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California Gubernatorial Debate Set For Tomorrow
Aired September 02, 2003 - 15:01 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: Many people see the California recall election as a popularity contest. So, as one of the least liked officials in the state's history, it is no wonder that Governor Gray Davis is getting help again today from a darling among California Democrats.
Senator Dianne Feinstein has a starring roll in Davis' new campaign ads. We'll take a closer look at those spots just ahead.
But first, most of the top governor wanna-bes on the recall ballot are prepping for their first debate tomorrow.
CNN's Bob Franken is looking ahead to the face-off, Arnold Schwarzenegger's conspicuous absence.
So, Bob, where does that leave the rest of these candidates?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Probably using the old empty chair cliche every chance they get.
Expect people to say repeatedly tomorrow night, where's Arnold? And, by the way, where he will be is out doing his own thing, campaigning at a number of events the next couple of days. And, of course, all he does is, he really builds up the suspense for the debate he has agreed to participate in. And that's the one later in the month, the third week in September -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: Now, Bob -- I'm sorry, Bob. I was thinking we were going to hear a little from Arnold there, but I realize he gave a pretty short answer when he was asked about the fact that he is only doing one debate.
What about these other Republicans, the prominent Republicans, Tom McClintock, Peter Ueberroth? What do they have to do to project themselves higher in the polls and higher in the minds of California voters?
FRANKEN: Well, in the case of Tom McClintock, he has got to break free of his power base, which is the conservative movement. He has really a lock on the people who are going to vote conservative period, end of discussion. Somehow, he is going to have to try and bridge the gap with those who have some questions about such solid conservatism.
In the case of Peter Ueberroth, he is not only going to have hit a home run. He was baseball commissioner, so I'm going to torture an analogy here. Not only must he hit a home run, but it's going to have be a grand slam home run. This is a man who, of course, was widely known in California, but quite some time ago. He has been running a very low-key campaign, running sort of the countercampaign, counter to all the circus atmosphere that's surrounded him.
He is going to have to somehow, some way, so capture the imagination of people in this first debate that he is catapulted from near the bottom of the pile of the second tier of candidates to at least a respectable position. And, of course, Cruz Bustamante is going to have to, in effect, make sure he doesn't antagonize anybody.
But the other part of this debate, Judy, which is so interesting, is the part where it is Gray Davis debating against himself. Of course, he is running against himself in the recall campaign and himself has been a formidable candidate for the reason you pointed out. He is immensely unpopular.
WOODRUFF: All right, well, we're all going to be watching the reports on that debate coming up tomorrow. Bob Franken, thank you.
Well, Bob mentioned Republican Peter Ueberroth. And Ueberroth said today that he hopes to spend about $10.5 million on his campaign for California governor, with about one-third of that money coming from his own pocket. In a radio interview, Ueberroth sidestepped questions about whether he would drop out of the race down the road, if it would help Schwarzenegger win the seat for Republicans. Ueberroth and state Senator Tom McClintock, whom we also mentioned, have so far resisted pressure by party leaders to call it quits.
Meantime, state Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte is one of those party leaders who fears that the GOP vote will be split. He joins me now.
Why doesn't it make sense, Representative -- or Assemblyman Brulte for any Republican who wants to run in this case to run?
JIM BRULTE (R), CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR: Well, I think they should and they are. There are well over 90 candidates. There are 90-plus Democrats and 70-plus Republicans.
But this is a numbers game. This recall is about numbers; 44 percent of the electorate in California are Democrats. About 35 percent are Republicans. If you give the Republican candidates all the non-Republican, non-Democratic votes, 44 divided by one is still more than 35 divided by three. There are three top-tier Republican candidates. Frankly, I wouldn't counsel any of them to drop out today. The voting doesn't even start for a week.
But if two to three weeks from now, there are still three major Republicans candidates running, a Democrat will be elected governor.
WOODRUFF: All right, then who would be the one that you'd like to see stay in and who are you going to want to see step out?
BRULTE: Well, I haven't taken a position in the race yet. Arnold and Tom are good friends of mine. And I know Mr. Ueberroth by reputation. And it's an excellent reputation. The voters are just now focusing in. This is an eight-week campaign. We have had about three weeks of it. Once the absentee ballots go out, which is the 8th of September, which is next week, then votes start going in the bank that can't be unbanked. And as I said, two weeks from now, or 2 1/2 weeks from now, if there are three major candidates in the race, we're in serious trouble as Republicans.
But let's give these campaigns the opportunity to make their points to the voters. And there are enough polls going on that we know who is moving or we know who is not moving. And it will become self-evident in 2 1/2 weeks.
