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CNN Live At Daybreak

Hometown Newspaper Discusses Condit's Staff

Aired August 31, 2001 - 07:12   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: And Congressman Gary Condit back in the news because members of his staff say the public got it all wrong. The five members of Condit's team voiced their support for their boss in an exclusive interview with CNN's Larry King.

"The Modesto Bee's" Mike Doyle, the Washington bureau chief there, joins us live from Washington with his reaction. Good morning, Mike. Good to see you.

MIKE DOYLE, "THE MODESTO BEE": Good morning.

LIN: You watched the interview, anything jump out at you?

DOYLE: I think two things. One is the fact that several of the staffers, long time loyal staffers confessed to mixed emotions about whether the congressman should run again. The fact that they or some are saying that they think that he should not go through the problem joined with what Chad Condit, the son, said the other night on "LARRY KING LIVE" gives us the clear impression that there is some serious advice to not face the problems of running again.

The second thing that jumped out at me was just the window it showed on what really makes Congress run, which are loyal, hard working staff, people who work hard, chase down checks and are the real face of the congressman in the district. And we got a chance to see people who normally are pretty faceless.

LIN: That's right. You yourself recently wrote that the average Congressional staff member stays only less than four years with a member. But Gary Condit's staff has been with him, what, almost half of them have been with him for more than 10 years.

DOYLE: Well, that's right. Members of Congress have 16 member personal staffs, members of the House do, and seven of Congressman Condit's staff have been with him a decade or longer, which suggests considerable loyalty. And they feel they obviously get what they need out of the office.

And so what we saw last night were people who have known the congressman, continue to have high respect for him but at the same...

LIN: But, Mike, you wonder how well they know him. For example, some of these people were the ones who came out publicly and absolutely, categorically denied any relationship between the congressman and Chandra Levy and last night they were saying well, you know, we didn't really know. So how well does this staff or any staff really know a congressman?

DOYLE: Well, everyone's a mystery and especially members of Congress whose staff tends to be younger. There tends to be a difference in power and status between a member of Congress and the staff.

A telling exchange happened when Mike Dayton, the administrative assistant to Mr. Condit, said that he wouldn't consider asking such a personal question of his boss about a relationship and that he reflexively denied the relationship when asked because that's what assistants do. So there's always a zone of privacy and I think we showed less -- saw last night that members will have some aspects of their life that staff will never ask about.

LIN: Right. Right. And as you saw last night, they seemed to be split on whether he should leave office. Do you think Congressman Gary Condit has given any thought at all to resigning and frankly can he financially afford to?

DOYLE: Well, I'm sure he's given thought to every conceivable scenario and I don't pretend to know what he's thinking. But we have, I would tend to doubt resignation as a possibility. He has few assets. He has legal bills. And he's probably thinking that with -- if he stays out for at least another year he can rehabilitate his reputation and show people through Congressional service what they elected him for to office in the first place.

But clearly we're hearing from people closest to him that retirement after next year may be a very feasible option.

LIN: Well, because who is he politically without the support of Governor Gray Davis -- we've already witnessed that personal schism there -- and the support of the Democratic leadership in Congress?

DOYLE: Well, we are seeing a division between other Democrats and Democratic leaders in particular and Congressman Condit. I should note, Governor Davis' comments, I felt, were relatively mild. He simply said that he was disheartened by the congressman's comments and that did instigate the resignation of Mr. Condit's children.

But when Congress returns next week, we're going to see repeated questions put to Democratic leaders by reporters about Congressman Condit. Every time something is said critical, that will add to a certain momentum. And so there is that sense of division between the one member and the rest of the caucus.

LIN: Right. And certainly momentum in California as they start to redraw the districts there, including the congressman's. So we'll see what happens on that front.

Thank you very much, Mike Doyle of "The Modesto Bee."

DOYLE: Thank you.

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