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CNN Live Sunday
Interview With Dan Schnur, Mary Anne Marsh
Aired September 21, 2003 - 11:07 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.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: In the California recall, Governor Gray Davis continues to campaign like his job depends on it. He called on the support of Senator John Edwards this weekend at an event in San Francisco.
It is not clear if voters will go to the polls on October 7th as planned or if they have to wait until the punch card systems in some precincts are replaced. An appeals court revisits that case again tomorrow.
The California recall is just one of this week's political hot topics. To help us take it all apart, two strategists on opposite sides of the political divide. For the democrats Mary Anne Marsh from Boston. Mary Anne, good to see you again, thanks.
MARY ANNE MARSH, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
CALLEBS: And for the republicans, Dan Schnur in San Francisco. I'll give you a chance to begin, Dan. Let's talk about Wesley Clark. This week, tossing his general's cap into the ring, so to speak, announcing he is going to run for president, immediately vaulting above all the other announced candidates. Is this just an early buzz he gets for announcing or a sign he could be a strong candidate?
DAN SCHNUR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it is certainly an early buzz from his announcement that moves him up so quickly. The key for him will be whether he can sustain it once he's begun to engage with other candidates. He has his first debate this week. He's already run into difficulties on exactly where he stood on the Iraq war. Certainly this first burst of name identification and media attention has helped him but over the long term he'll have to show he can sustain against some candidates who are a lot more experienced than he is.
CALLEBS: Mary Anne, if you can, pick up on that. Is he a qualified candidate? Never run for any political office. With his experience, resume, your thoughts?
MARSH: Well, I think, actually, a couple of things. One, the word campaign is a military term and that may well be the only familiar thing for General Clark as he embarks on this presidential campaign. In terms of his position in this week's "Newsweek" poll, really, he has CNN to thank, because of his exposure as an analyst.
But I agree with Dan. He's had a very shaky first week. Already starting to look like a candidate whose best hours might have been before he announced. And I think that we be a disappointment to everybody. In addition to that, he's going to have to raise as much money as Howard Dean has in less than half the time. So it is a formidable task for him. He is very accomplished, but running for president is a different animal.
CALLEBS: Mary Anne, does he benefit by waiting so long before he announces he wants to run?
SCHNUR: I don't think so.
I'm sorry, Mary Anne, go ahead.
MARSH: I would have said, on one hand I would have thought so but when I heard his speech and his inability to answer a number of positions this past week, I thought maybe that's what he was doing these last six months. As a military guy he's always been known for being very prepared, so that is a concern.
In terms of the political infrastructure, you can never start running any campaign, especially for president, too early. While he has all the Clinton and Gore people, remember, it is up to what kind of candidate he is. Clinton was a great candidate, Gore, not such a good candidate. Many of those same people around him, two different outcomes.
CALLEBS: Dan, we saw the Clinton/Gore folks circle the wagons very quickly.
SCHNUR: Well, the Clinton/Gore folks is a little bit of a misnomer. There was a lot of tension between those two camps, particularly during the latter days of the Clinton presidency.
But, Sean, more broadly speaking, I would just say, as a republican, I think there should be even more democratic candidates. I would like to see 20, 30, maybe even 50. And I'd like to see them all enter the race as late as possible and be as critical of each other for as long as they possibly can.
CALLEBS: Dan, let's talk about what Senator Ted Kennedy called, referred to the war in Iraq as a fraud, made up in Texas. Your thoughts on that?
SCHNUR: I don't think many people take that sort of thing seriously. Whether it is from Ted Kennedy anything else. What Kennedy does, like other people on the extreme end of either side of the spectrum, is they rally their own troops. And what most people in the center of the political spectrum do, wisely, is disregard that language because it doesn't have any place in serious political discourse. He is rallying the most loyal troupes. No one else is going to pay him much attention.
