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American Morning

California's Recall Election Good to Go on October 7th

Aired September 24, 2003 - 08:11   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: California's recall election is good to go on October 7 and tonight the major candidates trying to unseat Governor Gray Davis will face off in a critical debate.
Joining us now from Washington to talk about the campaign and what's at stake in the debate, CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein of the "Los Angeles Times" -- good morning. Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, so it's back on track. The recall is going to take place on October 7. But this confusion, has it helped or hurt anyone?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, that's a good question. I think originally the Davis people, as you know, wanted the election pushed back, thought it would help them. Now they feel that they have some momentum. They are probably going to have as good a shot on October 7 as they're ever going to have and they want to go to the election.

The Republicans all uniformly wanted it to go forward on October 7. I think across the state, there is consensus on one point, that this has really been around long enough and people would like to call the question.

COSTELLO: Well, maybe that will make them vote no for the recall, just because they're tired of the whole darned thing.

BROWNSTEIN: Oh, who knows? You know, as you said, tonight could be very important in that regard. Gray Davis isn't on the stage in this debate tonight. The five principal candidates trying to replace him are the ones that will be debating. But, in fact, he has a lot at stake, because I think the feeling in both camps, both sides, both the Davis camp and everybody else, is that he rises and falls along with the others. When the alternatives don't look as good, he looks better. And if no one comes across as very effective tonight, it might improve his chances. Conversely, if anyone, particularly Schwarzenegger, can reassure voters at this debate, it might be a problem for Davis.

COSTELLO: So how do you think Schwarzenegger will do?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, to paraphrase Joe McCarthy, I have in my pocket here a list of 12 questions and the state, the California Broadcasters Associations have come up with a list that, as someone said to me yesterday, is not exactly like the Harvard entrance exam. I mean these aren't the toughest questions in the world. What do you expect to accomplish in the time remaining on Gray Davis' term that he could not? So the questions themselves may not be demanding. The format, though may be a little better than advertised because the candidates will have a lot of opportunity to go out after each other, after one candidate responds to each of these questions.

Look, Schwarzenegger has to reassure voters that he has the experience, the skill, the knowledge to handle this job. He's in a situation not unlike Ronald Reagan, another actor in his debate against Jimmy Carter in 1980 in the presidential race.

COSTELLO: OK, having said all of that, did you see the thing in the "Wall Street Journal" this morning? Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote a commentary. You didn't? He mentioned...

BROWNSTEIN: I did not see it.

COSTELLO: He mentions John F. Kennedy and Maria Shriver a lot.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know what? California is a Democratic state a lot. The Democratic presidential candidates have carried it by over a million votes three times in a row. Schwarzenegger has to reach out to moderate independents and Democrats. He's been stuck in the high 20s in his vote. It hasn't been great. His problem is, Carol, every time he reaches out to the middle, he's got Tom McClintock, the conservative Republican, chipping away at him from the right. He's running a general election and a primary at the same time and that is not easy for anyone.

COSTELLO: Yes. Do you think he'll pull out, McClintock, will he pull out and help Arnold?

BROWNSTEIN: The pressure on him is growing as Schwarzenegger can't pull ahead of Bustamante. You saw Daryl Issa, one of the really, the godfather of the recall, yesterday here on CNN practically directly urging him to get out of the race. You can expect more of that. I think they can't pressure him out of the race. He's very independent. They'll have to entice him out of the race, probably with some promise of a role in a Schwarzenegger administration should one come to be.

COSTELLO: Well, we can't wait to see the debate tonight.

Thank you very much, Ron Brownstein, joining us live from Washington this morning.

For more about the fast moving events in the California recall, there's a special report on the Web at cnn.com/recall.

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 24, 2003 - 08:11   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: California's recall election is good to go on October 7 and tonight the major candidates trying to unseat Governor Gray Davis will face off in a critical debate.
Joining us now from Washington to talk about the campaign and what's at stake in the debate, CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein of the "Los Angeles Times" -- good morning. Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, so it's back on track. The recall is going to take place on October 7. But this confusion, has it helped or hurt anyone?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, that's a good question. I think originally the Davis people, as you know, wanted the election pushed back, thought it would help them. Now they feel that they have some momentum. They are probably going to have as good a shot on October 7 as they're ever going to have and they want to go to the election.

The Republicans all uniformly wanted it to go forward on October 7. I think across the state, there is consensus on one point, that this has really been around long enough and people would like to call the question.

COSTELLO: Well, maybe that will make them vote no for the recall, just because they're tired of the whole darned thing.

BROWNSTEIN: Oh, who knows? You know, as you said, tonight could be very important in that regard. Gray Davis isn't on the stage in this debate tonight. The five principal candidates trying to replace him are the ones that will be debating. But, in fact, he has a lot at stake, because I think the feeling in both camps, both sides, both the Davis camp and everybody else, is that he rises and falls along with the others. When the alternatives don't look as good, he looks better. And if no one comes across as very effective tonight, it might improve his chances. Conversely, if anyone, particularly Schwarzenegger, can reassure voters at this debate, it might be a problem for Davis.

COSTELLO: So how do you think Schwarzenegger will do?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, to paraphrase Joe McCarthy, I have in my pocket here a list of 12 questions and the state, the California Broadcasters Associations have come up with a list that, as someone said to me yesterday, is not exactly like the Harvard entrance exam. I mean these aren't the toughest questions in the world. What do you expect to accomplish in the time remaining on Gray Davis' term that he could not? So the questions themselves may not be demanding. The format, though may be a little better than advertised because the candidates will have a lot of opportunity to go out after each other, after one candidate responds to each of these questions.

Look, Schwarzenegger has to reassure voters that he has the experience, the skill, the knowledge to handle this job. He's in a situation not unlike Ronald Reagan, another actor in his debate against Jimmy Carter in 1980 in the presidential race.

COSTELLO: OK, having said all of that, did you see the thing in the "Wall Street Journal" this morning? Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote a commentary. You didn't? He mentioned...

BROWNSTEIN: I did not see it.

COSTELLO: He mentions John F. Kennedy and Maria Shriver a lot.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know what? California is a Democratic state a lot. The Democratic presidential candidates have carried it by over a million votes three times in a row. Schwarzenegger has to reach out to moderate independents and Democrats. He's been stuck in the high 20s in his vote. It hasn't been great. His problem is, Carol, every time he reaches out to the middle, he's got Tom McClintock, the conservative Republican, chipping away at him from the right. He's running a general election and a primary at the same time and that is not easy for anyone.

COSTELLO: Yes. Do you think he'll pull out, McClintock, will he pull out and help Arnold?

BROWNSTEIN: The pressure on him is growing as Schwarzenegger can't pull ahead of Bustamante. You saw Daryl Issa, one of the really, the godfather of the recall, yesterday here on CNN practically directly urging him to get out of the race. You can expect more of that. I think they can't pressure him out of the race. He's very independent. They'll have to entice him out of the race, probably with some promise of a role in a Schwarzenegger administration should one come to be.

COSTELLO: Well, we can't wait to see the debate tonight.

Thank you very much, Ron Brownstein, joining us live from Washington this morning.

For more about the fast moving events in the California recall, there's a special report on the Web at cnn.com/recall.

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