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CNN Larry King Live
Republican Wins Senatorial Election in Massachusetts; Alive After Seven Days
Aired January 19, 2010 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, alive after seven days -- victims are still being rescued from the rubble in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
How many more are holding on beneath concrete and collapsed buildings?
Tonight, saving Haitian orphans -- 53 children made it to the U.S., the smallest victims, overcoming obstacles and incredible odds.
And then, are the Republicans about to win Ted Kennedy's Senate seat?
What would it mean for President Obama and health care reform?
We've got up to the minute election results now on LARRY KING LIVE.
Good evening.
First, a quick program note. We'll have two editions of LARRY KING LIVE tonight, this, the regular one, at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific. And then we'll be back live at midnight Eastern, 9:00 Pacific, with a complete program dealing with the incredible election today in Massachusetts. Two LARRY KING LIVES tonight.
And we'll have life and death drama from Haiti in a few minutes.
First, let's get right to that pivotal vote in Massachusetts.
Wolf Blitzer standing by with the very latest on this special election -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": A lot of votes, Larry, have already been counted. The stakes are enormous, as you point out. Fifty-seven percent of the precincts have reported. Scott Brown -- Scott Brown, Larry, the Republican in Massachusetts, with 53 percent to Martha Coakley, the Democrat, 46 percent. He's building up almost a 100,000 lead right now -- 653,000 to 575,000. So he's doing well.
But once again, they still have a lot of votes yet to be counted.
I will say this, Larry. They're coming in, the votes in Massachusetts, very quickly. So we're going to get a lot of results over the course of the next hour. At some point, I assume we'll be able to project a winner. We'll do it if we can this hour or we'll do it and wait.
L. KING: We'll hang right with you, Wolf.
Let's go to John King.
He's at Brown headquarters at the Park Plaza in Boston.
John is a veteran of Boston politics.
Now, how much of these votes are from urban areas?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the great question, Larry, because right now, 30 percent of the precincts in Boston have reported. In Boston, Martha Coakley, the Democrat, is getting 59 percent of the vote -- quite different from her total statewide.
So we need to watch. And that's why everybody in this room, the Republican event tonight, they are confident, but they're waiting to see the urban vote in Boston. If Martha Coakley can hold that margin and if the turnout is high enough, she can make up some ground for the Republican votes in the rural areas and in the suburbs.
The question is, are there enough people?
Anecdotally today, people were saying the turnout was higher in the suburbs -- the Republican-leaning areas -- than it was here in the city. But some people in the city tend to vote late after work.
So as Wolf just noted, as we watch all of these votes come in, we will keep a very special eye on Suffolk County, which is the county where Boston is -- Larry.
L. KING: And let's go to Coakley headquarters at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston.
Jessica Yellin is standing by.
What kind of percentage and what kind of turnout does she need in Boston, the City of Boston -- Jessica?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Larry, she needs an exceptionally high turnout. This is where her base voters would be -- urban voters, African-American voters.
But the question is, will it be enough to carry her over the line?
And I can tell you, by the mood here, very subdued. Folks do not feel terribly optimistic. This is a campaign where Democrats in this state say -- and they're acknowledging openly -- that they simply did not anticipate the degree of voter rage -- that there is such an anti- incumbent spirit -- the same spirit that worked for Democrats and carried them into office in '06 and '08 is now turning on Democrats, they feel, this year. And they really are downcast, the Democrats in this room, but say it should be a wake-up call across the nation, that Democrats need to realize, you don't align yourself with your party, don't take anything for granted.
You stand up and say you're for the people, which is what Scott Brown did so well in this campaign.
Still a few hours to go, a few more minutes for vote counting, but not a lot of happy people in this room -- Larry.
L. KING: Thanks, Jessica.
We'll have much more on the election later in the hour, and, of course, a midnight live show, as well.
But let's hear about Haiti.
Anderson Cooper joins us with an amazing story of survival one week to the day since the earthquake struck.
What happened -- Anderson?
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Larry, incredible doesn't even begin to describe it. One woman rescued, four more people right now being searched for in two separate sites near the National Cathedral. The woman who was rescued, her name is Ena Zizi. She's in her 70s. The fact that a woman in her 70s was able to last a week, she says, without food, without water, it is really extraordinary.
But the struggle for her life continues, Larry, because getting pulled out of the rubble alive is one thing, being saved and living is -- is another thing entirely. And once this woman was pulled out of the rubble, they didn't know where to bring her. They brought her about a block away to a public park, where a number of people are living and medics have now set up sort of a triage unit there.
But they didn't have the facilities to care for this woman. She's severely dehydrated. She's in her '70s. She's got crushed bones. And somebody who has been crushed underneath rubble for this long needs immediate medical attention.
She needed surgery. We actually went on CNN and told -- just announced that -- that they didn't know what to do with her, where to take her. Some aid groups saw our broadcast. The Coast Guard got involved. I can tell you, she has been helicoptered to a hospital. They found a hospital that had a bed.
