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Senator John Kerry Takes on Bush

Aired September 02, 2003 - 11:35   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: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is taking on President Bush today using words and pictures. You saw it here live from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Judy Woodruff has more now on the official launch of Kerry's campaign in today's "Voter Alert" -- hi, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Heidi. Good morning.

Well, Kerry says he wants to defeat President Bush to change what is wrong and do what is right. The Massachusetts Democrat sharpened his attack on the incumbent and he highlighted his own record as a Vietnam War hero with a Bush-like appearance in front of an aircraft carrier.

Our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, is in South Carolina, where Kerry gave his big speech last hour.

Candy, you're there.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Judy, you are right. That's the USS Yorktown. That was John Kerry's backdrop as he officially announced his campaign.

He was -- beside him, he had his old Navy buddies. They played "Anchors Away." The signal here is pretty clear. John Kerry is the only combat veteran in the race, and it's a card that he intends to play heavily. Why? Because aides say: Look, as far as we're concerned, national security is a threshold issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MS), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Two years after the tragic events of 9/11, we have not made our nation safe enough. Overseas, our commander-in-chief turned to Afghan warlords for the assault on Tora Bora. Osama bin Laden got away. And today, the Taliban and al Qaeda are regrouping.

And here on the home front, every investigation, every commission, every piece of evidence tells us that this president has failed to make us as safe as we should be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Obviously, the president was John Kerry's main target, but he has another problem before he can actually get to that. And that's Howard Dean. When we started out this race last January with John Kerry, he was what is called the presumed front-runner. He had the money. He had the staff and he had the stature. Since then, Howard Dean has come barreling forward and now, according to some polls, leads by quite a substantial margin in New Hampshire. So John Kerry has to take on John (sic) Dean. But don't expect a lot of harsh words, a lot of subtlety, say his aides.

What John Kerry intends to do is begin to draw distinctions between his leadership -- first and foremost, he does have that military experience, as well as government experience -- and his own tax cuts and what he would do. They will focus very heavily on some of Dean's economic plans in the days to come -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, Candy Crowley in South Carolina, where John Kerry relaunched today his campaign -- thanks, Candy.

Well, at this hour in Maryland, Democrat Joe Lieberman is unveiling his plan to bring health coverage to America's uninsured. Lieberman projects that his proposal will cost $55 billion a year, paid for by rolling back some of the Bush tax cuts.

Congressman Dick Gephardt kicks off his TV ad campaigns in Iowa and New Hampshire today. The two 30-second spots highlight Gephardt's pledge to fight for middle-class families.

Turning now to the California recall. Today, Governor Gray Davis releases the first TV ads of his campaign to defeat the recall and keep his job. Meantime, a cartoon version of Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring on the Web site of rival candidate Arianna Huffington. The spoof features a race between Schwarzenegger in a Hummer and Huffington in a hybrid car to drive home her views on the environment.

It is the debate over the debate. Will Arnold Schwarzenegger's absence tomorrow night hurt his run for governor? Find out when I go inside the California recall at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Plus, it's back to work for Congress. We'll look at the battles ahead on Capitol Hill and how they will affect you when I go INSIDE POLITICS at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you then.

Now let's go back to Heidi in Atlanta.

COLLINS: All right, Judy, thanks so much.

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 September 2, 2003 - 11:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is taking on President Bush today using words and pictures. You saw it here live from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Judy Woodruff has more now on the official launch of Kerry's campaign in today's "Voter Alert" -- hi, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Heidi. Good morning.

Well, Kerry says he wants to defeat President Bush to change what is wrong and do what is right. The Massachusetts Democrat sharpened his attack on the incumbent and he highlighted his own record as a Vietnam War hero with a Bush-like appearance in front of an aircraft carrier.

Our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, is in South Carolina, where Kerry gave his big speech last hour.

Candy, you're there.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Judy, you are right. That's the USS Yorktown. That was John Kerry's backdrop as he officially announced his campaign.

He was -- beside him, he had his old Navy buddies. They played "Anchors Away." The signal here is pretty clear. John Kerry is the only combat veteran in the race, and it's a card that he intends to play heavily. Why? Because aides say: Look, as far as we're concerned, national security is a threshold issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MS), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Two years after the tragic events of 9/11, we have not made our nation safe enough. Overseas, our commander-in-chief turned to Afghan warlords for the assault on Tora Bora. Osama bin Laden got away. And today, the Taliban and al Qaeda are regrouping.

And here on the home front, every investigation, every commission, every piece of evidence tells us that this president has failed to make us as safe as we should be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Obviously, the president was John Kerry's main target, but he has another problem before he can actually get to that. And that's Howard Dean. When we started out this race last January with John Kerry, he was what is called the presumed front-runner. He had the money. He had the staff and he had the stature. Since then, Howard Dean has come barreling forward and now, according to some polls, leads by quite a substantial margin in New Hampshire. So John Kerry has to take on John (sic) Dean. But don't expect a lot of harsh words, a lot of subtlety, say his aides.

What John Kerry intends to do is begin to draw distinctions between his leadership -- first and foremost, he does have that military experience, as well as government experience -- and his own tax cuts and what he would do. They will focus very heavily on some of Dean's economic plans in the days to come -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: All right, Candy Crowley in South Carolina, where John Kerry relaunched today his campaign -- thanks, Candy.

Well, at this hour in Maryland, Democrat Joe Lieberman is unveiling his plan to bring health coverage to America's uninsured. Lieberman projects that his proposal will cost $55 billion a year, paid for by rolling back some of the Bush tax cuts.

Congressman Dick Gephardt kicks off his TV ad campaigns in Iowa and New Hampshire today. The two 30-second spots highlight Gephardt's pledge to fight for middle-class families.

Turning now to the California recall. Today, Governor Gray Davis releases the first TV ads of his campaign to defeat the recall and keep his job. Meantime, a cartoon version of Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring on the Web site of rival candidate Arianna Huffington. The spoof features a race between Schwarzenegger in a Hummer and Huffington in a hybrid car to drive home her views on the environment.

It is the debate over the debate. Will Arnold Schwarzenegger's absence tomorrow night hurt his run for governor? Find out when I go inside the California recall at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Plus, it's back to work for Congress. We'll look at the battles ahead on Capitol Hill and how they will affect you when I go INSIDE POLITICS at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you then.

Now let's go back to Heidi in Atlanta.

COLLINS: All right, Judy, thanks so much.

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