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CNN Live At Daybreak
America Votes: Real Issues
Aired February 16, 2004 - 06:08 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: Speaking of presidents, before we get too deep into the smear and slander campaign, what is really important to voters this election year?
CNN's Bruce Morton thinks he knows, even though you may not ever see it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's just a wild hunch, of course, but I'd bet five bucks that if you cornered the average voter in a room somewhere and asked him or her, do you really think the election ought to be about George W. Bush's National Guard time, or whether John Kerry ever saw Jane Fonda at a protest rally, they'd look at you as if you were nuts.
The voters, I'll bet, would want the candidates to -- and us newsies (ph) to -- write about real stuff like: How are you going to have elections in Iraq if they won't stop blowing us and each other up? Or, how long do you think we'll have to stay there anyway? Or, is it fair to ask Reservists to keep extending their tours?
Or, why am I supposed to love a prescription drug bill that doesn't kick in until 2006? Or, where did all the jobs go? Or -- the real killer question nobody wants to talk about -- what's your plan when social security and Medicare costs go through the roof because the baby boomers are starting to retire, which will happen in just a few more years?
The voters might like that, but we newsies (ph) seem always to get hung up on whatever is low down and personal. The notion is that news consumers want to be entertained. Well, maybe they do, so you give them lots of celebrity news and you cover the candidates the same way you cover show business. If some candidate -- well, a female one, we hope -- were to expose a breast, that's probably all you'd see on TV for a week, at least on the political news.
The fuss is puzzling. Surely most Americans have seen a breast, maybe several, and probably even most kids have, but look at the fuss it stirred up. Congressmen demanding penalties and regulations, and the poor old FCC can only regulate broadcast channels anyway -- not the flood of stuff on cable, on the Internet and so on.
(on camera): If you want gossip, celebrity chit-chat, it's out there in lethal amounts.
And what about those voters who actually want to hear about the issues? They're admirable, quaint, of course. But, you know, if that interferes with the celebrity stuff, with the Martha verdict, with jury selection in Michael's trial, with Kobe's next court appearance, if that interferes with the real ratings builders, we newsies (ph) may not even tell you who won the November election.
I'm Bruce Morton.
(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 16, 2004 - 06:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Speaking of presidents, before we get too deep into the smear and slander campaign, what is really important to voters this election year?
CNN's Bruce Morton thinks he knows, even though you may not ever see it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's just a wild hunch, of course, but I'd bet five bucks that if you cornered the average voter in a room somewhere and asked him or her, do you really think the election ought to be about George W. Bush's National Guard time, or whether John Kerry ever saw Jane Fonda at a protest rally, they'd look at you as if you were nuts.
The voters, I'll bet, would want the candidates to -- and us newsies (ph) to -- write about real stuff like: How are you going to have elections in Iraq if they won't stop blowing us and each other up? Or, how long do you think we'll have to stay there anyway? Or, is it fair to ask Reservists to keep extending their tours?
Or, why am I supposed to love a prescription drug bill that doesn't kick in until 2006? Or, where did all the jobs go? Or -- the real killer question nobody wants to talk about -- what's your plan when social security and Medicare costs go through the roof because the baby boomers are starting to retire, which will happen in just a few more years?
The voters might like that, but we newsies (ph) seem always to get hung up on whatever is low down and personal. The notion is that news consumers want to be entertained. Well, maybe they do, so you give them lots of celebrity news and you cover the candidates the same way you cover show business. If some candidate -- well, a female one, we hope -- were to expose a breast, that's probably all you'd see on TV for a week, at least on the political news.
The fuss is puzzling. Surely most Americans have seen a breast, maybe several, and probably even most kids have, but look at the fuss it stirred up. Congressmen demanding penalties and regulations, and the poor old FCC can only regulate broadcast channels anyway -- not the flood of stuff on cable, on the Internet and so on.
(on camera): If you want gossip, celebrity chit-chat, it's out there in lethal amounts.
And what about those voters who actually want to hear about the issues? They're admirable, quaint, of course. But, you know, if that interferes with the celebrity stuff, with the Martha verdict, with jury selection in Michael's trial, with Kobe's next court appearance, if that interferes with the real ratings builders, we newsies (ph) may not even tell you who won the November election.
I'm Bruce Morton.
(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.