But -- but, I mean, literally, she was just going to lay in this park because no one really knew where to take her and -- and things just aren't organized enough on that level.
And researchers are still now combing through the rubble, digging into the rubble deep into this building right next to the National Cathedral, going after two people, one of whom, Larry, actually sent a text message last night, they say, saying she was alive, saying to someone she worked with that she was alive.
And the reason -- and the searchers weren't even going to go look for her today. That wasn't their assignment. They were just in the neighborhood to set up a sort of a medical unit -- a medical area to -- to give basic treatment to people.. And some neighbors said, oh, would you go and search over here, because we think there's somebody alive, we got a text message.
And lo and behold, they sent the dog, the dog got a hit. They sent in another dog. The got -- that dog got hits, as well. And they've been searching and they've already pulled out the one.
L. KING: Wow!
COOPER: I mean it's just -- it's an unbelievable day -- Larry.
L. KING: Amazing.
Amazing.
And Anderson will be with you at the top of the hour with lots more on this and other things occurring in that incredibly beleaguered nation.
The son of the woman Anderson was just speaking is with us.
Maxime Janvier is on the phone from New York.
How -- have you had any contact with your mother yet, Maxime?
MAXIME ALAIN JANVIER, MOM SURVIVED FOR WEEK IN RUBBLE (via phone): No. I have contact with my sister Betty (ph) in Haiti. And she's very happy and we're all happy here.
L. KING: And what does Betty say is the current condition of your mom?
JANVIER: Well, she said she's been airlifted to -- to the -- to the boat for more medical attention. And my brother went with her. And they're keeping a good eye on her.
L. KING: Well, your mom must have a great deal of fortitude.
JANVIER: I'm telling you, she's a -- she's a tough cookie.
L. KING: Were you hearing the news about her...
JANVIER: She's a very tough cookie.
L. KING: What -- did you know she was in a -- in a buried situation?
JANVIER: Yes. That's her usual routine. Every Monday and Tuesday, because she goes to church and to that cathedral for service. And then my sister told me that's what she does. That's her first time.
L. KING: Are you going to go down and see her?
JANVIER: Definitely. L. KING: Well, this is an incredible story, Maxime.
Give us -- give us -- give her the love of everyone at CNN and our best expectations for her well-being.
JANVIER: Oh, thank you very much.
L. KING: Thank you.
Maxime Janvier in New York.
Wow!
Some Haitian orphans who beat the odds -- back with the man who got them out of the country, the governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell.
Also, we're keeping tabs on that Senate race. We'll keep you updated throughout the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
L. KING: We're back.
Here's the latest in Massachusetts.
Scott Brown has a 7 percentage point lead -- 53 percent over Martha Coakley, 46 percent. This is for the seat vacated by the death of Senator Kennedy.
We'll keep you posted. And again, we'll have a live show later at midnight.
Ivan Watson -- he's done yeoman like work in Port-au-Prince.
What's the latest from your vantage point right now -- Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A sad moment here, Larry.
I'm going to ask Dave to pan the camera right over here. The Mexican rescue team here, moments ago, brought out the body of a priest and they (INAUDIBLE) the body. It's (INAUDIBLE) Port-au-Prince International (INAUDIBLE).
L. KING: I want to apologize. That's a poor connection with Ivan Watson.
We'll try to reconnect with him.
But obviously, he's reporting on the bringing out of a -- a lady who did not make it from the rubble in Haiti.
Let's go to Washington.
Governor Ed Rendell, Democrat of Pennsylvania, has just come back from Haiti, accompanying 53 children from the BRESMA Orphanage in Port-au-Prince. How did this come about, Ed?
GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, Larry, the BRESMA Orphanage was run by two young women from Pittsburgh, two sisters, not nuns, but two blood sisters. And when the earthquake happened, they had to keep the kids outside with no sanitation, very little food and water.
They called home. They were connected to our wonderful University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. They tried to get the ability to take them out. They couldn't do it. They called me. I couldn't get anywhere. And then we saw the Haitian ambassador, Ray Joseph, being interviewed on CNN.
So I called into the station and said, can you get a message from me to Ambassador Joseph?
They did. The ambassador called me. He started the ball rolling. And then we got great cooperation from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration, the State Department. The military was terrific.
We got on the plane yesterday morning, Monday morning at 11:30 from Pittsburgh. We reached the Port-au-Prince at about 6:00. We were there for the next six-and-a-half hours, fighting to get all of these 54 kids out of the country.
There was no dispute about the children who already had been approved for adoption in the U.S. or Canada. But for the seven or eight others, there was a big dispute about whether they could go or not. And the two sisters put their heels down and said we either all go or nobody goes.
And we were trying to persuade them to let us take 90 percent of them out to safety. The kids had health challenges, etc.