WOODRUFF: Who's the appropriate person to go to these candidates at that moment that you describe to tell them to get out for the good of their party?
BRULTE: Well, I think there will be a number of people that are appropriate to do that.
But those have to be people, I believe, who aren't involved in any other campaign or candidacy, which is one of the reasons I have tried to stay out of here. Look, I'm a senator. There's not a day that goes by that I don't see legislation passed that helps destroy California's economy, removes jobs from the state. And we need a governor who is willing to veto that bad legislation . And right now, Governor Davis isn't doing it. And his lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante, won't do it.
WOODRUFF: Well, in other words, you're not taking Mr. McClintock and Mr. Ueberroth at their word and, for that matter, Mr. Schwarzenegger, when they say they're in this race to stay.
BRULTE: Well, it's an eight-week campaign. And the campaign has only been going on for three weeks. And I don't want to prejudge who is going to be the front-runner a week or a week-and-a-half or two weeks from now.
But Republicans in California have to recognize that we are the minority party. And three Republicans splitting the vote against one Democrat who doesn't hands the governorship over to the Democrats. And I don't believe any candidate wants to be a spoiler, but I don't want to get in the middle of their campaigns right now and suggest that somebody should drop out. I think it's a little bit too early for that. Votes have not even begun to be cast yet.
WOODRUFF: Well, we will, I'm sure, want to talk to you in a few weeks, when, as you say, the dust settles a little bit and this becomes more clear and we'll see who is willing to listen to that message.
All right, state Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte, thank you very much for talking to us.
BRULTE: My pleasure.
WOODRUFF: We appreciate it. Well, independent candidate Arianna Huffington is trying to slow down Schwarzenegger's campaign machine by poking fun at the movie star. Her Web site features a cartoon spoof of Schwarzenegger racing his Humvee against Huffington's eco-friendly hybrid car, that is, until Arnold runs out of gas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You stupid Hummer. Hurry up. I'm in the race for governor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There goes Arianna. I don't know if you're aware of this, Ted, but she doesn't just drive a hybrid. Clean energy is a central part of her platform.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look out. Arnold's back in the race, but that Hummer sure does waste gas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: The Huffington camp says the online movie is its grassroots way of competing with big-money candidates who can afford expensive TV ads.
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 September 2, 2003 - 15:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Many people see the California recall election as a popularity contest. So, as one of the least liked officials in the state's history, it is no wonder that Governor Gray Davis is getting help again today from a darling among California Democrats.
Senator Dianne Feinstein has a starring roll in Davis' new campaign ads. We'll take a closer look at those spots just ahead.
But first, most of the top governor wanna-bes on the recall ballot are prepping for their first debate tomorrow.
CNN's Bob Franken is looking ahead to the face-off, Arnold Schwarzenegger's conspicuous absence.
So, Bob, where does that leave the rest of these candidates?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Probably using the old empty chair cliche every chance they get.
Expect people to say repeatedly tomorrow night, where's Arnold? And, by the way, where he will be is out doing his own thing, campaigning at a number of events the next couple of days. And, of course, all he does is, he really builds up the suspense for the debate he has agreed to participate in. And that's the one later in the month, the third week in September -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: Now, Bob -- I'm sorry, Bob. I was thinking we were going to hear a little from Arnold there, but I realize he gave a pretty short answer when he was asked about the fact that he is only doing one debate.
What about these other Republicans, the prominent Republicans, Tom McClintock, Peter Ueberroth? What do they have to do to project themselves higher in the polls and higher in the minds of California voters?
FRANKEN: Well, in the case of Tom McClintock, he has got to break free of his power base, which is the conservative movement. He has really a lock on the people who are going to vote conservative period, end of discussion. Somehow, he is going to have to try and bridge the gap with those who have some questions about such solid conservatism.
In the case of Peter Ueberroth, he is not only going to have hit a home run. He was baseball commissioner, so I'm going to torture an analogy here. Not only must he hit a home run, but it's going to have be a grand slam home run. This is a man who, of course, was widely known in California, but quite some time ago. He has been running a very low-key campaign, running sort of the countercampaign, counter to all the circus atmosphere that's surrounded him.
He is going to have to somehow, some way, so capture the imagination of people in this first debate that he is catapulted from near the bottom of the pile of the second tier of candidates to at least a respectable position. And, of course, Cruz Bustamante is going to have to, in effect, make sure he doesn't antagonize anybody.
