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America Votes 2002: Looking to 2004

Aired November 05, 2002 - 13:36   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.


MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: By now you're probably thinking thank goodness it's over. Well, you know what, you're wrong. It is only beginning. We're talking about the campaign now for 2004. It all begins actually tomorrow. Candy Crowley joins us with what is some alarming news for some people.
Candy?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, don't shoot the messenger here. But the truth is that the 2004 presidential campaign has been under way for awhile. We just haven't actually called that for what it is. Nobody has truly declared, But what you have seen throughout this campaign is a number of people who are thinking about running for '04 out there, helping fellow Democrats.

One of the most active, first, in terms of giving money and second in terms of raising money has been John Edwards. John Edwards has been out there. He has been flirting with the idea of a presidency bid. Some people say he absolutely will run, but I can tell you his office says he honestly has not made up his mind. In any case, he has very active in a lot of races, paid a lot of attention to the Iowa and New Hampshire.

Joe Lieberman, another name you hear a lot in '04. He will also be one of those looking very carefully at the results that are coming out tonight. But Joe Lieberman who has also been around campaigning for fellow senators, campaigning for colleagues in the House has one man he's watching in particular. And that, of course, is Al Gore. Lieberman has said if he -- that is Al Gore -- runs then Lieberman won't.

Al Gore, where has he been? Oh, Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa. And probably no one will be looking at tonight's results as closely as Al Gore because he has a big decision to make, and that is, should he run. And somewhere in these numbers may be a hint for him as to whether it would be a successful run.

You never can tell two years out, but the point is that these men have to somehow between now and probably latest, January or February, declare their intentions. There are others out there as well.

John Kerry who is running for reelection in the Senate in Massachusetts, but he's a Democrat, he's unopposed, and he's in a Democratic state, he's been able to amass a lot of money if he wants to make a run.

Howard Dean, he is governor of Vermont. He can just hop over the border and go to New Hampshire if he wants. He's been to Iowa as well,

And finally, Dick Gephardt who has a lot at stake both in the near term and long term. And that is, will he be Speaker of the House? Will there be enough Democratic wins to make him that?

They are all watching these poll numbers really carefully. And not just who wins, but what the people are saying in the exit polls. That gives them hints. The truth is that tomorrow morning '04 begins no matter how you look at it, for money's sake, for momentum's sake. All of these men have about six to eight to 12 weeks to make up their minds and get at it.

SAVIDGE: Well, that last point you mentioned is the very point I was thinking about, that there is a wealth of information that both parties are going to glean from the results that come in today and tonight.

CROWLEY: Sure. And I'm wondering if we couldn't just, you know, right now, say, I'm thinking people are going to say we want the economy to be better. Yes, we're worried about the war on terrorism. I'm not sure. But they look at it in terms of not just issues but precinct by precinct. Has this precinct here gone this way? And what about the swing areas, generally the suburban areas and the ex- urban population that has moved out of cities, which tend to be Democratic. What do the swing areas do? What worked in what area, what didn't work in another?

And, also, who is going to be governor of that state? Because if you have a Democratic governor and you're a Democrat, that governor at least brings you some sort of mechanism through which to run your campaign, same with Republicans, obviously. So the battleground for the governorships in some of those key Midwest states is going to be really important. And Democrats hope to have a really big night on the governorships. So there's just oh, any number of things that will come out of both the election results and the exit polls that will help them make their decisions.

SAVIDGE: Candy Crowley, live from the future. You're two years ahead of us. All right. Thank you very much.

CROWLEY: Sorry.

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



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Aired November 5, 2002 - 13:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: By now you're probably thinking thank goodness it's over. Well, you know what, you're wrong. It is only beginning. We're talking about the campaign now for 2004. It all begins actually tomorrow. Candy Crowley joins us with what is some alarming news for some people.
Candy?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, don't shoot the messenger here. But the truth is that the 2004 presidential campaign has been under way for awhile. We just haven't actually called that for what it is. Nobody has truly declared, But what you have seen throughout this campaign is a number of people who are thinking about running for '04 out there, helping fellow Democrats.

One of the most active, first, in terms of giving money and second in terms of raising money has been John Edwards. John Edwards has been out there. He has been flirting with the idea of a presidency bid. Some people say he absolutely will run, but I can tell you his office says he honestly has not made up his mind. In any case, he has very active in a lot of races, paid a lot of attention to the Iowa and New Hampshire.

Joe Lieberman, another name you hear a lot in '04. He will also be one of those looking very carefully at the results that are coming out tonight. But Joe Lieberman who has also been around campaigning for fellow senators, campaigning for colleagues in the House has one man he's watching in particular. And that, of course, is Al Gore. Lieberman has said if he -- that is Al Gore -- runs then Lieberman won't.

Al Gore, where has he been? Oh, Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa. And probably no one will be looking at tonight's results as closely as Al Gore because he has a big decision to make, and that is, should he run. And somewhere in these numbers may be a hint for him as to whether it would be a successful run.

You never can tell two years out, but the point is that these men have to somehow between now and probably latest, January or February, declare their intentions. There are others out there as well.

John Kerry who is running for reelection in the Senate in Massachusetts, but he's a Democrat, he's unopposed, and he's in a Democratic state, he's been able to amass a lot of money if he wants to make a run.

Howard Dean, he is governor of Vermont. He can just hop over the border and go to New Hampshire if he wants. He's been to Iowa as well,

And finally, Dick Gephardt who has a lot at stake both in the near term and long term. And that is, will he be Speaker of the House? Will there be enough Democratic wins to make him that?

They are all watching these poll numbers really carefully. And not just who wins, but what the people are saying in the exit polls. That gives them hints. The truth is that tomorrow morning '04 begins no matter how you look at it, for money's sake, for momentum's sake. All of these men have about six to eight to 12 weeks to make up their minds and get at it.

SAVIDGE: Well, that last point you mentioned is the very point I was thinking about, that there is a wealth of information that both parties are going to glean from the results that come in today and tonight.

CROWLEY: Sure. And I'm wondering if we couldn't just, you know, right now, say, I'm thinking people are going to say we want the economy to be better. Yes, we're worried about the war on terrorism. I'm not sure. But they look at it in terms of not just issues but precinct by precinct. Has this precinct here gone this way? And what about the swing areas, generally the suburban areas and the ex- urban population that has moved out of cities, which tend to be Democratic. What do the swing areas do? What worked in what area, what didn't work in another?

And, also, who is going to be governor of that state? Because if you have a Democratic governor and you're a Democrat, that governor at least brings you some sort of mechanism through which to run your campaign, same with Republicans, obviously. So the battleground for the governorships in some of those key Midwest states is going to be really important. And Democrats hope to have a really big night on the governorships. So there's just oh, any number of things that will come out of both the election results and the exit polls that will help them make their decisions.

SAVIDGE: Candy Crowley, live from the future. You're two years ahead of us. All right. Thank you very much.

CROWLEY: Sorry.

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



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