But, finally, the National Security Council stepped in and we literally got clearance from the White House. All 54 kids were granted visas. They all arrived at the airport.
But our plane had been sent away, because you can only keep a plane on the tarmac there for a limited amount of time, because you know all the planes are coming in and they've got to clear the runway space. But the military got us a C-17. And all of a sudden, this C- 17 had a cargo of 53 young Haitians...
L. KING: Wow!
RENDELL: ...ranging from six months to 10 years...
L. KING: What a story.
RENDELL: ...at least 25 medical personnel. But the real kicker to the story was the 54th child we couldn't find after we locked the door on the plane. So one of the sisters got off determined to find him. They found her -- it was a little girl -- on the bus. She had fallen asleep and people hadn't found her. The little girl's name was Emma. Emma and the other sister just arrived in Miami a few minutes ago. So all 54 children are safe on American soil.
And we hope this will be a breakthrough so that all of a sudden, a lot more orphans who don't have adoptive homes yet can be sent to the United States.
L. KING: Yes, we're, in fact, going to be talking about that with two adoptive parents in just a minute.
Where are the kids now, Ed?
RENDELL: The kids now are in Children's Hospital in -- in Pittsburgh, one of the great children's hospitals in the country. And they're getting treated. No serious health challenges, Larry, but fevers, some infections, some -- a tremendous amount of dehydration. But the kids are all going to be fine. And the 47 who have their adopted families, those families are being notified. The other seven are going to be put up between Catholic Charities and the Allegheny County Welfare Department are going to put them up for normal adoption.
L. KING: You've -- you've had a long, illustrious career in politics -- mayor, governor. This may be the very best thing you've done.
RENDELL: Well, it was the most fun. Well, when I looked -- I didn't have a seat on the C-17 because we didn't have enough seats. I was sitting on some boxes. And I looked down, and you know the C-17s are huge...
L. KING: Yes, I know.
RENDELL: You can fit four or five tanks in them. And when I saw these little kids strapped in against the wall of the C-17 and they had never been on a plane before, Larry. They were laughing. They weren't scared by the loud noises. These are great kids. And I'll tell you, it was a great feeling for all of us involved.
L. KING: Wow!
RENDELL: I haven't slept since Sunday.
L. KING: We salute you.
RENDELL: And let me tell you...
L. KING: A great job.
RENDELL: ...I'm pumped. I'm pumped.
L. KING: We'll check back in with Ivan Watson in a little while.
We'll talk about adoptive parents, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) L. KING: I want to thank all of you for helping the people of Haiti last night during and after our special LARRY KING LIVE, "Haiti: How You Can Help." The American Red Cross and U.S. Fund for UNICEF received pledges totaling $8,944,956. It's just a start, but what a great one. And we owe it all to you.
We want to remind you that the Michael Jackson "Opus" is up for auction on our Web site. We're taking bids. The people of Haiti are going to benefit. So go to CNN.com/larryking.
Keep the good work coming.
Let's check in with Wolf Blitzer for the latest on Massachusetts -- Wolf.
BLITZER: You did a great job last night. Let me thank you, because we...
L. KING: Oh, thanks.
BLITZER: ...you made us all really proud.
Let's take a look. Now almost 70 percent of the precincts have reported in Massachusetts, this for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. The Republican, Scott Brown, maintaining a significant lead, 53 percent to 46 percent. He's got a lead of about 100,000 votes, Larry, so far. There are still plenty of precincts left out there. But it's become increasingly, more and more difficult to see a way that he can narrow -- that she can narrow that 100,000 gap right now.
But we'll wait. We'll count the votes, together with everyone else and see -- see what happens.
But this Republican is getting ready, it looks like, for a huge upset -- Larry.
L. KING: I'm not an expert, but it's going to take something in that last 30 percent.
Back we go to Port-au-Prince and Ivan Watson.
We had a bad signal earlier -- Ivan.
What were you telling us about that body coming out?
WATSON: Right. This was a priest that was pulled out. And it was a very touching moment, Larry, where the Mexican rescue team, which helped save a woman earlier today at this very location, they knelt and prayed and -- along with the participation of a Catholic nun -- over the body of this priest with a rosary placed on the priest's body. It was a very touching moment here.
Now, the rescue that's been under -- underway behind me, the operation that's been underway, the teams here have been breaking down some of their equipment because they have not had any contact -- any signs of life for about three hours now. They're doing one last check after bringing the dogs through several times. They're using some listening equipment right now. But it does look like the teams here are getting ready to pack up.
We had one miracle today and we may not have another -- Larry.
L. KING: Ivan, is it -- is it all beginning to wear on you?
WATSON: It's been a long week, I think, for everybody. For the rescue workers here, these folks are camping out. They're working very long days in very difficult conditions.
The Haitians themselves, Larry, can you believe that a woman could survive seven days in the condition she was in buried there?
