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CNN Live Sunday
Schwarzenegger Not Part Of Wednesday's Debate
Aired August 31, 2003 - 18:39 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.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Now to California's recall election. The leading Republican candidate, Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be a part of Wednesday's much anticipated debate. CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us now from Los Angeles to explain. So, why isn't he going to be a part of it Miguel?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, his camp is saying for several reasons. One that they just have too many debate requests and they can't commit to all of them.
He's also saying that they want to keep it local and not national this debate but this debate up in Contra Costa County is being sponsored by the local television station KTVU and a paper up there "The Contra Costa Times" so I'm not quite sure what that means.
He also says that they're negotiating for future debates and Mr. Schwarzenegger will certainly be there in future debates but the first one, you know, first appearances count. He won't be there - Andrea.
KOPPEL: So, how many other debates are we talking about? They say that there are just too many.
MARQUEZ: Yes, there are several debate possibilities out there. They are in discussions with several organizations, media organizations, and we could see, you know, five, six, seven, maybe a dozen debates before this thing is all over.
KOPPEL: So, what do Mr. Schwarzenegger's people think in terms of his ability to win with two other big Republicans in the race?
MARQUEZ: Yes, that's a question that's come up quite a bit in this whole thing and they're saying, I mean they're kind of sharpening their message on this. They're saying that Mr. Schwarzenegger embraces the idea there are two other Republican candidates, Ueberroth and McClintock, McClintock being a little more conservative than Schwarzengger, and Ueberroth being a little more liberal than Mr. Schwarzenegger but they're all Republicans.
He's also saying that he appeals to mainstream Republicans, Democrats, and Independents so he's kind of an every man's candidate out there and we're hearing from his camp the clearest language so far as to why they need the field cleared.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DAVID DREIER (R), CALIFORNIA: I'm hoping that we'll be able to have a united solid Republican Party so that we don't have a Republican primary while the Democrats engage in a General Election and I think that it would be very nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: So, they're really trying to get that field cleared so that Mr. Schwarzenegger can run alone and have all of those Republican voters for himself - Andrea.
KOPPEL: I know, Miguel, you've been talking to various folks within the Schwarzenegger camp, among them the co-chair that we just saw there David Dreier. Did he have any comments on the "We" magazine brouhaha this week?
MARQUEZ: Yes, kind of interesting, we're hearing some more sort of sharpening the message on that subject too. The "We" magazine from 1977 article came out this week that we rediscovered this week that was fairly racy in nature. Mr. Dreier had quite a bit to say about that and take a listen, he covers it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DREIER: I know that questions have been raised about a mixed message on it. I talked with him about this yesterday and, frankly, he was asked about a specific item in the "We" magazine interview and when he said that he had no recollection of exactly what he had said 30 years ago in an interview, 26 years ago in an interview, he meant that.
It wasn't that he didn't remember having said or done, you know, certain outrageous things, which he admits to having done. What he's saying is that when asked about specifics he didn't recall details of the interview or things that he'd said a quarter of a century ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: They seem to be sharpening their message up and trying to make sense of this seeming contradiction between what Mr. Schwarzenegger said initially was that he did these outlandish things and then later on saying well he didn't remember at all - Andrea.
KOPPEL: Sharpening their message but not necessarily sharpening their knives. They don't seem to be taking that many pot shots at one another. I'd like to get back to that earlier - your earlier point about the upcoming debate. Who is actually going to participate? Are we going to see both Gray Davis and his Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante? How much time are they going to have you know?
MARQUEZ: It's an interesting question. I think it could end up being just as interesting as the recall itself. What I understand this is a two-hour debate. The first half hour will be devoted to Governor Gray Davis. He will make the argument for why he should survive the recall and people should vote no on the recall.
Then he'll presumably leave. I don't know why he would stay, stick around, and all the other major candidates, the Republican candidates, the Democrats, the Independent, the Green Party, they'll all be there taking the stage in order to debate the issues. The only one not there will be Mr. Schwarzenegger so we understand. Of course, he wasn't going to run in this campaign either so, you know, he may change his mind at the last minute. We don't know - Andrea.
KOPPEL: So, even though Gray Davis will be there he, like Schwarzenegger, is not participating in the debate.
MARQUEZ: He won't debate - well, it's like the ballot, the first part of the ballot, second part of the ballot. He won't be in the second part of the debate. He will be in the first part of the debate by himself, essentially answering questions about why he should not be recalled and then he'll sort of clear off the stage. The other candidates will come in and they'll all make the pitch for why they should be governor of California.
KOPPEL: I see. I was thinking how can you debate yourself but, you know, it's California. Miguel Marquez thanks for joining us tonight.
