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CNN Live At Daybreak
Southern Primaries in Tennessee, Virginia
Aired February 10, 2004 - 06:32 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: Virginia and Tennessee, they are in the spotlight today, as Democrats vie for victories in the primaries. John Kerry is leading in the polls by a large margin.
CNN's Bob Franken joins us live by phone from Fairfax, Virginia.
Good morning -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
As a matter of fact, we're on the campus of George Mason University, where Kerry expects to make his victory announcement this evening, expecting victories, as you pointed out, in both Virginia and Tennessee, and putting to rest, he hopes, the complaint that he hasn't proven he can win in the South, which, of course, he would if he ran tonight.
COSTELLO: Well, that brings up this first question from one of our viewers for you, Bob. This is from James. He says: "If John Kerry were to choose Jane Fonda as his vice president, wouldn't it bring together the core base of the Democratic Party?"
And I ask you -- I pass this question along to you partially in jest, because if Kerry can win in Virginia and Tennessee, will that prove he can successful, once and for all, combat his rather liberal image?
FRANKEN: Well, I think that question may have been sent in by Jane Fonda.
But the truth of the matter is that Kerry is going to have to probably prepare for a campaign, if he wins the nomination, where he's going to have to defend himself against Republican charges he's a liberal. Of course, he's planning to turn things around and make it a campaign against President Bush and the record of President Bush.
But I'm going to make a prediction here that his vice presidential running mate will not be Jane Fonda.
COSTELLO: I think you're probably right on that score.
This question comes from Michael from Key West, Florida. He says: "Candidates Edwards, Dean and Clark all say they'll stay in the race, even if they lose in Tennessee and Virginia. Does this help Senator Kerry by keeping the field divided, or hurt him?"
FRANKEN: Well, you know, it's an interesting question. The common wisdom, of course, is that the party needs to get together and come together against President Bush, and the sooner that that can be accomplished the better it is for the party.
However, the polls are showing that President Bush has been really getting more and more troubled the longer the Democrats go; that there has been such high interest in the campaign that it has translated into a rise in the polls for Democrats and is one of the factors people believe in the decline in the polls for President Bush.
So, maybe continuing this agitation might be helpful to the party, although, as I said, that goes against the conventional wisdom.
COSTELLO: Yes, and we want to mention that Howard Dean is now campaigning in, what, Wisconsin? He has sort of skipped over Tennessee and Virginia.
This is from Dave from Wisconsin. He says: "I am not following things that closely, but I'm wondering why Wes Clark is not doing better. You would think a military man like himself would be winning hands down."
FRANKEN: Well, you know, it's funny, a lot of people get into politics and really stunned when they realize just how difficult it is, how complex it is. It's one of those things -- and I don't know if it applies in this case -- but there's an old saying. It used to be I couldn't (UNINTELLIGIBLE) politician; now I are one.
It's not as easy as it sounds. And, in fact, it's quite a profession. And a lot of people have a rude awakening when they begin. And Wes Clark obviously had something of that in the early going, in any case, when he spent so much of his time retracting and explaining what it was he said.
But he seems to have gotten into a bit of a groove now. The question is: Was he able to do it quickly enough?
COSTELLO: All right, Bob Franken reporting live from Virginia this morning. Thanks for answering our viewers' questions.
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 - 06:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Virginia and Tennessee, they are in the spotlight today, as Democrats vie for victories in the primaries. John Kerry is leading in the polls by a large margin.
CNN's Bob Franken joins us live by phone from Fairfax, Virginia.
Good morning -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
As a matter of fact, we're on the campus of George Mason University, where Kerry expects to make his victory announcement this evening, expecting victories, as you pointed out, in both Virginia and Tennessee, and putting to rest, he hopes, the complaint that he hasn't proven he can win in the South, which, of course, he would if he ran tonight.
COSTELLO: Well, that brings up this first question from one of our viewers for you, Bob. This is from James. He says: "If John Kerry were to choose Jane Fonda as his vice president, wouldn't it bring together the core base of the Democratic Party?"
And I ask you -- I pass this question along to you partially in jest, because if Kerry can win in Virginia and Tennessee, will that prove he can successful, once and for all, combat his rather liberal image?
FRANKEN: Well, I think that question may have been sent in by Jane Fonda.
But the truth of the matter is that Kerry is going to have to probably prepare for a campaign, if he wins the nomination, where he's going to have to defend himself against Republican charges he's a liberal. Of course, he's planning to turn things around and make it a campaign against President Bush and the record of President Bush.
But I'm going to make a prediction here that his vice presidential running mate will not be Jane Fonda.
COSTELLO: I think you're probably right on that score.
This question comes from Michael from Key West, Florida. He says: "Candidates Edwards, Dean and Clark all say they'll stay in the race, even if they lose in Tennessee and Virginia. Does this help Senator Kerry by keeping the field divided, or hurt him?"
FRANKEN: Well, you know, it's an interesting question. The common wisdom, of course, is that the party needs to get together and come together against President Bush, and the sooner that that can be accomplished the better it is for the party.
However, the polls are showing that President Bush has been really getting more and more troubled the longer the Democrats go; that there has been such high interest in the campaign that it has translated into a rise in the polls for Democrats and is one of the factors people believe in the decline in the polls for President Bush.
So, maybe continuing this agitation might be helpful to the party, although, as I said, that goes against the conventional wisdom.
COSTELLO: Yes, and we want to mention that Howard Dean is now campaigning in, what, Wisconsin? He has sort of skipped over Tennessee and Virginia.
This is from Dave from Wisconsin. He says: "I am not following things that closely, but I'm wondering why Wes Clark is not doing better. You would think a military man like himself would be winning hands down."
FRANKEN: Well, you know, it's funny, a lot of people get into politics and really stunned when they realize just how difficult it is, how complex it is. It's one of those things -- and I don't know if it applies in this case -- but there's an old saying. It used to be I couldn't (UNINTELLIGIBLE) politician; now I are one.
It's not as easy as it sounds. And, in fact, it's quite a profession. And a lot of people have a rude awakening when they begin. And Wes Clark obviously had something of that in the early going, in any case, when he spent so much of his time retracting and explaining what it was he said.
But he seems to have gotten into a bit of a groove now. The question is: Was he able to do it quickly enough?
COSTELLO: All right, Bob Franken reporting live from Virginia this morning. Thanks for answering our viewers' questions.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