Let's listen to the sound from Senator Kennedy, I believe on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: There's no question in my mind that the White House has hyped the political aspects of the war in Iraq. Karl Rove himself, the principal spokesperson for the Republican Party, addressed a Republican National Committee out in Los Angeles in January 2001, and talked about the advantages that this war would have for republican candidates. So we also see the bitterness that the republicans have for anyone that questions, raising these questions, about their policy. So they understand what they're doing. They're questioning the patriotisms of those asking the questions, but the fact is, the American people are asking the questions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: Mary Anne, is this fair commentary, or simply Bush bashing?
MARSH: No, Ted Kennedy is simply restating the facts. If you listen to everything he said, he that said Saddam Hussein was not a threat to the United States. You know, I'm sorry, not involved in September 11. We heard President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld say that very same thing this week. We're spending $2 billion a month that can't be accounted for when people here in the United States don't have jobs and being told there's no money for them. Hussein obviously wasn't an immediate threat to us. We could have clearly waited if we needed to go in. And of course, there's the all-important question of weapons of mass destruction, which haven't been found, may not have existed, and if they did, might have been destroyed long ago. So all Ted Kennedy's done is put this back on the front burner when President Bush last Wednesday at 5:00...
CALLEBS: OK, hang on.
MARSH: ... when everybody was paying attention to the hurricane, he said that Hussein was not involved in September 11. Over 70 percent of the people in this country believe that's why we went to Iraq.
CALLEBS: OK, Mary Anne, wait a minute. Dan is shaking his head over there. We're running out of time. Dan, we'll give you a chance to counter this.
SCHNUR: Well, very quickly, Sean, what Mary Anne is doing, to her credit, is glossing over the main point and the most indefensible point Senator Kennedy made, suggesting President Bush planned the war in Iraq for purposes of political advantage. It is ridiculous, silly, and now incumbent upon the democratic presidential candidates to repudiate him.
CALLEBS: OK, Mary Anne Marsh in Boston, thanks very much. And Dan Schnur in San Francisco, we certainly appreciate it. Sorry we didn't get to the California gubernatorial election, but I'm sure that's going to be bouncing around for awhile so we can revisit that down the road.
SCHNUR: We'll get over it.
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 21, 2003 - 11:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: In the California recall, Governor Gray Davis continues to campaign like his job depends on it. He called on the support of Senator John Edwards this weekend at an event in San Francisco.
It is not clear if voters will go to the polls on October 7th as planned or if they have to wait until the punch card systems in some precincts are replaced. An appeals court revisits that case again tomorrow.
The California recall is just one of this week's political hot topics. To help us take it all apart, two strategists on opposite sides of the political divide. For the democrats Mary Anne Marsh from Boston. Mary Anne, good to see you again, thanks.
MARY ANNE MARSH, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
CALLEBS: And for the republicans, Dan Schnur in San Francisco. I'll give you a chance to begin, Dan. Let's talk about Wesley Clark. This week, tossing his general's cap into the ring, so to speak, announcing he is going to run for president, immediately vaulting above all the other announced candidates. Is this just an early buzz he gets for announcing or a sign he could be a strong candidate?
DAN SCHNUR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it is certainly an early buzz from his announcement that moves him up so quickly. The key for him will be whether he can sustain it once he's begun to engage with other candidates. He has his first debate this week. He's already run into difficulties on exactly where he stood on the Iraq war. Certainly this first burst of name identification and media attention has helped him but over the long term he'll have to show he can sustain against some candidates who are a lot more experienced than he is.
CALLEBS: Mary Anne, if you can, pick up on that. Is he a qualified candidate? Never run for any political office. With his experience, resume, your thoughts?
MARSH: Well, I think, actually, a couple of things. One, the word campaign is a military term and that may well be the only familiar thing for General Clark as he embarks on this presidential campaign. In terms of his position in this week's "Newsweek" poll, really, he has CNN to thank, because of his exposure as an analyst.
But I agree with Dan. He's had a very shaky first week. Already starting to look like a candidate whose best hours might have been before he announced. And I think that we be a disappointment to everybody. In addition to that, he's going to have to raise as much money as Howard Dean has in less than half the time. So it is a formidable task for him. He is very accomplished, but running for president is a different animal.
