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CNN Crossfire
Matchup in Miami
Aired September 29, 2004 - 16:30 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: CROSSFIRE. On the left, James Carville and Paul Begala; on the right, Robert Novak and Tucker Carlson.
In the CROSSFIRE: final preparations. Kerry and Bush are honing in on tomorrow night's debate. What do they need to do to sway swing voters?
JOE LOCKHART, KERRY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: It's a pretty simple formula for us. He's got to demonstrate knowledge of the issues, strength, and leadership qualities, but also a difference. This is a choice. This is a choice between the president's failed foreign policy and a new direction.
MARY MATALIN, BUSH CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Well, President Bush and a great advantage in this debate for him is that he knows what he thinks, why he thinks it. He'll be talking about the record, his fine record of progress here. And he'll be talking about the agenda going forward, his vision for the future.
ANNOUNCER: CNN's Election Express has rolled into town for the matchup in Miami. Will it be a battle of style or substance? Will the gloves come off? What to expect and what's at stake -- today on CROSSFIRE,
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from the University of Miami, site of tomorrow's presidential debate, Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST: Hey, everybody. Welcome to CROSSFIRE.
The process that began in the ice of Iowa has moved to the swelter of South Florida. CROSSFIRE is on location at the University of Miami, home of the handsome and intelligent University of Miami Hurricanes.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: And in just over 24 hours, the moment of truth will arrive. Will George W. Bush continue to insist that everything in Iraq is more fun than a kegger at the DIK house? Will John Kerry lay out his agenda? And will the media focus on the life-and-death issues or wimp out and make fun of the candidates' makeup? Well, we're ready to rumble, or, I guess, in the case of President Bush, ready to stumble.
(LAUGHTER)
TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST: Ready to rumble. Well, that's nice. Only, in John Kerry's case, it is more likely to be ready to ramble.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: The big question tomorrow night will be, can the embattled challenger keep it concise and stick to a position in under 4,000 words? That's unlikely. We'll look at why.
But, first, the best political briefing in television, our CROSSFIRE "Political Alert."
CARLSON: Well, poor Al Gore. I, for one, feel sorry for him.
It's embarrassing enough to have run the single worst presidential campaign in human history, as he did four years ago. But then, rather than slink off into the obscurity of academia, as Mike Dukakis sensibly did, Gore's insisted on continuing to rant in public. In this morning's "New York Times," he offers John Kerry advice on how to debate George W. Bush.
His op-ed is predictably bitter. Gore still hasn't gotten over losing. But the saddest part is his attempt to rewrite history. In his words, Bush is a brilliant wordsmith, a verbal wizard -- quote -- "a skilled debater." His advice to John Kerry -- quote -- "Be prepared for the toughest debates of your career.
Please, let's be real. Bush is not a skilled debater, as even his friends admit. Often, he can barely finish a complete sentence.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: Gore lost the debates because he revealed his true personality on stage, on camera in front of America. And if John Kerry loses tomorrow night, it will be because he makes the mistake of doing the exact same thing.
BEGALA: Well, no, I think, actually, Bush did a pretty good job. I followed those last debates pretty closely.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Come on.
BEGALA: I actually played Bush in those mock debates. And this is what he's good at, taking a canned line someone else writes for him and repeating it as if he knew what he was talking about for 30 seconds. That's all that these debates measure.
CARLSON: Debates reveal the person's personality.
BEGALA: Is that right?
CARLSON: They do.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: It's like a psychic X-ray, a CAT scan of the soul.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Television reveals the truth about a person. It does. You know that. You work here. And if Kerry reveals the deep unpleasantness of his own personality, he loses.
BEGALA: And if Bush reveals the deep shallowness of his capacity -- well, I guess you can't be deeply shallow, but you know what I mean.
Well, 1,055 brave Americans have already given their lives in George W. Bush's war in Iraq so far. Another 7,552 have been wounded so far; $200 billion of your money has been spent in Iraq so far. "The Washington Post" reports today that intelligence officials say the insurgency in Iraq is deeper and more widespread than President Bush is telling you and -- quote -- "It's getting worse" -- unquote -- says an Army officer.
So, what's the Bush/Cheney campaign talking about today? John Kerry's tan. Give me a break. Look, if they want to do that, that's fine. But this is a character test for the media. Those of us who wear makeup for a living cannot allow this debate and its analysis to devolve to theater criticism.
Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, if they want to talk about Kerry's tan, because they can't talk about the 133,000 troops baking in the desert, that's fine. But any so-called analyst who goes along with this simplistic, juvenile diversion isn't worth the makeup he wears.
CARLSON: Well, if Iraq is so important, why is John Kerry spending his time spraying on phony tans? He clearly thinks it's important that he look a certain way. His appearance is very important to him. It's not "The New York Times" that's been spraying on the tan or getting Botox. It's John Kerry.
BEGALA: It's silly.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Yes, it is silly. And he's doing it.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: No, your point is silly.
He's been giving thoughtful speeches about Iraq. He's got a plan. You may not it. You may support it. I don't know. But he's got a plan.
(BELL RINGING)
BEGALA: And for people in the media to be talking about his tan instead of his plan is a sin.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: If he's so insecure he has to spray on a tan, that tells you something important about him.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: You don't think Bush doesn't wear makeup?
CARLSON: It's so phony.
BEGALA: You wear makeup. I wear makeup. It's part of the television business.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: ... Mr. manly man putting on the phony girl tan. Please.
BEGALA: Oh, that's silly.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Here's an interesting question.
If George W. Bush is as diabolical and incompetent as Democrats say he is, why does Tom Daschle love him so much? Daschle, you'll remember, is the Democratic leader of the U.S. Senate. He's not a Republican. Yet, in his campaign ads now running in South Dakota, Daschle is pictured hugging the very, very evil President Bush, and not in an ironic way.