The Mexican workers tell me when they got to her, she was singing, laying on her back. Really remarkable considering she was in her 70s.
But it is wearing on me and everybody.
L. KING: Unbelievable.
WATSON: I was with some family members who were missing -- waiting outside the ruins of a supermarket. And they -- they're spending day and night just waiting there, hoping somebody might dig out their loved ones.
It's pretty difficult.
L. KING: Thanks, Ivan.
We'll take a break and come back.
And then we'll meet that prospective adoptive parents of a little boy in -- in Haiti.
More updates coming on Massachusetts and a midnight live show, 9:00 Eastern, a second edition of LARRY KING LIVE tonight.
Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
L. KING: We'll be checking with those adoptive parents -- we're trying to clear a signal through -- in the next segment.
Right now, let's go to Port-au-Prince.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, is standing by.
It's a week after the quake.
What's the situation with the medical care?
Is it better? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is better, Larry, for sure. But that's a little bit of a relative term. I mean it's nowhere near where it should be or I think where a lot of people expected it to be by this point.
The problem has -- has become pretty simple and -- and defined itself.
We're getting a lot more personnel, as far as we can see, on the ground, in the various hospitals, in these clinics that we've been talking about. The problem, more than anything else, seems to be lack of equipment, Larry. The types of injuries that you see after an earthquake -- these crush injuries -- people need operations. They need various procedures. They need pain medications for the -- just suffering.
And still, remarkably, a week later, Larry, not all of that has -- has arrived here -- or at least at the places that need it most.
L. KING: Do we have an answer as to why?
GUPTA: It really seems to be a fundamental lack of coordination, number one. You know, supplies are getting to the airport, but they're not getting into places that need it. It also seems to be this question, do we put more of our resources on security and trying to secure the areas or do we use it for medical aid -- humanitarian aid?
L. KING: Yes.
GUPTA: And it seems like...
L. KING: Sanjay...
GUPTA: ...more effort...
L. KING: Hold it one second.
GUPTA: ...has been put onto security...
L. KING: I'm going to come right...
GUPTA: ...this (INAUDIBLE).
L. KING: I'm going to -- hold it. Hold it. I'm going to come right back to you.
Let's check in with Wolf Blitzer, who's got a result in Massachusetts -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We've got the breaking news. CNN now projects, Larry, that Scott Brown will become the next United States senator from the State of Massachusetts, defeating the Democrat, Martha Coakley.
Take a look at this. Seventy-five percent of the precincts have now reported -- 53 percent for Scott Brown, 46 percent for Martha Coakley. He's maintaining a 100,000 advantage -- a 100,000 vote advantage.
We are also told by our -- our chief national correspondent, John King, that Martha Coakley has actually telephoned Scott Brown to concede -- to acknowledge she has not won this race.
So there will be -- will be a Republican senator filling the seat of the late Senator Ted Kennedy from the State of Massachusetts.
Larry, this is big news because at stake right now, health care reform and a lot of other stuff. The Democrats will no longer have that 60 seat super majority that can beat a filibuster, if the Republicans want to filibuster.
L. KING: Yes.
BLITZER: So this is very significant for the president and Democrats on so many issues.
L. KING: John King is at Brown headquarters.
The last Republican from Massachusetts, John, you know it well, I guess, was Senator Ed Brooke, the black liberal Republican, was it not, in -- in, was that '78 -- '68 maybe?
J. KING: He was a moderate -- you're exactly right, Larry. Ed Brooke was a moderate Republican from Western Massachusetts. He served two terms. He left the United States Senate in 1979. And not since then has Massachusetts sent a Republican to the Senate.
But tonight, Massachusetts has not only decided to send a Republican to the Senate, Larry, Massachusetts is sending a very blunt message to President Obama and the national Democratic Party.
Scott Brown campaigned against the Obama health care plan, against the Obama stimulus plan, against what he calls "the spending and the taxing in Washington, D.C."
And voters in a state that Obama carried by 26 points have now, by a significant margin, decided to send a Republican, Scott Brown, to Washington.
And I want to echo the point, Wolf, just made. I'm told by two Republican sources high up in the Brown campaign that Martha Coakley, the Democratic candidate, called a short time ago to say she was conceding the race. I'm told she congratulated Scott Brown on the campaign and wished him well in the very consequential days he has ahead, Larry, as he goes to Washington now to take the seat that Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal icon, held for 46 years.
L. KING: One other thing, John. And we'll discuss it later and certainly at length in our -- in our midnight show, is he can't be sworn in, according to Massachusetts law, until the 29th.
Can the Democrats in the House and Senate try to do something before then on health? J. KING: Can -- the answer to can they is yes. The answer to will they is don't be so sure. The White House has sent signals it would like to try to move fast. But many Democrats are saying that that would be dangerous, if you disrespect the will of the people of Massachusetts.