MARQUEZ: Sure.
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 31, 2003 - 18:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Now to California's recall election. The leading Republican candidate, Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be a part of Wednesday's much anticipated debate. CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us now from Los Angeles to explain. So, why isn't he going to be a part of it Miguel?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, his camp is saying for several reasons. One that they just have too many debate requests and they can't commit to all of them.
He's also saying that they want to keep it local and not national this debate but this debate up in Contra Costa County is being sponsored by the local television station KTVU and a paper up there "The Contra Costa Times" so I'm not quite sure what that means.
He also says that they're negotiating for future debates and Mr. Schwarzenegger will certainly be there in future debates but the first one, you know, first appearances count. He won't be there - Andrea.
KOPPEL: So, how many other debates are we talking about? They say that there are just too many.
MARQUEZ: Yes, there are several debate possibilities out there. They are in discussions with several organizations, media organizations, and we could see, you know, five, six, seven, maybe a dozen debates before this thing is all over.
KOPPEL: So, what do Mr. Schwarzenegger's people think in terms of his ability to win with two other big Republicans in the race?
MARQUEZ: Yes, that's a question that's come up quite a bit in this whole thing and they're saying, I mean they're kind of sharpening their message on this. They're saying that Mr. Schwarzenegger embraces the idea there are two other Republican candidates, Ueberroth and McClintock, McClintock being a little more conservative than Schwarzengger, and Ueberroth being a little more liberal than Mr. Schwarzenegger but they're all Republicans.
He's also saying that he appeals to mainstream Republicans, Democrats, and Independents so he's kind of an every man's candidate out there and we're hearing from his camp the clearest language so far as to why they need the field cleared.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DAVID DREIER (R), CALIFORNIA: I'm hoping that we'll be able to have a united solid Republican Party so that we don't have a Republican primary while the Democrats engage in a General Election and I think that it would be very nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: So, they're really trying to get that field cleared so that Mr. Schwarzenegger can run alone and have all of those Republican voters for himself - Andrea.
KOPPEL: I know, Miguel, you've been talking to various folks within the Schwarzenegger camp, among them the co-chair that we just saw there David Dreier. Did he have any comments on the "We" magazine brouhaha this week?
MARQUEZ: Yes, kind of interesting, we're hearing some more sort of sharpening the message on that subject too. The "We" magazine from 1977 article came out this week that we rediscovered this week that was fairly racy in nature. Mr. Dreier had quite a bit to say about that and take a listen, he covers it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DREIER: I know that questions have been raised about a mixed message on it. I talked with him about this yesterday and, frankly, he was asked about a specific item in the "We" magazine interview and when he said that he had no recollection of exactly what he had said 30 years ago in an interview, 26 years ago in an interview, he meant that.
It wasn't that he didn't remember having said or done, you know, certain outrageous things, which he admits to having done. What he's saying is that when asked about specifics he didn't recall details of the interview or things that he'd said a quarter of a century ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: They seem to be sharpening their message up and trying to make sense of this seeming contradiction between what Mr. Schwarzenegger said initially was that he did these outlandish things and then later on saying well he didn't remember at all - Andrea.
KOPPEL: Sharpening their message but not necessarily sharpening their knives. They don't seem to be taking that many pot shots at one another. I'd like to get back to that earlier - your earlier point about the upcoming debate. Who is actually going to participate? Are we going to see both Gray Davis and his Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante? How much time are they going to have you know?
MARQUEZ: It's an interesting question. I think it could end up being just as interesting as the recall itself. What I understand this is a two-hour debate. The first half hour will be devoted to Governor Gray Davis. He will make the argument for why he should survive the recall and people should vote no on the recall.
Then he'll presumably leave. I don't know why he would stay, stick around, and all the other major candidates, the Republican candidates, the Democrats, the Independent, the Green Party, they'll all be there taking the stage in order to debate the issues. The only one not there will be Mr. Schwarzenegger so we understand. Of course, he wasn't going to run in this campaign either so, you know, he may change his mind at the last minute. We don't know - Andrea.
KOPPEL: So, even though Gray Davis will be there he, like Schwarzenegger, is not participating in the debate.
MARQUEZ: He won't debate - well, it's like the ballot, the first part of the ballot, second part of the ballot. He won't be in the second part of the debate. He will be in the first part of the debate by himself, essentially answering questions about why he should not be recalled and then he'll sort of clear off the stage. The other candidates will come in and they'll all make the pitch for why they should be governor of California.
KOPPEL: I see. I was thinking how can you debate yourself but, you know, it's California. Miguel Marquez thanks for joining us tonight.
MARQUEZ: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