The reason of course is that Bush is popular in South Dakota and John Kerry is not at all popular in South Dakota. It's the same in Oklahoma, where the Democratic Senate candidate says he turned down a chance to campaign with John Kerry. Same story in South Carolina and other states.
In other words, a lot of Democrats are embarrassed, very embarrassed, of their own nominee. Of course they'll deny this. But until Tom Daschle puts John Kerry in his campaign ads, you'll know it's true.
(CROSSTALK)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Look, there's regional differences. You're right.
Bush is popular in South Dakota. What's interesting is, in Rhode Island, where Bush is unpopular, the Republican senator there, Linc Chafee, has said he's not going to vote for Bush. But here's what's interesting. Tennessee, heavily Republican state...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: He's not the leader of Republicans in the Senate.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: The Republican congressional candidate in Tennessee has now unendorsed Bush, the Republican candidate in the 5th District of Tennessee.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: He's not an incumbent.
BEGALA: This is a Republican state.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: No, Paul, please, let's be real.
There are Republicans who hate Bush. But this is the leader of Democrats in the U.S. Senate, is hugging Bush in his own ads. If he really believed in something, he wouldn't do that.
(BELL RINGING)
CARLSON: And you know that that's true. He's the leader of the Senate Democrats.
BEGALA: While it's vital who Tom Daschle hugs, I think the biggest and most important issue that will be discussed in tomorrow's debate is, of course, what the candidates will do about the mess in Iraq.
But before they can debate how to fix the mess, they're going to have to debate whether there is a mess. Like the cheerleader he was at the elite Andover prep school, President Bush continues to assert that everything is great. We're making progress, he says. Freedom's on the march. Rah-rah. Sis boom bah. Go, team!
But that is not the picture that Mr. Bush's own intelligence experts see. One former intelligence official tells today's "Washington Post" -- quote -- "There's no obvious way to fix it. The best we can hope for is a semi-failed state hobbling along with terrorists in a succession of weak governments" -- unquote.
You know, denial is not just a river in Egypt. Apparently, it flows right through the Oval Office.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) CARLSON: First of all, you've got to hope that the CIA assessment is pessimistic. I don't know if it is or not, but I think all of us ought to really hope that it is.
Second, of course the White House knows that Iraq is in terrible shape. Of course Bush can't say, because it would hurt him politically. And you would be the first one to jump on it.
BEGALA: It wouldn't. It would help him politically. He should tell the truth.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Come on, Paul.
If Bush got up there and said, actually, we invaded Iraq, but things really aren't going so well in Iraq, it would be a disaster politically, as you know. Let's just be real.
BEGALA: No, I think it's a bigger disaster to be denying the reality and not leveling with people.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: The most important question is, what do you do next? And I must say, I've not heard John Kerry explain anything about that.
(CROSSTALK)
(BELL RINGING)
BEGALA: Before you fix the problem, you have to acknowledge there is a problem. And Bush won't even do that.
CARLSON: Of course they know there's a problem. They read the paper. They're running it. They're running the occupation.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: The president says he doesn't read the paper. I don't know. We'll ask Jim Dyke from the Republican Party when he comes out here.
CARLSON: All right.
Well, next on CROSSFIRE, debating the debate. We're less than 29 hours away from the matchup here in very, very sunny Miami. What do the candidates need to say and do? And are there any potential land mines out there?
And speaking of land mines, Paul and I open the time capsule and show you some of the greatest self-inflicted wounds by candidates in the past debates. They are ugly, so, of course, you won't want to miss them.
We'll be right back. (LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEGALA: We are back at the University of Miami, where the guys are buff, the girls are pretty, and everybody's getting a straight A this semester, because they're hosting tomorrow night's presidential debate here on campus.
Joining us today in the CROSSFIRE for a little debate pregame show, Republican National Committee communications director Jim Dyke and Democratic Congressman from Florida Kendrick Meek.
Guys, good to see you again.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Now, Congressman Meek, the Kerry campaign has decided, a little more than a month to go before the election, to make the debate about national security. And I applaud them on that, because it's, of course, the only issue that really matters.
And yet it's pretty tough going, because Kerry is losing the question, who will better protect you, by 20-odd points, depending on what poll you look at. We've got about a month to go before the election. It's kind of hard to see how he makes that up in that time, 20 points.
REP. KENDRICK MEEK (D), FLORIDA: John Kerry has a vision as it relates to Iraq and other places like it.
We know that we need help in the world to be able to fight this global war on terrorism. Right now, the coalition is getting smaller, instead of getting bigger, under the Bush policies, because folks see that there's not a real plan in Iraq to make it happen. That's the reason why we have elections. That's the reason why we're having this campaign. We're a number of days away from Election Day. People still have an opportunity to draw their opinion. You know, polls are going to go up and down. Polls are going to go up and down between now and then.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: OK. Here's a question Kerry might get tomorrow night at the debate. The single most prominent insurgency leader in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of a lot of Shiites, responsible for a lot of American deaths, is still in the country. We probably know where he is. We haven't killed him yet. Should we? Kerry has not answered that question. What will he say if he's asked that?
MEEK: Well, I can't answer the question for John Kerry.
CARLSON: What do you think he should do?
MEEK: The bottom line is, is that we have to stomp out terrorism there.
CARLSON: It's kind of a basic question, don't you think?
MEEK: But, you know, this terrorism is there a la the Bush administration, because it wasn't there prior to the preemptive strike.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: But you've got to answer basic questions like that before you go and get France and Germany on your side, I guess. You have got to make the country safe before the allies will come and help you.
MEEK: We have to make the country safe. And guess what? We're going to need more help in making the country safe. We're 96 percent of the casualties, 96 percent of the costs, $200 billion spent in Iraq. We need to be able to have a leader that's able to reach out to the rest of the world community and bring a true coalition together, a coalition that's willing to foot the bill...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MEEK: ... and also take part in unfortunate casualties that we're suffering right now.
BEGALA: All right, Jim, let me bring you in. First, good to see you again. Thanks for coming.
JIM DYKE, RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Thank you.
