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CNN Live Today

Election Talk Heating Up

Aired May 07, 2003 - 11:25   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: Just in case you are keeping track, one is in, and one is out. Tough words from Florida's Senator Bob Graham as he formally launches his quest for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He accuses President Bush of using the Iraq war to settle old family scores.
Don't look, though, for former Senator Gary Hart to throw his hat in the ring. He says he doesn't have the umph (ph) to run for president again. His involvement with Donna Rice forced him to abandon his presidential bid back in 1988.

Let's talk some more politics now. Dick Cheney, you can count him in for 2004. The vice president says that President Bush has asked him to stay on the ticket next year.

Senior political analyst Bill Schneider joining us from Washington this morning to talk about this and a few other topics. Bill, good morning.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: So Dick Cheney says he is in for 2004. Are you surprised by that?

SCHNEIDER: Not really. President Bush has said a few months ago that if he runs again, he expects to ask Dick Cheney to serve on the ticket and today, Dick Cheney indicated that he would go ahead and serve on the ticket.

He gave this statement in a speech at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He said if I ran into problems where I felt I couldn't serve, I would be the first to say so and step down. I've got a doc with me 24 hours a day who watches me very carefully.

As you know, there have been a lot of questions about Dick Cheney's health, the fact that he has had four heart attacks, so there always have been questions whether he would serve a second term. Now, that appears to be clear that he will, that he has got medical attention, but it does raise an interesting question. Usually after a president serves, his vice president gets the nomination. That was the case with Richard Nixon after Eisenhower, Hubert Humphrey after Lyndon Johnson. The first George Bush after Ronald Reagan, Walter Mondale after Jimmy Carter, and Al Gore after Bill Clinton.

Well, you would expect Dick Cheney to be the next nominee in 2008 for the Republican Party, but you really don't expect that because of his health problems, so the nomination in 2008 is completely open, and a lot of Republicans are saying it's open, perhaps, for Jeb Bush, the third Bush...

KAGAN: A dynasty.

SCHNEIDER: ... to run as the Republican nominee, and if he were to run, the Democrats are thinking about their dream candidate, who is not running in 2004, and if they don't win in 2004, they could nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Now, can you imagine Jeb Bush versus Hillary Rodham Clinton? That is what is technically called a humdinger.

KAGAN: The politicos are licking their chops as we speak just thinking about 2008.

Before we get to 2008, we do, as you mentioned, have 2004 here, and it sounds like, in a lot of ways, that it's already here. President Bush is out stumping for his tax cut plan, but listen what we heard -- I think this is when he's speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce yesterday in Washington. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: So you have some people enthusiastic about President Bush, already chanting for four more years, but is it possible that this presidential election is going to look different this time around? I'm hearing different states saying you know what, never mind about the primaries this time around, just assume that President Bush is their man.

SCHNEIDER: Well, there's not going to be any action on the Republican side. That I will guarantee. He's got the solid report of the Republican Party, unlike his father when he ran for re-election in 1992, where he had a challenger, a man named Pat Buchanan, when he was a Republican, and there was a fight for that nomination. I don't expect a fight for this nomination.

Republicans are solidly behind Bush, and South Carolina which usually has an early Republican primary, which is a real contest, McCain versus Bush last time, has canceled its Republican primary. This time, there will be a Democratic primary for the first time, and that is likely to be hot. That's where they had the debate Saturday night, but no South Carolina Republican primary, because who is going to pay any attention to it if they had one?

KAGAN: Well, the Democrats are trying to get some folks to pay attention to what they they think is a controversy, and that is what President Bush did on board -- landing on board the "USS Lincoln" earlier this week. What's the controversy here?

SCHNEIDER: The controversy is that the ship was a lot closer to land than we initially thought. The president could have gone there by helicopter, but he went, as you just saw, in a jet, in a flight suit, and Democrats are saying, What was that all about?

Well, Ari Fleischer said yesterday the president wanted to arrive in a manner that would allow him to see arrival on a carrier the same way pilots get to see an arrival on a carrier. And Democrats are saying, wait a minute, that's a political statement. He could have easily gone by helicopter.

Henry Waxman, the ranking member -- Democratic member of the Committee on Government Reform has asked the General Accounting Office for a complete cost accounting of this trip, because he says he wonders if it should have been paid for by taxpayers, and yesterday in a very dramatic speech, a senior Democratic senator, Robert Byrd, made a statement that was harshly critical of the president's appearance on an aircraft carrier to give this speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROBERT BYRD (D), WEST VIRGINIA: President Bush's address to the American people announcing combat victory in Iraq deserves to be marked with solemnity, not extravagance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: And I think that's a clear signal that that speech and from now on, every single thing President Bush does will be seen in political terms.

KAGAN: We will see if it catches any tracks in there with the American public. Bill Schneider in D.C., thank you for your insight. Always great to have you along.

