Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
John Kerry in Lead in New Hampshire
Aired January 27, 2004 - 08:34 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: With the first in the nation primary under way, the polls are unanimous -- John Kerry is in the lead, according to the polls, anyway; followed by Howard Dean. The race for third place may come down to John Edwards, Wesley Clark and Joseph Lieberman. State officials say it could be a record turnout for this primary.
And Donna Brazile knows all about that, Al Gore's campaign manager four years ago, now a CNN political analyst, with me live here in Manchester -- nice to see you.
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you.
HEMMER: You say four years ago Al Gore was a nervous wreck.
BRAZILE: He was pacing...
HEMMER: Pacing?
BRAZILE: Pacing the hallway. We were down in Nashua at the Sheraton Hotel and he kept pacing and pacing. He wanted to know about the exit polls. And we finally said to Al, we said, look, why don't you go out, get some coffee, bring some coffee to some of the, you know, staffers working out there, and he finally went out and got (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: You can probably understand a little bit of nervous energy for a candidate on a day like today, right?
BRAZILE: Absolutely. Oh, yes.
HEMMER: You tell me that turnout is key, more so for Howard Dean than others.
Why?
BRAZILE: Howard Dean has run an insurgent campaign. He has a lot of people on the ground. He has a lot of energy, a lot of kids out there. If he, he has a bank of wands right now. He's getting 80 percent of his wands, meaning the people who said they would go out for him. He needs a huge turnout today in order to overtake or cut down John Kerry's lead.
HEMMER: If he is able to cut down John Kerry's lead, is that a disappointment for the Kerry campaign, do you believe, coming out of here? BRAZILE: No, the Kerry campaign has a lot of momentum. They have a real good grassroots operation here in the state, good people, solid people on the ground. And his campaign is ready to go the next step.
HEMMER: The last time we were talking was in Iowa. Do you think the level of interest is as high in New Hampshire as it was that we saw back in the Hawkeye State?
BRAZILE: You are going to see a record turnout of Democrats.
HEMMER: You think that?
BRAZILE: Already in some of the precincts people are seeing, you know, a huge increase of people coming in. And remember, this is a state where if you're a resident, you can go in and register to vote.
HEMMER: Well, why do you think that is? Is that the amount of media coverage that's been given to this campaign? Is it the number of candidates who are out there? What is it?
BRAZILE: Well, it's just not media coverage, it's New Hampshire voters take their civic responsibility very seriously. They like to vote. And I think the interest in the candidates -- and they want to put their own stamp of approval on the next president of the United States.
HEMMER: I don't have much time for this, a week from the day we're going to end up talking about the South, places like South Carolina. Some have criticized John Kerry's campaign, saying he does not have a southern strategy.
Will that hurt him?
BRAZILE: Oh, let me tell you, John Kerry has been able to garner the support of veterans. They are, there are a lot of veterans down South. I believe that John Kerry will go down to South Carolina, go to Oklahoma and I hope he continues to pursue his strategy in the South. Otherwise, he may be in trouble if he received the nomination.
HEMMER: It's interesting, you say that he's had a half a dozen staffers in the past week working in South Carolina. Some say it's not enough. But we will see, Donna. That's why we wait.
Great to see you.
BRAZILE: Good to see you.
HEMMER: Talk to you later, OK?
BRAZILE: Sure.
HEMMER: Next hour, Joe Lieberman, Howard Dean our guests here on AMERICAN MORNING.
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 - 08:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: With the first in the nation primary under way, the polls are unanimous -- John Kerry is in the lead, according to the polls, anyway; followed by Howard Dean. The race for third place may come down to John Edwards, Wesley Clark and Joseph Lieberman. State officials say it could be a record turnout for this primary.
And Donna Brazile knows all about that, Al Gore's campaign manager four years ago, now a CNN political analyst, with me live here in Manchester -- nice to see you.
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you.
HEMMER: You say four years ago Al Gore was a nervous wreck.
BRAZILE: He was pacing...
HEMMER: Pacing?
BRAZILE: Pacing the hallway. We were down in Nashua at the Sheraton Hotel and he kept pacing and pacing. He wanted to know about the exit polls. And we finally said to Al, we said, look, why don't you go out, get some coffee, bring some coffee to some of the, you know, staffers working out there, and he finally went out and got (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: You can probably understand a little bit of nervous energy for a candidate on a day like today, right?
BRAZILE: Absolutely. Oh, yes.
HEMMER: You tell me that turnout is key, more so for Howard Dean than others.
Why?
BRAZILE: Howard Dean has run an insurgent campaign. He has a lot of people on the ground. He has a lot of energy, a lot of kids out there. If he, he has a bank of wands right now. He's getting 80 percent of his wands, meaning the people who said they would go out for him. He needs a huge turnout today in order to overtake or cut down John Kerry's lead.
HEMMER: If he is able to cut down John Kerry's lead, is that a disappointment for the Kerry campaign, do you believe, coming out of here? BRAZILE: No, the Kerry campaign has a lot of momentum. They have a real good grassroots operation here in the state, good people, solid people on the ground. And his campaign is ready to go the next step.
HEMMER: The last time we were talking was in Iowa. Do you think the level of interest is as high in New Hampshire as it was that we saw back in the Hawkeye State?
BRAZILE: You are going to see a record turnout of Democrats.
HEMMER: You think that?
BRAZILE: Already in some of the precincts people are seeing, you know, a huge increase of people coming in. And remember, this is a state where if you're a resident, you can go in and register to vote.
HEMMER: Well, why do you think that is? Is that the amount of media coverage that's been given to this campaign? Is it the number of candidates who are out there? What is it?
BRAZILE: Well, it's just not media coverage, it's New Hampshire voters take their civic responsibility very seriously. They like to vote. And I think the interest in the candidates -- and they want to put their own stamp of approval on the next president of the United States.
HEMMER: I don't have much time for this, a week from the day we're going to end up talking about the South, places like South Carolina. Some have criticized John Kerry's campaign, saying he does not have a southern strategy.
Will that hurt him?
BRAZILE: Oh, let me tell you, John Kerry has been able to garner the support of veterans. They are, there are a lot of veterans down South. I believe that John Kerry will go down to South Carolina, go to Oklahoma and I hope he continues to pursue his strategy in the South. Otherwise, he may be in trouble if he received the nomination.
HEMMER: It's interesting, you say that he's had a half a dozen staffers in the past week working in South Carolina. Some say it's not enough. But we will see, Donna. That's why we wait.
Great to see you.
BRAZILE: Good to see you.
HEMMER: Talk to you later, OK?
BRAZILE: Sure.
HEMMER: Next hour, Joe Lieberman, Howard Dean our guests here on AMERICAN MORNING.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