BEGALA: There's a new ad from the Democratic National Committee. I suspect it presages some of the arguments you may hear in tomorrow night's debate. So let me give you a preview of it and then ask you to respond to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
ANNOUNCER: No one can tell him he's wrong, even though there were no weapons of mass destruction. The deficit has never been higher. He's lost more jobs than any president in 75 years. And 1,000 American soldiers have died in a war poorly planned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEGALA: Now, that's simply the Bush record, war, recession, deficit. Is he going to own up to any mistakes in tomorrow night's debate?
DYKE: Well, I think what you see there is a continuation of the strategy that we've seen from Democrats all along, which is highlighting the challenges that we face as a country, the challenge of terrorism, the challenges in Iraq.
We all understand the challenges. I think what people are looking for, though, are solutions. And what you have in President Bush is tax relief to grow our economy. You have a budget in place to keep spending in control, to cut it in half in five years. And you have a commitment, a consistent, steady commitment, a plan to lead and win the war on terror in Iraq. And that's what...
(CROSSTALK)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: What is that? What is that plan? What's the Bush plan to win the war in Iraq?
DYKE: That is what people are looking for.
BEGALA: It's a fair question. Tucker asked Congressman Meek a moment ago whether John Kerry thinks we should kill Muqtada al-Sadr. Does President Bush? He could have and he didn't. Should he have?
DYKE: You're seeing the evolution -- you're seeing the evolution -- you're seeing the evolution -- you're seeing the evolution of that plan right now. You're seeing...
BEGALA: So it's evolving. The plan is moving, is shifting with the wind, like a windsurfer? It's shifting?
(CROSSTALK)
DYKE: Windsurfer. I'm surprised you brought that up.
BEGALA: Right. No. If John Kerry is terrible because he shifts, don't tell me Bush is good because his plan is evolving, Mr. Dyke.
DYKE: I didn't say his plan was evolving.
BEGALA: Yes, you did.
DYKE: I said we're establishing it.
The constitution has been put in place. You have a prime minister in Iraq now. You're looking to elections in January. And, by the way, at each one of these stages, Democrats said it wasn't possible. I'm surprised that you brought up funding. You know, one of the amazing things...
BEGALA: We said it wasn't possible it could be this bad maybe.
(CROSSTALK)
DYKE: ... in this ad about the $200 billion is that John Kerry said three weeks before the vote on the $87 billion that it would be irresponsible to vote against it. No one in the Senate would cut and run. And three weeks later, he voted against funding our troops. We heard another answer from him this morning.
BEGALA: So that's the Bush plan, attack Kerry.
(CROSSTALK)
DYKE: It's surprising.
CARLSON: I want to get the congressman in here.
As you know -- let's be totally blunt about debates -- they are not about issues or about policy. People know the policies of the candidates. They're on their Web sites. They want to know about the man, OK, each of the men. And they don't trust John Kerry, according to the polls, to this point. What does John Kerry -- boil it down for me. What is John Kerry going to say to America tomorrow night at the debate that is going to get -- convince people that he actually knows what he's doing, he knows what he thinks himself and he's going to get the situation in Iraq under control?
Give me the three sentences.
MEEK: John Kerry has been -- you have got to give me more than that.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: No, John Kerry would take like 15 sentences. That's his problem. I want three.
MEEK: John Kerry has been in the U.S. Senate for 20 years. And he's the only person on stage to know what it means to be under fire and be in the battle area.
And what's important is making sure that we have a leader that's going to stand not only with the troops, but also stand and make sure that U.S. policy is followed through. We have a mess right now in Iraq. And we're going to have to deal with that mess and we're going to have to have the leadership.
CARLSON: Oh, Congressman, Congressman, Congressman...
MEEK: The president has had his opportunity to be able to deal with it.
CARLSON: You have to do better than that, because you have just summed up the Kerry campaign to date. One, I'm a war hero. Here are my medals. Aren't you impressed? Two, President Bush is deeply, deeply, deeply, deeply evil, OK? Those are the two themes of the Kerry campaign.
MEEK: No, that's what your...
CARLSON: And where have they gotten him? He is losing a month out.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MEEK: But, see, that's what you're saying. What we're saying is that... CARLSON: No, that is what John Kerry has been saying for two years. And he's losing.
MEEK: What we're saying is that -- guess what? I will tell you one thing that Americans do know, that we have to make sure that we have a true coalition in Iraq to be able to have some sort of victory in Iraq. If we want to build a democracy in Iraq, we've got to make it safer. Those enemies to that democracy, we're going to have to deal with them.
But guess what? We can't lose 70 troops, 70-plus troops in a month, like we lost in September, fighting that war by ourselves, costing ourselves and going heavily -- I mean, further and further into deficit spending, as we're trying to prove a point.
(CROSSTALK)
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: I'm sorry to cut you off, but I want to get Jim Dyke back into this.
The president says again and again we're making progress. Today, a remarkable story in "The Washington Post" quoted his own defense and intelligence officials. Here's what they say: "The rebellion is deeper and more widespread than is being acknowledged. There's no obvious way to fix it. The best we can hope for is a semi-failed state hobbling along with terrorists in a succession of weak governments. Things are definitely not improving. It's getting worse."
"There are things going on that are unbelievable to me," says one officials. "They have infiltrators conducting attacks in the Green Zone. That was not the case a year ago."
Again and again, the president's own intelligence and military officials say things are terrible in Iraq. When will he wake up to reality and level with us?
DYKE: Always, always been part of reality, always said that fighting this war would be tough.
BEGALA: He doesn't say anything of these things.
(CROSSTALK)
DYKE: I would actually -- I would actually -- I would actually -- but I would actually take Colin Powell on Sunday and I would take Prime Minister Allawi, who was at the White House last week, talking about 15 of 18...
BEGALA: Who said terrorists are pouring into his country.
DYKE: Talking about 15 -- there's no doubt that we're fighting terrorists in Iraq.
