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American Morning
Saddam Hussein Captured: Political Fallout
Aired December 15, 2003 - 08:38 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It probably took about 60 seconds after the news broke that Saddam had been captured for the political world to try to start figuring out the implications for the Democratic candidates and the 2004 election.
Here with a little more time for reflection is CNN senior analyst Jeff Greenfield. And we just heard from Senator Kerry, the list of what the capture does not change. Give me a look at the fallout.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Well, I think the first fallout came -- fell on Howard Dean's campaign. He was bounced from the cover of "Newsweek" magazine. His campaign manager, Joe Trippy (ph), was bounced from ABC's "This Week."
But the more serious fallout came from some of his rivals. Now all of the Democrats celebrated Saddam's capture, including Howard Dean.
Here is some of what they said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This, I hope, will change the course of the occupation of Iraq. But I think the first order of business is to congratulate the United States military, to congratulate the Iraqi people, and to say that this is a great day, both for the American military, the American people, and for the Iraqi people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a great moment and a great victory, having captured Saddam Hussein. It's also an extraordinary moment for our forces and their success.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I congratulate the men and women for it. I want our country to succeed. But that doesn't change the fact that we began a war that, in my view, wasn't necessary.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everybody is elated for America, and for the Iraqi people, especially, that Saddam Hussein has been found.
There's still, in effect, a political fight going on in Iraq. Hopefully this will bring that to an end. Hopefully the Saddam loyalists will give up, the violence will stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: About two of Dean's rivals used the occasion to draw a sharp distinction between themselves and Howard Dean, who has opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Howard Dean throughout his campaign has said he wasn't sure that Saddam really represented a threat to us. If Howard Dean had his way, Saddam Hussein would be in power today, not in prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I personally have said all along that saying no is not a policy. And Howard Dean is only basically been saying no and been angry about the war. And I don't think Howard Dean has the experience or the knowledge, or, in fact, ever showed the kind of thoughtfulness about Saddam Hussein and how we deal with Iraq necessary for a president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So then I guess the big question is, do the Democrats at this point having in to say?
GREENFIELD: Well, we're going to find out a little bit more about that today. A couple of them have foreign policy addresses. Howard Dean has his first major foreign policy address in California. He's been giving interviews to major newspapers like "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times," sort of describing his foreign policy as centrist. But the only honest answer to your question is, it depends.
I mean, if, in fact, attacks continue in Iraq as they did after Saddam's sons were killed. If, God forbid, al Qaeda, who has been linked to Saddam by some of the administration, if they pull off a major terrorist attack, it may be seen as a false hope.
On the other hand, you know, if Iraq stabilizes, if Saddam goes on trial next year and the full extent of his depredations are the main news, then I think Democrats that complain are going to look like harpers. When Jimmy Carter tried to rescue the hostages in Iraq in 1980 and it failed, it was the failure that really hurt him. Nothing succeeds like success in politics. So I think that is going to be the lynchpin. This is something that's unspinnable. It's not in the hands of the politicians or the pollsters; it's in the hands of real events, shocking as that may seem.
O'BRIEN: Which is why we didn't hear anything negative from the Democratic candidates. It was unspinnable; you just have to go with it, support it, wait until it dies down, see what happens next.
GREENFIELD: Yes, actually, Joe Biden, who's not running, a Delaware senator, said you know, if everything works out fine, and Bush is re-elected and it's good for the country, I'm happy with that, which is in its own nonpolitical way probably, the smartest political thing any Democrat said yesterday.
O'BRIEN: We'll see what happens, as they say, because we've still got a long way to go. I know you will.
All right, Jeff, thanks, as always.
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 December 15, 2003 - 08:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It probably took about 60 seconds after the news broke that Saddam had been captured for the political world to try to start figuring out the implications for the Democratic candidates and the 2004 election.
Here with a little more time for reflection is CNN senior analyst Jeff Greenfield. And we just heard from Senator Kerry, the list of what the capture does not change. Give me a look at the fallout.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Well, I think the first fallout came -- fell on Howard Dean's campaign. He was bounced from the cover of "Newsweek" magazine. His campaign manager, Joe Trippy (ph), was bounced from ABC's "This Week."
But the more serious fallout came from some of his rivals. Now all of the Democrats celebrated Saddam's capture, including Howard Dean.
Here is some of what they said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This, I hope, will change the course of the occupation of Iraq. But I think the first order of business is to congratulate the United States military, to congratulate the Iraqi people, and to say that this is a great day, both for the American military, the American people, and for the Iraqi people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a great moment and a great victory, having captured Saddam Hussein. It's also an extraordinary moment for our forces and their success.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I congratulate the men and women for it. I want our country to succeed. But that doesn't change the fact that we began a war that, in my view, wasn't necessary.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everybody is elated for America, and for the Iraqi people, especially, that Saddam Hussein has been found.
There's still, in effect, a political fight going on in Iraq. Hopefully this will bring that to an end. Hopefully the Saddam loyalists will give up, the violence will stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: About two of Dean's rivals used the occasion to draw a sharp distinction between themselves and Howard Dean, who has opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Howard Dean throughout his campaign has said he wasn't sure that Saddam really represented a threat to us. If Howard Dean had his way, Saddam Hussein would be in power today, not in prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I personally have said all along that saying no is not a policy. And Howard Dean is only basically been saying no and been angry about the war. And I don't think Howard Dean has the experience or the knowledge, or, in fact, ever showed the kind of thoughtfulness about Saddam Hussein and how we deal with Iraq necessary for a president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So then I guess the big question is, do the Democrats at this point having in to say?
GREENFIELD: Well, we're going to find out a little bit more about that today. A couple of them have foreign policy addresses. Howard Dean has his first major foreign policy address in California. He's been giving interviews to major newspapers like "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times," sort of describing his foreign policy as centrist. But the only honest answer to your question is, it depends.
I mean, if, in fact, attacks continue in Iraq as they did after Saddam's sons were killed. If, God forbid, al Qaeda, who has been linked to Saddam by some of the administration, if they pull off a major terrorist attack, it may be seen as a false hope.
On the other hand, you know, if Iraq stabilizes, if Saddam goes on trial next year and the full extent of his depredations are the main news, then I think Democrats that complain are going to look like harpers. When Jimmy Carter tried to rescue the hostages in Iraq in 1980 and it failed, it was the failure that really hurt him. Nothing succeeds like success in politics. So I think that is going to be the lynchpin. This is something that's unspinnable. It's not in the hands of the politicians or the pollsters; it's in the hands of real events, shocking as that may seem.
O'BRIEN: Which is why we didn't hear anything negative from the Democratic candidates. It was unspinnable; you just have to go with it, support it, wait until it dies down, see what happens next.
GREENFIELD: Yes, actually, Joe Biden, who's not running, a Delaware senator, said you know, if everything works out fine, and Bush is re-elected and it's good for the country, I'm happy with that, which is in its own nonpolitical way probably, the smartest political thing any Democrat said yesterday.
O'BRIEN: We'll see what happens, as they say, because we've still got a long way to go. I know you will.
All right, Jeff, thanks, as always.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
