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CNN Live At Daybreak
Crunch Time for Democrats
Aired January 05, 2004 - 05:07 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On the campaign trail, it is crunch time for the Democrats. In two weeks, Iowa will hold the first caucuses in the nation and so most of the Democrats running for president were there to debate.
CNN's Candy Crowley reports it's no surprise the rivals were taking pot shots at Howard Dean.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So little time, such a big gap.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My question, not surprisingly, is to Howard Dean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My question to Dr. Dean.
CROWLEY: Two weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Howard Dean is a well moneyed front runner, sitting in the cat bird's seat with a big old target on his back.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Howard Dean, Joe raised a question about things you say versus things that you do and things you sometimes say and then change.
CROWLEY: Given the chance to ask questions, the not Deans were all over him from all over the place, grilling Dean on Saddam and his plan to repeal all tax cuts.
DR. HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There was no middle class tax cut. It was a Bush tax increase with tuitions, with property taxes, with health care premiums.
CROWLEY: They hit him on trade and why seemed to doubt the guilt of public enemy number one.
KERRY: Another example of that, when you were asked by the "Concord Monitor" about Osama bin Laden, you said we couldn't prejudge his guilt for September 11. What in the world were you thinking?
CROWLEY: They are searching for that sweet spot, a way to derail Dean without sending his supporters into orbit.
Dean responded with the kind of cool dismissiveness that drives them nuts. DEAN: What has happened to so many Democrats in Congress is that they've been co-opted by the agenda of George Bush, who came into office with 500,000 fewer votes than Al Gore. And what we need is a Democrat who's going to stand up to George Bush.
REP. DICK GEPHARDT (D-MO), MINORITY LEADER: I guess I've got a question for him. Is he saying that Tom Harkin has never done anything good or Ted Kennedy or Bill Clinton? I'm proud of what we've done to fight back against the Bush administration.
CROWLEY: The most aggressive was Senator Joe Lieberman, who has the least to lose in the Hawkeye State. He's not competing in Iowa, but nobody said he couldn't offer an assist to those who are.
LIEBERMAN: One of the most troubling decisions that Howard has made in this campaign, or made before, is to close and seal his records, or most of them, when he was governor of Vermont.
CROWLEY: The good part about the cat bird's seat is you can be above it all.
DEAN: I'd like to find out who on this stage agrees that they will pledge to vigorously support the Democratic nominee.
CROWLEY: Touche.
Having come to bury Dean, they were forced to hail him.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Johnston, Iowa.
(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
Aired January 5, 2004 - 05:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On the campaign trail, it is crunch time for the Democrats. In two weeks, Iowa will hold the first caucuses in the nation and so most of the Democrats running for president were there to debate.
CNN's Candy Crowley reports it's no surprise the rivals were taking pot shots at Howard Dean.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So little time, such a big gap.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My question, not surprisingly, is to Howard Dean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My question to Dr. Dean.
CROWLEY: Two weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Howard Dean is a well moneyed front runner, sitting in the cat bird's seat with a big old target on his back.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Howard Dean, Joe raised a question about things you say versus things that you do and things you sometimes say and then change.
CROWLEY: Given the chance to ask questions, the not Deans were all over him from all over the place, grilling Dean on Saddam and his plan to repeal all tax cuts.
DR. HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There was no middle class tax cut. It was a Bush tax increase with tuitions, with property taxes, with health care premiums.
CROWLEY: They hit him on trade and why seemed to doubt the guilt of public enemy number one.
KERRY: Another example of that, when you were asked by the "Concord Monitor" about Osama bin Laden, you said we couldn't prejudge his guilt for September 11. What in the world were you thinking?
CROWLEY: They are searching for that sweet spot, a way to derail Dean without sending his supporters into orbit.
Dean responded with the kind of cool dismissiveness that drives them nuts. DEAN: What has happened to so many Democrats in Congress is that they've been co-opted by the agenda of George Bush, who came into office with 500,000 fewer votes than Al Gore. And what we need is a Democrat who's going to stand up to George Bush.
REP. DICK GEPHARDT (D-MO), MINORITY LEADER: I guess I've got a question for him. Is he saying that Tom Harkin has never done anything good or Ted Kennedy or Bill Clinton? I'm proud of what we've done to fight back against the Bush administration.
CROWLEY: The most aggressive was Senator Joe Lieberman, who has the least to lose in the Hawkeye State. He's not competing in Iowa, but nobody said he couldn't offer an assist to those who are.
LIEBERMAN: One of the most troubling decisions that Howard has made in this campaign, or made before, is to close and seal his records, or most of them, when he was governor of Vermont.
CROWLEY: The good part about the cat bird's seat is you can be above it all.
DEAN: I'd like to find out who on this stage agrees that they will pledge to vigorously support the Democratic nominee.
CROWLEY: Touche.
Having come to bury Dean, they were forced to hail him.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Johnston, Iowa.
(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