No one...
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: They are pouring into his country, is what Prime Minister Allawi said.
DYKE: The important thing to remember is that we're fighting a global war on terror. We're fighting them in Afghanistan. We're fighting them in Iraq, so that we don't have to fight them here in the United States.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: How about both? How about we fight them in both places?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
DYKE: We have a coalition.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: Why do we have to pick a war in Iraq, when there were no ties to al Qaeda, there were no WMDs?
DYKE: It's a global war on terror. And that's what Democrats don't seem to understand.
(CROSSTALK)
DYKE: It's a global war on terror. We have to take the fight to them. We can't go back to a pre-9/11 law enforcement approach of waiting until they rob the bank to chase the bank robbers. We have to take the fight to them.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: At this point, we're going to have to take the show to the advertisers. We're going to take a quick break.
Up next in "Rapid" Fire," why is John Kerry trying to scare the public with the phony possibility of a draft, which will never happen?
And after the break, Wolf Blitzer will bring us the latest on what's going on inside Mount Saint Helens? Is one of the most active volcanoes in the U.S. getting ready to blow?
Stay tuned.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Coming up at the top of the hour, new signs in Washington state that Mount Saint Helens may erupt again. Experts have issued a volcano advisory.
President Bush and Senator John Kerry prepare for tomorrow's debate. What will they say? Get a sneak preview in our surrogate debate.
And a wild ride in suborbital space, some very anxious moments in one bid to win the $10 billion X Prize.
Those stories, much more, only minutes away on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS."
Now back to CROSSFIRE.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE.
It's time for "Rapid Fire," where the premium is on brevity, both in questions and in answers.
Joining us, Congressman Kendrick Meek of Florida, a Democrat, and also "Bear" Dyke, the chief spokesman for the Republican Party.
BEGALA: Mr. Dyke, Bear, I guess, President Bush likes to talk about Kerry's flip-flops. He was for and then against the creation of the Homeland Security Department, against and then for the creation of a 9/11 Commission, against nation building, then for it, for free trade, then against it. He said the most important thing is to get bin Laden. Now he says, I don't care. I could go on.
Is he ready to deal with his own flip-flops tomorrow night?
DYKE: I don't know that all those are exactly accurate.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: Completely accurate. I couldn't read it if it wasn't true.
(LAUGHTER)
DYKE: I think you need to figure out your strategy. Either he's so hardheaded and stubborn that he can't change his mind or he flip- flops. Pick one and I'd be happy to...
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: ... ignorant, actually. I don't think he's too hardheaded.
CARLSON: That's a brilliant point. I've got to say, that is a brilliant point.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: He's not up to the job. CARLSON: Now, Congressman, as you know, Democrats only win elections generally by terrifying, scaring the hell out of voters. And the new tactic this season is to convince voters, specific communities of voters, that the Bush administration is planning to bring back the draft. That's a lie, as you know. Will you say on television that's not true? They're not planning to bring back the draft and you know it.
MEEK: Well, what they're doing right now, individuals that are supposed to be leaving the military are not able to leave. They're being asked to stay on for another 14, 15 months.
CARLSON: That is true, but that's very different from the draft, as you know.
MEEK: But the real issue is that we're overcommitted in this world and we're over -- and we're not committed enough in the places where we need to be committed. And that's the hunt for Osama bin Laden, who was responsible, who was responsible for 9/11.
(CROSSTALK)
(APPLAUSE)
MEEK: So I think it's important for us to put our resources where they really need to be to be able to stomp out terror in this country.
CARLSON: You're not going to say it. OK.
DYKE: Outrageous. We ought to tell the people on this college campus that President Bush has made clear there will be no draft.
BEGALA: He's already got a backdoor draft of the Guard and Reserve.
DYKE: Outrageous.
MEEK: Backdoor
(CROSSTALK)
MEEK: Backdoor draft.
(CROSSTALK)
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Our president has had the hardest job in the whole wide world for almost four years, hardest job in the world for four years.
(BELL RINGING)
BEGALA: Has he made a single mistake and will he admit one in the debate?
DYKE: You know, it's important to be a leader. It's important to be look forward, and that's what the president does.
BEGALA: He's not going to admit a single mistake?
DYKE: He's recognized the challenges.
BEGALA: Not a one.
DYKE: He's more focused on solutions to the challenges.
BEGALA: Not a one.
CARLSON: All right.
BEGALA: All right.
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Jim Dyke from the Republican National Committee, Congressman Kendrick Meek from South Florida, thank you very much for a fun debate.
DYKE: All right, thank you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Gentlemen.
BEGALA: Up next, you've got to be careful during these debates. If you say or do the wrong thing, it could haunt you the rest of your life. We'll look back at some great debate dos and don'ts.
Stay with us.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Welcome back to the sunny University of Miami.
Tucker and I have a couple of tips for the candidates. We know that they're both watching. Tip No. 1, when you're a in presidential debate, don't compare yourself to JFK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD BENTSEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: God. He walked into that. He looked kind of pompous saying it, I have to say.
BEGALA: Oh, he's a good man. No, Lloyd Bentsen is a wonderful...
CARLSON: He's a little pompous.
I would say my advice would be, don't hyperventilate under any circumstances.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... difference in our plans is, I want that $2,000 to go to you.
Doesn't believe in exploration, for example, in Alaska. There's a lot of shut-in gas.
I've had a record of appointing judges in the state of Texas. That's what a governor gets to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: He just -- he sounds like an obscene phone caller. Really, he just sounds like a creep.
BEGALA: But the notion that today we're in a war because of Al Gore's respiratory habits, I hope the press does a better job analyzing this debate.
CARLSON: It's not the press' fault.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: From the left, I am Paul Begala. From the University of Miami, that's it for CROSSFIRE.
CARLSON: And from the right, I'm Tucker Carlson.