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 May 7, 2003 - 11:25   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just in case you are keeping track, one is in, and one is out. Tough words from Florida's Senator Bob Graham as he formally launches his quest for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He accuses President Bush of using the Iraq war to settle old family scores.
Don't look, though, for former Senator Gary Hart to throw his hat in the ring. He says he doesn't have the umph (ph) to run for president again. His involvement with Donna Rice forced him to abandon his presidential bid back in 1988.

Let's talk some more politics now. Dick Cheney, you can count him in for 2004. The vice president says that President Bush has asked him to stay on the ticket next year.

Senior political analyst Bill Schneider joining us from Washington this morning to talk about this and a few other topics. Bill, good morning.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: So Dick Cheney says he is in for 2004. Are you surprised by that?

SCHNEIDER: Not really. President Bush has said a few months ago that if he runs again, he expects to ask Dick Cheney to serve on the ticket and today, Dick Cheney indicated that he would go ahead and serve on the ticket.

He gave this statement in a speech at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He said if I ran into problems where I felt I couldn't serve, I would be the first to say so and step down. I've got a doc with me 24 hours a day who watches me very carefully.

As you know, there have been a lot of questions about Dick Cheney's health, the fact that he has had four heart attacks, so there always have been questions whether he would serve a second term. Now, that appears to be clear that he will, that he has got medical attention, but it does raise an interesting question. Usually after a president serves, his vice president gets the nomination. That was the case with Richard Nixon after Eisenhower, Hubert Humphrey after Lyndon Johnson. The first George Bush after Ronald Reagan, Walter Mondale after Jimmy Carter, and Al Gore after Bill Clinton.

Well, you would expect Dick Cheney to be the next nominee in 2008 for the Republican Party, but you really don't expect that because of his health problems, so the nomination in 2008 is completely open, and a lot of Republicans are saying it's open, perhaps, for Jeb Bush, the third Bush...

KAGAN: A dynasty.

SCHNEIDER: ... to run as the Republican nominee, and if he were to run, the Democrats are thinking about their dream candidate, who is not running in 2004, and if they don't win in 2004, they could nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Now, can you imagine Jeb Bush versus Hillary Rodham Clinton? That is what is technically called a humdinger.

KAGAN: The politicos are licking their chops as we speak just thinking about 2008.

Before we get to 2008, we do, as you mentioned, have 2004 here, and it sounds like, in a lot of ways, that it's already here. President Bush is out stumping for his tax cut plan, but listen what we heard -- I think this is when he's speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce yesterday in Washington. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four more years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: So you have some people enthusiastic about President Bush, already chanting for four more years, but is it possible that this presidential election is going to look different this time around? I'm hearing different states saying you know what, never mind about the primaries this time around, just assume that President Bush is their man.

SCHNEIDER: Well, there's not going to be any action on the Republican side. That I will guarantee. He's got the solid report of the Republican Party, unlike his father when he ran for re-election in 1992, where he had a challenger, a man named Pat Buchanan, when he was a Republican, and there was a fight for that nomination. I don't expect a fight for this nomination.

Republicans are solidly behind Bush, and South Carolina which usually has an early Republican primary, which is a real contest, McCain versus Bush last time, has canceled its Republican primary. This time, there will be a Democratic primary for the first time, and that is likely to be hot. That's where they had the debate Saturday night, but no South Carolina Republican primary, because who is going to pay any attention to it if they had one?

KAGAN: Well, the Democrats are trying to get some folks to pay attention to what they they think is a controversy, and that is what President Bush did on board -- landing on board the "USS Lincoln" earlier this week. What's the controversy here?

SCHNEIDER: The controversy is that the ship was a lot closer to land than we initially thought. The president could have gone there by helicopter, but he went, as you just saw, in a jet, in a flight suit, and Democrats are saying, What was that all about?

Well, Ari Fleischer said yesterday the president wanted to arrive in a manner that would allow him to see arrival on a carrier the same way pilots get to see an arrival on a carrier. And Democrats are saying, wait a minute, that's a political statement. He could have easily gone by helicopter.

Henry Waxman, the ranking member -- Democratic member of the Committee on Government Reform has asked the General Accounting Office for a complete cost accounting of this trip, because he says he wonders if it should have been paid for by taxpayers, and yesterday in a very dramatic speech, a senior Democratic senator, Robert Byrd, made a statement that was harshly critical of the president's appearance on an aircraft carrier to give this speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROBERT BYRD (D), WEST VIRGINIA: President Bush's address to the American people announcing combat victory in Iraq deserves to be marked with solemnity, not extravagance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: And I think that's a clear signal that that speech and from now on, every single thing President Bush does will be seen in political terms.

KAGAN: We will see if it catches any tracks in there with the American public. Bill Schneider in D.C., thank you for your insight. Always great to have you along.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com