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CNN Live At Daybreak

Look at What's Going on Inside the Beltway

Aired July 30, 2002 - 06:35   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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Back in the U.S., we're going to talk politics now.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and guess who stopped by?

COOPER: Our favorite.

COSTELLO: Our favorite CNN political correspondent Candy Crowley is here with us in Atlanta to tell us what's going on inside the Beltway.

(CROSSTALK)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'll stop by more often.

COSTELLO: Now, the most fascinating thing I think that's going on in the world of politics is, will Al Gore run? And what's with Lieberman and Gore, and are they really still buds?

CROWLEY: Are they really still buds? You know, political buds, which is never buds for very long.

Look, you know, I think that those around Lieberman really believe that he wants to run. He's got himself in a bit of a bit of box here, because he said, look, if Al Gore runs, he has earned it, I'm going to get out. But he has gone ahead and kept sort of putting together, you know, a political action team...

COSTELLO: He has raised money.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY: ... raising money, all that kind of stuff, to be ready, because you kind of have to be.

So now, he kind of likes the idea, and he's sort of stuck within that box. And he said as recently as yesterday, look, I'm -- you know, if Al Gore runs -- but you saw him yesterday say, you know, if we just hadn't had that people vs. the powerful thing, it would have been better for us.

So there's a lot of not so subtle, you know, jabs at Al Gore to try to, you know, sort of draw him out of his box, and of course, he has been pretty coy.

COSTELLO: How popular is Al Gore right now amongst Democrats?

CROWLEY: Well, it depends on which Democrats you talk to. If you look at all of the polls, look, the, you know, rank-and-file Democrats, Gore always ranks on top of whoever else they put him up against. Part of that can be name recognition. I mean, at this point, it's just people say, oh, yes, yes, that guy, because they recognize the name.

You talk to the people that are within the Democrat Party hierarchy, and it's a different story. There is a lot of feeling that, look, you know, he had his chance, he should have won going away, he had a great economy, a popular president and he didn't. So there's a lot of that.

COOPER: Now, are Democrats -- I mean, the issue they are going to run on, is it going to be this corporate responsibility? I mean, do they see this as an issue...

CROWLEY: Midterm?

COOPER: ... yes, that they can win on?

CROWLEY: They are hoping. I mean, look, there has been -- we have had sort of a year of kind of trying to get Jell-O to stick a wall. I mean, it's been really hard for Democrats to find something, you know, that sticks. They thought Enron would be it, it's an oil company, you know, a big oil guy, you know, that kind of stuff.

COOPER: It didn't work.

CROWLEY: It didn't really work, and you know, if you look at the president's ratings, they are still very high. I mean, they have come down. You have a -- it's hard to really quibble with something between 65 and 70.

Also, you know, have to be careful about thinking, oh, look, the president is popular; therefore, the Republicans are going to win, because there is never that really direct connection like that.

COSTELLO: The timing really hasn't been there for them either, because right when you think that it's going to affect the midterm elections, or even elections farther into the future, the economy seems to bounce back like, you know, we had a great day on Wall Street yesterday.

CROWLEY: Right.

COSTELLO: So if the economy turns around in time, none of this corporate scandal stuff is going to matter, is it?

CROWLEY: Well, you know, I think to a certain extent it matters, because people's 401(k)s, you know, have now looked vulnerable for the first time in two decades.

COOPER: Right.

CROWLEY: So that's always sort of a worry.

COOPER: If you still have a 401(k).

CROWLEY: Exactly right, if there is anything left in it. But the other thing is that I think, you know, hasn't been talked about a whole lot is that is who votes in the midterm? Seniors vote a lot. Seniors, if you look sort of across the board, are the most unhappy about a lot of things that doesn't particularly bode well for the party...

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: You mean the prescription drug plan?

CROWLEY: ... prescription drug plan or the lack thereof, you know, that kind of thing.

So you know, I think they hope that, you know, something will stick, that they think maybe this corporate responsibility, because Bush was -- you know, they tried to tie Bush even...

COOPER: Right.

CROWLEY: ... more tightly to corporations.

But you're right. The economy, it's always about the economy.

COOPER: That's true.

CROWLEY: It's always about the economy.

COOPER: Yes, the president was recently fund-raising for Libby Dole. How is her campaign doing?

CROWLEY: OK, fine. I mean, she is -- look, she is -- you know, if the election were held today, which of course, is never is. It's my favorite question, if elections were held today? But you know, she is way ahead of whoever may, you know, run against her. They still haven't, you know, figured that all out, because they have not -- they have had some primaries down there.

But you know, there are a lot of women running. I mean, Elizabeth Dole is one of the...

COOPER: Right.

CROWLEY: ... you know, more prominent ones, Janet Reno in Florida for governor. Well, she is one of a lot of women...

COOPER: Her campaign is not doing all that well, though. I mean, she has had a lot of financial problems.

CROWLEY: Well, she -- I mean, she is being out-financed, if that's the word, by a guy named McBride, who is a political neophyte. You know, again, she is one of those people that's popular with the rank-and-file, hard to tell how much of that is -- a lot of people haven't -- a lot of Democrats in Florida haven't heard the name McBride, but they have heard the name Reno. Because you put her up against Jeb Bush...

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

CROWLEY: ... and the polling is pretty...

COOPER: Right.

CROWLEY: But you know what?

COSTELLO: And don't you just hate...

CROWLEY: And I hate bringing this up all of the time about the polling, because it's August.

COSTELLO: Fine (ph).

CROWLEY: And they don't really...

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: ... to talk about it today

CROWLEY: Absolutely. But I mean, I don't -- you know, it's not the last deal. There will be many polls between now and November.

COOPER: Did you get to go to Janet Reno's dance party?

CROWLEY: I didn't. You know, she didn't invite me. It was fun, though, although I would much prefer to go to "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" with her.

COSTELLO: Definitely so. Candy, thank you for stopping by. Please stop by again.

CROWLEY: It was fun.

COOPER: Thanks.

CROWLEY: Good to see you.

COSTELLO: We loved it.

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