Join us again tomorrow. We'll be right here in Miami for debate coverage. CNN coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. Don't miss it. See you then.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
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Aired September 29, 2004 - 16:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: CROSSFIRE. On the left, James Carville and Paul Begala; on the right, Robert Novak and Tucker Carlson.
In the CROSSFIRE: final preparations. Kerry and Bush are honing in on tomorrow night's debate. What do they need to do to sway swing voters?
JOE LOCKHART, KERRY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: It's a pretty simple formula for us. He's got to demonstrate knowledge of the issues, strength, and leadership qualities, but also a difference. This is a choice. This is a choice between the president's failed foreign policy and a new direction.
MARY MATALIN, BUSH CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Well, President Bush and a great advantage in this debate for him is that he knows what he thinks, why he thinks it. He'll be talking about the record, his fine record of progress here. And he'll be talking about the agenda going forward, his vision for the future.
ANNOUNCER: CNN's Election Express has rolled into town for the matchup in Miami. Will it be a battle of style or substance? Will the gloves come off? What to expect and what's at stake -- today on CROSSFIRE,
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from the University of Miami, site of tomorrow's presidential debate, Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST: Hey, everybody. Welcome to CROSSFIRE.
The process that began in the ice of Iowa has moved to the swelter of South Florida. CROSSFIRE is on location at the University of Miami, home of the handsome and intelligent University of Miami Hurricanes.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: And in just over 24 hours, the moment of truth will arrive. Will George W. Bush continue to insist that everything in Iraq is more fun than a kegger at the DIK house? Will John Kerry lay out his agenda? And will the media focus on the life-and-death issues or wimp out and make fun of the candidates' makeup? Well, we're ready to rumble, or, I guess, in the case of President Bush, ready to stumble.
(LAUGHTER)
TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST: Ready to rumble. Well, that's nice. Only, in John Kerry's case, it is more likely to be ready to ramble.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: The big question tomorrow night will be, can the embattled challenger keep it concise and stick to a position in under 4,000 words? That's unlikely. We'll look at why.
But, first, the best political briefing in television, our CROSSFIRE "Political Alert."
CARLSON: Well, poor Al Gore. I, for one, feel sorry for him.
It's embarrassing enough to have run the single worst presidential campaign in human history, as he did four years ago. But then, rather than slink off into the obscurity of academia, as Mike Dukakis sensibly did, Gore's insisted on continuing to rant in public. In this morning's "New York Times," he offers John Kerry advice on how to debate George W. Bush.
His op-ed is predictably bitter. Gore still hasn't gotten over losing. But the saddest part is his attempt to rewrite history. In his words, Bush is a brilliant wordsmith, a verbal wizard -- quote -- "a skilled debater." His advice to John Kerry -- quote -- "Be prepared for the toughest debates of your career.
Please, let's be real. Bush is not a skilled debater, as even his friends admit. Often, he can barely finish a complete sentence.
(LAUGHTER)
CARLSON: Gore lost the debates because he revealed his true personality on stage, on camera in front of America. And if John Kerry loses tomorrow night, it will be because he makes the mistake of doing the exact same thing.
BEGALA: Well, no, I think, actually, Bush did a pretty good job. I followed those last debates pretty closely.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Come on.
BEGALA: I actually played Bush in those mock debates. And this is what he's good at, taking a canned line someone else writes for him and repeating it as if he knew what he was talking about for 30 seconds. That's all that these debates measure.
CARLSON: Debates reveal the person's personality.
BEGALA: Is that right?
CARLSON: They do.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: It's like a psychic X-ray, a CAT scan of the soul.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Television reveals the truth about a person. It does. You know that. You work here. And if Kerry reveals the deep unpleasantness of his own personality, he loses.
BEGALA: And if Bush reveals the deep shallowness of his capacity -- well, I guess you can't be deeply shallow, but you know what I mean.
Well, 1,055 brave Americans have already given their lives in George W. Bush's war in Iraq so far. Another 7,552 have been wounded so far; $200 billion of your money has been spent in Iraq so far. "The Washington Post" reports today that intelligence officials say the insurgency in Iraq is deeper and more widespread than President Bush is telling you and -- quote -- "It's getting worse" -- unquote -- says an Army officer.
So, what's the Bush/Cheney campaign talking about today? John Kerry's tan. Give me a break. Look, if they want to do that, that's fine. But this is a character test for the media. Those of us who wear makeup for a living cannot allow this debate and its analysis to devolve to theater criticism.
Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, if they want to talk about Kerry's tan, because they can't talk about the 133,000 troops baking in the desert, that's fine. But any so-called analyst who goes along with this simplistic, juvenile diversion isn't worth the makeup he wears.
CARLSON: Well, if Iraq is so important, why is John Kerry spending his time spraying on phony tans? He clearly thinks it's important that he look a certain way. His appearance is very important to him. It's not "The New York Times" that's been spraying on the tan or getting Botox. It's John Kerry.
BEGALA: It's silly.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Yes, it is silly. And he's doing it.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: No, your point is silly.
He's been giving thoughtful speeches about Iraq. He's got a plan. You may not it. You may support it. I don't know. But he's got a plan.
(BELL RINGING)
BEGALA: And for people in the media to be talking about his tan instead of his plan is a sin.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: If he's so insecure he has to spray on a tan, that tells you something important about him.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: You don't think Bush doesn't wear makeup?
CARLSON: It's so phony.
BEGALA: You wear makeup. I wear makeup. It's part of the television business.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: ... Mr. manly man putting on the phony girl tan. Please.
BEGALA: Oh, that's silly.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Here's an interesting question.
If George W. Bush is as diabolical and incompetent as Democrats say he is, why does Tom Daschle love him so much? Daschle, you'll remember, is the Democratic leader of the U.S. Senate. He's not a Republican. Yet, in his campaign ads now running in South Dakota, Daschle is pictured hugging the very, very evil President Bush, and not in an ironic way.
The reason of course is that Bush is popular in South Dakota and John Kerry is not at all popular in South Dakota. It's the same in Oklahoma, where the Democratic Senate candidate says he turned down a chance to campaign with John Kerry. Same story in South Carolina and other states.
