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American Morning

2003: Last Word on Politics

Aired December 22, 2003 - 07:51   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: A look back at the year in politics as part of our look back at the big stories of 2003. We are giving the last word on politics in 2003 to CNN's own. Tucker Carlson joins us this morning, Jeff Greenfield and Paul Begala.
Good morning, gentlemen. Nice to have you.

Let's begin with you this morning. Year-end, assess the presidential race thus far for me.

TUCKER CARLSON, CNN CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I don't think it's too strong to say that in January of 2003, it would have been ludicrous, at least in Washington, to say Howard Dean would wind up the front runner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to do everything I can to convince to you get behind Howard Dean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER: Nobody, I knew anyway -- maybe I don't get out enough -- believed that. I think the lesson of Dean, there are two lessons that people almost never mention: (a), there still is a Democratic left out there that felt alienated by moderate Democrats, like Clinton, in their sort of re-emerging. And, (b), Democrats and politicians in general talk about the power of the Internet, but it's not until now that anyone actually has harnessed it. Howard Dean has.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN ANALYST: Well, as usual, all of the conventional wisdom of a year ago has been thrown right out the window. There was one iconic moment when Howard Dean on the strength of his fund-raising made the covers of "TIME" and "News Week."

PAUL BEGALA, CNN CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Now, the person who has been the most vehemently anti-Bush is the guy who is the front runner in the Democratic Party.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk for a little bit about the U.S. image abroad, really -- it's fair to say -- taking a beating this year.

TUCKER: Yes, I don't think there's any question. If you travel abroad, you'll discover it firsthand the U.S. is more disliked than ever. But I think it's important to keep it in some perspective, though. And the United States has been disliked abroad for a very long time -- all throughout the Cold War. Even when we guaranteed the security of Western Europe, the French didn't like us, and to some extent neither did the Germans.

O'BRIEN: Do you see some difference, though, when you see Americans saying, I don't want French fries anymore. I want freedom fries.

TUCKER: Oh, the freedom fries movement. Well, sure, I mean the difference is...

O'BRIEN: Short lived.

TUCKER: ... that now Americans, you know, don't like the French more than they ever have. You know, clearly it's not as much of a joke as it used to be.

BEGALA: There will always be isolationist feelings in America. We're a big country, and we occupy a continent. Our best leaders, whether it was JFK or Ronald Reagan or President Clinton, tried to bring us into the world more, tried to show us why it was in our interests. And here it is: al Qaeda is all around the world.

GREENFIELD: If you are trying to get people to say there's a reason to fight for a democratic, stable world, you have got to say to other nations, it's in your interests, too. To argue simultaneously for that and for pre-emption is a very, very complicated argument. And I think it's one of the reasons they're having so many problems with other countries, even countries like Turkey, which, lord knows, knows what it means to be fighting terrorism.

O'BRIEN: A big story of 2003, of course, was the California recall election. Assess that election for me.


Aired December 22, 2003 - 07:51   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A look back at the year in politics as part of our look back at the big stories of 2003. We are giving the last word on politics in 2003 to CNN's own. Tucker Carlson joins us this morning, Jeff Greenfield and Paul Begala.
Good morning, gentlemen. Nice to have you.

Let's begin with you this morning. Year-end, assess the presidential race thus far for me.

TUCKER CARLSON, CNN CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I don't think it's too strong to say that in January of 2003, it would have been ludicrous, at least in Washington, to say Howard Dean would wind up the front runner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to do everything I can to convince to you get behind Howard Dean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER: Nobody, I knew anyway -- maybe I don't get out enough -- believed that. I think the lesson of Dean, there are two lessons that people almost never mention: (a), there still is a Democratic left out there that felt alienated by moderate Democrats, like Clinton, in their sort of re-emerging. And, (b), Democrats and politicians in general talk about the power of the Internet, but it's not until now that anyone actually has harnessed it. Howard Dean has.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN ANALYST: Well, as usual, all of the conventional wisdom of a year ago has been thrown right out the window. There was one iconic moment when Howard Dean on the strength of his fund-raising made the covers of "TIME" and "News Week."

PAUL BEGALA, CNN CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Now, the person who has been the most vehemently anti-Bush is the guy who is the front runner in the Democratic Party.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk for a little bit about the U.S. image abroad, really -- it's fair to say -- taking a beating this year.

TUCKER: Yes, I don't think there's any question. If you travel abroad, you'll discover it firsthand the U.S. is more disliked than ever. But I think it's important to keep it in some perspective, though. And the United States has been disliked abroad for a very long time -- all throughout the Cold War. Even when we guaranteed the security of Western Europe, the French didn't like us, and to some extent neither did the Germans.

O'BRIEN: Do you see some difference, though, when you see Americans saying, I don't want French fries anymore. I want freedom fries.

TUCKER: Oh, the freedom fries movement. Well, sure, I mean the difference is...

O'BRIEN: Short lived.

TUCKER: ... that now Americans, you know, don't like the French more than they ever have. You know, clearly it's not as much of a joke as it used to be.

BEGALA: There will always be isolationist feelings in America. We're a big country, and we occupy a continent. Our best leaders, whether it was JFK or Ronald Reagan or President Clinton, tried to bring us into the world more, tried to show us why it was in our interests. And here it is: al Qaeda is all around the world.

GREENFIELD: If you are trying to get people to say there's a reason to fight for a democratic, stable world, you have got to say to other nations, it's in your interests, too. To argue simultaneously for that and for pre-emption is a very, very complicated argument. And I think it's one of the reasons they're having so many problems with other countries, even countries like Turkey, which, lord knows, knows what it means to be fighting terrorism.

O'BRIEN: A big story of 2003, of course, was the California recall election. Assess that election for me.