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White House Gears Up for State of the Union
Aired January 28, 2003 - 10:01 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A presidential speech that can be bigger than mere words. When President Bush delivers his State of the Union to a national audience tonight, he's going to share his vision of where the country is and where he wants it to go, and that destination could include the battlefields of Iraq.
Our White House correspondent, Dana Bash, is at her post with a preview of tonight's speech -- Dana, good morning.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Well, the White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, said that the speech is just about set, that he is pretty much done with it.
It is going to be about 42 minutes in length. That is without applause. But the president tonight is going to face an American public that -- that, according to polls, shows him in the least favorable light as they have since before September 11. So he has got a couple challenges in tonight's speech.
Now, the White House says that the speech is going to be split among domestic and international issues. Now, on the domestic front, he will be talking about the economy. The economy, again, is one of those issues that America is very focused on. Therefore, the White House is very focused on, and he will be talking about his $674 billion plan to stimulate the economy. That plan, of course, Democrats are saying, is just to help the wealthy. Even some moderate Republicans are less than thrilled with it, but he will talk about it. That will be a big part of his speech. He'll also talk about health care and Medicare, particularly prescription drug coverage for seniors.
Now, on the international front, the president will make the case that Saddam Hussein poses a threat to America and to the whole world. He will not declare war, but the president will say that this is a nation that is poised for war, and that the prospect for war is very real.
Now, what White House adviser Karen Hughes told CNN's John King a short time ago, that the president will also make the link between al Qaeda and Iraq. That's a link that White House senior advisers have been making in the past couple of days. It's an issue that's been revived, it is something that they talked about in the fall. But the White House says that they have some new evidence from detainees that they have gotten, that there is a link between al Qaeda and Iraq, and the president will mention that tonight -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Dana, for a lot of Americans and also much of the world, a lot of question has been show me, show me the evidence that Iraq has alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Up until now, the administration's standpoint has kind of been, Well, we know, but we can't show you. Will there be some of that in tonight's State of the Union speech?
BASH: Unclear how much new, raw evidence will actually be in the speech. However, the administration is saying that we can expect to see some new evidence, perhaps as early as next week, in the form of satellite photos, perhaps, in the form of intercepts that shows proof that Saddam Hussein is trying to conceal weapons of mass destruction programs that Saddam Hussein is intentionally trying to skirt the inspections process. That is something that the White House says that they have and they will show, because they know that the world wants evidence -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Dana Bash. A windy day at the White House today.
BASH: Very windy. Cold and windy.
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 - 10:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A presidential speech that can be bigger than mere words. When President Bush delivers his State of the Union to a national audience tonight, he's going to share his vision of where the country is and where he wants it to go, and that destination could include the battlefields of Iraq.
Our White House correspondent, Dana Bash, is at her post with a preview of tonight's speech -- Dana, good morning.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Well, the White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, said that the speech is just about set, that he is pretty much done with it.
It is going to be about 42 minutes in length. That is without applause. But the president tonight is going to face an American public that -- that, according to polls, shows him in the least favorable light as they have since before September 11. So he has got a couple challenges in tonight's speech.
Now, the White House says that the speech is going to be split among domestic and international issues. Now, on the domestic front, he will be talking about the economy. The economy, again, is one of those issues that America is very focused on. Therefore, the White House is very focused on, and he will be talking about his $674 billion plan to stimulate the economy. That plan, of course, Democrats are saying, is just to help the wealthy. Even some moderate Republicans are less than thrilled with it, but he will talk about it. That will be a big part of his speech. He'll also talk about health care and Medicare, particularly prescription drug coverage for seniors.
Now, on the international front, the president will make the case that Saddam Hussein poses a threat to America and to the whole world. He will not declare war, but the president will say that this is a nation that is poised for war, and that the prospect for war is very real.
Now, what White House adviser Karen Hughes told CNN's John King a short time ago, that the president will also make the link between al Qaeda and Iraq. That's a link that White House senior advisers have been making in the past couple of days. It's an issue that's been revived, it is something that they talked about in the fall. But the White House says that they have some new evidence from detainees that they have gotten, that there is a link between al Qaeda and Iraq, and the president will mention that tonight -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Dana, for a lot of Americans and also much of the world, a lot of question has been show me, show me the evidence that Iraq has alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Up until now, the administration's standpoint has kind of been, Well, we know, but we can't show you. Will there be some of that in tonight's State of the Union speech?
BASH: Unclear how much new, raw evidence will actually be in the speech. However, the administration is saying that we can expect to see some new evidence, perhaps as early as next week, in the form of satellite photos, perhaps, in the form of intercepts that shows proof that Saddam Hussein is trying to conceal weapons of mass destruction programs that Saddam Hussein is intentionally trying to skirt the inspections process. That is something that the White House says that they have and they will show, because they know that the world wants evidence -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Dana Bash. A windy day at the White House today.
BASH: Very windy. Cold and windy.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
