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American Morning
President Bush's Re-election Team Gearing Up for Battle
Aired February 11, 2004 - 08:35 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 Kerry now two steps closer to coronation, President Bush's re-election team now gearing up for a battle that will be an absolute dogfight over the next nine months. From Washington, Tucker Eskew back with us here. He's an adviser to the Bush-Cheney campaign.
Welcome back, Tucker. Good to have you here.
TUCKER ESKEW, ADVISER TO BUSH-CHENEY CAMPAIGN: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: I want to go back to this presidential race in a moment here, but I want to go back yesterday, this press conference, this briefing that was held with Scott McClellan at the White House, quite hostile at times.
Does the White House believe the issue of the president's service 30 years ago in the National Guard is now settled and behind it?
ESKEW: It certainly should be. I think some people who read the records got a little woozy, and we might want to just clear the air a little bit. The president has done that. he Served, was honorably discharged. These pay records, which he was asked about on Sunday and agreed to provide, made clear that he did the duty, and it's time to move on to the issues here in this campaign.
The president, this week, has been working on the economy. We have got 112,000 new jobs this past month. The president has been working on stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, as you just reported earlier. The important issues before this president is where his focus is.
HEMMER: Let me go back just a little bit. You said he did his duty, going back to the National Guard service. The phrase from the White House yesterday was fulfilled his duties. But is there conclusive evidence that the White House has that he actually reported for those weekends in Alabama 30 years ago.
ESKEW: You don't get paid for work you didn't do, so I think those records clear all this up, and I think those who seek to use it as a distraction are trying to place labels. You suggested that we're interested in placing labels on our possible opponents on the Democratic side. Let's look at the labels that Democrats, extreme Democrats, have tried to use on this issue. Michael Moore, the director, has said the president was AWOL, a deserter. Terry McCauliffe, the chairman of the Democratic Party, has done the same. Those are labels based not in any kind of reality, but in a fringe, extremist approach to the political year that we're in.
HEMMER: But then again, Tucker, some say it proves some things, but not everything, and I just want to go back to my original question -- will there be any nor evidence that is released from the White House to prove these critics wrong?
ESKEW: I think the question yesterday that just stuck -- just stood out to me so much, Bill, was whether there would be a band of brothers to step forward from 30 years ago to testify as to something the president did in one week, or one particular month. I think it's much more important to ask the question about who will stand with you on what matters to Americans today? If there are people who come forward from that period, fine.
But what I'd really be surprised about, if any small businessman comes forward to stand in support of John Kerry and the other Democrats' ideas to raise taxes on them, I'd be really surprised if John Kerry, for example, could find a single senator who supported his moves to cut intelligence spending by a billion and a half dollars in the mid '90s, and defense spending by 6.5 billion. He's got a band of brothers to testify to his honorable military service in Vietnam. That's wonderful. He doesn't have a band of senators. In fact, he was a solo act in the mid '90s when he proposed those drastic cuts in intelligence and military spending.
Let's talk about those things as we look to the future. We need strong leadership, as we've said, in times of change. The president has mastered those. He's moving America forward.
HEMMER: I wish I had more time. We are out of it now, for today anyway. Come on back. Tucker Eskew there, with the Bush-Cheney campaign i D.C. We will talk much more about this at a further date. Tucker, 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 11, 2004 - 08:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: With Kerry now two steps closer to coronation, President Bush's re-election team now gearing up for a battle that will be an absolute dogfight over the next nine months. From Washington, Tucker Eskew back with us here. He's an adviser to the Bush-Cheney campaign.
Welcome back, Tucker. Good to have you here.
TUCKER ESKEW, ADVISER TO BUSH-CHENEY CAMPAIGN: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: I want to go back to this presidential race in a moment here, but I want to go back yesterday, this press conference, this briefing that was held with Scott McClellan at the White House, quite hostile at times.
Does the White House believe the issue of the president's service 30 years ago in the National Guard is now settled and behind it?
ESKEW: It certainly should be. I think some people who read the records got a little woozy, and we might want to just clear the air a little bit. The president has done that. he Served, was honorably discharged. These pay records, which he was asked about on Sunday and agreed to provide, made clear that he did the duty, and it's time to move on to the issues here in this campaign.
The president, this week, has been working on the economy. We have got 112,000 new jobs this past month. The president has been working on stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, as you just reported earlier. The important issues before this president is where his focus is.
HEMMER: Let me go back just a little bit. You said he did his duty, going back to the National Guard service. The phrase from the White House yesterday was fulfilled his duties. But is there conclusive evidence that the White House has that he actually reported for those weekends in Alabama 30 years ago.
ESKEW: You don't get paid for work you didn't do, so I think those records clear all this up, and I think those who seek to use it as a distraction are trying to place labels. You suggested that we're interested in placing labels on our possible opponents on the Democratic side. Let's look at the labels that Democrats, extreme Democrats, have tried to use on this issue. Michael Moore, the director, has said the president was AWOL, a deserter. Terry McCauliffe, the chairman of the Democratic Party, has done the same. Those are labels based not in any kind of reality, but in a fringe, extremist approach to the political year that we're in.
HEMMER: But then again, Tucker, some say it proves some things, but not everything, and I just want to go back to my original question -- will there be any nor evidence that is released from the White House to prove these critics wrong?
ESKEW: I think the question yesterday that just stuck -- just stood out to me so much, Bill, was whether there would be a band of brothers to step forward from 30 years ago to testify as to something the president did in one week, or one particular month. I think it's much more important to ask the question about who will stand with you on what matters to Americans today? If there are people who come forward from that period, fine.
But what I'd really be surprised about, if any small businessman comes forward to stand in support of John Kerry and the other Democrats' ideas to raise taxes on them, I'd be really surprised if John Kerry, for example, could find a single senator who supported his moves to cut intelligence spending by a billion and a half dollars in the mid '90s, and defense spending by 6.5 billion. He's got a band of brothers to testify to his honorable military service in Vietnam. That's wonderful. He doesn't have a band of senators. In fact, he was a solo act in the mid '90s when he proposed those drastic cuts in intelligence and military spending.
Let's talk about those things as we look to the future. We need strong leadership, as we've said, in times of change. The president has mastered those. He's moving America forward.
HEMMER: I wish I had more time. We are out of it now, for today anyway. Come on back. Tucker Eskew there, with the Bush-Cheney campaign i D.C. We will talk much more about this at a further date. Tucker, 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
