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Aired August 11, 2003 - 13:39   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: More now on the run up to the California recall election. Seems that everyone's talking about its unique candidates and the serious impact the vote can have on politics. Certainly that's true on talk radio. Bernie Ward host a show on KGO AM in San Francisco, and Doug McIntyre hosts Red Eye Radio on KABC in Los Angeles.
Gentleman, great to see you. Thanks for being with us.

All right, Doug, let's start with you. With do you think of Arnold, the Terminator?

DOUG MCINTYRE, KABC RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I'm not pro or against Arnold at this point. I don't know what he represents. So far, he's spoken on platitudes, like most candidates do, when they announce they're running for office. But he's no longer going to be interviewed by entertainment reporters. He's going to have to answer serious questions, and he's going to have to answer specific, otherwise it's just a media event.

PHILLIPS: Bernie, can he answer those serious questions?

BERNIE WARD, KGO RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I don't know if he can or not. We now know he voted for prop 187. One thing California voters and all voters hate is a hypocrite. This is a man who says he cares about children. He did the proposition 49 last year for after- school programs, and yet, if 187 had passed, 400,000 children would have been thrown out of school.

He's also got Governor Wilson as his campaign chair, the man who was the architect of deregulation and the energy crisis in this state. So you really have to start asking questions about what is it that Mr. Schwarzenegger stands for and whether or not he means it when he votes for something.

PHILLIPS: Go ahead.

MCINTYRE: If Arnold Schwarzenegger comes out as taking a hard line on illegal immigration, he's going to be almost impossible to beat, because that's he the hot button issue in California, and it has been for 20 years.

Prop 187 was very popular amongst the voters. It was thrown out in a court challenge that Gray Davis failed to follow through on.

WARD: Well, but it was also the reason why the Latino vote abandoned the Republican Party, which is becoming the majority vote in the state, and it's also the reason why Wilson has been persona non grata. You'll notice Bush never even went near him when he came to this state. So if the White House is looking at 2004, and they've got a candidate running against illegal immigration, for 187, with Pete Wilson, the Democrats would have to be licking their chops.

MCINTYRE: Just remind you, though, Bernie, that Pete Wilson was badly trailing Kathleen Brown until he jumped on 187, and he came from far behind the pack and won re-election against all the expert predictions. If Arnold can get behind 187, do something about workers' comp insurance, I think he can solidify the conservative base and become formidable. But again, he hasn't said any of this. It's all speculative.

PHILLIPS: Gentlemen, I think both of you are bringing up a good point here. I mean, when's the last time we talked about any of the issues? If anything, the fact he's jumped into the race, people are turning their eyes to Sacramento, they're talking about these issues. Does it matter really what he has to say? He's definitely got people paying attention and speaking up now.

WARD: It definitely matters. It matters a lot what he has to say, and in relationship to the other Republicans.

I'll tell you the candidate that's interesting to me, it's Peter Ueberroth. Here's a man who says he wants to run, he'll be a caretaker, he won't run again at the end of the term. He's a man who has shown he can get things done in the past. He's a moderate Republican. I think he's a very interesting candidate in this whole thing, and I think lot of independents and even Democrats could look at him.

PHILLIPS: Brings up another -- go ahead.

MCINTYRE: Kyra, I think that the recall is very cathartic for California politics. We've been on the wrong road for a long time.

And a point that came up just a few seconds ago, for the most part the media in California, especially in L.A., we only know about Sacramento when the Lakers are playing the Kings in the playoffs. And this has finally for the first time gotten people to focus on local issues, state issues that are critically important.

PHILLIPS: Bernie, you mentioned Peter Ueberroth. I mean, let's talk about or Arnold's celebrity status here. I mean, there's been so much Arnold all over the place. Can other people, like a peter, get fair coverage in what's taking place now?

