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Campbell Brown
Republican National Convention Day Four
Aired September 04, 2008 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: A big night here in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention.
The Republicans have made it official. Sarah Palin is the vice presidential nominee. Just a little while ago, they did the formal roll call. This is the first time ever that the Republicans have a woman on the Republican ticket, only the second time in U.S. history that there has been a woman has been on presidential ticket. Geraldine Ferraro the vice presidential nominee on the Democratic side in 1984.
We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. We're reporting from the floor of the Republican Convention.
Campbell Brown is here.
Campbell, this is an important night, a crucial night for the Republicans to see if they can follow up the -- what so many of these Republicans see as a huge success with Sarah Palin's speech last night, to see if John McCain can deliver.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: I agree, Wolf. But I think, in a way, John McCain has been a little bit liberated, because people are more familiar with John McCain, how he speaks, his style. He's not the best orator in the world.
They were not familiar with Sarah Palin. So, there was almost nervousness and nervous energy in the room last night.
I think, tonight, because many Republicans think she hit it out of the ballpark last night, as we have said, Bill Bennett, it has liberated John McCain a little bit tonight.
BLITZER: And there was a huge television audience last night for her speech. About 37 million Americans, 38 million or so, watched Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Denver last week. Only about 21 million tuned in for Joe Biden's speech a few days before that. We will see how many viewers there are tonight who are ready to watch John McCain.
Gloria Borger is here. Bill Bennett, our Republican analyst, is here. John King will be that magic wall throughout the night.
Let's set the scene and show our viewers who is at the CNN Election Center in New York right now. Among the best political team in the business, we see Jeff Toobin and Amy Holmes. Paul Begala is there, Leslie Sanchez, Carl Bernstein, and, of course, David Gergen. Up here on the skyboxes joining us -- and we're going to go to them very soon -- Donna Brazile and Roland Martin. They're watching. They're listening. And they're paying attention. James Carville, the great Democratic strategist, is standing by in our Washington studios. And he's smiling because I said he was great.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: And he got a Democrat elected twice to the White House, in '92 and '96. That would be the former President Bill Clinton. As a result, he qualifies for the adjective great.
Out on the floor, we have got excellent reporters.
Candy Crowley, I want to go to you first right now.
Set the scene for our viewers on what we can anticipate tonight.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what is really interesting, Wolf, is we have talked so much about the history of Barack Obama being at the top of the ticket. We have talked a lot about John McCain's number two, the first woman ever nominated to that position by the Republican Party.
But, boy, the history of John McCain is such a story here. And I think you will see some of that in his speech tonight, not just about, yes, he was a prisoner of war for five years, but this is a survivor not just in battle, but in the political arena.
I mean, the Keating Five, which was a scandal early on, he was briefly brushed by that, but found not to be guilty of anything. But it really turned him into the reformer that really went after campaign finance reform.
Then we saw him last year. I was there at the press conference he gave after half his staff left, and another quarter was about to leave. And he was done as far as everyone was concerned. This was it. And yet he sort of rose again, and here we are tonight.
So, I think what you will hear tonight is that tough guy. This is a man who is going put Democrats on notice. Do not count him out. And they shouldn't, at their own peril, just because of the history of who he is.
What does he have to do tonight? You will hear a couple of things. If last night was about reaching out to the party base, tonight is about reaching out to the middle. It's about saying, listen, I can work with Democrats and Republicans. I can bring change to Republicans -- sorry, change to Washington, simply because I do reach out across party aisles.
And the other thing he has to do is, say, yes, I'm a Republican, but I am not George Bush.
And there's a bit of a lecture here. The Republicans lost their way. Particularly what has made Republican conservatives so angry with George Bush has not been the war in Iraq. It's been all of the spending, the huge deficits. And it's something that he talks about along the campaign trail all the time. So, I think you will see the totality of John McCain come into focus tonight, as he moves into the fall -- Wolf.
BLITZER: The national debt, Candy, has gone from about $5 trillion eight years ago to more than $9 trillion right now, a huge national debt.
I want to show our viewers what's going on in Times Square right now. There it is. We have gathered some folks. They're going to be watching the speech, John McCain's speech, later at Times Square. There they are right now. Let's -- they're waving already, because they know they're on television. So, they're excited.
They're going to be watching all of the Republican National Convention. We will go there periodically. They are people around the country. We did that last week in Denver as well during the Democratic National Convention.
Dana Bash is on the floor here behind us.
Dana, where are you right now?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm in the state of New Hampshire.
And I want to just dovetail off of the point that Candy was just making, a very, very critical point, one we really can't forget about as we're just an hour or so away from John McCain accepting the nomination.
