VOICE: And now another scenario in which common sense was clearly not applied.

GLENN: Okay, today's story could have been easily avoided with about two minutes of thought and if the participants involved had listened to this program, they would have heard the common sense and they would have had the two minutes of thought and then from day number one we have been talking about this story and telling you that this was just not possible. In fact, it was going to end in destruction. Didn't take a genius to see it, but it's finally happened. Billy Joel and his wife Katie Lee are calling it quits after four years of marriage. I mean, I just have to rack up yet another prediction made in my magazine Fusion. If you need evidence, you can find if you are a Fusion subscriber you know yet another wouldn't you say, Stu, yet another prediction on this program.

STU: I like to wreck your predictions but this one was clearly right by you.

GLENN: This one was clearly common sense would tell you that a 56 year old man marrying a 23 year old is bad enough.

STU: Disgusting.

GLENN: But when it's a 56 year old aging celebrity marrying a 23 year old college chick, the chances are slim to none, wouldn't you say, Stu?

STU: What is going on with this country?

GLENN: I mean, it just doesn't happen, you know. She's going to want to go out to parties and experience things and he's just going to want to stay home and relax. I mean, he's 60, for crying out she's 27. She's in the prime of her life.

STU: Insane.

GLENN: She's going to be stuck going to bed like at 6:00 at night after an early bird and you know when the newness wears off in a relationship sometimes, you know, you see things that you didn't see before. And if the relationship isn't solidly grounded like it wasn't in this case, you know, the 23 year old college girl was in awe of one of the most influential musicians of all time and perhaps not making the most rational decision. I think he was a dirty old man, don't you think?

STU: Anybody can see that, Glenn.

GLENN: Anybody can see that.

STU: Anyone.

GLENN: Once she's over the celebrity thing, I mean, then it's have you seen Billy Joel? I mean, Brad Pitt he ain't.

STU: This is a really good point by you and this observation has been so consistent.

DAN: Uh huh, yep.

STU: Dan, we're just trying to finish this break real quick.

DAN: You do that.

GLENN: Some people made an excuse for the couple saying they seem to be in love, why not get married, she's in college, she's smart enough to know what she's doing.

STU: Idiots.

GLENN: Age difference doesn't matter... those people were dumb. Clearly it did matter. What 27 year old wants to be at home playing shuffleboard, you know, in bed by 6:00. Nobody. Obviously Katie Lee didn't want to.

STU: It's a disgrace to our founding fathers.

GLENN: If she just would have listened to me and to Stu, just use some common sense, this marriage, you know, which is really, was a compact that was made in some sort of sleazy, dirty old man porn store.

STU: Preposterous sham, Glenn.

GLENN: It would have been avoided. What were you saying, Dan?

DAN: Are you done with the segment?

VOICE: Next time try applying some common sense directly to the forehead and if that fails to solve the problem, read Glenn Beck's new book Common Sense: The Case Against an Out of Control Government. Get the details at GlennBeck.com.

DAN: This is a

GLENN: If you are a regular listener of this program, this is, what, a five year

DAN: Not quite five years. Four, a little four. They didn't quite make it five, Glenn.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: It's 2004, right?

DAN: October.

STU: October.

GLENN: And I have to tell you this is something that has been driving me crazy because Dan first of all, he's always changing the argument.

DAN: Well

GLENN: Yes. Yes, you are.

DAN: I stand by the ones I've made, though, over the years.

STU: He stands by the ones that he would like to

GLENN: You've made everything. You've made every possible statement on this.

DAN: You have kind of also backtracked a little, my friend, from being so hardlined for it and you kind of backed off a little bit, if I, you know, heard the clips.

STU: We have listened to some of the back audio and there's

GLENN: Do we have the back audio?

STU: We do have some first.

STU: Dan, if we can start of clip 4

GLENN: This is a four year argument, for anybody who's this is a four year argument.

DAN: And I'd just like to point out for the record now that the argument now has lasted longer than the marriage.

STU: All right. So this starts off, it started off off the air. This is the first appearance on the air of the argument. Go ahead, Dan.

GLENN: Coming out of Dan Andros, our technical director on the program, he was in the office and he said, when this story broke I think on Monday, Dan came into my office and said, "You think this is gross, don't you? This is..." what were the words, Stu, he used?

STU: The quotes were gross, disgusting and hell.

