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Wake-Up Call: 'Highly Political' Bush Speech Expected Tonight
Aired February 23, 2004 - 06:34 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: A tactical shift. The Bush re- election campaign has a new plan. President Bush is expected to give a highly political speech tonight to Republican governors.
We've placed a "Wake-Up Call" to our White House correspondent, Dana Bash.
Dana -- what's this about?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, you know, the president himself has been pretty careful not to sound political, even as his campaign has certainly been stepping up. But tonight, he is going to take off the political gloves, if you will.
We're told by campaign aides that he's going to make a speech to the Republican Governors Association. They're meeting here in Washington. And he is going to go after his Democratic critics, both on the economy and on the war on terror and national security. We're told he's not going to name any names, but it will be pretty clear who he is talking about.
COSTELLO: I want to talk a little about Ralph Nader, because he's going to enter the race. Is the Bush camp celebrating?
BASH: Well, they certainly won't say that on the record or publicly, but I'm sure if you listen very, very quietly you can hear some cheers, both from the White House and also from the campaign in northern Virginia. Certainly, you know, in public, they say that they believe the president will win whether or not Ralph Nader is in the race, but there is no doubt they look at the numbers from 2000, just like everybody else does, and see what a difference he made there. And certainly, they would prefer him to be in the race rather than not be in the race, as you can imagine -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I think we have a graphic with some numbers on them. Do we have that graphic? There they are. This is how -- can you see this, Dana?
BASH: I sure can.
COSTELLO: OK. Explain those numbers to our audience.
BASH: Well, basically it just shows you how many votes Ralph Nader got, both in New Hampshire and Florida -- Florida obviously being the key that was the deal breaker or maker, if you will. In 2000, 97,488 votes he got. The president only won by 537.
So, if the president -- or if Al Gore, I should say, got any of those votes, 1,000 of those votes, 538 of those votes, presumably Al Gore would be president right now. So, you see what a difference Ralph Nader made in 2000.
COSTELLO: Yes, but if the issue is electability this year, you have to wonder if Ralph Nader will make such a difference this time around.
BASH: Well, certainly that is the unknown at this time, and that is certainly what Democrats are hoping that the way that Democrats, the way the electorate has been voting throughout the Democratic primary process, perhaps that will make a big difference in how potential Nader voters will look at the election come November 2004, whether or not they will actually vote for Ralph Nader.
COSTELLO: It's a fascinating election. It's really interesting. Dana Bash reporting live on the phone for us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Tonight>
Aired February 23, 2004 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A tactical shift. The Bush re- election campaign has a new plan. President Bush is expected to give a highly political speech tonight to Republican governors.
We've placed a "Wake-Up Call" to our White House correspondent, Dana Bash.
Dana -- what's this about?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, you know, the president himself has been pretty careful not to sound political, even as his campaign has certainly been stepping up. But tonight, he is going to take off the political gloves, if you will.
We're told by campaign aides that he's going to make a speech to the Republican Governors Association. They're meeting here in Washington. And he is going to go after his Democratic critics, both on the economy and on the war on terror and national security. We're told he's not going to name any names, but it will be pretty clear who he is talking about.
COSTELLO: I want to talk a little about Ralph Nader, because he's going to enter the race. Is the Bush camp celebrating?
BASH: Well, they certainly won't say that on the record or publicly, but I'm sure if you listen very, very quietly you can hear some cheers, both from the White House and also from the campaign in northern Virginia. Certainly, you know, in public, they say that they believe the president will win whether or not Ralph Nader is in the race, but there is no doubt they look at the numbers from 2000, just like everybody else does, and see what a difference he made there. And certainly, they would prefer him to be in the race rather than not be in the race, as you can imagine -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I think we have a graphic with some numbers on them. Do we have that graphic? There they are. This is how -- can you see this, Dana?
BASH: I sure can.
COSTELLO: OK. Explain those numbers to our audience.
BASH: Well, basically it just shows you how many votes Ralph Nader got, both in New Hampshire and Florida -- Florida obviously being the key that was the deal breaker or maker, if you will. In 2000, 97,488 votes he got. The president only won by 537.
So, if the president -- or if Al Gore, I should say, got any of those votes, 1,000 of those votes, 538 of those votes, presumably Al Gore would be president right now. So, you see what a difference Ralph Nader made in 2000.
COSTELLO: Yes, but if the issue is electability this year, you have to wonder if Ralph Nader will make such a difference this time around.
BASH: Well, certainly that is the unknown at this time, and that is certainly what Democrats are hoping that the way that Democrats, the way the electorate has been voting throughout the Democratic primary process, perhaps that will make a big difference in how potential Nader voters will look at the election come November 2004, whether or not they will actually vote for Ralph Nader.
COSTELLO: It's a fascinating election. It's really interesting. Dana Bash reporting live on the phone for us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Tonight>