Flashback, last year, he was nowhere in the polls. Nobody thought he would be where he is tonight. And he is here in part because of somebody who I have with me, Maureen Barrows from New Hampshire. This is the kind of grassroots activist you are that helped bring John McCain's campaign back to life.
What was it like a year ago, where he was basically dead in the water politically?
MAUREEN BARROWS, NEW HAMPSHIRE DELEGATE: For me, I never lost faith. But it was a gloomy time for many of the workers. But I have a Pollyanna attitude, knew he could do it, and he did.
BASH: And talk about how he did it with people like you. He had no staff. He had no money. But he relied on people like you to do basic, basic things, politically, strategically, logistically.
BARROWS: And he had a tough-working group of volunteers left over from the 2000 campaign. We have been on the work force for eight years now as volunteers, doing what we could, talking his name up, hoping for a second chance. And we got it.
BASH: And how did he use New Hampshire -- and actually maybe a better word is connect with people in New Hampshire to get himself back up politically?
BARROWS: Just by being himself, meeting people one on one, small house parties, town hall meetings. He's an incredibly inspirational man when you meet with him one on one. The other candidates don't have it. They truly don't. The word I use is duende. There's a charisma that really and truly is John McCain's, and John McCain's alone.
BASH: But he's up in a tough fight right now. He's a 72-year-old guy. He's been in a Washington for a quarter century. He's fighting an election that is all about change against a younger guy who has really sort of captured that.
BARROWS: There's never been another John McCain. This is change. If John is elected president -- and I have no doubt he will be -- we will see dramatic change and good change.
I'm 71 years old. I'm tough. I'm going to be 72 in another week. But don't count us out. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, believe me.
BASH: I believe you. I believe you.
And we should believe her. There, you hear Maureen Barrows, who we met in Exeter, New Hampshire, with Senator McCain, now here on the floor, to see a moment you hear and you see she worked very hard for -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Wish her a happy birthday prematurely from all of us.
Dana, thanks very much.
I'm going to go to Ed Henry in a moment.
But you have a story, Bill Bennett, about how John McCain rose from the dead.
BILL BENNETT, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: A year ago May, I was the host of the New York Republican dinner, New York State's Republican dinner. Two people showed up, Rudy Giuliani. And they thought McCain would show, but then someone said he wouldn't.
It could have been an Italian American Foundation dinner, all these guys, these big Italian guys, Joe Mondello (ph), Joe Romano (ph), Giuliani everywhere, Giuliani bands, music, posters, everything. Everybody said it is going to be a coronation for Giuliani on his way to the presidency.
And then we got word John McCain showed up. I went outside. McCain was getting out of a cab. He said: "I'm a little short on campaign funds. You got a few bucks for a cab?"
(LAUGHTER)
BENNETT: So, we bring him in. He gives a speech, his workmanlike speech, not fabulous oratory, workmanlike speech. People are polite. They say, great guy, not going anywhere.
Then, just to pick up on her story, he goes to New Hampshire, not just ringing doorbells, 102 campaign events. A 72-year-old guy outworked everybody else. Can't raise his arms over his head, did more events than anybody else, and won. This is a fighter. Don't ever count this guy out.
BLITZER: Yes.
Let's go to Ed Henry on the floor right now.
Ed, where are you?
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm with the Alaska delegation, Wolf. I'm going to tell you, there are a lot of people who got very emotional when the delegates here accepted the nomination for vice president of Sarah Palin.
One of them, Grace Van Diest, is with me right now.
I saw you. You were jumping up and down. You were dancing. You were swaying with your colleagues. What was going through your mind when this convention accepted her?
GRACE VAN DIEST, ALASKA DELEGATE: I'm just so excited about Sarah Palin being V.P.
She's just the person that we really have been dreaming for, for eight years. It just seems like we have looked for somebody that's pro- family, pro-life, that is all -- just down to earth. And that's just what she is.
(CROSSTALK)
HENRY: Now, you also have this hat on that I have got to point it says, "Drill here, drill now" on each side. It's got the state of Alaska on it. You obviously want more drilling. You want drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
But John McCain, at the top of the ticket, doesn't support that. What is the purpose of wearing these hats? Several delegates here are wearing this hardhat.
VAN DIEST: Well, we want to get the support of all of the Americans behind all of this. We want the Congress to get behind us.
And I think that McCain will put country first, and say we need the more oil development, and he will change positions.
HENRY: Sarah Palin, last night, by anyone's measure, it seems like, she's getting wide praise. Even Democrats are acknowledging they were surprised at how well she did in terms of framing the debate, at least.
