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CNN Live At Daybreak
Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Were Back on Stage Monday
Aired November 25, 2003 - 05:36 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: The Democratic presidential hopefuls were back on stage Monday for their seventh debate since Labor Day. This time, Medicare was the hot button issue and while eight of the candidates in attendance criticized the president's plan, some still found time to attack one of their own.
Candy Crowley has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Howard Dean and Richard Gephardt are mano a mano in Iowa. Gephardt pretty much has to win here to keep his campaign alive. All by way of explaining this.
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MS), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He cut Medicaid. He cut the prescription drug program. He tried to eliminate it three times in the mid-'90s that he had in the State of Vermont. He cut funding for the blind and the disabled.
CROWLEY: John Kerry really wants Richard Gephardt to beat Howard Dean in Iowa so Kerry has a better shot against Dean in New Hampshire. Which explains this...
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Dick Gephardt is absolutely correct and it's important to look at the record here. The fact is that Governor Dean raised prescription costs for seniors in his state when he needed to balance the budget.
CROWLEY: Howard Dean, the front runner on most counts, could blow it with a burst of mean, which explains why his pot shots come sugared.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I like Dick Gephardt and I worked for him in '88, as I said. But I think we need new leadership in this party.
CROWLEY: Gephardt and Kerry also tag tamed the war issue. Gephardt said Dean was all over the lot. Kerry said Dean didn't have the experience to lead a post-9/11 world. Dean brought up passage of the Iraq War Resolution.
DEAN: That was the wrong thing to do. This was an abdication and a failure on the part of Congress. And Senator Kerry was part of that failure. I don't think that's the kind of experience we need in foreign affairs in the White House.
CROWLEY: John Edwards put in a good word for trying to offer an uplifting vision for the country.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are tired of listening to politicians yell at each other. What they want from us and what we have to offer in order to win is something other than anger.
CROWLEY: That may have to wait a while.
DEAN: Forty-nine respectively.
KERRY: Are you going to slow the rate of growth, Governor, yes or no?
DEAN: We're going to do what we have to do to make sure that Medicare lasts...
KERRY: Are you going to slow the rate of growth, Governor, because that's a cut.
CROWLEY: There's a debate in New Hampshire early next month.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Des Moines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Monday>
Aired November 25, 2003 - 05:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The Democratic presidential hopefuls were back on stage Monday for their seventh debate since Labor Day. This time, Medicare was the hot button issue and while eight of the candidates in attendance criticized the president's plan, some still found time to attack one of their own.
Candy Crowley has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Howard Dean and Richard Gephardt are mano a mano in Iowa. Gephardt pretty much has to win here to keep his campaign alive. All by way of explaining this.
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MS), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He cut Medicaid. He cut the prescription drug program. He tried to eliminate it three times in the mid-'90s that he had in the State of Vermont. He cut funding for the blind and the disabled.
CROWLEY: John Kerry really wants Richard Gephardt to beat Howard Dean in Iowa so Kerry has a better shot against Dean in New Hampshire. Which explains this...
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Dick Gephardt is absolutely correct and it's important to look at the record here. The fact is that Governor Dean raised prescription costs for seniors in his state when he needed to balance the budget.
CROWLEY: Howard Dean, the front runner on most counts, could blow it with a burst of mean, which explains why his pot shots come sugared.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I like Dick Gephardt and I worked for him in '88, as I said. But I think we need new leadership in this party.
CROWLEY: Gephardt and Kerry also tag tamed the war issue. Gephardt said Dean was all over the lot. Kerry said Dean didn't have the experience to lead a post-9/11 world. Dean brought up passage of the Iraq War Resolution.
DEAN: That was the wrong thing to do. This was an abdication and a failure on the part of Congress. And Senator Kerry was part of that failure. I don't think that's the kind of experience we need in foreign affairs in the White House.
CROWLEY: John Edwards put in a good word for trying to offer an uplifting vision for the country.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are tired of listening to politicians yell at each other. What they want from us and what we have to offer in order to win is something other than anger.
CROWLEY: That may have to wait a while.
DEAN: Forty-nine respectively.
KERRY: Are you going to slow the rate of growth, Governor, yes or no?
DEAN: We're going to do what we have to do to make sure that Medicare lasts...
KERRY: Are you going to slow the rate of growth, Governor, because that's a cut.
CROWLEY: There's a debate in New Hampshire early next month.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Des Moines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Monday>