This election is being fueled by Independent voters, Larry. Independent voters are very powerful in many of the other key states and key races this year. Many Democrats are afford that if they act quickly in that interim period, they will cause a lot more trouble for themselves in the long-term than any benefit they would get in the short-term.
L. KING: Thanks, John.
John, you stay with us.
Wolf, you stay with us.
Jessica Yellin will be coming aboard; Gloria Borger, as well.
And then we'll have our pundits join us -- Ari Fleischer, David Gergen. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend will be here, as we stay on the Massachusetts story for the rest of this hour and the midnight hour. Again, we'll be back at midnight -- at 9:00 Pacific, midnight Eastern.
Of course, Haiti coverage will continue at length again throughout the night and again tomorrow.
But the Massachusetts story reins supreme right now.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: In a couple minutes, I'll be calling on Ari Fleischer, David Gergen and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend to analyze all of this. But let's get our final reports in, at least in this hour, from our reporters on the scene. First, Wolf Blitzer, a quick results recap. What happened?
BLITZER: CNN has projected that the winner in the Massachusetts race is the Republican, Scott Brown. Right now, 84 percent of the precincts are in; 52 percent to 47 percent, more than 100,000-vote margin, 963,000 to 859,000. Scott Brown will succeed the late Senator Ted Kennedy as the next US senator from the state of Massachusetts. There was an interim senator, Paul Kirk, the former chairman of the Democratic Party. He will now step down.
And within the next few days -- we don't know how many days -- Scott Brown will be sworn in as the United States senator from Massachusetts. This is a big deal because it now brings the Democratic super-majority down to 59, instead of 60. You need 60 votes to really get anything important accomplished in the Senate, and the Democrats are not going to have 60 votes. KING: Thanks, wolf Blitzer, on the scene as follows. Wolf Blitzer anchoring CNN's "SITUATION ROOM," and covering this star election tonight. Jessica Yellin at the Coakley headquarters at the Sheraton Hotel. This was not unexpected there, was it, Jessica?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, Larry. Folks here are very, very disappointed, but not surprised. There one message is the national Democrats -- they say they hope nationally Democrats learned a lesson from this; when their candidate did not tap into voter rage, did not articulate a populist message, she was crushed by a tidal wave of anti-incumbent fervor. They say it is time for Democrats to get a wake-up call and realize that they have to run on the economy and in touch with the average worker.
And that's what Scott Brown did so well in this election. I'll also add quickly, Larry, that the circular firing squad has begun, with national Republicans accusing Coakley of having running a terrible campaign, and the Coakley campaign fighting back and saying they created a bad national mood. This is a story we're going to see in the days to come. Angry Democrats, Larry.
KING: Thanks, Jessica. John King, final word to you. We'll be checking with you much later. But she -- Mrs. Coakley was not the strongest of candidates, was she?
J. KING: She was not the strongest of candidates, Larry. No, you're exactly right. But she was also running in not the strongest Democratic environment. That says a lot when you're talking about Massachusetts, where Obama won by 26 points. This victory is fueled by discontent among independents. Democrats in other key races across the country are going to look at these results. And you already see a lot of statements tonight from Democrats saying, we can't sugar coat this, we better learn a lesson.
How will that affect health care? How will that affect the president's budget, spending, tax policy? Some big drama to see play out in Washington because of what happened tonight in Massachusetts.
KING: Thanks, John King. Those were our reporters, King, Yellin and Blitzer. Now let's go to our analysts. They will be with us until the top of the hour. Ari Fleischer served as White House press secretary for President George W. Bush. He's in Stanford, Connecticut. David Gergen is CNN's senior political analyst. He was an adviser to Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. And in Washington as well, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, the eldest daughter of the late Senator Robert Kennedy.
All right, Ari Fleischer, what do you make of this?
ARI FLEISCHER, FMR. BUSH ADMINISTRATION PRESS SECRETARY: It's staggering. It's absolutely unheard of for a Republican to win statewide for a federal office in Massachusetts anymore. Thirty years is the last time you had a Republican senator. There are ten congressman from Massachusetts. Every single one is a Democrat and they've all been democrats for more than a decade. Larry, I can't really see health care reform passing anymore in the United States Congress. I think if the Democrats after this try to get it through, particularly in the House, I think it will fail. The next step? I think there is going to be a real grassroots rebellion in the House of Representatives. They are in a very dicey spot right now.
KING: Kathleen, all the polls say Obama remains popular in the state of Massachusetts. People who liked Obama voted against the Democratic candidate. How do you explain that?
KATHLEEN KENNEDY TOWNSEND, FMR. LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND: The best thing is to remember Tip O'Neill who said that all politicians are local. They like politicians who work hard for them, who seem to know that this is an important election, who fight for it. And I think the sad thing is we didn't see Martha Coakley doing that.
I'm disappointed. But I think it tells everybody that the voters want you to say, I want your vote. I'm going to be out in the cold. I'm going to be out in the heat. I'm going to be up early and up late, to be with you and to fight for you. Because people are angry and they're angry with reason.