She passed the first test, perhaps. The next big one perhaps will be a vice presidential debate with Joe Biden. How do you think she will stack up?
VAN DIEST: Oh, she's going to do great. Oh, she's going to do marvelous. I'm just so excited. She's just full of life.
You just see her. Well, everybody saw her last night, I'm sure. She's just full of energy, full of life, and it's just catching. You see that excitement. Somebody is excited about what they plan to do. And you're just going catch that excitement with them. And...
HENRY: Last thing. What do you expect from John McCain tonight to follow that?
VAN DIEST: That's going to be a hard show to follow, isn't it?
HENRY: That's right.
Campbell, a hard show to follow indeed -- Campbell.
BROWN: The stakes are much higher now.
Ed Henry for us -- Ed, thanks.
We're going talk about that, actually, when we come back. We have got a lot more coverage ahead, as we await tonight's big event, which is, of course, John McCain accepting the nomination. His speech coming up later tonight. He will be introduced by his wife, Cindy McCain.
Stay with us.
And, of course, check out the Web site, CNNPolitics.com. Everything is there as well. We will see you shortly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Welcome back to our coverage of the Republican National Convention here in Saint Paul.
Governor Sarah Palin making history tonight. She's been officially nominated by her party to be vice president. We will be hearing from John McCain as he officially accepts the nomination of his party a little bit later tonight.
And let me go to Donna Brazile, who is up in one of our skyboxes with Roland Martin.
And, Donna, Ed Henry, our correspondent, was out on the floor a moment ago talking to one of the delegates, who said that he thought the danger tonight was that Sarah Palin was so wonderful last night, she set the bar extremely high, and making this a bit of a challenge for John McCain. She has certainly been the topic of conversation here at the convention.
Weigh the pros and cons of that, the competition, if you will.
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Oh, I don't think there's going to be much competition. John McCain knows how to rise to the occasion. And, besides, it's not how he says it. It's really what he will tell the American people about the kind of change that he hopes to bring to Washington, D.C.
After all, he's been in Washington, as many of the correspondents have pointed out, for a quarter-of-a-century. The Republicans have controlled the Congress for 12 out of the last 14 years, the White House for the last eight years.
John McCain ran on his experience. And now he's telling the people he will be an agent of change. That's going to be a very tough task tonight, to convince the American people that he can bring about the change, when perhaps his party and John McCain himself need to explain exactly how Washington got broke in the first place.
BROWN: But does his maverick image, Roland, does his reputation as someone who bucks the establishment, who hasn't gone along with his party on many issues, does that help him make that case?
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. But he has gone with his party on many issues. And that's the position that he's in.
Look, John McCain tonight must confront the issue of trust. And that is, how can you, America, trust me to fix this economy, when my party has been the one that's been running the show, the White House, for the last eight years, and also been running the White House?
He has to convince people of that. And, so, we can sit here and talk about McCain-Feingold. We can talk about torture. We can talk about all those particular issues. But, at the same time, he also embraces President Bush. And so he has to deal with that.
And so not only that. What I don't understand from the McCain is, you're doing an effective job dealing with experience, focusing on foreign policy. And all of a sudden, you want to take the exact language of Senator Barack Obama and then say change.
We saw the Democratic primary. When every candidate tried to grab change, they lost. Mitt Romney tried to grab change and lost. And, so, I don't understand exactly why they would go that route.
And a final note, Campbell, before you guys go.
Wolf, I'm sorry. The Redskins are losing 13-0 to the Giants.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: Thanks for update, Roland.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: Wolf is actually not -- when he's off-camera, he's secretly watching the game.
BLITZER: Plenty of time left. There's a lot of time left. We always have hope. (LAUGHTER)
BROWN: Let's go check in with Leslie Sanchez, so we do get the Republican perspective on this.
And let me just pick up on what Roland said a second ago about these issues, where John McCain has differed with his party. Are we going to hear him talk about that tonight, global warming, torture, campaign finance reform? Are those issues going to be on the table?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: I think one issue we know for sure is going to be on the table is national security.
It's interesting. If you think back to the Nixon-Kennedy debate, it was the missile gap that was kind of the big cloud looming. I think now I think it's a stature gap between Obama and McCain. There's a clear contrast in terms of somebody -- they're both saying they're change agents, reformers.
And one thing with respect to Roland, there's no copyright on messages that work. I think Paul would agree with me. If something is working, other people tend to gravitate toward that.
In this case, you have two candidates are mavericks, but one is tested and one is not. He's also going the buck the system in terms of talking to the Republican Party about what they have done wrong. I talked to Tom Cole, who is the head of the Congressional Committee for Republicans. he sometimes it's really good to look in the mirror. Republicans have to find their voice and their way again.
