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CNN Live Saturday
Analysis Of Democratic Presidential Field
Aired January 10, 2004 - 12:16 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: Well, nine days to go until the first votes in this presidential election year. From Howard Dean's rhetoric caught on tape to the president's immigration proposal. Critics say it all makes for a grab for votes.
Our political debaters this week, from New York, TV and radio commentator Mark Simone and political strategist Doug Schoen.
Good to see both of you guys.
DOUG SCHOEN, PENN. SCHOEN & BERLAN: Thank you.
MARK SIMONE, TV RADIO COMMENTATOR: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: Mark let me begin with you. How damaging is this, that Howard Dean was caught on tape dising the Iowa caucuses?
SIMONE: Well, he's been caught with a number of gaffs in the last couple weeks, and obviously somebody or teams of people have gone through every word this man has said for the last 10 or 15 years, and we're supposed to believe that the media somehow uncovered this. Although I don't think it's a coincidence that they've only uncovered things about Dean. So, you got to figure it's the other candidates coming up with this stuff, or their supporters, and I guess that tells you that they're worried about Dean winning in Iowa.
WHITFIELD: And Doug, you know, Dean said that OK, maybe used a poor choice of words, but he's gotten to know Iowans over the years and he says it's a very vital state, he understands the people. Is that enough -- you know to -- of an apology, of sorts, for those people in Iowa?
SCHOEN: You know, time will tell. To insult or appear to have insulted the people whose votes you want is a real problematic thing in politics and that, plus some of his comments about Saddam and not being necessarily safer after his capture raises real questions about his political viability.
WHITFIELD: All right. Doug, let's talk about Wesley Clark, as some are saying the gap is tightening between Howard Dean and Wesley Clark. However, Clark is not going to be in Iowa. He's choosing to stay in New England, in New Hampshire particularly, doing a little campaigning there. Do you see that it is to his disadvantage by not being in Iowa during the caucuses?
SCHOEN: Well, the polls now, in New Hampshire are showing him closing on Howard Dean. The latest American research group poll has him within 15 points, in a solid second place. So he's gambling on being able to maintain his momentum, depending on what happens in Iowa. And we will see, after the caucuses, whether that is in fact the case.
WHITFIELD: OK, so might Mark, might Clark be gaining momentum simply because of the Dean debacle?
SIMONE: Well yeah, clearly gaining some momentum, but apparently he's been working the state real hard. It's a small enough state where you can go around and speak to enough people that you can make a difference there that way. But, I think part of the problem is, he's starting to be told what to do by consultants they found that he was weak with females, so now they've got him wearing nothing but sweaters and dressing like Mr. Rogers for the last week, and that's a path Al Gore went down at one time and it hurt him badly.
WHITFIELD: Well, I wonder if right now, for the immediate, it might be working. Let's look at some of the latest poll numbers, the CNN/"USA TODAY" poll that shows that Dean has about 24 percent in comparison with 27 percent in December, Clark with 20 percent as apposed to 12 in December. So, maybe being a little bit more image conscious just might be work working -- Doug.
SIMONE: Well, it also might be the fact that Kerry has been making misstep after misstep and just slipping and Dean might be filing that vacuum created by Kerry for second place.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's shift gears and talk a little bit about this proposed immigration policy. The president, some critics have said the president only has to rely on the economy and some of his policies, he doesn't really have to get into the whole democratic -- you know, fighting, so to speak. He doesn't need to respond to any. How do you see, Mark, the immigration proposal perhaps potentially hurting the president, since we heard in a couple pieces -- in a piece a moment ago from a couple unemployed workers who say these are jobs that we're interested in.
SIMONE: Well, the conservatives, the republicans, the ones I've spoken to are just stunned by it and they don't understand why you would grant amnesty. And, it's not an anti-immigrant thing, I mean we're talking basically about criminals. We love immigrants, it's a nation built by immigrants, but not nation built by -- broken into by immigrants. So, it's going to hurt him, these voters have no alternative. It's not like the case where Gore voters could go over to Nader, there isn't a strong independent conservative candidate in the horizon.
WHITFIELD: Well, Mark you see this proposal as a potential solution to the problem? How so?
SIMONE: Well...
SCHOEN: I was going to say it's a temporary solution by the president for political gain, by offering these three-year renewable options to immigrants. He's able to say to the Mexican vote that he understands their concerns, unlikely to pass the congress in present form, but an attempt by a president with a narrowing rogue political base to try to expand his political support at a time when the jobless statistics still show that we are in serious economic times.
WHITFIELD: All right, Doug...OK, go ahead.
SIMONE: I was going to say, it's really hard policies to defend and many people may not be aware that many European countries have tried this same program and it always create more problems than it solves. It also discriminates; it's basically going help Mexican immigrants who can get into the country easier and puts them ahead of the line -- you know, ahead of Europeans and Asian immigrants.
WHITFIELD: Mark Simone, Doug Schoen, thanks very much gentlemen for joins us. Appreciate it.