I'm disappointed at what happened. But I think it is a big wake- up call for Democrats to say -- Democratic politicians -- you got to pay attention to what's going on on the ground. I really don't think it's about health care, because Massachusetts has health care, and 80 percent of the people in Massachusetts like their health care plan or like what's gone on. So I think I disagree with Ari Fleischer about that.
KING: We'll get into that with all of you. But Mr. Gergen, who doesn't have a dog. What's your read?
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Larry, this will be the vote heard around the world. It's going to have enormous impact here in Washington. I think it will have ripple effects even all the way to American foreign policy. There was a strong difference between the candidates. He was a very good candidate. I think he had a certain kind of charm to him, a masculinity about him. He had an emotional connection. She did not.
She simply did not connect. I think Kathleen was absolutely right about that.
But if the democrats leave there, at that interpretation, they're kidding themselves. This was also a message to Washington that people in Massachusetts, the bluest of blue states, do not like the direction that Washington is taking.
Larry, I happened to moderate the debate that occurred one week ago, and I can tell you there is a lot of anger in Massachusetts about the direction things are taking. And people wanted to take it out on Martha Coakley.
KING: Let me get a break and come back. All three will remain with us on this election night now edition of LARRY KING LIVE. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Ari Fleischer, David Gergen and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend remain. We're joined by Gloria Borger, CNN senior political analyst. She is also in Washington. What is your two cents?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm going to disagree with Kathleen and I'm going to say -- at my own personal risk here -- and I'm going to say that this was a national election. Yes, there was a weak election who ran a weak campaign.
But Scott Brown campaigned by saying he wanted to be the vote to kill health care reform in the United States Senate. And he won. And that is a big message to this administration that they didn't communicate about their bill well enough. Maybe their bill was too large, at a time that people don't like big government. And, you know, when trust in government, Larry, is at an all-time low in this country, it's hard to tell people to swallow more big government.
So they were sending a message. And it was also about independent voters. Yes, Massachusetts is a blue state. But 51 percent of the voters in Massachusetts identify themselves as independents. And the Democrats need to learn to talk to independent voters.
KING: All right, Dana Bash is up there on Capitol Hill. Ari Fleischer says health care is dead. But what about the reported story that what the House will do is pass the Senate version in that conference. And then the Senate will come back. They don't need 60 votes, they need 51. They pass their own bill and they get a health bill before Mr. Brown is sworn in, or even if he is sworn in.
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Larry, that has been the talk over the past 24, 48 hours or more of the best of a lot of really bad possibilities. But I have spent the past several hours talking to lot of House Democratic members who would have to swallow that pill and vote for it. And I have talked to so many who said no way. Some I talked to I couldn't even get my question out, Larry. They knew exactly what I was going to ask and the answer was, no, we will not vote for the Senate bill.
Why? These are just Democrats we're talking about, but there are a lot of differences between the two bills. And many in the House feel that the Senate bill, for example, doesn't go far enough in making health care affordable for middle class and worker class Americans. That is looking very unlikely, just in the anecdotal conversations I've had with the people this evening.
But to the point Gloria was making about this being a national message. Certainly again in the conversations this evening with House Democrats, they are saying it's a national message. Maybe Martha Coakley, the Democrat, wasn't the best candidate in the world, but they said if we want to survive and do well in the next ten months, we can't ignore the election results in Massachusetts. KING: Ari Fleischer, one could be confused. Massachusetts has a very strong health care plan. I think everyone in Massachusetts is covered. The president is popular. Why are they against this?
FLEISCHER: Well, the president is somewhat popular there. Even in Massachusetts, he's lost a lot of the huge shine he began the year with. Let me pass on something I heard today from Washington. I was talking with some top campaign officials at the National Republican Senatorial Committee who were involved in this. They told me they first started to see the needle moving in December, just before Christmas, when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cut those big deals to give 100 million dollar payoffs to a couple different senators for projects in their state, Senator Ben Nelson in Nebraska involving Medicaid, Senator Landrieu of Louisiana for a some parochial issues of her concerns.
That's when they started to see the polling shifting in Massachusetts. It really angered independent voters. I think it's much bigger than just health care reform, Larry. It's the way Washington is doing business. And that's what Barack Obama came to Washington to change, and he's losing independents. He lost them in Virginia. He lost them in New Jersey. And he just lost them amazingly in Massachusetts, because the way he's governing and the Democrats in Washington are governing is so out of sync from what independents were hoping for when they elected Barack Obama.
That, I'm told, is what began the tipping point in Massachusetts, in addition to the local issues, where she was a bad candidate. But bad candidates who are Democrats can still easily win in Massachusetts. This is the national mood that has swamped the Democratic party there. And it risks swamping them in many other places.
