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America Votes: Winning New Hampshire

Aired January 28, 2004 - 05:49   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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well overnight our Bill Schneider took a look at just what made John Kerry the winner in New Hampshire's primary. He tells us Kerry took Howard Dean's signature issue, the Iraq war, and made it work for him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The man who had the most influence over the New Hampshire Democratic primary wasn't anywhere near New Hampshire. In fact, he's not even a Democrat. It was President George W. Bush.

Half the Democratic voters in New Hampshire said they were angry at the Bush administration. These are Democrats who feel bullied by the Bush White House and the Republican Congress and the conservative talk show hosts.

They were expected to rally to Howard Dean, the candidate who promises to stand up to Bush and to conservative bullies, but they didn't. John Kerry edged out Howard Dean among angry Democrats.

The thing that makes Democrats most angry is the war in Iraq, the issue that ignited the Dean campaign. Nearly two-thirds of New Hampshire Democrats said they disapproved of the U.S. decision to go to war with Iraq. And how did they vote, for Kerry over Dean. Kerry took Dean's signature issue away from him.

There were two kinds of voters in New Hampshire. Issue voters said they were looking for a candidate who agreed with them on the major issues. They tied between Kerry and Dean.

Strategic voters said they were looking for the candidate who had the best chance of beating Bush. No contest there, Kerry won on electability.

Despite their opposition to the war, Democrats do not want to make this election a referendum on Iraq. The most important issues to voters were health care and jobs. Iraq came third.

Democrats clearly want to talk about domestic issues. But in order to do that, they have to find a candidate who can match President Bush on military expertise and national security. That's what they see in John Kerry.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LIN: All right, that's our research.

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 28, 2004 - 05:49   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well overnight our Bill Schneider took a look at just what made John Kerry the winner in New Hampshire's primary. He tells us Kerry took Howard Dean's signature issue, the Iraq war, and made it work for him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The man who had the most influence over the New Hampshire Democratic primary wasn't anywhere near New Hampshire. In fact, he's not even a Democrat. It was President George W. Bush.

Half the Democratic voters in New Hampshire said they were angry at the Bush administration. These are Democrats who feel bullied by the Bush White House and the Republican Congress and the conservative talk show hosts.

They were expected to rally to Howard Dean, the candidate who promises to stand up to Bush and to conservative bullies, but they didn't. John Kerry edged out Howard Dean among angry Democrats.

The thing that makes Democrats most angry is the war in Iraq, the issue that ignited the Dean campaign. Nearly two-thirds of New Hampshire Democrats said they disapproved of the U.S. decision to go to war with Iraq. And how did they vote, for Kerry over Dean. Kerry took Dean's signature issue away from him.

There were two kinds of voters in New Hampshire. Issue voters said they were looking for a candidate who agreed with them on the major issues. They tied between Kerry and Dean.

Strategic voters said they were looking for the candidate who had the best chance of beating Bush. No contest there, Kerry won on electability.

Despite their opposition to the war, Democrats do not want to make this election a referendum on Iraq. The most important issues to voters were health care and jobs. Iraq came third.

Democrats clearly want to talk about domestic issues. But in order to do that, they have to find a candidate who can match President Bush on military expertise and national security. That's what they see in John Kerry.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LIN: All right, that's our research.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com