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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Mitch Frank

Aired November 08, 2003 - 18:11   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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Believe it or not, the primary season is getting pretty close. The Iowa caucuses are just over two months away and a lot of states are voting early in February and March. So when are the voters going to focus on the presidential race and can Howard Dean keep his momentum? Mitch Frank covers politics for "Time" magazine and he joins us from New York. Mitch, good to see you. Thanks for being here.
MITCH FRANK, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Hi Carol, thanks.

LIN: What do you make of Howard Dean's position here?

FRANK: Well, I think it is one of the most important decisions he has made so far in the race. And the very fact that he can do this says that he really is the frontrunner. The idea that he knows he can raise on his own well over the $45 million spending limit means that he is really planning to take the president on. Although he probably won't get up to $200 million.

LIN: Now, in a way, this really looked very grassroots. It really was very appealing to the supporters that Dean has been drawing on the Internet and with his move on meetings around the country. But I am wondering does this allow him then to take money from other sources other than small donors. I mean, does it allow him to take -- if he wanted to take corporate donations could he?

FRANK: Well, the new campaign finance law actually prohibits direct donations from corporations. But he could certainly take, you know, from the kinds of executives that the president is getting a lot of this funding for. Dean is going to keep appealing to the grassroots and to that sort of movement. Now, it could be that a lot of the elites and the people who can donate a lot more money are going to decide if he is the frontrunner they better get behind him too.

LIN: So what does this mean then for the Dean campaign going forward?

FRANK: Well, they have got to keep this kind of underdog insurgent appeal of theirs. Part of the reason that they had this vote this week, where instead of making the decision, hey, we can raise the money so we are going to opt out of the system they put it to their supporters. And it is kind of their way of saying we are going to keep the power with the people and we are going to stay an insurgent candidate even if we are the Democratic frontrunner.

LIN: But he is also saying in his original appeal that if he doesn't take public financing that he is going to lose.

FRANK: Well, yes, and that is really his supporters got behind him and voted overwhelmingly 85 percent voted to opt out of the system. Right now, they will pretty much do anything to defeat George W. Bush.

LIN: But that gets to my point. He said even if his supporters were able to raise enough money it is still not going to match President Bush's war chest of $200 million that he has just so far.

FRANK: Well, no, and that is a liability any Democratic candidate is going to face. This president is going to carry a strategy that Bill Clinton did in 1996 where the Republicans had to fight in the primaries and he was able to pretty much shell Bob Dole for most of the spring and summer. Of course, Clinton, you know, he spends a total of $70 million, nothing compared to the $200 million that Bush is talking about. So whoever wins the nomination, even if they are not accepting the spending limits they are going to face an uphill battle against Bush.

LIN: We'll have to find out, once again, if money talks in presidential campaigns. So far it has. Thanks very much, Mitch Frank "Time" magazine.

FRANK: Thanks.

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 November 8, 2003 - 18:11   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Believe it or not, the primary season is getting pretty close. The Iowa caucuses are just over two months away and a lot of states are voting early in February and March. So when are the voters going to focus on the presidential race and can Howard Dean keep his momentum? Mitch Frank covers politics for "Time" magazine and he joins us from New York. Mitch, good to see you. Thanks for being here.
MITCH FRANK, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Hi Carol, thanks.

LIN: What do you make of Howard Dean's position here?

FRANK: Well, I think it is one of the most important decisions he has made so far in the race. And the very fact that he can do this says that he really is the frontrunner. The idea that he knows he can raise on his own well over the $45 million spending limit means that he is really planning to take the president on. Although he probably won't get up to $200 million.

LIN: Now, in a way, this really looked very grassroots. It really was very appealing to the supporters that Dean has been drawing on the Internet and with his move on meetings around the country. But I am wondering does this allow him then to take money from other sources other than small donors. I mean, does it allow him to take -- if he wanted to take corporate donations could he?

FRANK: Well, the new campaign finance law actually prohibits direct donations from corporations. But he could certainly take, you know, from the kinds of executives that the president is getting a lot of this funding for. Dean is going to keep appealing to the grassroots and to that sort of movement. Now, it could be that a lot of the elites and the people who can donate a lot more money are going to decide if he is the frontrunner they better get behind him too.

LIN: So what does this mean then for the Dean campaign going forward?

FRANK: Well, they have got to keep this kind of underdog insurgent appeal of theirs. Part of the reason that they had this vote this week, where instead of making the decision, hey, we can raise the money so we are going to opt out of the system they put it to their supporters. And it is kind of their way of saying we are going to keep the power with the people and we are going to stay an insurgent candidate even if we are the Democratic frontrunner.

LIN: But he is also saying in his original appeal that if he doesn't take public financing that he is going to lose.

FRANK: Well, yes, and that is really his supporters got behind him and voted overwhelmingly 85 percent voted to opt out of the system. Right now, they will pretty much do anything to defeat George W. Bush.

LIN: But that gets to my point. He said even if his supporters were able to raise enough money it is still not going to match President Bush's war chest of $200 million that he has just so far.

FRANK: Well, no, and that is a liability any Democratic candidate is going to face. This president is going to carry a strategy that Bill Clinton did in 1996 where the Republicans had to fight in the primaries and he was able to pretty much shell Bob Dole for most of the spring and summer. Of course, Clinton, you know, he spends a total of $70 million, nothing compared to the $200 million that Bush is talking about. So whoever wins the nomination, even if they are not accepting the spending limits they are going to face an uphill battle against Bush.

LIN: We'll have to find out, once again, if money talks in presidential campaigns. So far it has. Thanks very much, Mitch Frank "Time" magazine.

FRANK: Thanks.

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