In other words, a lot of Democrats are embarrassed, very embarrassed, of their own nominee. Of course they'll deny this. But until Tom Daschle puts John Kerry in his campaign ads, you'll know it's true.
(CROSSTALK)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Look, there's regional differences. You're right.
Bush is popular in South Dakota. What's interesting is, in Rhode Island, where Bush is unpopular, the Republican senator there, Linc Chafee, has said he's not going to vote for Bush. But here's what's interesting. Tennessee, heavily Republican state...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: He's not the leader of Republicans in the Senate.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: The Republican congressional candidate in Tennessee has now unendorsed Bush, the Republican candidate in the 5th District of Tennessee.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: He's not an incumbent.
BEGALA: This is a Republican state.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: No, Paul, please, let's be real.
There are Republicans who hate Bush. But this is the leader of Democrats in the U.S. Senate, is hugging Bush in his own ads. If he really believed in something, he wouldn't do that.
(BELL RINGING)
CARLSON: And you know that that's true. He's the leader of the Senate Democrats.
BEGALA: While it's vital who Tom Daschle hugs, I think the biggest and most important issue that will be discussed in tomorrow's debate is, of course, what the candidates will do about the mess in Iraq.
But before they can debate how to fix the mess, they're going to have to debate whether there is a mess. Like the cheerleader he was at the elite Andover prep school, President Bush continues to assert that everything is great. We're making progress, he says. Freedom's on the march. Rah-rah. Sis boom bah. Go, team!
But that is not the picture that Mr. Bush's own intelligence experts see. One former intelligence official tells today's "Washington Post" -- quote -- "There's no obvious way to fix it. The best we can hope for is a semi-failed state hobbling along with terrorists in a succession of weak governments" -- unquote.
You know, denial is not just a river in Egypt. Apparently, it flows right through the Oval Office.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) CARLSON: First of all, you've got to hope that the CIA assessment is pessimistic. I don't know if it is or not, but I think all of us ought to really hope that it is.
Second, of course the White House knows that Iraq is in terrible shape. Of course Bush can't say, because it would hurt him politically. And you would be the first one to jump on it.
BEGALA: It wouldn't. It would help him politically. He should tell the truth.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Come on, Paul.
If Bush got up there and said, actually, we invaded Iraq, but things really aren't going so well in Iraq, it would be a disaster politically, as you know. Let's just be real.
BEGALA: No, I think it's a bigger disaster to be denying the reality and not leveling with people.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: The most important question is, what do you do next? And I must say, I've not heard John Kerry explain anything about that.
(CROSSTALK)
(BELL RINGING)
BEGALA: Before you fix the problem, you have to acknowledge there is a problem. And Bush won't even do that.
CARLSON: Of course they know there's a problem. They read the paper. They're running it. They're running the occupation.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: The president says he doesn't read the paper. I don't know. We'll ask Jim Dyke from the Republican Party when he comes out here.
CARLSON: All right.
Well, next on CROSSFIRE, debating the debate. We're less than 29 hours away from the matchup here in very, very sunny Miami. What do the candidates need to say and do? And are there any potential land mines out there?
And speaking of land mines, Paul and I open the time capsule and show you some of the greatest self-inflicted wounds by candidates in the past debates. They are ugly, so, of course, you won't want to miss them.
We'll be right back. (LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEGALA: We are back at the University of Miami, where the guys are buff, the girls are pretty, and everybody's getting a straight A this semester, because they're hosting tomorrow night's presidential debate here on campus.
Joining us today in the CROSSFIRE for a little debate pregame show, Republican National Committee communications director Jim Dyke and Democratic Congressman from Florida Kendrick Meek.
Guys, good to see you again.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: Now, Congressman Meek, the Kerry campaign has decided, a little more than a month to go before the election, to make the debate about national security. And I applaud them on that, because it's, of course, the only issue that really matters.
And yet it's pretty tough going, because Kerry is losing the question, who will better protect you, by 20-odd points, depending on what poll you look at. We've got about a month to go before the election. It's kind of hard to see how he makes that up in that time, 20 points.
REP. KENDRICK MEEK (D), FLORIDA: John Kerry has a vision as it relates to Iraq and other places like it.
We know that we need help in the world to be able to fight this global war on terrorism. Right now, the coalition is getting smaller, instead of getting bigger, under the Bush policies, because folks see that there's not a real plan in Iraq to make it happen. That's the reason why we have elections. That's the reason why we're having this campaign. We're a number of days away from Election Day. People still have an opportunity to draw their opinion. You know, polls are going to go up and down. Polls are going to go up and down between now and then.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: OK. Here's a question Kerry might get tomorrow night at the debate. The single most prominent insurgency leader in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of a lot of Shiites, responsible for a lot of American deaths, is still in the country. We probably know where he is. We haven't killed him yet. Should we? Kerry has not answered that question. What will he say if he's asked that?
MEEK: Well, I can't answer the question for John Kerry.
CARLSON: What do you think he should do?
MEEK: The bottom line is, is that we have to stomp out terrorism there.
CARLSON: It's kind of a basic question, don't you think?
MEEK: But, you know, this terrorism is there a la the Bush administration, because it wasn't there prior to the preemptive strike.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: But you've got to answer basic questions like that before you go and get France and Germany on your side, I guess. You have got to make the country safe before the allies will come and help you.
MEEK: We have to make the country safe. And guess what? We're going to need more help in making the country safe. We're 96 percent of the casualties, 96 percent of the costs, $200 billion spent in Iraq. We need to be able to have a leader that's able to reach out to the rest of the world community and bring a true coalition together, a coalition that's willing to foot the bill...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MEEK: ... and also take part in unfortunate casualties that we're suffering right now.
BEGALA: All right, Jim, let me bring you in. First, good to see you again. Thanks for coming.
JIM DYKE, RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Thank you.