WARD: Well, they're going to get their coverage, because eventually, as was said, he's not going to be -- Schwarzenegger is not going to be interviewed by entertainment reporters. The statement that was in the paper this morning is he doesn't represent the old political hacks, but then you look at who's running his campaign and it's all old political hacks. So he's going to have to start answering questions. And as his answers fall short or he's inconsistent, then people are going to start looking at people like Ueberroth and others to see what they're bringing to the table as well. And so I think yes, right now, he's the flavor of the moment, but that flavor's going to fade in about two or three more days as the issues start to come forward.

PHILLIPS: And a few skeletons coming out of the closet. Doug, could this be a distraction?

MCINTYRE: I don't know. We are in a support that supported Bill Clinton wildly, and I think that most of California understands the movie stars play by different rules than radio people do anyway. And I think that if Arnold comes up with strong answers, he can be a strong candidate. But he has to have those strong answers.

WARD: And remember what Arnold is accused of is not what Bill Clinton was accused of. Bill Clinton was accused of philandering. Arnold is accused of harassment, attacking, physical battery, and other things with women on sets, and the stories are legend about what he has done. If, in fact, those come out again, and if, in fact, it's going after women against their will, or women who've resisted him, et cetera, that's a very different approach, and I don't think anybody -- I think Clinton's inoculated a lot of it, but he hasn't inoculated anybody from unwarranted advances from women and being accused of harassment.

MCINTYRE: Well, that's true, Bernie, but at this point, it is speculative, and Arnold seems to be a very cautious guy. The Nazi charges swirling out there. He went to the Wiesenthal Center and had his father's Nazi pass vetted. So he has to have anticipated this. He's not immediate why unsavvy.

WARD: Oh, I agree you.

MCINTYRE: All right, quickly, I want to get a yes or a no from both of you -- Bernie, yes or no, will Davis be recalled, what do you think?

WARD: No.

PHILLIPS: All right, Doug?

MCINTYRE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Yes? OK. We're going to bring you both back. We'll see who wins. Thanks, gentlemen.

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 11, 2003 - 13:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: More now on the run up to the California recall election. Seems that everyone's talking about its unique candidates and the serious impact the vote can have on politics. Certainly that's true on talk radio. Bernie Ward host a show on KGO AM in San Francisco, and Doug McIntyre hosts Red Eye Radio on KABC in Los Angeles.
Gentleman, great to see you. Thanks for being with us.

All right, Doug, let's start with you. With do you think of Arnold, the Terminator?

DOUG MCINTYRE, KABC RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I'm not pro or against Arnold at this point. I don't know what he represents. So far, he's spoken on platitudes, like most candidates do, when they announce they're running for office. But he's no longer going to be interviewed by entertainment reporters. He's going to have to answer serious questions, and he's going to have to answer specific, otherwise it's just a media event.

PHILLIPS: Bernie, can he answer those serious questions?

BERNIE WARD, KGO RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I don't know if he can or not. We now know he voted for prop 187. One thing California voters and all voters hate is a hypocrite. This is a man who says he cares about children. He did the proposition 49 last year for after- school programs, and yet, if 187 had passed, 400,000 children would have been thrown out of school.

He's also got Governor Wilson as his campaign chair, the man who was the architect of deregulation and the energy crisis in this state. So you really have to start asking questions about what is it that Mr. Schwarzenegger stands for and whether or not he means it when he votes for something.

PHILLIPS: Go ahead.

MCINTYRE: If Arnold Schwarzenegger comes out as taking a hard line on illegal immigration, he's going to be almost impossible to beat, because that's he the hot button issue in California, and it has been for 20 years.

Prop 187 was very popular amongst the voters. It was thrown out in a court challenge that Gray Davis failed to follow through on.

WARD: Well, but it was also the reason why the Latino vote abandoned the Republican Party, which is becoming the majority vote in the state, and it's also the reason why Wilson has been persona non grata. You'll notice Bush never even went near him when he came to this state. So if the White House is looking at 2004, and they've got a candidate running against illegal immigration, for 187, with Pete Wilson, the Democrats would have to be licking their chops.

