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CNN Live Saturday

A Look At Upcoming Primaries

Aired February 21, 2004 - 12:06   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.


FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Campaign news, now. Three states, 61 delegates up for grabs. That's the political plan for Tuesday, when Idaho, Hawaii, and Utah hold presidential contests.
Senators John Edwards and John Kerry have their eyes trained beyond this week to March 2's Super Tuesday contests. Edwards' schedule today includes a rally on Long Island. The North Carolina senator travels to St. Paul, Minnesota, and then to stops in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. He has also been working crowds in Maryland and Georgia.

Frontrunner John Kerry is catching his breath in Boston today before swinging South. The Massachusetts senator will be here in Atlanta this evening as he hits the road from coast to coast.

Super Tuesday is the political super bowl. Voters in ten states will make their choices Tuesday -- two Tuesdays from now. More than half of the delegates needed to win the democratic nomination are on the line. John Kerry leads the pack, he's won all but two of the primaries or caucuses, so far. The election could be dealt another wildcard, tomorrow. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says he'll announce whether he will mount a new bid for the White House. He says, if he runs, it will be as an independent. Democrats blame Nader's green party bid in 2000 for Al Gore's squeaker loss in some states, especially in Florida. Nader appears on NBC's "Meet the Press," tomorrow.

Well, senior political analyst Bill Schneider is helping us keep tabs of all the elements of the presidential race, and he joins us now from Washington.

And Bill, I imagine the democrats are working really hard to try to discourage Ralph Nader from getting in, if they have any pull whatsoever to do so.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, they are trying. I'm not sure how much pull they have. There are websites called "Ralph Don't Run." There are democrats publicly, including John Kerry, suggesting that it's a very bad idea. A lot of democrats are still resentful of the role he played in the 2000 election, which they believe threw the vote to George Bush. But, you know, Ralph Nader probably figures he's a king maker, and the democrats now see he's a very powerful guy. He made Bush president, so he thinks he might want to try to do it again.

WHITFIELD: Hmm. So, at the same time, does that mean the republicans are trying to cozy up, maybe even encourage him, if you will?

SCHNEIDER: Well there -- I've heard it said, but I don't think there's any basis to this. Do you think the George Bush White House is paying him to run? Well, Ralph Nader is famous for not being very much susceptible to money. He doesn't live very high lifestyle. But, there are democrats who really believe there must be some conspiracy going on here. The republicans must be doing something because this will just fit right into their game plan.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, going into Super Tuesday, we're still two Tuesdays away. What does John Edwards and John Kerry need to do, or perhaps what are they doing, to really differentiate themselves, right now?

SCHNEIDER: Well look, the central issue of this campaign has been, ever since the Iowa caucuses in January: electability. A lot of voters have been voting state after state for John Kerry because they think can beat George Bush. They believe he's electable. Well, here comes John Edwards to challenge John Kerry. How I he going to do that? He's way behind, as we just saw, in delegates. Well, our latest Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll shows that Edwards may be just as electable as John Kerry. That's the first step because he beats George Bush by the same margin, but he also has to take one other step, and this is tough. He has to convince voters that John Kerry is really not electable. That he would lose to George Bush, so that only Edwards is the palatable alternative. That means he's go to have to, in the end, go negative on John Kerry if he has any chance of winning the nomination.

WHITFIELD: And for the first time in a long time, the New York primary, is apparently, a palatable primary and an important one. And, folks in New York are starting to feel like their more than 200 delegates just might make the difference between the John Kerry and John Edwards factors. Why?

SCHNEIDER: Well, because it's a very big state, it's because they could swing their votes -- if they swung their votes to John Edwards, then, you know, this election would open up again. Look, John Edwards has to win something, and probably something big, on Super Tuesday. Georgia would help, but one of those big states -- Ohio, New York, California -- look very -- look like they would just be such a surprise that the whole race would open up. And then a week later all of the primaries from the South: Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi. That's good news for Edwards. But, he's got to win one of those big states, and he believes Ohio and New York are good possibilities because New York, particularly upstate New York, has been very hard hit economically, and they're -- his economic message may resonate there. But in the end, the most important thing he has to do is to convince voters they don't like John Kerry, that he can't be elected; they'd better stick with John Edwards, and that's going to be a tough argument because right now, democrats are very satisfied with John Kerry.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bill Schneider thanks very much.