GLENN: Yes. Married Billy Joel marrying a 23 year old hottie, that's got to be hell. If that's hell, could you please be Satan? If that's your version of hell, I want who nominates Dan for Satan! (Laughing). Can somebody second the motion to make Dan Satan? Because being married to 23 year old hotties, I think I could do it for all eternity.

STU: If that's hell, church just got a lot less popular.

GLENN: All right. So

DAN: You guys are so cute.

GLENN: So you really, you really thought, Dan, that this was gross.

DAN: Yes. Now, let me clarify. May I talk down for just a second?

GLENN: Go ahead, John Edwards, talk to you.

DAN: Oh, this is funny, the clip just ended right there before my explanation.

GLENN: Yeah. So here's Clip 2. What is Clip 2?

STU: This is well, it was actually a strange part to get that cut off. Basically there was Dan's explanation to that after a clarification. A clarification meaning it's not necessarily what he said the first time.

DAN: Because that was your telling of what I said in the meeting. My clarification was that, no, it is not I don't think it's obviously like any man would want to

STU: Yes.

DAN: Would like to have relations with a

GLENN: Why can't you finish any of these sentences, Dan? I don't think it's I mean why can't you finish any sentence on this?

STU: He was for this marriage the whole time.

GLENN: Say it. Say it. Say it, Dan. You don't think that a 60 year old man having a relationship with a 23 year old girl is gross.

DAN: No.

GLENN: Say it.

DAN: Look

GLENN: Say it.

DAN: What I'm going to say

GLENN: Say it.

DAN: No.

GLENN: He won't say it.

DAN: What I'm going to say is obviously thoughts of sleeping with a 23 year old hottie is great, but the marriage was going to be hell eventually because they had nothing in common. There's no possible way these two had enough in common at all.

GLENN: Argue this one more time. You don't know that. Obviously it turned out right but you don't know that.

STU: Again this argument turned into is it possible for a very old you know, the central argument was never for Billy Joel specifically. It was about a very older man and a younger woman. And Dan, eventually and again we've backed off on this both ways. But that is it possible. And Dan basically said, no. We basically said it's unlikely but possible. And that's basically where this thing settled.

GLENN: And I still settle on it's unlikely.

STU: Very unlikely.

GLENN: You've got 40 years of history that are just gone on top of, what, nine years difference? I think Tania's nine years different than me and what was it we were talking about the other day?

STU: There's no way that's lasting.

GLENN: Not for ages. And she's like Woodrow Wilson again! We were talking about something the other day and she didn't pick up on the reference and I'm just like, oh, my gosh. Can you imagine 40 years difference?

STU: Now, I will give Dan credit here as his clarification essentially was that she was going to want to go out to Britney Spears concerts and he was going to want to stay home and play shuffleboard. And according to reports, that is exactly the reason they broke up.

DAN: Yes, thank you.

STU: Is that she wanted to be the kind of party girl and, well, she was also apparently cheating with some fashion designer.

DAN: No way. She was cheating on the 60 year old husband? Uh uh!

STU: And so I will give Dan credit, although the way he's presenting it now I would like to take it away, but I will give Dan credit on this argument.

DAN: Come on.

STU: Because I'm giving you credit.

DAN: I get one prediction right.

STU: I'm giving you I'm giving you credit.

GLENN: Dan, you and I you ready for this? This is what I said to Stu this morning. We were in the morning meeting and I said, "So let's see. I got the economy thing. Dan's got Billy Joel's marriage. Stu, what are you good at predicting?

STU: Nothing is the way that's what I'd like to

GLENN: There's really nothing there. There's really nothing there.

STU: And really when you look at it, I mean, no offense, Dan, but between the economy and Billy Joel's marital status, I think I'd take the economy looking at my 401(k). But I will say

GLENN: But you know what, Dan? Looking at his arguments against my economy prediction and your Billy Joel prediction, he's got we each have one right.

DAN: Yeah, we got something.

GLENN: He's got them both wrong.

STU: I've got to find something now. I need to find something I've been right over the past 20 years and I will dig it up. I think I need to find something.

GLENN: All right. Don't look long at the vegetarian thing.

STU: No, I will not. Here's the second clip where we're talked about the this is 2004 Clip 2, Dan, where we're talking about true love versus age. Clip 2, 2004.

DAN: She's going to be 38 when he's 70 and wetting his pants and she's in the prime of her life.

STU: She's an adult.