BEGALA: There's a new ad from the Democratic National Committee. I suspect it presages some of the arguments you may hear in tomorrow night's debate. So let me give you a preview of it and then ask you to respond to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
ANNOUNCER: No one can tell him he's wrong, even though there were no weapons of mass destruction. The deficit has never been higher. He's lost more jobs than any president in 75 years. And 1,000 American soldiers have died in a war poorly planned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEGALA: Now, that's simply the Bush record, war, recession, deficit. Is he going to own up to any mistakes in tomorrow night's debate?
DYKE: Well, I think what you see there is a continuation of the strategy that we've seen from Democrats all along, which is highlighting the challenges that we face as a country, the challenge of terrorism, the challenges in Iraq.
We all understand the challenges. I think what people are looking for, though, are solutions. And what you have in President Bush is tax relief to grow our economy. You have a budget in place to keep spending in control, to cut it in half in five years. And you have a commitment, a consistent, steady commitment, a plan to lead and win the war on terror in Iraq. And that's what...
(CROSSTALK)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: What is that? What is that plan? What's the Bush plan to win the war in Iraq?
DYKE: That is what people are looking for.
BEGALA: It's a fair question. Tucker asked Congressman Meek a moment ago whether John Kerry thinks we should kill Muqtada al-Sadr. Does President Bush? He could have and he didn't. Should he have?
DYKE: You're seeing the evolution -- you're seeing the evolution -- you're seeing the evolution -- you're seeing the evolution of that plan right now. You're seeing...
BEGALA: So it's evolving. The plan is moving, is shifting with the wind, like a windsurfer? It's shifting?
(CROSSTALK)
DYKE: Windsurfer. I'm surprised you brought that up.
BEGALA: Right. No. If John Kerry is terrible because he shifts, don't tell me Bush is good because his plan is evolving, Mr. Dyke.
DYKE: I didn't say his plan was evolving.
BEGALA: Yes, you did.
DYKE: I said we're establishing it.
The constitution has been put in place. You have a prime minister in Iraq now. You're looking to elections in January. And, by the way, at each one of these stages, Democrats said it wasn't possible. I'm surprised that you brought up funding. You know, one of the amazing things...
BEGALA: We said it wasn't possible it could be this bad maybe.
(CROSSTALK)
DYKE: ... in this ad about the $200 billion is that John Kerry said three weeks before the vote on the $87 billion that it would be irresponsible to vote against it. No one in the Senate would cut and run. And three weeks later, he voted against funding our troops. We heard another answer from him this morning.
BEGALA: So that's the Bush plan, attack Kerry.
(CROSSTALK)
DYKE: It's surprising.
CARLSON: I want to get the congressman in here.
As you know -- let's be totally blunt about debates -- they are not about issues or about policy. People know the policies of the candidates. They're on their Web sites. They want to know about the man, OK, each of the men. And they don't trust John Kerry, according to the polls, to this point. What does John Kerry -- boil it down for me. What is John Kerry going to say to America tomorrow night at the debate that is going to get -- convince people that he actually knows what he's doing, he knows what he thinks himself and he's going to get the situation in Iraq under control?
Give me the three sentences.
MEEK: John Kerry has been -- you have got to give me more than that.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: No, John Kerry would take like 15 sentences. That's his problem. I want three.
MEEK: John Kerry has been in the U.S. Senate for 20 years. And he's the only person on stage to know what it means to be under fire and be in the battle area.
And what's important is making sure that we have a leader that's going to stand not only with the troops, but also stand and make sure that U.S. policy is followed through. We have a mess right now in Iraq. And we're going to have to deal with that mess and we're going to have to have the leadership.
CARLSON: Oh, Congressman, Congressman, Congressman...
MEEK: The president has had his opportunity to be able to deal with it.
CARLSON: You have to do better than that, because you have just summed up the Kerry campaign to date. One, I'm a war hero. Here are my medals. Aren't you impressed? Two, President Bush is deeply, deeply, deeply, deeply evil, OK? Those are the two themes of the Kerry campaign.
MEEK: No, that's what your...
CARLSON: And where have they gotten him? He is losing a month out.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MEEK: But, see, that's what you're saying. What we're saying is that... CARLSON: No, that is what John Kerry has been saying for two years. And he's losing.
MEEK: What we're saying is that -- guess what? I will tell you one thing that Americans do know, that we have to make sure that we have a true coalition in Iraq to be able to have some sort of victory in Iraq. If we want to build a democracy in Iraq, we've got to make it safer. Those enemies to that democracy, we're going to have to deal with them.
But guess what? We can't lose 70 troops, 70-plus troops in a month, like we lost in September, fighting that war by ourselves, costing ourselves and going heavily -- I mean, further and further into deficit spending, as we're trying to prove a point.
(CROSSTALK)
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: I'm sorry to cut you off, but I want to get Jim Dyke back into this.
The president says again and again we're making progress. Today, a remarkable story in "The Washington Post" quoted his own defense and intelligence officials. Here's what they say: "The rebellion is deeper and more widespread than is being acknowledged. There's no obvious way to fix it. The best we can hope for is a semi-failed state hobbling along with terrorists in a succession of weak governments. Things are definitely not improving. It's getting worse."
"There are things going on that are unbelievable to me," says one officials. "They have infiltrators conducting attacks in the Green Zone. That was not the case a year ago."
Again and again, the president's own intelligence and military officials say things are terrible in Iraq. When will he wake up to reality and level with us?
DYKE: Always, always been part of reality, always said that fighting this war would be tough.
BEGALA: He doesn't say anything of these things.
(CROSSTALK)
DYKE: I would actually -- I would actually -- I would actually -- but I would actually take Colin Powell on Sunday and I would take Prime Minister Allawi, who was at the White House last week, talking about 15 of 18...
BEGALA: Who said terrorists are pouring into his country.
DYKE: Talking about 15 -- there's no doubt that we're fighting terrorists in Iraq.
No one...
