're getting 50 percent of that back now.

Two thirds of corporations pay no taxes these days. I mean, this has been a fleecing of America, and the working people know this. These guys I'm here with tonight, they know it. And they're not going to be fooled by anything that's coming out of the Republican party's mouth.

KING:I noticed you're wearing an American flag.
MOORE: Yes, I have my lapel pin on. It's like, you know, we're judged as Americans. We should be judged by our deeds and what we do to behave as Americans. I'm tired of the symbols defining us. I'm tired of somebody can say I'm this religion or that religion, or I'm a liberal or conservative or Democrat or Republican. I think most people are sick and tired of these labels.

And, you know, I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud to be supporting Barack Obama. And these hard working Americans I'm here with tonight, they're proud of that too. And they're not going to tolerate anymore Tom Foolery. They've had enough of it for these last eight years...we were bamboozled into this Iraq situation. Oh, they have weapons of mass destruction. Now they're on Iran. You know what? I'm not listening to the government anymore about this from these Republicans, when they tell me that a country has weapons of mass destruction. Seriously, for me to believe that, I would have to see Ahmadinejad walk onto the stage of "American Idol" with a bomb himself. Maybe that, then I would say OK, we're in trouble. We better do something.