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CNN Live At Daybreak
Wake-Up Call: President Bush Makes His Case
Aired March 07, 2003 - 06:34 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush says Saddam Hussein is a threat to the American people. In a primetime news conference last night, Mr. Bush made it clear he intends to deal with the threat posed by Saddam Hussein with or without U.N. approval.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, we'll call for a vote. No matter what the whip count is, we're calling for the vote. We want to see people stand up and say what their opinion is about Saddam Hussein and the utility of the United Nations Security Council. And so you bet. It's time for people to show their cards, let the world know where they stand when it comes to Saddam.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Let's talk more about President Bush's message now to the nation.
Our senior White House correspondent, John King, was at the news conference last night, and he is answering our "Wake-Up Call" to talk about that.
John -- what did the president mean when he said a few more days for the U.N.?
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Heidi.
What the president means is he wants the diplomatic phase of this wrapped up by the end of next week. We'll hear from Dr. Blix today, as Michael Okwu just said. The president, the biggest news he made last night was saying he would seek that vote win or lose in the United Nations, and we're told he wants it next week, preferably in the early part of the week.
This is a president who, within 10 days to two weeks from now, will decide whether to send U.S. troops into Iraq. He needs the United Nations to vote, win or lose, as the president said last night. He added a great deal of drama to a debate that the stakes are already pretty high to begin with.
COLLINS: And we've been talking a little bit about that, you know, such a somber tone of that news conference last night. Was that your take on it as well?
KING: Yes, a very somber president. It's a tough challenge. On the one hand, he's trying to convince the American people and his skeptics around the world that he doesnt want to go to war, that war can still be averted if Saddam Hussein either completely disarms or goes into exile. The president said that would be fine with him.
Yet on the other hand, he has to leave no doubt that he is prepared to go to war with or without the Security Council approval, so a delicate balancing act for the president. And he stuck closely to his script there. Obviously, his biggest goal is to prepare the American people for the possibility of war, but he also wanted to pressure the United Nations.
The president then saying he would definitely seek this vote, essentially framing the vote this way: You're going to have to choose between the United States of America and Saddam Hussein. That puts pressure on key members of the Security Council.
It also puts a lot of pressure on this president in a test of his salesmanship, Secretary Powell's salesmanship. If he loses this vote, the president made clear he'll still be prepared to go to war. It will make it a lot more difficult to sustain international public opinion.
COLLINS: All right, very good. Senior White House correspondent John King, a "Wake-Up Call" for us this morning -- thank you.
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 7, 2003 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush says Saddam Hussein is a threat to the American people. In a primetime news conference last night, Mr. Bush made it clear he intends to deal with the threat posed by Saddam Hussein with or without U.N. approval.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, we'll call for a vote. No matter what the whip count is, we're calling for the vote. We want to see people stand up and say what their opinion is about Saddam Hussein and the utility of the United Nations Security Council. And so you bet. It's time for people to show their cards, let the world know where they stand when it comes to Saddam.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Let's talk more about President Bush's message now to the nation.
Our senior White House correspondent, John King, was at the news conference last night, and he is answering our "Wake-Up Call" to talk about that.
John -- what did the president mean when he said a few more days for the U.N.?
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Heidi.
What the president means is he wants the diplomatic phase of this wrapped up by the end of next week. We'll hear from Dr. Blix today, as Michael Okwu just said. The president, the biggest news he made last night was saying he would seek that vote win or lose in the United Nations, and we're told he wants it next week, preferably in the early part of the week.
This is a president who, within 10 days to two weeks from now, will decide whether to send U.S. troops into Iraq. He needs the United Nations to vote, win or lose, as the president said last night. He added a great deal of drama to a debate that the stakes are already pretty high to begin with.
COLLINS: And we've been talking a little bit about that, you know, such a somber tone of that news conference last night. Was that your take on it as well?
KING: Yes, a very somber president. It's a tough challenge. On the one hand, he's trying to convince the American people and his skeptics around the world that he doesnt want to go to war, that war can still be averted if Saddam Hussein either completely disarms or goes into exile. The president said that would be fine with him.
Yet on the other hand, he has to leave no doubt that he is prepared to go to war with or without the Security Council approval, so a delicate balancing act for the president. And he stuck closely to his script there. Obviously, his biggest goal is to prepare the American people for the possibility of war, but he also wanted to pressure the United Nations.
The president then saying he would definitely seek this vote, essentially framing the vote this way: You're going to have to choose between the United States of America and Saddam Hussein. That puts pressure on key members of the Security Council.
It also puts a lot of pressure on this president in a test of his salesmanship, Secretary Powell's salesmanship. If he loses this vote, the president made clear he'll still be prepared to go to war. It will make it a lot more difficult to sustain international public opinion.
COLLINS: All right, very good. Senior White House correspondent John King, a "Wake-Up Call" for us this morning -- thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