One final point. I'm also told of the six states where Democrats have incumbents up for reelection this year -- six close states -- Republicans are up in Nevada, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Pennsylvania and North Dakota, in all the Republican polling in those states. This has huge national implications.
KING: We'll get the comments of others when we come back. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Before we get back to our analysts, we have a quick comment in from John King. John?
J. KING: Larry, just wanted to report, a Republican source here in the building and another Brown aide telling our producer, Peter Hambyd (ph) -- one source to Peter, one source to me -- that the president of the United States, Barack Obama, who has so much at stake in this vote tonight, has placed a phone call to congratulate the victor, Republican State Senator Scott Brown, who soon will become Republican United States Senator Scott Brown. We're trying to get details of the phone call. Of course, Scott Brown ran against the Obama health care plan, ran against the Obama stimulus plan, ran against his approach to the economy, said he was spending too much and not creating enough jobs fast enough. But tonight, Larry, the president of the United States, Democrat Barack Obama, who carried this state by 26 points 14 months ago, called the Republican victor, said congratulations and told him he was looking forward to working with him in Washington.
We'll try to get more details on that call, Larry. Quite a constitutional night in Massachusetts, as reflected by a Democratic president calling a Republican a winner in a seat held for nearly 50 years by Ted Kennedy.
KING: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, he ran -- one of the principle platforms that Obama ran on was health care and he got health care through, albeit not as as strong as he wanted. So what is the big disappointment in Massachusetts? What did he disappoint them with?
TOWNSEND: I think you have to remember that the health care industry has spent over 100 million dollars against health care reform. So when people say health care reform, they've been confused. It's been what is this, what is that? It's big government. But when you ask them, do you want to have -- get rid of preexisting conditions? Do you want to have affordability? Do you want to carry health care when you lose your job? They liked it.
What we saw in Massachusetts is during the time they were looking at the health care bill and during the negotiations, Massachusetts didn't care. But when it got passed, which it is now, 80 percent of people from Massachusetts like it. So I think the health care industry has done a really good job, and Scott Brown has been able to jump on that, to say, big government is bad, health care is bad, and I think -- so that's the issue on health care.
I think what also is going on is that people in Massachusetts, and really across the nation, are angry, and they're taking out their anger on the Democrats. And I think the Democrats have got to say, we're angry too. We have got to provide jobs for people. We have got to take on the big banks, who have gotten so much help over the last year. And we've got to be seen as helping the people rather than just sitting in Washington, negotiating legislation. Which doesn't really actually look like it's helping people.
KING: David, but the puzzling part is Massachusetts has those things. Why -- is it that they don't want the rest of the country to have them or what?
GERGEN: No, Larry. And it's pretty popular in Massachusetts. The state reforms have been pretty popular. Even though the premiums have gone way up. Larry, Scott Brown was a very, very clever candidate in many ways. He was able to turn these arguments on her and he did it on health care.
He, essentially, argued two things. One, to go to Ari Fleischer's point, which I think was right on target, that Scott Brown began to take off in December when those deals were cut in Washington. They were usually done in the back room. They were brought into the front parlor. People saw that kind of stuff, they didn't like it. And it really helped Scott Brown say, I want to change Washington. There's too much business as usual.
The second thing was he was able to argue was the cost of health care. He added that in with the cost of a lot of other programs and said basically --
KING: David, they're telling -- I'll come back to you. They're telling me to go to break. We'll come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: As we come back, we're expecting the attorney general of Massachusetts -- that is not her -- to address the crowd shortly. Let's go back to David Gergen for his analysis, as I interrupted him. And as soon as the attorney general of Massachusetts gets up to speak, we'll go right to her. David?
GERGEN: Well, Larry, it goes back to this point about who Scott Brown became. He presented himself as a populist in a pickup truck. And a lot of people responded to that, especially guys. She was a person who said she didn't have any idea who Curt Schilling was. And in Red Sox nation, if you don't know who Curt Schilling is, you don't connect to the voters. So there was that.
But he was also good at sort of marshaling all this anger and discontent about the ways of Washington, the deal cutting, the increase in spending, that hasn't shown up in terms of new jobs in Massachusetts, and channeling that into his candidacy. And he did a good job with it. And I think that's the message that is being sent to Washington. And we're hearing from Dana Bash tonight that the moderate Democrats are responding. They're getting the message. The question I have in my mind tonight: the message has been sent; has the White House received it and what do they think about it? I'm very curious about that in the days ahead.
KING: Dana, do you think they have? Is Dana Bash still with us? Apparently not. So I think we now have the attorney general coming up to the microphone. This will be her concession speech. She's taken a hard hit tonight, in all quarters, Democratic and Republican. Here is the attorney general of Massachusetts, the defeated candidate tonight.
MARTHA COAKLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MASSACHUSETTS: I don't know, somebody told me there was a crowd out here. Thank you. Thank you.
