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American Morning
Headlines Making News 'Over There'
Aired January 16, 2004 - 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.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It's hard enough, Bill, for Americans to understand how the United States uses primaries and caucuses to pick our next president, but our man in London, Richard Quest, has drawn the job of trying to explain what we do here to the people who watch him over there.
So let's go over there and find out how he's faring.
Good morning -- Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jack, I need my head testing, not only because I've got the task now of explaining when is a caucus not a caucus? It's a primary. What's an open primary or a closed primary or a primary that looks more like a caucus or a caucus that might be a primary?
CAFFERTY: All right.
QUEST: To say nothing of the electoral college. But I am swapping these lovely, warm, balmy, Caribbean-style 46 degrees for those freezing temperatures in New Hampshire.
CAFFERTY: Stop whining. You sound like Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: On a good day.
CAFFERTY: What is it about the caucuses and primaries that you find confusing? I mean, would it be easier to just get the king back, like we did a couple of hundred years ago or what?
HEMMER: Bring back George.
QUEST: Look, this is a very simple operation. You have to elect somebody, man or woman, to be president of the United States. So, what the rest of the world wants to know is: Why does it take so long? Why does it take so much money? How can you make something relatively simple?
Look, Jack, it's not difficult. You put a cross on a piece of paper. It is not a difficult operation. And yet, the caucus operation in Iowa has bedeviled even many of your own pundits, and the primary system is almost Byzantine. We are going to explain it to our international viewers on CNN.
CAFFERTY: I bet they can just hardly wait.
Let's move on to Paul McCartney and his little problem with -- potential problem, I guess, with the law and that mutant that was hanging over the Thames in that plastic crate. What's that all about?
QUEST: I thought we had got rid of David Blaine once and for all from the shores. But you'll remember, when he was hanging over the Thames, there was a nasty fracas between Sir Paul McCartney and a photographer from the "London Evening Standard" newspaper. It all ended nearly in fisticuffs, and now the police are going to question Sir Paul McCartney.
They say it is routine, but this photographer is very angry that he was roughed up to some extent. Let's face it, Paul McCartney is over 60, so he can't have done too much roughing up. But even so, the police are managing to talk to him about it.
We're not really sure if charges will follow. We think it's routine. It's a big embarrassment for the big Mac (ph).
CAFFERTY: And if he loses, maybe they'll hang him up in the plastic thing over the Thames and let the people come by and pay their respects. Let's don't be deriding people over 60. I'm over 60, and I'm pretty tough.
QUEST: Yes, well, you said it yourself, if that's what happens to us when we get over 60.
CAFFERTY: All right, Richard, enjoy your political foray into the wilds of New Hampshire. I'll will talk to you probably from somewhere up in that neighborhood next week. Thank you.
QUEST: We'll look forward to it.
CAFFERTY: All right, Richard Quest "Over There."
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 16, 2004 - 07:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It's hard enough, Bill, for Americans to understand how the United States uses primaries and caucuses to pick our next president, but our man in London, Richard Quest, has drawn the job of trying to explain what we do here to the people who watch him over there.
So let's go over there and find out how he's faring.
Good morning -- Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jack, I need my head testing, not only because I've got the task now of explaining when is a caucus not a caucus? It's a primary. What's an open primary or a closed primary or a primary that looks more like a caucus or a caucus that might be a primary?
CAFFERTY: All right.
QUEST: To say nothing of the electoral college. But I am swapping these lovely, warm, balmy, Caribbean-style 46 degrees for those freezing temperatures in New Hampshire.
CAFFERTY: Stop whining. You sound like Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: On a good day.
CAFFERTY: What is it about the caucuses and primaries that you find confusing? I mean, would it be easier to just get the king back, like we did a couple of hundred years ago or what?
HEMMER: Bring back George.
QUEST: Look, this is a very simple operation. You have to elect somebody, man or woman, to be president of the United States. So, what the rest of the world wants to know is: Why does it take so long? Why does it take so much money? How can you make something relatively simple?
Look, Jack, it's not difficult. You put a cross on a piece of paper. It is not a difficult operation. And yet, the caucus operation in Iowa has bedeviled even many of your own pundits, and the primary system is almost Byzantine. We are going to explain it to our international viewers on CNN.
CAFFERTY: I bet they can just hardly wait.
Let's move on to Paul McCartney and his little problem with -- potential problem, I guess, with the law and that mutant that was hanging over the Thames in that plastic crate. What's that all about?
QUEST: I thought we had got rid of David Blaine once and for all from the shores. But you'll remember, when he was hanging over the Thames, there was a nasty fracas between Sir Paul McCartney and a photographer from the "London Evening Standard" newspaper. It all ended nearly in fisticuffs, and now the police are going to question Sir Paul McCartney.
They say it is routine, but this photographer is very angry that he was roughed up to some extent. Let's face it, Paul McCartney is over 60, so he can't have done too much roughing up. But even so, the police are managing to talk to him about it.
We're not really sure if charges will follow. We think it's routine. It's a big embarrassment for the big Mac (ph).
CAFFERTY: And if he loses, maybe they'll hang him up in the plastic thing over the Thames and let the people come by and pay their respects. Let's don't be deriding people over 60. I'm over 60, and I'm pretty tough.
QUEST: Yes, well, you said it yourself, if that's what happens to us when we get over 60.
CAFFERTY: All right, Richard, enjoy your political foray into the wilds of New Hampshire. I'll will talk to you probably from somewhere up in that neighborhood next week. Thank you.
QUEST: We'll look forward to it.
CAFFERTY: All right, Richard Quest "Over There."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
