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CNN Live Today
California Recall
Aired August 14, 2003 - 10:04 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now stateside here, in California, the election officials there have whittled down the list of eligible candidates for the upcoming gubernatorial recall election, and now 135 names will fill out this crammed ballot. Some of these names famous, some infamous, and some just look for a measure of anything other than obscurity.
Our national correspondent Bob Franken check in now from Los Angeles. He's got more on this from his perspective there.
Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Wolf.
Think about it, Leon, you talked about whittling down the ballot to 135 names. It's a ballot that's causing election officials throughout the state to cringe. If the election goes forward on October 7th, and it looks like that's better than 50/50 chance of happening. If it goes forward, election officials say that they are going to take days to count to results, days. It could be chaotic. They're very worried about that. It could be very expensive. The latest estimates are in the range of $66 million for a state that is already in deep financial trouble.
Now the reason I said there's a good chance it will go forward, is because there are some court cases and court tests out there, including the American Civil Liberty Union challenge to the fact that six counties in California, including some of the most populous ones, the ones with more poor people and people of color, the reason that they're arguing is because they used the punch card machines that were supposed to be replaced by next March, and as a result, says the ACLU, voters will be disenfranchised, and the elections should be delayed until the machines, in fact, have been replaced.
HARRIS: All right, let's talk about one vote that's already been cast. Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to go ahead and select none other than Warren Buffett to join him as an adviser. That's got to be a heck of an endorsement there.
FRANKEN: Well, it's a mixed bag actually. Warren Buffett is known to be a Democrat. He has taken positions which antagonized conservatives, so the more right Republicans like Bill Simon and some of the others, Tom McClintock, are saying, this just proves that Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a true Republican.
But Warren Buffet brings to the Schwarzenegger campaign a well- known business expertise. It fits right in can Schwarzenegger's claim that he's going to rely on the business community to come up with some of the ideas that will get California out of the mess.
So as I said, it's a mixed bag, but it's about the only announcement we've heard from Schwarzenegger. He's sort of lying low right now. He's planning his political campaign ads, which are going to unroll next week.
HARRIS: Very interesting. It will be really interesting to see what Warren Buffett has to say about the budget crisis out there in California, because it's such a complicated mess, and it's screwed up with all of the different initiatives that have been passed there in the past.
Let's talk about one other name that's been tossed out there. Bill Clinton out there -- he's going to be campaigning for Gray Davis?
FRANKEN: Well, he's giving him a lot of advice. And there's an expectation that next month the former president will show up. Of course, we're told that he has a real feeling for the Gray Davis situation, because he, too, faced a variation, as we well know, of a recall attempt. In his particular case, it was called an impeachment battle. But he is talking to him frequently, according to just about all concerned. Some talk that he will come out. I've also spoken with the staff of Hillary Rodham Clinton. She has expressed in conversations with David her opposition to the recall, but the staff makes it very clear, there are no plans now for her to come out -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right, let's watch and see how it unfolds today. Thanks, Bob. Bob Franken reporting live for us from Los Angeles.
Have a good one, Bob.
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 August 14, 2003 - 10:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now stateside here, in California, the election officials there have whittled down the list of eligible candidates for the upcoming gubernatorial recall election, and now 135 names will fill out this crammed ballot. Some of these names famous, some infamous, and some just look for a measure of anything other than obscurity.
Our national correspondent Bob Franken check in now from Los Angeles. He's got more on this from his perspective there.
Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Wolf.
Think about it, Leon, you talked about whittling down the ballot to 135 names. It's a ballot that's causing election officials throughout the state to cringe. If the election goes forward on October 7th, and it looks like that's better than 50/50 chance of happening. If it goes forward, election officials say that they are going to take days to count to results, days. It could be chaotic. They're very worried about that. It could be very expensive. The latest estimates are in the range of $66 million for a state that is already in deep financial trouble.
Now the reason I said there's a good chance it will go forward, is because there are some court cases and court tests out there, including the American Civil Liberty Union challenge to the fact that six counties in California, including some of the most populous ones, the ones with more poor people and people of color, the reason that they're arguing is because they used the punch card machines that were supposed to be replaced by next March, and as a result, says the ACLU, voters will be disenfranchised, and the elections should be delayed until the machines, in fact, have been replaced.
HARRIS: All right, let's talk about one vote that's already been cast. Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to go ahead and select none other than Warren Buffett to join him as an adviser. That's got to be a heck of an endorsement there.
FRANKEN: Well, it's a mixed bag actually. Warren Buffett is known to be a Democrat. He has taken positions which antagonized conservatives, so the more right Republicans like Bill Simon and some of the others, Tom McClintock, are saying, this just proves that Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a true Republican.
But Warren Buffet brings to the Schwarzenegger campaign a well- known business expertise. It fits right in can Schwarzenegger's claim that he's going to rely on the business community to come up with some of the ideas that will get California out of the mess.
So as I said, it's a mixed bag, but it's about the only announcement we've heard from Schwarzenegger. He's sort of lying low right now. He's planning his political campaign ads, which are going to unroll next week.
HARRIS: Very interesting. It will be really interesting to see what Warren Buffett has to say about the budget crisis out there in California, because it's such a complicated mess, and it's screwed up with all of the different initiatives that have been passed there in the past.
Let's talk about one other name that's been tossed out there. Bill Clinton out there -- he's going to be campaigning for Gray Davis?
FRANKEN: Well, he's giving him a lot of advice. And there's an expectation that next month the former president will show up. Of course, we're told that he has a real feeling for the Gray Davis situation, because he, too, faced a variation, as we well know, of a recall attempt. In his particular case, it was called an impeachment battle. But he is talking to him frequently, according to just about all concerned. Some talk that he will come out. I've also spoken with the staff of Hillary Rodham Clinton. She has expressed in conversations with David her opposition to the recall, but the staff makes it very clear, there are no plans now for her to come out -- Leon.
HARRIS: All right, let's watch and see how it unfolds today. Thanks, Bob. Bob Franken reporting live for us from Los Angeles.
Have a good one, Bob.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