SCHOEN: Thank you.
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 January 10, 2004 - 12:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, nine days to go until the first votes in this presidential election year. From Howard Dean's rhetoric caught on tape to the president's immigration proposal. Critics say it all makes for a grab for votes.
Our political debaters this week, from New York, TV and radio commentator Mark Simone and political strategist Doug Schoen.
Good to see both of you guys.
DOUG SCHOEN, PENN. SCHOEN & BERLAN: Thank you.
MARK SIMONE, TV RADIO COMMENTATOR: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: Mark let me begin with you. How damaging is this, that Howard Dean was caught on tape dising the Iowa caucuses?
SIMONE: Well, he's been caught with a number of gaffs in the last couple weeks, and obviously somebody or teams of people have gone through every word this man has said for the last 10 or 15 years, and we're supposed to believe that the media somehow uncovered this. Although I don't think it's a coincidence that they've only uncovered things about Dean. So, you got to figure it's the other candidates coming up with this stuff, or their supporters, and I guess that tells you that they're worried about Dean winning in Iowa.
WHITFIELD: And Doug, you know, Dean said that OK, maybe used a poor choice of words, but he's gotten to know Iowans over the years and he says it's a very vital state, he understands the people. Is that enough -- you know to -- of an apology, of sorts, for those people in Iowa?
SCHOEN: You know, time will tell. To insult or appear to have insulted the people whose votes you want is a real problematic thing in politics and that, plus some of his comments about Saddam and not being necessarily safer after his capture raises real questions about his political viability.
WHITFIELD: All right. Doug, let's talk about Wesley Clark, as some are saying the gap is tightening between Howard Dean and Wesley Clark. However, Clark is not going to be in Iowa. He's choosing to stay in New England, in New Hampshire particularly, doing a little campaigning there. Do you see that it is to his disadvantage by not being in Iowa during the caucuses?
SCHOEN: Well, the polls now, in New Hampshire are showing him closing on Howard Dean. The latest American research group poll has him within 15 points, in a solid second place. So he's gambling on being able to maintain his momentum, depending on what happens in Iowa. And we will see, after the caucuses, whether that is in fact the case.
WHITFIELD: OK, so might Mark, might Clark be gaining momentum simply because of the Dean debacle?
SIMONE: Well yeah, clearly gaining some momentum, but apparently he's been working the state real hard. It's a small enough state where you can go around and speak to enough people that you can make a difference there that way. But, I think part of the problem is, he's starting to be told what to do by consultants they found that he was weak with females, so now they've got him wearing nothing but sweaters and dressing like Mr. Rogers for the last week, and that's a path Al Gore went down at one time and it hurt him badly.
WHITFIELD: Well, I wonder if right now, for the immediate, it might be working. Let's look at some of the latest poll numbers, the CNN/"USA TODAY" poll that shows that Dean has about 24 percent in comparison with 27 percent in December, Clark with 20 percent as apposed to 12 in December. So, maybe being a little bit more image conscious just might be work working -- Doug.
SIMONE: Well, it also might be the fact that Kerry has been making misstep after misstep and just slipping and Dean might be filing that vacuum created by Kerry for second place.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's shift gears and talk a little bit about this proposed immigration policy. The president, some critics have said the president only has to rely on the economy and some of his policies, he doesn't really have to get into the whole democratic -- you know, fighting, so to speak. He doesn't need to respond to any. How do you see, Mark, the immigration proposal perhaps potentially hurting the president, since we heard in a couple pieces -- in a piece a moment ago from a couple unemployed workers who say these are jobs that we're interested in.
SIMONE: Well, the conservatives, the republicans, the ones I've spoken to are just stunned by it and they don't understand why you would grant amnesty. And, it's not an anti-immigrant thing, I mean we're talking basically about criminals. We love immigrants, it's a nation built by immigrants, but not nation built by -- broken into by immigrants. So, it's going to hurt him, these voters have no alternative. It's not like the case where Gore voters could go over to Nader, there isn't a strong independent conservative candidate in the horizon.
WHITFIELD: Well, Mark you see this proposal as a potential solution to the problem? How so?
SIMONE: Well...
SCHOEN: I was going to say it's a temporary solution by the president for political gain, by offering these three-year renewable options to immigrants. He's able to say to the Mexican vote that he understands their concerns, unlikely to pass the congress in present form, but an attempt by a president with a narrowing rogue political base to try to expand his political support at a time when the jobless statistics still show that we are in serious economic times.
WHITFIELD: All right, Doug...OK, go ahead.
SIMONE: I was going to say, it's really hard policies to defend and many people may not be aware that many European countries have tried this same program and it always create more problems than it solves. It also discriminates; it's basically going help Mexican immigrants who can get into the country easier and puts them ahead of the line -- you know, ahead of Europeans and Asian immigrants.
WHITFIELD: Mark Simone, Doug Schoen, thanks very much gentlemen for joins us. Appreciate it.
SCHOEN: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