And I think John McCain is the man to get them there.
BROWN: How does he do that, John and Gloria, to challenge the people in this room essentially and say, we have made some mistakes?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of his biggest challenges in the primaries was just that, because said throughout the primaries -- and he will say it on that catwalk tonight -- that if we as Republicans don't change, we deserve to lose, that the American people should not trust us if they think we're going waste their money in Washington, if they think -- and he will use the climate change issue as an effort to say, I think my party has been slow and my president has been wrong on this issue.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: And that's how he becomes the change candidate, because he says, I'm a different breed of candidate. I have stood up to my own party.
One thing we haven't heard a lot about, though, Campbell, and I think you're going to hear from John McCain tonight, we haven't heard a lot of talk specifically about the war in Iraq. And that's one thing that John McCain can talk about and he can say essentially he was for the strategy of the surge before President Bush was for the strategy of a surge.
And he led on that, and he took on his own party, and the foreign policy experts, and proposed this. George Bush adopted it. And he will say it turned out to be the right strategy.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: He will mention that tonight.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: He will. You think?
BLITZER: Because, remember, this theme tonight is America first, peace. So, national security is a major theme of this...
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: We haven't heard a lot about it before this, largely because you would have to mention President Bush if you were mentioning Iraq. And we haven't heard a lot about President Bush here.
BENNETT: There's no surge without John McCain. It would not have happened. He made the case for it. He persuaded the White House of it. And he also said, I would rather lose the election than lose the war.
If the surge had not worked, John McCain would not be standing here.
BROWN: But is that an issue he wants to dwell on?
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Not dwell. Raise, but not dwell.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Raise, but not dwell. That's part of the leadership experience. I have the judgment. Trust me. I will bring the troops home. We will have peace. I know how to do it.
But he can't dwell there. And we're all I think circling around the big point. The thing John McCain has been least articulate about is what he would do about the economy. In this regard, he has broken with his party on whole a number of things. In this regard, he is more of a traditional Republican.
One of the things he does talk about that Bill Clinton talked about back in 1992, when Bill Clinton was trying to sell NAFTA and trade agreements after he was elected president and when he was running for president, free trade. He said, look, the global economy is changing. Some of you will lose your jobs, but I will help you.
And Bill Clinton went to Macomb County, Michigan, Reagan Democrats, and said, we will use the community colleges, like right here in Macomb County, and we will retrain you. Trust me. I will help you. I won't leave you jobless.
McCain has pretty much the same approach. But what he does not have is a connection with people when he talks about the economy. And I think that has been his biggest liability and it is his biggest hurdle to get over in an election that, in the end, right now, is about the economy, making a connection that, I get you're hurting. You can trust me.
BORGER: Right.
And, remember, in Michigan, during the primaries, John McCain got himself into a bunch of trouble because he said to factory workers in Michigan, your jobs aren't coming back. Do you remember that?
(CROSSTALK)
KING: In many cases, that's the truth.
BORGER: It is the truth.
KING: But you need to finish the thought.
BORGER: But it caused him some trouble in Michigan.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Absolutely.
BROWN: I know Roland Martin wants to jump in on this -- Roland.
MARTIN: Yes, but here's the deal, though.
John McCain will speak in general in terms of how I have opposed my party. The reason John McCain is standing here right now is because he had to buy into the party as well.
Wolf asked Carl Bernstein that question earlier. John McCain had to accept this Al Davis philosophy, just win, baby. He had to accept it. He had to pull back from who he is, and say, you know what, I got to go along with it.
He's not going bring up McCain-Feingold. He's not going bring up some of those different things. He has to accept the reality that this party wants him to carry that banner. And so he wants to win. So, the old John McCain, the one people loved, you're not going see a lot of that, because he knows he wants to win.
(CROSSTALK)
BENNETT: Give me the three major issues on which he's changed, three the major issues on which he's changing from 2000. Let's hear them.
MARTIN: First of all, he was long opposed to oil drilling. He changed on that. You know it.
(CROSSTALK)
BENNETT: He announced he changed on oil drilling because the facts changed. Fair enough. Two more. Two more. Two more.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Bill, he was long opposed to the tax cuts. He had to change, because this party would not go along with it.
And he had to alter his position on illegal immigration, because he knew it couldn't work. That's three.
BENNETT: He has not. He has not. He has not altered his position.
MARTIN: He did. He knew it wouldn't work.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: You said three.
BENNETT: The facts have changed on it. What do you do when the facts change? I change my position when the facts change.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: No, it's not that facts change.
