Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Candid Candidates
Aired March 04, 2003 - 09:43 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts has already been labeled one of the front-runners for the Democratic presidential nomination, but he has clearly decided to cast a wide net in his search for potential votes. He appears in "Vogue" magazine this month in a wet suit and talks about everything from his love of surfing to his recipe for chocolate chip cookies. He at one time ran a small business involving cookies. But he is hardly the first candidate to seek a not-so-obvious path to voters. Senior analyst Jeff Greenfield is here to tell us more.
Good morning.
So this is obviously, not the first political who has not gone after the traditional Washington corridor vote.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: I think it's almost compulsory. I mean, you can go back to 1960 I guess when Senator John Kennedy, the nominee Democratic for president went on the old "Tonight Show," and he exchanged pleasantries with Jack Parr.
Eight years later, Richard Nixon tried to show he wasn't a humorless uptight guy, did a cameo on "Laugh-In," asking a popular question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD NIXON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sock to it me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Now that same year, Hubert Humphrey, who wound up as Nixon's opponent, wound on Dinah Shore's Kitchen, to show he could whip up a mean recipe, and this thing is only accelerated. You'll remember in 1992 famously Governor Bill Clinton appeared on Arsenio Hall's show, playing a saxophone, wearing shades. His campaign worried he was seen as too much of a policy wonk, not a real person, who he found otherwise to cure that impression later.
And then in 2000, Al Gore and George Bush both showed up on "Oprah," they showed up on "Letterman," they showed up on "Saturday Night Live." So this is very common.
ZAHN: And there's a pretty obvious reason why they do this, it works, doesn't it?
GREENFIELD: It works. I think it has to do with the ever- growing skepticism that people bring to politics. They see someone on an interview show like "Meet the Press," even "AMERICAN MORNING," and they assume they are all spinning.
But when they see them on a show like "Letterman," they bring a certain sense of trust to that. They think these candidates are going to be more honest, or at least format won't permit them to spin. And I think it's why so many political figures, by the way, go on my friend, Don Imus's radio show, because that says, I'm not a stuffed shirt, I've got a sense of humor, I can take some ribbing, I'm a regular guy, and I think that's really what the key to this is.
ZAHN: What's the danger for these candidates?
GREENFIELD: Well, this may not be exactly the same situation, but probably the most famous example was Michael Dukakis in 1988 riding around in a tank to show he was strong on defense, and it sent a very different message -- hi, here is Snoopy. It just was not a very good look for him.
And all the way back in 1976, Jimmy Carter, when he was impending nominee, he wanted to show he wasn't some religious zealot, because people knew him as Sunday school teacher, so he did an interview in "Playboy" magazine, and he wounded up having to explain what he meant when he said he had lusted in his heart for other women. So going outside the political mainstream will get you attention, but you have to make sure it's the right kind.
ZAHN: But in the end, hasn't this, all these appearances have been pretty helpful to these candidates, at least in terms of defining themselves outside the Washington belt?
GREENFIELD: I think if (UNINTELLIGIBLE) didn't work, people wouldn't do it, and as I say, voters, I think, are so skeptical about the photo opportunities and press conference of a normal campaign, that the more they can see a candidate with someone they really trust like Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman, someone who's not a -- quote -- political type, the better it is, so you will see a whole lot of this in the next year or two.
ZAHN: Can I make a completely sexist comment? Hear from friends of mine that read "Vogue." That picture worked, John Kerry in a wet suit.
GREENFIELD: You know, you are too young, but those of us who remember John Kennedy in 1960, and the jumpers, the young women who would jump up and down when they saw him, the contrast between Eisenhower, then the oldest president, and this young, virile candidate, it was very helpful, and it's going to helpful when they get rid of those last sexist notions, when women start running, and can say I've got a mind and I'm also attractive.
ZAHN: We know we have the female journalists when they posed provocatively in "Vanity Fair," that backfires. So let's see if there will ever be a time where that will happen, Jeff./
GREENFIELD: I think the lady doth protest too much? ZAHN: Thank you, Jeff.