CALLEBS: Mary Anne, does he benefit by waiting so long before he announces he wants to run?
SCHNUR: I don't think so.
I'm sorry, Mary Anne, go ahead.
MARSH: I would have said, on one hand I would have thought so but when I heard his speech and his inability to answer a number of positions this past week, I thought maybe that's what he was doing these last six months. As a military guy he's always been known for being very prepared, so that is a concern.
In terms of the political infrastructure, you can never start running any campaign, especially for president, too early. While he has all the Clinton and Gore people, remember, it is up to what kind of candidate he is. Clinton was a great candidate, Gore, not such a good candidate. Many of those same people around him, two different outcomes.
CALLEBS: Dan, we saw the Clinton/Gore folks circle the wagons very quickly.
SCHNUR: Well, the Clinton/Gore folks is a little bit of a misnomer. There was a lot of tension between those two camps, particularly during the latter days of the Clinton presidency.
But, Sean, more broadly speaking, I would just say, as a republican, I think there should be even more democratic candidates. I would like to see 20, 30, maybe even 50. And I'd like to see them all enter the race as late as possible and be as critical of each other for as long as they possibly can.
CALLEBS: Dan, let's talk about what Senator Ted Kennedy called, referred to the war in Iraq as a fraud, made up in Texas. Your thoughts on that?
SCHNUR: I don't think many people take that sort of thing seriously. Whether it is from Ted Kennedy anything else. What Kennedy does, like other people on the extreme end of either side of the spectrum, is they rally their own troops. And what most people in the center of the political spectrum do, wisely, is disregard that language because it doesn't have any place in serious political discourse. He is rallying the most loyal troupes. No one else is going to pay him much attention.
Let's listen to the sound from Senator Kennedy, I believe on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: There's no question in my mind that the White House has hyped the political aspects of the war in Iraq. Karl Rove himself, the principal spokesperson for the Republican Party, addressed a Republican National Committee out in Los Angeles in January 2001, and talked about the advantages that this war would have for republican candidates. So we also see the bitterness that the republicans have for anyone that questions, raising these questions, about their policy. So they understand what they're doing. They're questioning the patriotisms of those asking the questions, but the fact is, the American people are asking the questions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: Mary Anne, is this fair commentary, or simply Bush bashing?
MARSH: No, Ted Kennedy is simply restating the facts. If you listen to everything he said, he that said Saddam Hussein was not a threat to the United States. You know, I'm sorry, not involved in September 11. We heard President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld say that very same thing this week. We're spending $2 billion a month that can't be accounted for when people here in the United States don't have jobs and being told there's no money for them. Hussein obviously wasn't an immediate threat to us. We could have clearly waited if we needed to go in. And of course, there's the all-important question of weapons of mass destruction, which haven't been found, may not have existed, and if they did, might have been destroyed long ago. So all Ted Kennedy's done is put this back on the front burner when President Bush last Wednesday at 5:00...
CALLEBS: OK, hang on.
MARSH: ... when everybody was paying attention to the hurricane, he said that Hussein was not involved in September 11. Over 70 percent of the people in this country believe that's why we went to Iraq.
CALLEBS: OK, Mary Anne, wait a minute. Dan is shaking his head over there. We're running out of time. Dan, we'll give you a chance to counter this.
SCHNUR: Well, very quickly, Sean, what Mary Anne is doing, to her credit, is glossing over the main point and the most indefensible point Senator Kennedy made, suggesting President Bush planned the war in Iraq for purposes of political advantage. It is ridiculous, silly, and now incumbent upon the democratic presidential candidates to repudiate him.
CALLEBS: OK, Mary Anne Marsh in Boston, thanks very much. And Dan Schnur in San Francisco, we certainly appreciate it. Sorry we didn't get to the California gubernatorial election, but I'm sure that's going to be bouncing around for awhile so we can revisit that down the road.
SCHNUR: We'll get over it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
