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CNN Live At Daybreak
Race for New Hampshire
Aired January 27, 2004 - 06:02 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And they're off. Most polls in New Hampshire opened just moments ago, but there were some early birds. The midnight voters of Dixville Notch wasted little time giving George W. Bush his 11 votes. On the Democrat side, General Wesley Clark, he lead the pack, winning the small hamlet by a whopping five votes over second-place John Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've met great people everywhere. We've been extremely warmly received, and this is really a great way to begin the next day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: In (UNINTELLIGIBLE), New Hampshire, the Democrats were more tightly bunched with Clark winning by just one vote over Kerry. But now, the rest of the granite state will finally get past the speculation and choose a winner.
For the latest, we head up to Manchester and our Bob Franken -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Wesley Clark is leading in New Hampshire. He probably will want to savor this moment, because the polls at least show that it's unlikely by the end of the day that Clark is going to win things here. As a matter of fact, he's hoping for a third place.
No. 1 spot, if the polls are anything but really, really wrong, the No. 1 spot will go to John Kerry. John Kerry has become what many people believe to be the prohibitive leader. He is among the people who doesn't want it thought of it that way, because in New Hampshire there is a tendency toward surprise.
The man who is really hoping for a surprise, a pleasant one, is Howard Dean. Dean, of course, had the rather unpleasant surprise of Iowa and the really unpleasant surprise of the reaction to the speech -- the speech that we all know about. Well, he's hoping for a strong second-place finish, and hoping against hope that he doesnt somehow slip into third place.
There's a real battle for third place. Wesley Clark is among those who are considered a strong contender. The problem that he's had is this is first campaign, and many people believe that his inexperience has caused him to say things in ways that have not been really the best way to say things. But he still hopes to have a strong finish here.
And, of course, John Edwards is trying to recreate the big surprise he had in Iowa. It will be a huge surprise if he recreates that. But his campaign says all he has to do is have a non- embarrassing finish, and that he'll be able to go on to the next primaries, like in South Carolina.
And Joe Lieberman, he's going to have to really rise in the polls. He's going to have to approve his campaign strategy of appealing to the many, many Independents in New Hampshire, or he will have an embarrassing finish here, although he says he's going on no matter what.
So, the stakes are high in New Hampshire. Of course, it's a small state, but it has big stakes, and those stakes will be played out this evening -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Bob Franken, thanks very much.
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 27, 2004 - 06:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And they're off. Most polls in New Hampshire opened just moments ago, but there were some early birds. The midnight voters of Dixville Notch wasted little time giving George W. Bush his 11 votes. On the Democrat side, General Wesley Clark, he lead the pack, winning the small hamlet by a whopping five votes over second-place John Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've met great people everywhere. We've been extremely warmly received, and this is really a great way to begin the next day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: In (UNINTELLIGIBLE), New Hampshire, the Democrats were more tightly bunched with Clark winning by just one vote over Kerry. But now, the rest of the granite state will finally get past the speculation and choose a winner.
For the latest, we head up to Manchester and our Bob Franken -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Wesley Clark is leading in New Hampshire. He probably will want to savor this moment, because the polls at least show that it's unlikely by the end of the day that Clark is going to win things here. As a matter of fact, he's hoping for a third place.
No. 1 spot, if the polls are anything but really, really wrong, the No. 1 spot will go to John Kerry. John Kerry has become what many people believe to be the prohibitive leader. He is among the people who doesn't want it thought of it that way, because in New Hampshire there is a tendency toward surprise.
The man who is really hoping for a surprise, a pleasant one, is Howard Dean. Dean, of course, had the rather unpleasant surprise of Iowa and the really unpleasant surprise of the reaction to the speech -- the speech that we all know about. Well, he's hoping for a strong second-place finish, and hoping against hope that he doesnt somehow slip into third place.
There's a real battle for third place. Wesley Clark is among those who are considered a strong contender. The problem that he's had is this is first campaign, and many people believe that his inexperience has caused him to say things in ways that have not been really the best way to say things. But he still hopes to have a strong finish here.
And, of course, John Edwards is trying to recreate the big surprise he had in Iowa. It will be a huge surprise if he recreates that. But his campaign says all he has to do is have a non- embarrassing finish, and that he'll be able to go on to the next primaries, like in South Carolina.
And Joe Lieberman, he's going to have to really rise in the polls. He's going to have to approve his campaign strategy of appealing to the many, many Independents in New Hampshire, or he will have an embarrassing finish here, although he says he's going on no matter what.
So, the stakes are high in New Hampshire. Of course, it's a small state, but it has big stakes, and those stakes will be played out this evening -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Bob Franken, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