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 March 4, 2003 - 09:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts has already been labeled one of the front-runners for the Democratic presidential nomination, but he has clearly decided to cast a wide net in his search for potential votes. He appears in "Vogue" magazine this month in a wet suit and talks about everything from his love of surfing to his recipe for chocolate chip cookies. He at one time ran a small business involving cookies. But he is hardly the first candidate to seek a not-so-obvious path to voters. Senior analyst Jeff Greenfield is here to tell us more.
Good morning.
So this is obviously, not the first political who has not gone after the traditional Washington corridor vote.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: I think it's almost compulsory. I mean, you can go back to 1960 I guess when Senator John Kennedy, the nominee Democratic for president went on the old "Tonight Show," and he exchanged pleasantries with Jack Parr.
Eight years later, Richard Nixon tried to show he wasn't a humorless uptight guy, did a cameo on "Laugh-In," asking a popular question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD NIXON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sock to it me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Now that same year, Hubert Humphrey, who wound up as Nixon's opponent, wound on Dinah Shore's Kitchen, to show he could whip up a mean recipe, and this thing is only accelerated. You'll remember in 1992 famously Governor Bill Clinton appeared on Arsenio Hall's show, playing a saxophone, wearing shades. His campaign worried he was seen as too much of a policy wonk, not a real person, who he found otherwise to cure that impression later.
And then in 2000, Al Gore and George Bush both showed up on "Oprah," they showed up on "Letterman," they showed up on "Saturday Night Live." So this is very common.
ZAHN: And there's a pretty obvious reason why they do this, it works, doesn't it?
GREENFIELD: It works. I think it has to do with the ever- growing skepticism that people bring to politics. They see someone on an interview show like "Meet the Press," even "AMERICAN MORNING," and they assume they are all spinning.
But when they see them on a show like "Letterman," they bring a certain sense of trust to that. They think these candidates are going to be more honest, or at least format won't permit them to spin. And I think it's why so many political figures, by the way, go on my friend, Don Imus's radio show, because that says, I'm not a stuffed shirt, I've got a sense of humor, I can take some ribbing, I'm a regular guy, and I think that's really what the key to this is.
ZAHN: What's the danger for these candidates?
GREENFIELD: Well, this may not be exactly the same situation, but probably the most famous example was Michael Dukakis in 1988 riding around in a tank to show he was strong on defense, and it sent a very different message -- hi, here is Snoopy. It just was not a very good look for him.
And all the way back in 1976, Jimmy Carter, when he was impending nominee, he wanted to show he wasn't some religious zealot, because people knew him as Sunday school teacher, so he did an interview in "Playboy" magazine, and he wounded up having to explain what he meant when he said he had lusted in his heart for other women. So going outside the political mainstream will get you attention, but you have to make sure it's the right kind.
ZAHN: But in the end, hasn't this, all these appearances have been pretty helpful to these candidates, at least in terms of defining themselves outside the Washington belt?
GREENFIELD: I think if (UNINTELLIGIBLE) didn't work, people wouldn't do it, and as I say, voters, I think, are so skeptical about the photo opportunities and press conference of a normal campaign, that the more they can see a candidate with someone they really trust like Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman, someone who's not a -- quote -- political type, the better it is, so you will see a whole lot of this in the next year or two.
ZAHN: Can I make a completely sexist comment? Hear from friends of mine that read "Vogue." That picture worked, John Kerry in a wet suit.
GREENFIELD: You know, you are too young, but those of us who remember John Kennedy in 1960, and the jumpers, the young women who would jump up and down when they saw him, the contrast between Eisenhower, then the oldest president, and this young, virile candidate, it was very helpful, and it's going to helpful when they get rid of those last sexist notions, when women start running, and can say I've got a mind and I'm also attractive.
ZAHN: We know we have the female journalists when they posed provocatively in "Vanity Fair," that backfires. So let's see if there will ever be a time where that will happen, Jeff./
GREENFIELD: I think the lady doth protest too much? ZAHN: Thank you, Jeff.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