BENNETT: His fundamental principles, his fundamental philosophy has not changed at all, Roland.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Let me just weigh in.
The biggest change was that he was one of the two Republicans, Lincoln Chafee, the former senator from Rhode Island, being the other Republican, who voted against the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003...
BENNETT: Right.
BLITZER: ... because he thought that there was a war going on, the country couldn't afford it, it was skewed toward the wealthy. He made all those arguments that the Democrats were making. He was with them then. And now he says those tax cuts should be made permanent. He has changed his mind on -- that's a pretty big issue.
BENNETT: That's a big issue.
He also said, as you know, that there were not offsets in terms of the budget problem, and that he would have supported those tax cuts...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: He had several reasons why he opposed that.
BENNETT: That's right. So, it's a different set of circumstances.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: That's the biggest one. That's the biggest one. And that's a real one. (CROSSTALK)
BENNETT: Right. There are -- no question there are changes.
But if someone says to me, this is an entirely different philosophy, he has shifted everything to the right, it just doesn't bear out.
BLITZER: The only change he made on immigration reform was when he was co-sponsoring McCain-Kennedy comprehensive immigration reform, as President Bush of course also supported, he said it should be done simultaneously, strengthening the borders, protecting the borders, finding a way to bring some sort of temporary residence, and some legality for illegal immigrants.
And the change he made after that didn't work and that collapsed was, what we have got to do is strengthening the borders, closing the borders first. That was a change that he made on that issue. But he still believes in comprehensive immigration reform and still believes there should be a pathway to citizenship.
(CROSSTALK)
BENNETT: I think, in fairness, of course there are changes. And there should changes when facts change.
And, again, over the next 60 days -- and one of the interesting things -- maybe John can do it on the magic board -- the changes in Obama's positions, the changes in McCain's positions, and why. Were the facts changing or were -- just political considerations?
BLITZER: All right.
We have much more to talk about. I know Bill is going to be leaving fairly soon. He's got a radio show he gets up very early in the morning to do.
Bill, thanks very much.
Alex Castellanos is standing by to join us here at the Republican National Convention.
Much more of our coverage coming up.
CNNPolitics.com is where you should also be. You can get a lot of useful information, see everything going up on the podium live. We're streaming it for you.
The big event tonight, though, will be Senator John McCain's acceptance speech. He will accept the Republican presidential nomination. And he and Sarah Palin will go forward to battle, over these next 60 days or so, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
We will be right back from Saint Paul.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Welcome back to the convention of the Republicans. This is Saint Paul, Minnesota. You're looking at these live pictures.
We're inside the convention hall. Later tonight, I don't know if we have a shot of the balloons up there way, way up in the sky at this Xcel Energy Center. There are a lot of balloons. They are going to be coming down.
There they are. They're all wrapped up.
Campbell, I don't know if you were on the floor with us four years ago.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: They didn't come down.
BLITZER: That's right.
BROWN: Do you remember?
BLITZER: And we heard a bad word. The Democratic producer who was supposed to make sure those balloons came down exactly at the right time, he was -- we had a camera crew inside their control room and unfortunately, we heard a very bad word on worldwide television. And we got a little brief (ph). I had to apologize to our viewers. Let's hope the Republicans are better at this than the Democrats.
BROWN: You know, Wolf doesn't want to go through that again.
BLITZER: No.
BROWN: They really need to get it right tonight.
BLITZER: Yes. That was not a nice moment. But you know, stuff happens. It's live television. What can you do?
It's the real world. We don't make this kind of stuff up.
Alex Castellanos is here. He's one of the great Republican strategists. He's been involved in this business for a long time.
Give us a quick thought on what you've seen so far. And as you do that and the music goes on up there, I want to alert our viewers there's a video that the Republicans have put together. We're going show it.
A lot of images of 9/11. We'll put that up in a little while then we'll discuss. But go ahead, what do you think so far?
ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, so far I think that this convention had several objectives and it's checking off the boxes. They've certainly drawn differences between Republicans and Democrats. They've certainly brought forward the theme of change, change in Washington.
They've introduced Sarah Palin. They've united the party. They've checked a lot of boxes here. I think they got to very happy with their position going into the general election.
BLITZER: You know, and as you see John McCain later tonight, the most important thing he needs to do?
CASTELLANOS: You know, Carl said something earlier that, I think, looking at this convention through a very old prism is that country first was an attack on the Democrats' patriotism. John McCain, I think if you made it very clear in an excerpt that you read, the opposite of country first is me-first politicians. And that's the contrast I think you're going to hear tonight.
John McCain is going to make the case tonight that you know why this country is not working? Because Washington is broken, not because America is broken because we have me-first politicians who are not getting the job done. America is a great country, Washington is wrong.
