Mediaite Interviews Fox News’ Liberal Host Bob Beckel About Being In The ‘Belly Of The Beast’

Do you like doing the other stuff? There are some of the pop cultural things that it seems like your not thrilled to be doing. The Casey Anthony stories and stuff like that.

If I never hear of Kim Kardashian and Casey Anthony again, it would make my entire day. I don’t get it. My pop culture ended somewhere north of Elvis but not too far. So Dana now gives me People Magazine and Us Magazine so I can try to keep up with all this stuff. It doesn’t do me any good because I still don’t know who all these people are. Nor, frankly, do I care very much.

We have some great music selections on the show, 90% of which I’ve never heard before. But I learn a lot. I never used Twitter before until I got on the show. I thought you had to get a box for it. I didn’t know it was something you put on your phone. So they did an episode where they showed me how to get on Twitter. Since then, I get lots and lots of things. Some nice ones. But, I’m not addicted to it like some people are. I like to read through it, but it’s not a life’s vocation for me.

I noticed Dana, last week, was talking about how she made a point of studying pop cultural things before the show started.

Yeah, she did. I tried but I can’t do it. Have you ever tried to read a People Magazine? Lets be honest about it. First off, most People’s that I’ve run across are in doctor’s offices and they’re 10 years old. You ever notice that? They’re always old People magazines. And I don’t get this stuff. I mean, why anybody would be interested in Kim Kardashian is beyond my comprehension. I wouldn’t walk across the street to hear a story about her. Apparently she’s cashed in pretty well and I guess that’s what it’s about but I – well, lets put it this way; that’s about all I want to say about Kim Kardashian. Any waste of breath after that is one I won’t have at the end of my life.

Besides all your debates you’ve had with the other hosts, I’ve enjoyed watching all the one-sided back and forth’s we’ve seen you have with the producers in your ear.

Yeah, yeah. I talk to them. See, you’ve got to understand, I don’t come out of TV. I come out of politics. When people get in my ear all the time, particularly when I’m trying to talk, I try to respond to them. They keep telling me “Wait for the break to tell us this stuff,” and I keep forgetting that. Y’know, I played football for a lot of years and I’m also a recovering alcoholic and drug addict so there’s a filter that most people have in their brains that stop you from saying things and doing things but mine got burned up, I guess. So I don’t wait, I just tell them. They’re ok. I like to pick fun with them a little bit.

Lets put it this way, there’s not a lot they can do to change me. I’ve been around too long for that. When they first put me on, I told Roger, “You’re putting a guy on who’s had a lot of life experiences and I’m probably not going to change much. What you see is what you get.”

Some people say I’ve got a good sense of humor. I think I’ve got a good sense of humor. Sometimes I get carried away a little bit but that’s fine too. I do my best and, on occasion, I’ve let a few words slip here and there, which I’ve heard about. And I’m trying.

Actually, you know, in AA you get chips for every year that you’ve been sober and, sometimes, every day you’ve been sober. I’ve been over 12 years in sobriety so I decided I was going to really work at it and not swear. So I put under my camera, “Do not swear.” I actually got a 70 day chip before I let it go again. But I’m getting there slowly and surely.

Yeah, that was actually bad for us! Those clips of you swearing on live TV do really well for us.

Yeah! By the way, you guys, I’ve seen some of the stuff you guys have written and im glad that I provide you with such good material.

The audience definitely seems very engaged.

You know, it’s a thing. We have people, and I sit out front everyday before we have our show and I smoke a cigar and people come through this walk way out front here and you just can’t believe how many people stop and are fans of The Five and are telling me. I mean, some people from other countries. One guy told me that there’s a Five party in San Diego when the repeat is on. Stuff like that. They’re clearly devoted.

I’m always trying to be as nice to people as I can…even Republicans which is sometimes difficult to do. But it’s alright. They’re actually nice people a lot of them.

Now, I’m not one that’s big for attention. I know that may sound strange for somebody who’s in the television business, but, for all those years, I was always ducking attention, you know? When I was drinking a lot, I didn’t want to see police, I didn’t want to see anybody I knew. I’m a little shy about that but I’m always trying to be as nice to people as I can… even Republicans which is sometimes difficult to do. But it’s alright. They’re actually nice people a lot of them.

I guess lets do one more question. How many pictures of ferrets does Gutfeld actually get in his email?

Well, it probably must be in the thousands by now.

I mean, you sit there and I listen to Gutfeld and he’ll sometimes say stuff and I’ll think that I’m in a bad acid trip from the 60’s. It’s like, “Where did that come from?” But there is a brilliance to it if you listen to it. I mean he has been a treasure for me, I just cant get enough of him. When he does his monologues, it’s the best from my standpoint, the best part of the show.

I love doing it. The only thing that I don’t like is the whiteboard that Bolling uses ’cause he’s always putting up these bad numbers about Obama. But outside of that…