MCINTYRE: Just remind you, though, Bernie, that Pete Wilson was badly trailing Kathleen Brown until he jumped on 187, and he came from far behind the pack and won re-election against all the expert predictions. If Arnold can get behind 187, do something about workers' comp insurance, I think he can solidify the conservative base and become formidable. But again, he hasn't said any of this. It's all speculative.

PHILLIPS: Gentlemen, I think both of you are bringing up a good point here. I mean, when's the last time we talked about any of the issues? If anything, the fact he's jumped into the race, people are turning their eyes to Sacramento, they're talking about these issues. Does it matter really what he has to say? He's definitely got people paying attention and speaking up now.

WARD: It definitely matters. It matters a lot what he has to say, and in relationship to the other Republicans.

I'll tell you the candidate that's interesting to me, it's Peter Ueberroth. Here's a man who says he wants to run, he'll be a caretaker, he won't run again at the end of the term. He's a man who has shown he can get things done in the past. He's a moderate Republican. I think he's a very interesting candidate in this whole thing, and I think lot of independents and even Democrats could look at him.

PHILLIPS: Brings up another -- go ahead.

MCINTYRE: Kyra, I think that the recall is very cathartic for California politics. We've been on the wrong road for a long time.

And a point that came up just a few seconds ago, for the most part the media in California, especially in L.A., we only know about Sacramento when the Lakers are playing the Kings in the playoffs. And this has finally for the first time gotten people to focus on local issues, state issues that are critically important.

PHILLIPS: Bernie, you mentioned Peter Ueberroth. I mean, let's talk about or Arnold's celebrity status here. I mean, there's been so much Arnold all over the place. Can other people, like a peter, get fair coverage in what's taking place now?

WARD: Well, they're going to get their coverage, because eventually, as was said, he's not going to be -- Schwarzenegger is not going to be interviewed by entertainment reporters. The statement that was in the paper this morning is he doesn't represent the old political hacks, but then you look at who's running his campaign and it's all old political hacks. So he's going to have to start answering questions. And as his answers fall short or he's inconsistent, then people are going to start looking at people like Ueberroth and others to see what they're bringing to the table as well. And so I think yes, right now, he's the flavor of the moment, but that flavor's going to fade in about two or three more days as the issues start to come forward.

PHILLIPS: And a few skeletons coming out of the closet. Doug, could this be a distraction?

MCINTYRE: I don't know. We are in a support that supported Bill Clinton wildly, and I think that most of California understands the movie stars play by different rules than radio people do anyway. And I think that if Arnold comes up with strong answers, he can be a strong candidate. But he has to have those strong answers.

WARD: And remember what Arnold is accused of is not what Bill Clinton was accused of. Bill Clinton was accused of philandering. Arnold is accused of harassment, attacking, physical battery, and other things with women on sets, and the stories are legend about what he has done. If, in fact, those come out again, and if, in fact, it's going after women against their will, or women who've resisted him, et cetera, that's a very different approach, and I don't think anybody -- I think Clinton's inoculated a lot of it, but he hasn't inoculated anybody from unwarranted advances from women and being accused of harassment.

MCINTYRE: Well, that's true, Bernie, but at this point, it is speculative, and Arnold seems to be a very cautious guy. The Nazi charges swirling out there. He went to the Wiesenthal Center and had his father's Nazi pass vetted. So he has to have anticipated this. He's not immediate why unsavvy.

WARD: Oh, I agree you.

MCINTYRE: All right, quickly, I want to get a yes or a no from both of you -- Bernie, yes or no, will Davis be recalled, what do you think?

WARD: No.

PHILLIPS: All right, Doug?

MCINTYRE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Yes? OK. We're going to bring you both back. We'll see who wins. Thanks, gentlemen.

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