SCHNEIDER: OK. 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 21, 2004 - 12:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Campaign news, now. Three states, 61 delegates up for grabs. That's the political plan for Tuesday, when Idaho, Hawaii, and Utah hold presidential contests.
Senators John Edwards and John Kerry have their eyes trained beyond this week to March 2's Super Tuesday contests. Edwards' schedule today includes a rally on Long Island. The North Carolina senator travels to St. Paul, Minnesota, and then to stops in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. He has also been working crowds in Maryland and Georgia.

Frontrunner John Kerry is catching his breath in Boston today before swinging South. The Massachusetts senator will be here in Atlanta this evening as he hits the road from coast to coast.

Super Tuesday is the political super bowl. Voters in ten states will make their choices Tuesday -- two Tuesdays from now. More than half of the delegates needed to win the democratic nomination are on the line. John Kerry leads the pack, he's won all but two of the primaries or caucuses, so far. The election could be dealt another wildcard, tomorrow. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says he'll announce whether he will mount a new bid for the White House. He says, if he runs, it will be as an independent. Democrats blame Nader's green party bid in 2000 for Al Gore's squeaker loss in some states, especially in Florida. Nader appears on NBC's "Meet the Press," tomorrow.

Well, senior political analyst Bill Schneider is helping us keep tabs of all the elements of the presidential race, and he joins us now from Washington.

And Bill, I imagine the democrats are working really hard to try to discourage Ralph Nader from getting in, if they have any pull whatsoever to do so.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, they are trying. I'm not sure how much pull they have. There are websites called "Ralph Don't Run." There are democrats publicly, including John Kerry, suggesting that it's a very bad idea. A lot of democrats are still resentful of the role he played in the 2000 election, which they believe threw the vote to George Bush. But, you know, Ralph Nader probably figures he's a king maker, and the democrats now see he's a very powerful guy. He made Bush president, so he thinks he might want to try to do it again.

WHITFIELD: Hmm. So, at the same time, does that mean the republicans are trying to cozy up, maybe even encourage him, if you will?

SCHNEIDER: Well there -- I've heard it said, but I don't think there's any basis to this. Do you think the George Bush White House is paying him to run? Well, Ralph Nader is famous for not being very much susceptible to money. He doesn't live very high lifestyle. But, there are democrats who really believe there must be some conspiracy going on here. The republicans must be doing something because this will just fit right into their game plan.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, going into Super Tuesday, we're still two Tuesdays away. What does John Edwards and John Kerry need to do, or perhaps what are they doing, to really differentiate themselves, right now?

SCHNEIDER: Well look, the central issue of this campaign has been, ever since the Iowa caucuses in January: electability. A lot of voters have been voting state after state for John Kerry because they think can beat George Bush. They believe he's electable. Well, here comes John Edwards to challenge John Kerry. How I he going to do that? He's way behind, as we just saw, in delegates. Well, our latest Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll shows that Edwards may be just as electable as John Kerry. That's the first step because he beats George Bush by the same margin, but he also has to take one other step, and this is tough. He has to convince voters that John Kerry is really not electable. That he would lose to George Bush, so that only Edwards is the palatable alternative. That means he's go to have to, in the end, go negative on John Kerry if he has any chance of winning the nomination.

WHITFIELD: And for the first time in a long time, the New York primary, is apparently, a palatable primary and an important one. And, folks in New York are starting to feel like their more than 200 delegates just might make the difference between the John Kerry and John Edwards factors. Why?

SCHNEIDER: Well, because it's a very big state, it's because they could swing their votes -- if they swung their votes to John Edwards, then, you know, this election would open up again. Look, John Edwards has to win something, and probably something big, on Super Tuesday. Georgia would help, but one of those big states -- Ohio, New York, California -- look very -- look like they would just be such a surprise that the whole race would open up. And then a week later all of the primaries from the South: Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi. That's good news for Edwards. But, he's got to win one of those big states, and he believes Ohio and New York are good possibilities because New York, particularly upstate New York, has been very hard hit economically, and they're -- his economic message may resonate there. But in the end, the most important thing he has to do is to convince voters they don't like John Kerry, that he can't be elected; they'd better stick with John Edwards, and that's going to be a tough argument because right now, democrats are very satisfied with John Kerry.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bill Schneider thanks very much.

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