BROWN: But Alex, how do you make that case when Republicans have been controlling the White House for the last eight years?
CASTELLANOS: That's the maverick in John McCain. He's going to stand up to his own party. He stands up to Democrats. That's Sarah Palin.
This is a little guy. This is the average American who think this is our government. We're going to change it. That's the message they want to come out of here.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It's so interesting to hear Republicans embrace John McCain for standing up to his own party.
CASTELLANOS: Well, look, Republicans --
BORGER: Because when I've been covering the Congress, they don't embrace John McCain so much when he stands up to his own party, but now it's a great thing.
CASTELLANOS: Well, you know what? Republicans -- we broke our own hearts, I think the last few years. We know we spent too much. We know we violated a lot of the principles. We know we became them.
BLITZER: All right. Let's listen to Congresswoman Mary Fallin of Oklahoma. She's going to make the case why Republicans are better in protecting us than Democrats. And that will lead into a video.
It's provocative. There will be images of 9/11 and towers going down. It will raise controversy. We're going to show to it you because it's part of this convention. But let's listen to this congresswoman from Oklahoma speak first.
REP. MARY FALLIN (R), OKLAHOMA: Thirteen years ago on a bright April morning in 1995, Oklahoma City was attacked by domestic terrorists. We lost 168 of our friends and neighbors. But we also witnessed the greatness of the American community.
I was at ground zero that day as Oklahoma's lieutenant governor, along with Governor Frank Keating. And as our beautiful memorial reads, I came away changed forever.
We coined a name for a lesson that grew out of Oklahoma City. We called it the "Oklahoma standard," That it is really the American standard. It's the extraordinary ability of the American people to unite in the face of overwhelming adversity and to be stronger for it.
Moments after the bomb, people rushed up to help. Help came from up the street, from across the city and from every state in our union. Many came from New York.
And some of those same first responders gave their lives years later at the World Trade Center. They gave their sweat, and their time, and some gave their blood. But most of all, they gave their love.
(APPLAUSE)
As the smoke and the rubble cleared, I saw the volunteers who stood in the rain to help feed the hungry rescuer. The teddy bears that were lined up in the fence in memory of a lost child. The barbers who set up shop to give free haircuts to the weary firefighters and the police officers. And the man who donated a pair of work boots one night and drove off barefoot.
We saw that same sacrifice and selflessness years later when an entire nation rallied behind the families that lost loved ones in the tragedy of 9/11. Our American standard embodies the spirit of free people who will not be cowed by terror --
(APPLAUSE)
Who stand together with courage and resolve.
(APPLAUSE)
It embodies the spirit of John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
The American people have in John McCain a leader who doesn't just understand that spirit, he has lived it. The events of 1995 are passing into history, but we Oklahomans remember. We remember the loss. We remember the greatness of this country, even in the face of the most heartbreaking tragedies.
Our nation has learned some hard lessons, but they are lessons that anyone who proposes to serve as our president must understand. We cannot afford a president who thinks you can negotiate with evil.
(APPLAUSE)
Talk, yes, but remember Teddy Roosevelt's big stick? Strong leaders like John McCain know that evil must be confronted if free societies are to remain free.
(APPLAUSE) He knows that government's most important task is to do everything it can to ensure the safety and the security of its citizens. Ask yourself tonight, America, who do you trust to defend your children against the haters and the killers whose only creed is evil?
You can trust John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
Goodness can defeat evil, but it takes strength and courage, and an unwavering commitment to enduring peace. It takes character to put our country first. And it takes a man like John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
From Oklahoma, thank you all for your hope, your prayers and your love. And may God bless this great nation. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE, VIDEO OF "WORLD STOOD STILL")
NARRATOR: The first attack occurred in Iran; 444 days, America held hostage. Then, again and again. At our embassies, our Navy.
They grew ever more bold. Their call was, on those who believe in God and hopes for reward, to obey God's command to kill Americans.
And kill us they did. This time, on American soil. The date was September 11th. 9/11.
This enemy sworn to our destruction has been at war with us for decades. This we now know. Jihadists are still intent on attacking civilization, freedom -- the very soul of America.
It is a war we never chose to fight. And for too long, we've looked the other way. But the enemy is wrong. This is a war America will win. We'll have a president who knows how.
We remember where we were that day, what happened, what we were doing. How our lives changed. We remember buildings burning, bodies falling. So many stories of bravery.
We remember. We will carry memories of your beautiful faces and those loving voices now gone forever. And we will never let it happen again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: A rather dramatic video. Powerful images, remembrances of 9/11.