But the other part of this debate, Judy, which is so interesting, is the part where it is Gray Davis debating against himself. Of course, he is running against himself in the recall campaign and himself has been a formidable candidate for the reason you pointed out. He is immensely unpopular.
WOODRUFF: All right, well, we're all going to be watching the reports on that debate coming up tomorrow. Bob Franken, thank you.
Well, Bob mentioned Republican Peter Ueberroth. And Ueberroth said today that he hopes to spend about $10.5 million on his campaign for California governor, with about one-third of that money coming from his own pocket. In a radio interview, Ueberroth sidestepped questions about whether he would drop out of the race down the road, if it would help Schwarzenegger win the seat for Republicans. Ueberroth and state Senator Tom McClintock, whom we also mentioned, have so far resisted pressure by party leaders to call it quits.
Meantime, state Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte is one of those party leaders who fears that the GOP vote will be split. He joins me now.
Why doesn't it make sense, Representative -- or Assemblyman Brulte for any Republican who wants to run in this case to run?
JIM BRULTE (R), CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR: Well, I think they should and they are. There are well over 90 candidates. There are 90-plus Democrats and 70-plus Republicans.
But this is a numbers game. This recall is about numbers; 44 percent of the electorate in California are Democrats. About 35 percent are Republicans. If you give the Republican candidates all the non-Republican, non-Democratic votes, 44 divided by one is still more than 35 divided by three. There are three top-tier Republican candidates. Frankly, I wouldn't counsel any of them to drop out today. The voting doesn't even start for a week.
But if two to three weeks from now, there are still three major Republicans candidates running, a Democrat will be elected governor.
WOODRUFF: All right, then who would be the one that you'd like to see stay in and who are you going to want to see step out?
BRULTE: Well, I haven't taken a position in the race yet. Arnold and Tom are good friends of mine. And I know Mr. Ueberroth by reputation. And it's an excellent reputation. The voters are just now focusing in. This is an eight-week campaign. We have had about three weeks of it. Once the absentee ballots go out, which is the 8th of September, which is next week, then votes start going in the bank that can't be unbanked. And as I said, two weeks from now, or 2 1/2 weeks from now, if there are three major candidates in the race, we're in serious trouble as Republicans.
But let's give these campaigns the opportunity to make their points to the voters. And there are enough polls going on that we know who is moving or we know who is not moving. And it will become self-evident in 2 1/2 weeks.
WOODRUFF: Who's the appropriate person to go to these candidates at that moment that you describe to tell them to get out for the good of their party?
BRULTE: Well, I think there will be a number of people that are appropriate to do that.
But those have to be people, I believe, who aren't involved in any other campaign or candidacy, which is one of the reasons I have tried to stay out of here. Look, I'm a senator. There's not a day that goes by that I don't see legislation passed that helps destroy California's economy, removes jobs from the state. And we need a governor who is willing to veto that bad legislation . And right now, Governor Davis isn't doing it. And his lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante, won't do it.
WOODRUFF: Well, in other words, you're not taking Mr. McClintock and Mr. Ueberroth at their word and, for that matter, Mr. Schwarzenegger, when they say they're in this race to stay.
BRULTE: Well, it's an eight-week campaign. And the campaign has only been going on for three weeks. And I don't want to prejudge who is going to be the front-runner a week or a week-and-a-half or two weeks from now.
But Republicans in California have to recognize that we are the minority party. And three Republicans splitting the vote against one Democrat who doesn't hands the governorship over to the Democrats. And I don't believe any candidate wants to be a spoiler, but I don't want to get in the middle of their campaigns right now and suggest that somebody should drop out. I think it's a little bit too early for that. Votes have not even begun to be cast yet.
WOODRUFF: Well, we will, I'm sure, want to talk to you in a few weeks, when, as you say, the dust settles a little bit and this becomes more clear and we'll see who is willing to listen to that message.
All right, state Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte, thank you very much for talking to us.
BRULTE: My pleasure.
WOODRUFF: We appreciate it. Well, independent candidate Arianna Huffington is trying to slow down Schwarzenegger's campaign machine by poking fun at the movie star. Her Web site features a cartoon spoof of Schwarzenegger racing his Humvee against Huffington's eco-friendly hybrid car, that is, until Arnold runs out of gas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You stupid Hummer. Hurry up. I'm in the race for governor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There goes Arianna. I don't know if you're aware of this, Ted, but she doesn't just drive a hybrid. Clean energy is a central part of her platform.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look out. Arnold's back in the race, but that Hummer sure does waste gas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: The Huffington camp says the online movie is its grassroots way of competing with big-money candidates who can afford expensive TV ads.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