DAN: What happens when he puts on one of his songs and she's like, oh, I love oldies, they're awesome, and he's playing Uptown Girl?

GLENN: She was 5 when it was written, she was 5 when he wrote that.

STU: The problem is, and I'm not trying to make the argument that it's the best scenario but Dan's looking at it in such a mathematical way. Love is not a mathematical thing.

GLENN: Oh, please.

STU: It's not something I guarantee you, I mean, Dan is married to his beautiful wife Tara. If they had met and had the same connection, he would not feel this way. He just feels

GLENN: I think without money or fame, they wouldn't have met. You never see this, you never see this without fame or money.

STU: I don't think that's true.

GLENN: Come on.

DAN: Not much.

GLENN: Tell me where you've seen somebody who's poor

STU: Well, the ones that they don't look like Billy Joel, poor, not famous and has a hot 23 year old.

DAN: Funny how true love never seemed to intervene in those situations.

STU: I would say people who are artists and teachers. I've seen it with teachers.

GLENN: Okay, not that it when it doesn't end in jail.

STU: Michael Jackson, clearly a

GLENN: When it doesn't end in jail.

STU: No, I'm just saying that you can it can occur. It doesn't necessarily occur all the time.

GLENN: Show me examples in real life.

STU: They don't cover an unknown people on TV when they get married.

GLENN: No, no. In your life tell me when you have ever seen that, when you've met someone, you know anybody where that's happened, where they are regular people.

STU: How many years apart?

DAN: 32.

GLENN: 32 years. That's not happening in real life.

STU: I mean, my mom and my stepfather are about 20 years apart. Is that enough? Neither one are rich.

GLENN: Okay, 20, that's on the edge there. I do have to you know, and I think my folks are I think my folks are about 12 or 15 years apart.

STU: And let's be honest. Dee, she's hot. Your dad's wife.

GLENN: Hey, that's disturbing. That's let me ask you this.

STU: The update to this, by the way

GLENN: This is what I was going to ask.

STU: The update to this story here now in 2009 is my mom and my stepfather are getting divorced.

GLENN: Dan?

DAN: Yeah.

GLENN: Just sayin'.

DAN: Yeah.

GLENN: So what happened with Billy Joel? She was out screwing around?

STU: Yeah, it appears that she was the reports are that she was hanging out with a 36 year old fashion designer, described as hunky in all the papers today which I appreciated, that fair and balanced reporting. And she was, like, liking the party life. He wanted to live in Long Island and go on his boat.

GLENN: He's an alcoholic.

STU: You'd think that would go well with the party life but apparently not. It's the sad alcoholic.

GLENN: Yeah, it's the sad alcoholic. It's the, you know, it's the one that sits at home and I mean, he's not drinking now, is he?

STU: I don't believe so.

GLENN: The party life goes with the alcoholic.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: And wasn't he married didn't he marry her when he was drunk?

STU: Yeah, because he wanted to crash into cars I believe. That was later, wasn't it?

GLENN: Right. I mean, maybe this is actually a really good sign that he's no, seriously maybe this is a really good sign that Billy Joel is getting his life in order. That, you know

STU: Well, this is interesting that you're saying that because it was kind of the Dan also took the opposite side of this argument in 2006 Clip 1 here, Dan. Which remember his first argument was that she how did we frame that, Dan, basically that she was going to be too exciting for him and

DAN: I said he was going to ruin her life and she wasn't you know, she was going to be bored and, you know, that was essentially my argument.

STU: Well, that's no, you

DAN: It was.

STU: You said that you thought she was going to have this horrible life and live basically, you know, basically not be able to, you know

GLENN: Get what she wanted.

DAN: Right. And she saw that happening and she got out of there.

STU: Let's play 2006 clip 1.

DAN: Billy Joel's ruining her life. It's just a matter of time.

GLENN: Billy Joel is ruining her life?

STU: She's going to have that terrible time walking away with $8 million cash.

[ OVERLAPPING SPEAKERS ]

DAN: On the Glenn Beck program, you heard it, money is happiness.

STU: Now, the thing about this here is he did not ruin her life. She was cheating on him and going out on parties. So that is not an accurate

DAN: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. So she's going through a divorce now because she dot

STU: It was her choice. He didn't do it to her.

GLENN: Excuse me. She's getting a divorce from Billy Joel.

DAN: Prenup.

GLENN: Oh, there's a prenup?

STU: There's a prenup, she's going to get plenty of money but generally these things are quite lucrative.

