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CNN Live At Daybreak

Is Race Over?

Aired February 04, 2004 - 06:33   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: Let's go in-depth now. We take you live to Washington again and American University Professor Steven Taylor.
Thank you again for joining us this morning.

STEVEN TAYLOR, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: So, John Kerry wins five of seven states. Is the writing on the wall?

TAYLOR: It looks like it apparently is. Five of seven, that's really a record for when you have that many primaries in one day. Nobody has that kind of a record -- five of seven. Not only has he won, but the two persons who stopped him from making a clean sweep, neither of them was able to win the other two. It was a split decision for the two of them.

Now, if it had been a situation where Clark won South Carolina and Oklahoma, or Edwards had won both states, then it would look like it might be a race. But neither candidate was able to carry both states, even though Clark put a lot of time and money into South Carolina.

COSTELLO: Oh, he sure did. You know, candidates like Dean, though, remain upbeat, but they're running out of money. I mean, isn't the best they can hope for is that Kerry makes some sort of gaffe down the line?

TAYLOR: That's probably all they can hope for, and certainly even if that were that happen, it wouldn't help Dean at this point. Yes. And Kerry is such an experienced campaigner, both in the Senate races and as a lieutenant governor of Massachusetts that he has a well-scripted campaign, and he's following that script.

COSTELLO: He certainly is. In looking at the exit polls, do they show -- actually, they do show that Kerry is not exactly a niche candidate. I mean, look at South Carolina, African-Americans supported Edwards and Kerry, not Sharpton. In Missouri, Kerry carried union voters and non-union voters alike. So, what is it about Kerry that is mobilizing voters?

TAYLOR: Well, momentum is what's mobilizing voters. And another thing is electability. And that's what at this point people are seeing the president as vulnerable at this particular point, with some of the reports from -- Dr. Kay's report. And they're looking at the jobs situation is not picking up like they -- with the rest of the economy. And the polls are saying that the president is vulnerable.

So, now people are looking at the idea of possibly defeating Bush in November, something they might not have thought was possible in 2002 when the Republicans retook the Senate and did a pretty good sweep of the House. And now, they're seeing him as vulnerable, and now it's not focused. It's actual the pragmatic politics at this point.

COSTELLO: Last question for you. We want to talk about endorsements. Al Gore endorses Howard Dean, but we did not hear a peep from Gore after the scream thing happened. So, how much was Gore's endorsement really worth?

TAYLOR: I think it might have been worth something. Well, certainly not in Iowa, but it might have been worth something in later campaigns, if it had not been for the I-have-a-scream speech. I think at that point, it was very difficult for any strong high-powered endorsement to help it.

COSTELLO: Do you think Al Gore is regretting his decision?

TAYLOR: That could be possible. I haven't heard much from Senator Harkin either, and he didn't go to his neighboring state of Missouri to help out his friend, Howard Dean. So, I don't know. It could be a situation where both are regretting it.

COSTELLO: Interesting. All right, Steven Taylor from American University, live from Washington, thank you.

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 February 4, 2004 - 06:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go in-depth now. We take you live to Washington again and American University Professor Steven Taylor.
Thank you again for joining us this morning.

STEVEN TAYLOR, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: So, John Kerry wins five of seven states. Is the writing on the wall?

TAYLOR: It looks like it apparently is. Five of seven, that's really a record for when you have that many primaries in one day. Nobody has that kind of a record -- five of seven. Not only has he won, but the two persons who stopped him from making a clean sweep, neither of them was able to win the other two. It was a split decision for the two of them.

Now, if it had been a situation where Clark won South Carolina and Oklahoma, or Edwards had won both states, then it would look like it might be a race. But neither candidate was able to carry both states, even though Clark put a lot of time and money into South Carolina.

COSTELLO: Oh, he sure did. You know, candidates like Dean, though, remain upbeat, but they're running out of money. I mean, isn't the best they can hope for is that Kerry makes some sort of gaffe down the line?

TAYLOR: That's probably all they can hope for, and certainly even if that were that happen, it wouldn't help Dean at this point. Yes. And Kerry is such an experienced campaigner, both in the Senate races and as a lieutenant governor of Massachusetts that he has a well-scripted campaign, and he's following that script.

COSTELLO: He certainly is. In looking at the exit polls, do they show -- actually, they do show that Kerry is not exactly a niche candidate. I mean, look at South Carolina, African-Americans supported Edwards and Kerry, not Sharpton. In Missouri, Kerry carried union voters and non-union voters alike. So, what is it about Kerry that is mobilizing voters?

TAYLOR: Well, momentum is what's mobilizing voters. And another thing is electability. And that's what at this point people are seeing the president as vulnerable at this particular point, with some of the reports from -- Dr. Kay's report. And they're looking at the jobs situation is not picking up like they -- with the rest of the economy. And the polls are saying that the president is vulnerable.

So, now people are looking at the idea of possibly defeating Bush in November, something they might not have thought was possible in 2002 when the Republicans retook the Senate and did a pretty good sweep of the House. And now, they're seeing him as vulnerable, and now it's not focused. It's actual the pragmatic politics at this point.

COSTELLO: Last question for you. We want to talk about endorsements. Al Gore endorses Howard Dean, but we did not hear a peep from Gore after the scream thing happened. So, how much was Gore's endorsement really worth?

TAYLOR: I think it might have been worth something. Well, certainly not in Iowa, but it might have been worth something in later campaigns, if it had not been for the I-have-a-scream speech. I think at that point, it was very difficult for any strong high-powered endorsement to help it.

COSTELLO: Do you think Al Gore is regretting his decision?

TAYLOR: That could be possible. I haven't heard much from Senator Harkin either, and he didn't go to his neighboring state of Missouri to help out his friend, Howard Dean. So, I don't know. It could be a situation where both are regretting it.

COSTELLO: Interesting. All right, Steven Taylor from American University, live from Washington, thank you.

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