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CNN Live At Daybreak

Not All the Candidates Are Facing South

Aired February 10, 2004 - 05:01   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: For the first time, most registered Democrats think John Kerry should be their party's presidential nominee. The new CNN poll comes out as the Democrats hold primaries in Virginia and Tennessee today.
But as our Candy Crowley reports, not all the candidates are facing south.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The primary season is like listening to a jam band, it can be hard to tell when it's over.

DR. HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How am I going to resist all the people that are tugging on my sleeve or doing it electronically, saying don't quit? You can't.

CROWLEY: 0 for 12, Howard Dean is ignoring Tennessee and Virginia. He is camped out in Wisconsin, his must win state, which has morphed into a want to win state. A lot of Democrats, Dean reasons, don't like this rush to coronation.

DEAN: Let's take a look at Senator Edwards, for example. Let's see, give people a chance to see if they think he's a more viable candidate.

CROWLEY: Not as crazy as it sounds. Howard Dean has reason to vest himself in John Edwards right now.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The South is not George Bush's backyard, it's my backyard.

CROWLEY: One for 12, sporting his Southern roots and his modest upbringing, John Edwards is playing hard in Tennessee and Virginia. If he wins one of them, that means John Kerry does not win, slowing Kerry down and giving Howard Dean, not to mention John Edwards, some running room in Wisconsin.

But if Edwards does not win, Dean will have to rough Kerry up on his own. And maybe because he's seen the polls, Edwards says he doesn't need to win anyway.

EDWARDS: What I want to do is finish in the top two here in Virginia, the top two in Tennessee. Then we go on to Wisconsin.

CROWLEY: Also one for 12, Wesley Clark has invested heavily on the air in Tennessee and Virginia. A win or even a second for Edwards could doom the general's mission. It is unlikely that two sons of the South can survive tandem Southern primaries on seconds and thirds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator John Kerry!

CROWLEY: Ten for 12 already, if Kerry sweeps Tuesday he is poised to crush whoever shows up in Wisconsin. The game may be over by poll closing tomorrow, but there will still be players on the field.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Fairfax, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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 10, 2004 - 05:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For the first time, most registered Democrats think John Kerry should be their party's presidential nominee. The new CNN poll comes out as the Democrats hold primaries in Virginia and Tennessee today.
But as our Candy Crowley reports, not all the candidates are facing south.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The primary season is like listening to a jam band, it can be hard to tell when it's over.

DR. HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How am I going to resist all the people that are tugging on my sleeve or doing it electronically, saying don't quit? You can't.

CROWLEY: 0 for 12, Howard Dean is ignoring Tennessee and Virginia. He is camped out in Wisconsin, his must win state, which has morphed into a want to win state. A lot of Democrats, Dean reasons, don't like this rush to coronation.

DEAN: Let's take a look at Senator Edwards, for example. Let's see, give people a chance to see if they think he's a more viable candidate.

CROWLEY: Not as crazy as it sounds. Howard Dean has reason to vest himself in John Edwards right now.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The South is not George Bush's backyard, it's my backyard.

CROWLEY: One for 12, sporting his Southern roots and his modest upbringing, John Edwards is playing hard in Tennessee and Virginia. If he wins one of them, that means John Kerry does not win, slowing Kerry down and giving Howard Dean, not to mention John Edwards, some running room in Wisconsin.

But if Edwards does not win, Dean will have to rough Kerry up on his own. And maybe because he's seen the polls, Edwards says he doesn't need to win anyway.

EDWARDS: What I want to do is finish in the top two here in Virginia, the top two in Tennessee. Then we go on to Wisconsin.

CROWLEY: Also one for 12, Wesley Clark has invested heavily on the air in Tennessee and Virginia. A win or even a second for Edwards could doom the general's mission. It is unlikely that two sons of the South can survive tandem Southern primaries on seconds and thirds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator John Kerry!

CROWLEY: Ten for 12 already, if Kerry sweeps Tuesday he is poised to crush whoever shows up in Wisconsin. The game may be over by poll closing tomorrow, but there will still be players on the field.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Fairfax, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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