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Debate Analysis, Primary Preview

Aired February 16, 2004 - 11:02   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: As we mentioned, the local paper, we get some analysis now of Tuesday's election and last night's Democratic debate. Craig Gilbert is Washington bureau chief for "The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel," and he was a panelist for the debate.
Good morning.

CRAIG GILBERT, "MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL": Good morning.

KAGAN: You asked a bunch of questions. First of all, you were especially pressing Senator Kerry about his vote in support of the Iraqi war.

GILBERT: Yes, I wanted to know. I mean, I think the way I put it was whether he felt any responsibility for the war, the costs of the war, having voted to authorize force in Iraq. He didn't really answer the question. And as you saw, Senator Edwards kind of pounced on that, mocked Senator Kerry a little bit for the length of his answer, and it was, you know, it was sort of an interesting moment in the debate, one that generated a little bit of discussion about how Senator Kerry handled the question.

KAGAN: We mentioned that Senator John Edwards, your paper has endorsed Senator Edwards with an endorsement that sounds practically like it was written by the Edwards campaign. It is just a glowing, effusive description of what the paper thinks John Edwards could bring to this presidential campaign.

GILBERT: Yes, I wasn't part of that process, obviously. And but I did sit in on the editorial board interview, because our reporters had some questions for him as well. You know, he comes across well in person, in those settings. I think my sense of reading the editorial was that part of his appeal for the editorial board was, you know, his ability, his communication skills, his presence, his ability, how that would work for him as a candidate in the general election. As you know, the issue differences aren't dramatic between him and Senator Kerry.

KAGAN: Yes, I think the paper describes John Kerry, yes, yes, he's OK, but really he isn't as far as ahead as you think he is. Now, here's this John Edwards guy -- he's good looking, he's got a great personality, he really is the guy to take the Democrats forward. I want to move ahead here and look at Howard Dean. Howard Dean looked like he was cashing all his chips in with Wisconsin, really trying to rally his supporters there. That does not appear to be playing out.

GILBERT: Well, he put a lot of time in here. He invested a lot in Wisconsin. But you know, Wisconsin isn't a vacuum. And so the problems Howard Dean has had elsewhere translate here as well. He's kind of made this a last stand. As it turns out, he actually hasn't spent as much in the past week on advertising as the other two leading candidates. And everyone's kind of watching and waiting to see what he does in terms of reassessing his candidacy after Tuesday night, depending on how well he does here.

KAGAN: Well, he insists he's staying in, even though officials from within the campaign say that he just might get out if things don't go as well as he would hope. Give us a little primer here on how Wisconsin plays into presidential politics in terms of candidates that your state selects, how they tend to do.

GILBERT: Well, it's an open primary. So it's a good test on paper for a Democratic candidate, because independents can vote and Republicans can vote. I mean, the last time we had a contested Democratic presidential primary, the electorate was only 53 percent Democratic voters. The rest were independents and Republicans. And that's a big, big, big turnout. There will be more than twice as many people voting in the Wisconsin presidential primaries any state has voted so far. And so also because it's a general election battleground, I think people will be viewed as a pretty good barometer in terms of the strength of at least Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards.

KAGAN: But there will only be Democrats on the ballot?

GILBERT: No, President Bush is on the ballot, but he's not opposed. But he'll get several hundred thousand votes. I mean, the state is predicting 1.6 million people to turn out on February 17th. There's also some local elections including a hot mayor's race in Milwaukee. But, you know, a quarter of those people or so will probably vote for President Bush because they're Republicans.

KAGAN: Very good. You'll be watching for us. Craig Gilbert from "The Milwaukee sentinel Journal." Thanks for your time this morning.

GILBERT: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Appreciate it.

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 - 11:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: As we mentioned, the local paper, we get some analysis now of Tuesday's election and last night's Democratic debate. Craig Gilbert is Washington bureau chief for "The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel," and he was a panelist for the debate.
Good morning.

CRAIG GILBERT, "MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL": Good morning.

KAGAN: You asked a bunch of questions. First of all, you were especially pressing Senator Kerry about his vote in support of the Iraqi war.

GILBERT: Yes, I wanted to know. I mean, I think the way I put it was whether he felt any responsibility for the war, the costs of the war, having voted to authorize force in Iraq. He didn't really answer the question. And as you saw, Senator Edwards kind of pounced on that, mocked Senator Kerry a little bit for the length of his answer, and it was, you know, it was sort of an interesting moment in the debate, one that generated a little bit of discussion about how Senator Kerry handled the question.

KAGAN: We mentioned that Senator John Edwards, your paper has endorsed Senator Edwards with an endorsement that sounds practically like it was written by the Edwards campaign. It is just a glowing, effusive description of what the paper thinks John Edwards could bring to this presidential campaign.

GILBERT: Yes, I wasn't part of that process, obviously. And but I did sit in on the editorial board interview, because our reporters had some questions for him as well. You know, he comes across well in person, in those settings. I think my sense of reading the editorial was that part of his appeal for the editorial board was, you know, his ability, his communication skills, his presence, his ability, how that would work for him as a candidate in the general election. As you know, the issue differences aren't dramatic between him and Senator Kerry.

KAGAN: Yes, I think the paper describes John Kerry, yes, yes, he's OK, but really he isn't as far as ahead as you think he is. Now, here's this John Edwards guy -- he's good looking, he's got a great personality, he really is the guy to take the Democrats forward. I want to move ahead here and look at Howard Dean. Howard Dean looked like he was cashing all his chips in with Wisconsin, really trying to rally his supporters there. That does not appear to be playing out.

GILBERT: Well, he put a lot of time in here. He invested a lot in Wisconsin. But you know, Wisconsin isn't a vacuum. And so the problems Howard Dean has had elsewhere translate here as well. He's kind of made this a last stand. As it turns out, he actually hasn't spent as much in the past week on advertising as the other two leading candidates. And everyone's kind of watching and waiting to see what he does in terms of reassessing his candidacy after Tuesday night, depending on how well he does here.

KAGAN: Well, he insists he's staying in, even though officials from within the campaign say that he just might get out if things don't go as well as he would hope. Give us a little primer here on how Wisconsin plays into presidential politics in terms of candidates that your state selects, how they tend to do.

GILBERT: Well, it's an open primary. So it's a good test on paper for a Democratic candidate, because independents can vote and Republicans can vote. I mean, the last time we had a contested Democratic presidential primary, the electorate was only 53 percent Democratic voters. The rest were independents and Republicans. And that's a big, big, big turnout. There will be more than twice as many people voting in the Wisconsin presidential primaries any state has voted so far. And so also because it's a general election battleground, I think people will be viewed as a pretty good barometer in terms of the strength of at least Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards.

KAGAN: But there will only be Democrats on the ballot?

GILBERT: No, President Bush is on the ballot, but he's not opposed. But he'll get several hundred thousand votes. I mean, the state is predicting 1.6 million people to turn out on February 17th. There's also some local elections including a hot mayor's race in Milwaukee. But, you know, a quarter of those people or so will probably vote for President Bush because they're Republicans.

KAGAN: Very good. You'll be watching for us. Craig Gilbert from "The Milwaukee sentinel Journal." Thanks for your time this morning.

GILBERT: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Appreciate it.

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