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CNN Live At Daybreak
Appeal to America
Aired January 28, 2003 - 06:33 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The president's big speech will be watched closely by everyone around the world. Of course, that includes those in Israel.
Our senior political analyst, William Schneider, is in Tel Aviv this morning his take on tonight's speech.
Good morning -- Bill. So, what does the president have to accomplish tonight?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
I think he has to, first of all, persuade Americans that Iraq has not accepted disarmament, which is exactly what Hans Blix reported to the United Nations Security Council yesterday.
You know, Americans have a very different view of the inspections process. They think it's something like crime scene investigations, where the investigators will say, ah-hah, we found the smoking gun; the Iraqis are guilty. The president has to argue tonight in his speech that's not what inspections are. Inspections are not investigations. They're auditors, they're verifiers. Iraq is supposed to be cooperative in this process, and they are not cooperating, which means they have not accepted disarmament.
He also has to make the argument that Americans should care about this, because I think the president will try to argue that there is a connection between Iraq and the terrorists who threaten the United States.
And finally, of course, Americans are really more interested in the economy than in Iraq. The president has laid out his economic plan. He did that earlier this month, but it got a very tepid response from the American public. So, tonight in his State of the Union speech, he has another chance, a big chance and maybe his last chance, to try to sell that plan as a way to turn the economy around -- Carol.
COSTELLO: It will be interesting to see what he starts with -- the economy or Iraq. Who knows?
Since you're in Israel, Bill, though, I wanted to ask you about the Israeli elections going on. Can you give us an update on them?
SCHNEIDER: Well, the likelihood of course is that Ariel Sharon will be reelected, because his party is likely to be the largest party in the new parliament. The question is: What kind of coalition will he build? And there, Sharon is trying to do something quite remarkable.
Ariel Sharon is trying to become a centrist -- imagine that -- rather than a right-wing candidate, which is the way he's always been seen. He wants a government of national unity. He wants to reach out to the opposition Labor Party to join his government, and the voters want that, too. The problem is the leader of the Labor Party, their candidate, Amram Mitzna, has ruled out joining the Sharon government.
What can Sharon do to draw them into a national unity government? The election results could help if Laborers thoroughly repudiated, but also if Israel is on the verge of a Middle East war, then that could make Sharon's argument that national unity is necessary.
COSTELLO: Thanks for bringing us up-to-date. Bill Schneider reporting live from Tel Aviv this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 28, 2003 - 06:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The president's big speech will be watched closely by everyone around the world. Of course, that includes those in Israel.
Our senior political analyst, William Schneider, is in Tel Aviv this morning his take on tonight's speech.
Good morning -- Bill. So, what does the president have to accomplish tonight?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
I think he has to, first of all, persuade Americans that Iraq has not accepted disarmament, which is exactly what Hans Blix reported to the United Nations Security Council yesterday.
You know, Americans have a very different view of the inspections process. They think it's something like crime scene investigations, where the investigators will say, ah-hah, we found the smoking gun; the Iraqis are guilty. The president has to argue tonight in his speech that's not what inspections are. Inspections are not investigations. They're auditors, they're verifiers. Iraq is supposed to be cooperative in this process, and they are not cooperating, which means they have not accepted disarmament.
He also has to make the argument that Americans should care about this, because I think the president will try to argue that there is a connection between Iraq and the terrorists who threaten the United States.
And finally, of course, Americans are really more interested in the economy than in Iraq. The president has laid out his economic plan. He did that earlier this month, but it got a very tepid response from the American public. So, tonight in his State of the Union speech, he has another chance, a big chance and maybe his last chance, to try to sell that plan as a way to turn the economy around -- Carol.
COSTELLO: It will be interesting to see what he starts with -- the economy or Iraq. Who knows?
Since you're in Israel, Bill, though, I wanted to ask you about the Israeli elections going on. Can you give us an update on them?
SCHNEIDER: Well, the likelihood of course is that Ariel Sharon will be reelected, because his party is likely to be the largest party in the new parliament. The question is: What kind of coalition will he build? And there, Sharon is trying to do something quite remarkable.
Ariel Sharon is trying to become a centrist -- imagine that -- rather than a right-wing candidate, which is the way he's always been seen. He wants a government of national unity. He wants to reach out to the opposition Labor Party to join his government, and the voters want that, too. The problem is the leader of the Labor Party, their candidate, Amram Mitzna, has ruled out joining the Sharon government.
What can Sharon do to draw them into a national unity government? The election results could help if Laborers thoroughly repudiated, but also if Israel is on the verge of a Middle East war, then that could make Sharon's argument that national unity is necessary.
COSTELLO: Thanks for bringing us up-to-date. Bill Schneider reporting live from Tel Aviv this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