John King, some will say, you know what, at a political convention, there's no real need to bring those kinds of images into this hall.
JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some will say that's controversial in playing politics out of a tragedy. Since they were doing it, it's interesting to see how they used it.
You saw Rudy Giuliani. You did not see President Bush. That was his defining challenge and his defining moment. Nowhere in that video at a Republican Convention think that's interesting. I think it's no accident.
Number two, many will criticize the tactic. What they're trying to do is say, whatever you may think of Republicans right now, and the brand is damaged, but there has not been another attack since 9/11. And they will make the case at this convention that is because of their policies. Their president too, George W. Bush, but their policy.
BROWN: But that message though, has been fear, I mean, as a message at this convention.
And, Alex, is that the message that Republicans want to convey?
CASTELLANOS: There are things I think a lot of Republicans in this hall, especially people from, I'd say, the New York delegation and maybe around Washington, D.C. area and Pennsylvania, there are things worth fearing in this world.
You know, I think a lot of Republicans here think that video should run every day, because somewhere out there, there may be a terrorist with a nuclear weapon thinking about going into an American city. This is not just politics. Politics is a means to an end. It's how we govern ourselves.
BLITZER: You know what? I'm going have James Carville and Paul Begala and Donna Brazile and Roland Martin, their anxious to weigh in on this. We're going to discuss the appropriateness, whether or not it is appropriate to bring all these images into a political convention at this time.
We'll continue our coverage. Much more coming up right here from Saint Paul.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We just saw a very powerful video of 9/11 with some very dramatic images at this political convention.
Jeff Toobin, is it appropriate or not appropriate to show that kind of video in the midst of a political campaign?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think it's entirely appropriate. This is a major part of public policy, 9/11. It's a defining event of the Bush administration and certainly it was all over the 2004 convention.
But what strikes me as so interesting today is how different it looks today. Because the question now is, did the war in Iraq have anything to do with 9/11? And did the war in Iraq make us safer after 9/11? That's a question that I think President Bush and the Republicans have a lot more trouble answering, whereas, in 2004, they were only too happy to embrace the legacy of 9/11. BLITZER: Paul Begala, what do you think?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. I think Jeffrey's got a good point. It's public policy but it does remind you of 2004, where they built an entire convention around 9/11, and really ran on fear itself. And you know, it worked against a war hero.
You know, they had a guy in President Bush, who, frankly, I don't know (ph) it's just true when he was briefed on August 6th, a month before the World Trade Center bombing, a CIA briefer told him in writing and in person bin Laden is determined to strike inside the United States. It's now been reported that President Bush turned to him and said, OK, you've covered your ass, and then went off about his business and the attacks came.
And this notion that they have that somehow it was the Democrats who were weak, that this was a partisan thing -- it's really shameful. It really showed you as sort of the poverty of the Republicans on any kind of legitimate debate. And if anybody is honest about it, they need to say, look, our president was warned about it. He refused to do anything about it.
There's ample reporting in the 9/11 commission report that the Bush administration was briefed by the outgoing administration. They were warned. Richard Clarke who served Republicans and Democrats as a counterterrorism czar says in his book, "Our government failed us." And it did. And the leader of that government is George W. Bush. And for his party now to try to get votes on those deaths is appalling to me.
BLITZER: You know, David Gergen, that video, as John King pointed out, was dramatic. It showed a picture of Rudy Giuliani right after 9/11. But it's thunderously silent. There was no pithy picture of President Bush with the bullhorn as he went to visit the World Trade Center site at ground zero. And to a certain degree that makes that video even more political than might have been the case if they would have shown the picture of the president right after 9/11.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That's absolutely right, Wolf. And also, I don't think it mentioned Iraq as a response to 9/11.
All conventions have cases of selective memory in talking about the past. I think what has been, you know, has been fine for the Republicans I think has been very troubling. This convention has been very troubling to a lot of Democrats, because it has not only seemed to have a particular case of amnesia as if, you know, they haven't been in Washington for the last eight years. They've been running us.
Mitt Romney tried to argue last night by some liberal establishment which doesn't exist anymore. And they've erased, you know, George Bush from their sort of memory bank very quickly and it's been so combative.
And I think the critical issue that's hanging over this convention tonight is, can John McCain erase the images that a lot of people carried away from last night which built the Republican base but I must say, I think, there are a lot of signs that also energized the Democratic base.
As you said earlier tonight, Barack Obama has had a big haul in money since last night, $8 million and counting. You know, I continue to worry what I have worried. I had deeper worries tonight than I did when we started. Can anybody govern this country when this race is over because it's going to be very combative from here on?
BROWN: We got to let Alex Castellanos respond to that.