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: They are pouring into his country, is what Prime Minister Allawi said.
DYKE: The important thing to remember is that we're fighting a global war on terror. We're fighting them in Afghanistan. We're fighting them in Iraq, so that we don't have to fight them here in the United States.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: How about both? How about we fight them in both places?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
DYKE: We have a coalition.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: Why do we have to pick a war in Iraq, when there were no ties to al Qaeda, there were no WMDs?
DYKE: It's a global war on terror. And that's what Democrats don't seem to understand.
(CROSSTALK)
DYKE: It's a global war on terror. We have to take the fight to them. We can't go back to a pre-9/11 law enforcement approach of waiting until they rob the bank to chase the bank robbers. We have to take the fight to them.
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: At this point, we're going to have to take the show to the advertisers. We're going to take a quick break.
Up next in "Rapid" Fire," why is John Kerry trying to scare the public with the phony possibility of a draft, which will never happen?
And after the break, Wolf Blitzer will bring us the latest on what's going on inside Mount Saint Helens? Is one of the most active volcanoes in the U.S. getting ready to blow?
Stay tuned.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
Coming up at the top of the hour, new signs in Washington state that Mount Saint Helens may erupt again. Experts have issued a volcano advisory.
President Bush and Senator John Kerry prepare for tomorrow's debate. What will they say? Get a sneak preview in our surrogate debate.
And a wild ride in suborbital space, some very anxious moments in one bid to win the $10 billion X Prize.
Those stories, much more, only minutes away on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS."
Now back to CROSSFIRE.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE.
It's time for "Rapid Fire," where the premium is on brevity, both in questions and in answers.
Joining us, Congressman Kendrick Meek of Florida, a Democrat, and also "Bear" Dyke, the chief spokesman for the Republican Party.
BEGALA: Mr. Dyke, Bear, I guess, President Bush likes to talk about Kerry's flip-flops. He was for and then against the creation of the Homeland Security Department, against and then for the creation of a 9/11 Commission, against nation building, then for it, for free trade, then against it. He said the most important thing is to get bin Laden. Now he says, I don't care. I could go on.
Is he ready to deal with his own flip-flops tomorrow night?
DYKE: I don't know that all those are exactly accurate.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: Completely accurate. I couldn't read it if it wasn't true.
(LAUGHTER)
DYKE: I think you need to figure out your strategy. Either he's so hardheaded and stubborn that he can't change his mind or he flip- flops. Pick one and I'd be happy to...
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: ... ignorant, actually. I don't think he's too hardheaded.
CARLSON: That's a brilliant point. I've got to say, that is a brilliant point.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: He's not up to the job. CARLSON: Now, Congressman, as you know, Democrats only win elections generally by terrifying, scaring the hell out of voters. And the new tactic this season is to convince voters, specific communities of voters, that the Bush administration is planning to bring back the draft. That's a lie, as you know. Will you say on television that's not true? They're not planning to bring back the draft and you know it.
MEEK: Well, what they're doing right now, individuals that are supposed to be leaving the military are not able to leave. They're being asked to stay on for another 14, 15 months.
CARLSON: That is true, but that's very different from the draft, as you know.
MEEK: But the real issue is that we're overcommitted in this world and we're over -- and we're not committed enough in the places where we need to be committed. And that's the hunt for Osama bin Laden, who was responsible, who was responsible for 9/11.
(CROSSTALK)
(APPLAUSE)
MEEK: So I think it's important for us to put our resources where they really need to be to be able to stomp out terror in this country.
CARLSON: You're not going to say it. OK.
DYKE: Outrageous. We ought to tell the people on this college campus that President Bush has made clear there will be no draft.
BEGALA: He's already got a backdoor draft of the Guard and Reserve.
DYKE: Outrageous.
MEEK: Backdoor
(CROSSTALK)
MEEK: Backdoor draft.
(CROSSTALK)
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Our president has had the hardest job in the whole wide world for almost four years, hardest job in the world for four years.
(BELL RINGING)
BEGALA: Has he made a single mistake and will he admit one in the debate?
DYKE: You know, it's important to be a leader. It's important to be look forward, and that's what the president does.
BEGALA: He's not going to admit a single mistake?
DYKE: He's recognized the challenges.
BEGALA: Not a one.
DYKE: He's more focused on solutions to the challenges.
BEGALA: Not a one.
CARLSON: All right.
BEGALA: All right.
(APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Jim Dyke from the Republican National Committee, Congressman Kendrick Meek from South Florida, thank you very much for a fun debate.
DYKE: All right, thank you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Gentlemen.
BEGALA: Up next, you've got to be careful during these debates. If you say or do the wrong thing, it could haunt you the rest of your life. We'll look back at some great debate dos and don'ts.
Stay with us.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BEGALA: Welcome back to the sunny University of Miami.
Tucker and I have a couple of tips for the candidates. We know that they're both watching. Tip No. 1, when you're a in presidential debate, don't compare yourself to JFK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD BENTSEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: God. He walked into that. He looked kind of pompous saying it, I have to say.
BEGALA: Oh, he's a good man. No, Lloyd Bentsen is a wonderful...
CARLSON: He's a little pompous.
I would say my advice would be, don't hyperventilate under any circumstances.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... difference in our plans is, I want that $2,000 to go to you.
Doesn't believe in exploration, for example, in Alaska. There's a lot of shut-in gas.
I've had a record of appointing judges in the state of Texas. That's what a governor gets to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: He just -- he sounds like an obscene phone caller. Really, he just sounds like a creep.
BEGALA: But the notion that today we're in a war because of Al Gore's respiratory habits, I hope the press does a better job analyzing this debate.
CARLSON: It's not the press' fault.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: From the left, I am Paul Begala. From the University of Miami, that's it for CROSSFIRE.
CARLSON: And from the right, I'm Tucker Carlson.
Join us again tomorrow. We'll be right here in Miami for debate coverage. CNN coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. Don't miss it. See you then.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
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