I want you to know that I just got off the phone with Scott Brown. I've offered him my congratulations and my best wishes on his victory tonight. And I wish to him and Gale and to his two daughters -- and I told him, Mr. Brown, you've got two lovely daughters, which he does. And he also extended his good wishes to me.
So I wish we were here with other and better news tonight, but we are not. And I want to take this moment, first of all, for all of you, in this room, and those of you who are probably still out working, you poured your hearts and souls into this campaign. And there are thousands of you, literally. We had thousands of people out on the street since September.
And I want to say an incredibly sincere thank you for everything that you did, obviously, not just for me, but for the campaign and what we stood for in this campaign.
And so let's give yourselves a huge round of applause for what you've done. Thank you! Thank you.
I will not forget the fierce determination with which we approached this, not just again about this campaign, about the things we believed in and we still believe in and we will still fight for after tonight. And I know you will join me in that.
We never lost our focus or our determination and you never demonstrated an ounce of discouragement or complacency, as far as I'm concerned, in this campaign. I know how hard we worked and you own everything about this campaign. You were there every step of the way, as we went forward in the primary, and through tonight, and focused on the issues that I believe everybody in Massachusetts does care about, and everybody in this country should be focused on as we go forward.
I want to say a very sincere and loving thank you to my husband, Tom. Thank you. I had him out on the campaign trail for the last couple of days, and I can tell you, there are at least two dogs who are very happy about tonight's results because we're going to be back with them.
I have to thank my family, many of whom are here behind me tonight. My sisters, Anne and Jane and Mary are all here. My nephews and nieces and grand-nieces. Terrific staff on our campaign. If you worked with our staff, with Kevin and Dennis and ML, and everybody else who gave sweat, blood, and tears and all of their time to this campaign, you know how much heart and soul we put into it. And it was my honor to be working with them and with you during this campaign.
You've, in some ways, become an extended family for me. As I tell my folks in the AG'S office, my extended dysfunctional family, but that's OK. I will never forget the passion and the energy and the soul that we brought to this, and that includes the friendship of everybody who has worked with us.
(APPLAUSE)
COAKLEY: Of course, I know you will join me in thanking President Obama, who took this little trip to see us here on Sunday.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
COAKLEY: He actually just called me and -- before I came on stage -- to say that, we can't win them all, and he knows that better than any, as he told me.
But he appreciates what I did and what you did. And he said to extend his heartfelt thanks to everybody who had worked on the campaign. And, as I know from losing a campaign several years ago, writing a little piece about it for "The Herald," that I feel very strongly about, if you do not run, you cannot win. And you don't always win all of the time, but you put in your best efforts, because, sometimes, it's more important to travel, hopefully, than to arrive.
And, in some ways...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
COAKLEY: And we will continue to travel, hopefully. I know that.
I know that many of you had the great pleasure of seeing President Clinton as he was out on the campaign trail.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
COAKLEY: I want to thank him. And, particularly, I need to send my thanks, and I know yours, to Vicki Kennedy, who campaigned with me all weekend...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
COAKLEY: ... to Vicki, who was the source of, as she always was, her dignity and grace and her warmth and good humor -- and, on one occasion, when she gave me a good tip, she said, "I'm channeling my inner Ted," and was incredibly great along the campaign trail.
So, I have to thank her, and I know you join me in that tonight, as well as the entire Kennedy family for their support and their love in this endeavor.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
COAKLEY: OK, so this is the deal.
Although our campaign ends tonight, we know that our mission continues and our work goes on.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
COAKLEY: I am heartbroken at the result. And I know that you are also, but I know that we will get up together tomorrow and continue this fight, even with this result tonight, because there will be plenty of Wednesday-morning quarterbacking about what happened and what went right, what went wrong.
And I know that everyone, including me -- I am brutally honest on my own performances -- we will be honest about the assessment of this race. And, although I am very disappointed, I always respect the voters' choice. And that's what I told to Scott Brown tonight. And, again, we wish him luck in his public service.
Anyone who's been out on the campaign trail, particularly in this race, has seen the anger of folks who are frustrated, concerned. They are angry about health care issues, and they're angry about our two wars, our inability to properly care for those who return home after fighting.
I had hoped, in the best interests of our state and the country, to go to Washington to address these issues. I hope that, as a nation and as a commonwealth, we can do better in the future.
You know that, as your attorney general, I will continue to fight and address them here with everybody in Massachusetts who cares about these issues.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
COAKLEY: Thank you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": That's the -- the speech by Ms. -- the attorney general, Coakley, conceding the election tonight to Scott Brown in Massachusetts, a historic election.
This has been a early edition of LARRY KING LIVE. We will be back at midnight Eastern, 9:00 Pacific. We will do some Wednesday morning quarterbacking, as the attorney general said, with our pundits and analysis, all coming at midnight, 9:00 Pacific.
Right now, we turn it over to Anderson Cooper, more analysis and more coverage in Haiti and "A.C. 360" -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Larry, thanks very much.