CASTELLANOS: In all honesty, I think if David Gergen thinks the liberal establishment does not exist anymore, I think he has become a part of it. I think Republicans at this convention will have a very different view of that.
And you know, there are differences that need to be drawn. I think sometimes David talks as if we all desire this politics where we can just have no partisanship. And I think people here would take exception to that pointless partisanship bickering to get nothing done. Everybody in America is tired of that.
But you know, there are differences between these parties that do make a difference in your lives. People actually fight and die for those things. There's certainly worth fighting about here.
GERGEN: Let's have David Gergen respond. Go ahead, David. What do you think?
GERGEN: First of all, is there a liberal establishment in charge of Washington? I'm sorry. There has been another party that's basically been running Washington for the last eight years. If there has been a liberal establishment, it shrunk a lot and it's not right in Washington.
That's a '70s concept, Alex. You know that. And the second thing, of course, there are differences. There are legitimate differences on issues.
What has been I think notable about this convention, so far, and we saw some of this in the Democratic Convention, there is that how personalized it is and how much is sort of "us versus them." And sort of, you know, is there this sort of reverse snobbery?
You know, they look down on us but we're actually, we're better than they are. They're at least terrible elites who've been running things. You know, sort of crass (ph) this terrible people in Washington. As if Republicans haven't, you know, had their hands on the controls and as if we're not one country at the end.
And I think that's what's been discouraging about where we find ourselves now in this campaign is it's increasingly "us versus them," no holds barred. Very personal, not philosophical. Very personal.
BLITZER: All right. Guys, stand by. You know, Alex is itching to respond. But we have to take a quick break. Here's what's coming up in the next hour. Lindsey Graham, the senator from South Carolina, very close to John McCain. He's going to switch the subject to Iraq and make the case why John McCain was right and Barack Obama was wrong.
Then we'll hear from the former Homeland Security secretary, Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania, very close to John McCain as well.
Finally, Cindy McCain. She's going to give a lengthy speech introducing her husband. And the night we'll be topped off with John McCain himself.
Our coverage from Saint Paul continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: All right. They're rocking and rolling right now in Saint Paul, Minnesota at this Republican Convention. But pretty soon, the mood will change dramatically when Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator, speaks about the war in Iraq. That's coming up.
I want to go to James Carville right now. James, weigh in on what we were talking about, the appropriateness of those 9/11 images being used once again by Republicans at a political convention?
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I mean, they're going to do that. I think the political party is entitled to use any that they want. It just sort of strikes me to some extent a kind of off the shelf Republican Convention.
I think also what David was saying, the Republicans are starting a press war and they're obviously going to have a culture war. I think there was some thought at the beginning of this election that with McCain and Barack Obama there would be some kind of a different election.
It strikes me as if we've gone into, in terms of tone and everything, a sort of repeat of the '04 election. And you know, this political party has the right to conduct the campaign on the basis that it wants to. But I don't think where we are now is the campaign that a lot of people America hoped we'd be having.
BROWN: Leslie Sanchez, let's check in you on this -- on the same issue. And you know, one of the questions raised by that video I think is, to a lot of Americans and certainly Democrats, what it conveys to people is that the decision made for how to deal with 9/11 was to go into Iraq where, you know, we know from so much polling that so many people believe that was the wrong decision and the focus should have been on Afghanistan. Does that put that issue back in the forefront?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You know, I think -- Campbell, I think that a lot of people see it probably a little bit differently in the sense that this goes back to the stark contrast between Barack Obama and many of the Democrats, even going back to John Kerry who think that this -- like for example, the bombings of 1993 of the World Trade Center was something that needed to be treated like Barack Obama said, like a criminal act and prosecuted (ph). That it was not part of a larger extreme jihadist movement, which fundamentally where Republicans are coming from.
It's a distinction in how you view the threats against America. And I think fundamentally this is a reminder of that. To many people it's going to come down to security, and I want to say there's the CBS News poll today that McCain has this distinct advantage to be an effective commander in chief. Forty-six percent believe that he's ready to do that where only 24 percent said Barack Obama is ready to do that. And this is one of those issues that play into that concern.
BROWN: Tara Wall, weigh in on this.
TARA WALL, DEPUTY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR, "THE WASHINGTON TIMES": Well, I want to actually pick up on what David Gergen said. I can't help but weigh into that one given that, you know, we talk about these eight years.
Let's not forget about the two years of the Democrat-controlled Congress with leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and the vitriol that's come from them. When you're talking about them calling the president a loser and a failure, I don't think that's the kind of leadership Americans are looking for particularly when you're talking about even the drilling debate as of late.
