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CNN Live Today
Analysis of President Bush's Speech on Wall Street
Aired July 09, 2002 - 11:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Jeff Greenfield is with us. Jeff, politics of this, your take on the speech, from a political point of view.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I think the broader political point is this. Right now, what has happened I think in the stock market, all these stories of corporate wrongdoing, has had a hammer blow effect on the broader confidence people have in whether things are going in the right direction, which is one of the key political measurements we can take. Right after September 11th, nearly 3/4 of Americans said the country was on the right track, "rally around the flag" sentiment. Now it's about even, 45-42 percent think it's on the track, and that's bad news for whoever is in power.
BROWN: The second point is, I think, that all of these stories have so much resonance because of what's happened in the last two years. As long as everybody was making money, as long as people were getting fabulously rich at the top; but secretaries and receptionists with stock options were becoming millionaires, this really didn't matter.
We heard a lot of talk about Teddy Roosevelt before the speech and we are going to hear a lot more. One of the reasons Roosevelt attacked, what he called factors of great wealth, is at a time a century ago when people were getting rich, there are people who were in desperate straits, whether they worked in sweat shops or the coal mines. And right now, with 2/3 of countries invested the market, that turnaround in the market has had a direct effect on how people are feeling, and that's why I think Lou pointed to this. This may have been a beginning, but it was far from enough to turn that broader political sentiment around.
One more quick point, the fact the president himself, 10 years ago, sold stock that then went down, I think is a vulnerability, because people have always felt that George W. Bush, he is a straight- shooter, a good guy, a guy we like. That's one of the reasons he is the president today. If his personal involvement becomes an issue, that also I think is a potentially serious problem. So that's my initial take on this stuff.
BROWN: Let me just throw one small thing here: because of the president's background, some of the issues you just mentioned, this was, as we said at the beginning, the MBA president, does he have a tougher road to hoe, does he have to seemingly do more than perhaps a Democrat would have do under the same circumstances?
GREENFIELD: Absolutely. And you talked to Ron Brownstein last night about this, and I thought he made a terrific point. There are certain ancestral instinctive feelings that people have about the parties. Republicans are stronger on things like crime and national defense, and the Democrats are stronger on standing up for the little guy.
This is a CEO president, whose vice president headed Halliburton back in the late '90s. And so the very comfort level that President Bush and Vice President Cheney have had with corporate leaders puts us of special burden on them. Again, to go back to Teddy Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt was an enemy, or an adversary, of the mainstream Republican Party. He was more like John McCain than anybody else. I think the fact that this president and vice president came in with such close ties to the business community does put a special burden on this administration to come to grips in a very clear understandable way with this malfeasance that's been going on.
BROWN: Jeff, thank you.
With more on politics of this, as we go, we are just keeping an eye on stock ticker down in the corner of the screen, too. We don't want to read too much into this. Wall Street does have a way of reacting to these things one way or another. The market was up a bit, 25 or so points as the president began his speech, and we see Nasdaq down about 4 1/3. I expect the Dow is down about 30 or so.
Lou, mean anything?
WATERS: Not much. The fact of the matter is, as Jeff was pointing out, there are all sorts of issues resolved -- not resolved here. We are not likely to see them resolved soon. I don't think many people have much hope that it would happen. The president has addressed the issue. He hasn't done it perhaps as strongly as some would like or with the specificity that some would like.
May I speak to something, Jeff, you said. You talked about the president's vulnerability politically on the Harkin energy deal 13 years ago. In point of fact, he has gone through three elections with that issue. It's been resolved. It is the silly season, as you know. We are going to hear a lot about it. I don't see his vulnerability particularly on that subject.
But what is an important vulnerability is the issue, this president, not unlike Nixon in China, has the ability to stand up and get this thing straightened out, because of his MBA, CEO status, his relationship. But at this point, business leaders will tell you Clinton was far more open and favorable for business leaders than this Bush or the previous Bush.
BROWN: Let me come back to that. I want to get John King, our senior White House correspondent in before we lose that feed.
John, where does the president take this? Is there a road show? Does he go out to sell the plan or has he sold it now? JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He will sell the plan in the days and weeks ahead, and so will his team. The Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, the Commerce Secretary Don Evans will take the lead, traveling, doing a lot of television, some town hall forums in recent days. Let me quickly follow-up on a few points that I think Lou rightly pointed out. The president was not overly specific. There are, in the fact sheets being handed out by White House, more specifics about the enforcement steps and the penalties.
But in this political environment, the president knows this debate is just beginning. He does not know what the legislation will look like in the end. From a strategic standpoint, the White House does not want to draw hard and fast lines now, only to see Democrats and the Congress run past the president, if you will.
But as soft spoken as the president was, he was reacting to this political debate. He said these problems were long in the making, but only now coming to light, essentially saying, do not blame my administration for this, it's coming to light now. It started before I got here.
The president also saying the House has already addressed many of these issues, that he asked Congress to act on some of these issues three or four months ago, the Senate must act quickly and responsibly. The Senate means the Democrats. The Democrats run the Senate. So the president positioning himself politely in this speech in a subdued way for the political argument that comes ahead.
And as you watch the market, remember the lessons this president knows all too well. His father won the Persian Gulf war, at one point was at 91 percent in the polls. He lost re-election because voters believed he did not do enough during the recession. During the entire Clinton administration, especially the impeachment scandal, critics though that would drag President Clinton's standing down. He stayed at near record levels in popularity, even after impeachment. Why? Because Wall Street was booming at the time. People's 401(k)s were headed up.
This president sees the stock market going down on his watch. He knows ultimately what that means. This is his big first test at home on a major domestic issue since September 11th.
BROWN: John, I know have you to move as the president moves. Stay with us as long as you can.
Lou, you're chomping (ph) here.
WATERS: Just a quick question, John. You pointed out that the president referred to the Senate getting on the program, if you will. He did not mention Paul Sarbanes, Senator Paul Sarbanes by name, yet nearly every Republican constituency now, nearly every business organization is fully supporting the Sarbanes legislation. What do you read into that?
KING: The president will sign the Sarbanes bill if it reached his desk. Senior officials tell us that privately. The president does not want to publicly pull out the rug from House Republicans who have supported him on so many issues over the past several months, by saying never mind what you already passed in the House, as I requested you, I'm now going to supporting the Democratic bill.
But this is very much like campaign finance. I keep making this point. I don't mean to be redundant. This train is moving quickly. When it reaches the president's desk, make no doubt about it, he will sign what comes his way.
He's going to influence the debate as it goes on.
BROWN: John, Thank You, senior White House correspondent John King.
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