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Democrats Debate

Aired September 25, 2003 - 13:06   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: Democrats getting ready to duel. The 10 presidential wannabes will take on one another today at a debate in New York. The first faceoff for Wesley Clark, who entered the race just last week.
Senior political analyst Bill Schneider has a preview now.

Bill, I guess a lot of eyes will be on the general.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. The general entered the race a week ago, and suddenly, he bolted to the front-runner position. Why? Well, he picked a very good moment to enter this race, because at this point, President Bush is looking more and more vulnerable. The polls show him slipping below 50 percent in his approval rating and that Democrats could actually beat him. And for the first time, Democrats are saying we could win this race, and they're looking for a winner. And in comes Wesley Clark who, on paper, looks very much like the candidate they want -- a retired general, former Rhodes Scholar, first in his class at West Point. Well, what's not to like?

They're going find out when he goes into this debate, because he had a couple of missteps last week when he tried to explain his position on the Iraq war, whether or not he would have voted for the congressional resolution authorizing the war, and a lot of Democrats will be looking at him for the first time today, and saying, just who is this guy, and what does he stand for?

PHILLIPS: You and I were talking about the debate last night, the California recall debate and how there was a lot of jabbing, a lot of beating up. Do you think that'll happen with the general. Will anybody have the guts to throw a few at him?

SCHNEIDER: I don't think so. For one thing, the California vote is less than two weeks away, and the first primaries are not for four months. General Clark is say new candidate in this race. You know, it's a lot easier to beat up on a movie star than it is to beat up on a retired general. So I think the other candidates may make some insinuations, raising questions about, well, what does this guy stand for, and have you gotten your position on the war resolution straight, so that they'll remind Democrats of the confusion last week about what he believes. So there may be some snide insinuations, but I don't think there will be any full, frontal attacks.

PHILLIPS: All right, another Bill, interesting candidate, Carol Moseley-Braun, definitely contributes to debates. But is she a contender? SCHNEIDER: Most people think she's not a contender. And in fact, when she announced that she was going to have a big announcement on Monday, which turned out to be her formal announcement, getting into the race, a lot of people said, I wonder if she's getting out of the race. Well, no one counts her as a front-runner. She's not doing very well in the polls.

But, importantly, she's the only woman in this race. She says things that a lot of candidates are not saying. And every time there's a debate, people come away impressed that Carol Moseley-Braun makes a contribution, she has a lot of person things to say about the issues, and particularly bringing a woman's perspective to this race. So I think she does play a valuable role. And who knows? At this point, it's wide open.

PHILLIPS: Playing a big role, Howard Dean.

SCHNEIDER: Howard Dean. Howard Dean had the early momentum, because he hit a gold mine. He discovered the real mood of Democrats in this country, rank-and-file Democrats, outside of Washington, which is, in a word, rage -- rage at President Bush, rage over the war with Iraq, rage at Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz and Cheney, and a desire to have some Democrat express it. And in comes Howard Dean, and he tapped into this anger. Now a lot of the other Democrats are trying to imitate him. And the question is, can General Wesley Clark express effectively the same rage that Howard Dean has expressed? because the question about Howard Dean isn't, does he represent Democrats -- they feel he does -- but can he win? A former governor of Vermont compared to a retired general. They look at the general, and they say he looks more like a winner.

PHILLIPS: All right, Bill Schneider, look forward to talking to you after the debate.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

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 25, 2003 - 13:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats getting ready to duel. The 10 presidential wannabes will take on one another today at a debate in New York. The first faceoff for Wesley Clark, who entered the race just last week.
Senior political analyst Bill Schneider has a preview now.

Bill, I guess a lot of eyes will be on the general.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. The general entered the race a week ago, and suddenly, he bolted to the front-runner position. Why? Well, he picked a very good moment to enter this race, because at this point, President Bush is looking more and more vulnerable. The polls show him slipping below 50 percent in his approval rating and that Democrats could actually beat him. And for the first time, Democrats are saying we could win this race, and they're looking for a winner. And in comes Wesley Clark who, on paper, looks very much like the candidate they want -- a retired general, former Rhodes Scholar, first in his class at West Point. Well, what's not to like?

They're going find out when he goes into this debate, because he had a couple of missteps last week when he tried to explain his position on the Iraq war, whether or not he would have voted for the congressional resolution authorizing the war, and a lot of Democrats will be looking at him for the first time today, and saying, just who is this guy, and what does he stand for?

PHILLIPS: You and I were talking about the debate last night, the California recall debate and how there was a lot of jabbing, a lot of beating up. Do you think that'll happen with the general. Will anybody have the guts to throw a few at him?

SCHNEIDER: I don't think so. For one thing, the California vote is less than two weeks away, and the first primaries are not for four months. General Clark is say new candidate in this race. You know, it's a lot easier to beat up on a movie star than it is to beat up on a retired general. So I think the other candidates may make some insinuations, raising questions about, well, what does this guy stand for, and have you gotten your position on the war resolution straight, so that they'll remind Democrats of the confusion last week about what he believes. So there may be some snide insinuations, but I don't think there will be any full, frontal attacks.

PHILLIPS: All right, another Bill, interesting candidate, Carol Moseley-Braun, definitely contributes to debates. But is she a contender? SCHNEIDER: Most people think she's not a contender. And in fact, when she announced that she was going to have a big announcement on Monday, which turned out to be her formal announcement, getting into the race, a lot of people said, I wonder if she's getting out of the race. Well, no one counts her as a front-runner. She's not doing very well in the polls.

But, importantly, she's the only woman in this race. She says things that a lot of candidates are not saying. And every time there's a debate, people come away impressed that Carol Moseley-Braun makes a contribution, she has a lot of person things to say about the issues, and particularly bringing a woman's perspective to this race. So I think she does play a valuable role. And who knows? At this point, it's wide open.

PHILLIPS: Playing a big role, Howard Dean.

SCHNEIDER: Howard Dean. Howard Dean had the early momentum, because he hit a gold mine. He discovered the real mood of Democrats in this country, rank-and-file Democrats, outside of Washington, which is, in a word, rage -- rage at President Bush, rage over the war with Iraq, rage at Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz and Cheney, and a desire to have some Democrat express it. And in comes Howard Dean, and he tapped into this anger. Now a lot of the other Democrats are trying to imitate him. And the question is, can General Wesley Clark express effectively the same rage that Howard Dean has expressed? because the question about Howard Dean isn't, does he represent Democrats -- they feel he does -- but can he win? A former governor of Vermont compared to a retired general. They look at the general, and they say he looks more like a winner.

PHILLIPS: All right, Bill Schneider, look forward to talking to you after the debate.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

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