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CNN Live Saturday

White House Prepares for 2002 Congressional Elections

Aired April 28, 2001 - 16:05   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.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Although the Bush administration is still pretty young, it is showing signs of political maturity. CNN's White House correspondent Kelly Wallace is traveling with the president in Crawford, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His first and only fund raiser since taking office, President Bush in Little Rock raising nearly $1 million for Republican Senator Tim Hutchinson.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm here for one simple reason. This man needs to be returned back to the United States Senate come elections in 2002.

WALLACE: The numbers are driving this White House to already focus on 2002. In the evenly-divided Senate, for example, 20 Republicans are up for re-election versus 14 Democrats. And the president's party traditionally loses seats in the mid-terms.

KAREN HUGHES, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: Obviously, to some extent, part of our ability to be successful and delivering on the president's agenda will depend on our ability to be able to have a Republican Senate, for example.

WALLACE: The administration is targeting certain races, including the re-election bid of Minnesota's Paul Wellstone, with Vice President Cheney taking the unusual step of calling a state representative, asking him not to challenge St. Paul's mayor Norm Coleman in the Republican primary.

STATE REP. TIM PAWLENTY (R), MINNESOTA: The president and the vice president of the United States, they asked that I not go forward with this effort.

WALLACE: The president's aides are also trying to help about 18 House Republicans considered vulnerable, inviting them to the White House to drum up media coverage.

CRAIG CRAWFORD, PUBLISHER, "THE HOTLINE": It makes a big difference. That's the intersection of politics and policy. More politics to get more Republicans on the Hill so they can get their policy agenda. WALLACE: But Bush supporters say policy is driving this White House, not politics.

RON KAUFMAN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Every White House is part politics. The question is how big a part and where the politics fits in. And when the decisions are made in this White House, honestly, the politics is a small part of it.

WALLACE (on camera): What aides can't deny, though, is that the political arm of the White House is up and running. The president's hopes for re-election could very well depend on what happens next year.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, Crawford, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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