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Howard Dean on the Rise
Aired August 06, 2003 - 15:15 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: For the moment, Howard Dean has become the hot Democratic presidential candidate making the cover of both "TIME" and "Newsweek" and taking the lead in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire. Bob Novak joins us now from the "CROSSFIRE" set at George Washington University with some inside buzz.
All right, Bob, I understand now that Howard Dean is not seeding labor support to Dick Gephardt.
BOB NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Well, he scored a big victory at the AFL-CIO in Chicago this week, Judy, because Gephardt needed the AFL-CIO endorsement and he didn't get it, won't get it until October at the earliest. And Dean staged him off.
He hired a guy named Bob Mullencamp (ph), a very savvy political operator in Labor. He used to be with the teamster's union, kicked out by the Hoffa forces who consider him the devil. But what's very interesting is that Mullencamp's (ph) wife is Karen Ackerman, who is the political director of the AFL-CIO. And that may have helped prevent Gephardt from getting the endorsement this week.
WOODRUFF: That's interesting. All right, Bob, we have been hearing about all this money that President Bush is raising for his re-election effort. Now you're learning that's there is going to be some thank-you involved.
NOVAK: Yes. If you raised at least $50,000 for the president's campaign just before the June 30 deadline, you are invited to a barbecue this weekend at Crawford. But wait a minute, you've got to take a plane to Dallas and you get on a bus for a two-hour bus ride to Waco, but you don't really go on the president's ranch. He doesn't like strangers on his ranch. You go on the adjoining ranch, stand in the hot sun for two hours, or under a musty old tent, but I hear you at least get a cold drink out of it.
WOODRUFF: I bet a lot of people will take him up on that.
Last but not least, Republicans not sufficient just to beat Max Cleland not getting re-elected to the U.S. Senate. But what else is it that they are unhappy with him about?
NOVAK: Well, President Bush has just named Max Cleland as a Democratic director of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And Republicans on the 9/11 Commission, where Senator Cleland served, couldn't be happier. Senator Cleland was -- they feel, the Republicans feel -- was the most partisan member of the commission, still hasn't gotten over that bitter Senate race in Georgia.
But let me tell you something, his successor on the 9/11 Commission will be picked by Senator Tom Daschle, and I'll bet he isn't going to be a bundle of joy for the Republicans either.
WOODRUFF: We'll see who that is. And you'll be the first to know. Bob Novak, thank you. And we'll be watching you on "CROSSFIRE" at 4:30.
NOVAK: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 6, 2003 - 15:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: For the moment, Howard Dean has become the hot Democratic presidential candidate making the cover of both "TIME" and "Newsweek" and taking the lead in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire. Bob Novak joins us now from the "CROSSFIRE" set at George Washington University with some inside buzz.
All right, Bob, I understand now that Howard Dean is not seeding labor support to Dick Gephardt.
BOB NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Well, he scored a big victory at the AFL-CIO in Chicago this week, Judy, because Gephardt needed the AFL-CIO endorsement and he didn't get it, won't get it until October at the earliest. And Dean staged him off.
He hired a guy named Bob Mullencamp (ph), a very savvy political operator in Labor. He used to be with the teamster's union, kicked out by the Hoffa forces who consider him the devil. But what's very interesting is that Mullencamp's (ph) wife is Karen Ackerman, who is the political director of the AFL-CIO. And that may have helped prevent Gephardt from getting the endorsement this week.
WOODRUFF: That's interesting. All right, Bob, we have been hearing about all this money that President Bush is raising for his re-election effort. Now you're learning that's there is going to be some thank-you involved.
NOVAK: Yes. If you raised at least $50,000 for the president's campaign just before the June 30 deadline, you are invited to a barbecue this weekend at Crawford. But wait a minute, you've got to take a plane to Dallas and you get on a bus for a two-hour bus ride to Waco, but you don't really go on the president's ranch. He doesn't like strangers on his ranch. You go on the adjoining ranch, stand in the hot sun for two hours, or under a musty old tent, but I hear you at least get a cold drink out of it.
WOODRUFF: I bet a lot of people will take him up on that.
Last but not least, Republicans not sufficient just to beat Max Cleland not getting re-elected to the U.S. Senate. But what else is it that they are unhappy with him about?
NOVAK: Well, President Bush has just named Max Cleland as a Democratic director of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And Republicans on the 9/11 Commission, where Senator Cleland served, couldn't be happier. Senator Cleland was -- they feel, the Republicans feel -- was the most partisan member of the commission, still hasn't gotten over that bitter Senate race in Georgia.
But let me tell you something, his successor on the 9/11 Commission will be picked by Senator Tom Daschle, and I'll bet he isn't going to be a bundle of joy for the Republicans either.
WOODRUFF: We'll see who that is. And you'll be the first to know. Bob Novak, thank you. And we'll be watching you on "CROSSFIRE" at 4:30.
NOVAK: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