DAN: What's perfect? She got the divorce and she got some money. I'm sure she's thrilled.

STU: But he didn't do it to her. She did it to her. You cannot blame him on this.

DAN: This was the whole premise of my argument at the beginning that he was doing it to her because she's so young and immature and he's a celebrity and witch.

GLENN: Hang on just a second. So wait a minute. Should we have some marriage oversight czar? Should we have an oversight czar that she was 23 and she's not old enough?

DAN: You are free to do it. You are free to do it. I'm just saying this is what makes it a dirty old man.

GLENN: How could you possibly see, this is why this argument has been going on for four years.

STU: Four years.

GLENN: How could you possibly say that Billy Joel wrecked her life? He's 60, she's an adult, she's 23. She was yeah, okay, Billy Joel, the piano man, play me a song, Mr. Piano man and he did and she's like, I'm bored with it. She started cheating on him. She wrecked his life.

STU: Yeah.

DAN: Are you saying hold on a second. Glenn Beck, you're telling me that four years of marriage where you end up in cheating on your wife and in a miserable divorce

STU: Not miserable.

DAN: Oh, and divorce I'm sorry. They are having a happy divorce.

GLENN: No, all divorces there's no children, right? Wait, wait, wait.

STU: Then why use the adjective?

GLENN: Wait, wait, wait. Are there any children?

DAN: I just think divorces all suck.

GLENN: Are there any children?

STU: No, there are not.

GLENN: Well, then, you know, whatever.

STU: She gets a payday.

GLENN: It's miserable, when there's children involved, you've just screwed everything up.

STU: Yeah, it's not necessarily pleasant but to act like this is ruining her life I think is an overstatement. She's cheating on him.

GLENN: She's coming out of this her whole life changed because of Billy Joel. Her whole life changed. What was she before? Was she I don't know.

GLENN: She turned into a I know she was on Top Chef eventually. What was she before?

STU: She was a chef. Eventually she got the job of Top Chef after she married Joel and now is dating fashion designers in New York City.

GLENN: Hold on just a second. So she was a student.

STU: I don't know that she was a

DAN: So hold on. I want to get this straight. So if you get a good career out of a marriage

STU: Your qualification is ruined

DAN: This is why she got out because it was going to ruin her life. I mean, I didn't know when they were going to get divorced.

GLENN: She ruined somebody else's life!

DAN: It led to cheating and a divorce. How is this

STU: This is classic liberal thinking by Dan Andros.

DAN: Oh, come on.

STU: She cheats on him and he's responsible for it.

DAN: It's both of them.

STU: That is so liberal thinking.

GLENN: How is he responsible? How is he responsible?

DAN: I don't know why you are nitpicking this point. Of course it's both of them but I think it's more him.

GLENN: Wait a minute, wait a minute.

STU: She was the one doing it. How is it him?

DAN: He's the veteran in this situation. He should know what should happen. He's 60. He's been through this twice, for crying out loud!

GLENN: Everybody he marries cheats on him.

DAN: He should quit. He should quit marrying!

STU: (Laughing).

GLENN: I will agree with you on that.

STU: That's probably a fair point.

GLENN: I will tell you this, that if I'm Billy Joel today, I am thinking to myself, what the hell is wrong with me.

STU: Yeah. It's got to be a little depressing.

GLENN: Life, life you know, we're all supposed to learn lessons in life. We all come to the table with our own problems and our own, you know, whatever. And when life keeps dealing you the same card, it's not them. It's you. There's something that you're attracting these kinds of people. You know and I only say this because I was this kind of guy, that I would go, you know, "Gee, all the people, how come I keep running into all these people." I'm attracting them. There's something about me. This happens with abuse. People are like they get into an abusive relationship and then they get out and then they're in another abusive relationship and then they get out and then they get in another. And then they are like, why is it. Because there's something about you that attracts these people. So what is it that Billy Joel has not put right in his life that he doesn't get that he is attracting the kind of women that would cheat on him over and over again? What is it? It's I mean, they have to make the choice, but he's choosing improperly. There's something that he hasn't learned yet.

By the way, we had this woman Melissa who calls every time we talk about this. I mean, we haven't talked to her in about a year, but she was like 20 something and he was 47 or 50. Wasn't there like 30 years difference or 27 years difference?

STU: Call in if you hear us, Melissa.

GLENN: Yeah. I think they're from Pittsburgh.