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Robert Novak's Inside Buzz; Bluegrass Showdown
Aired October 29, 2003 - 15:20 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: Bob Novak joins us now with his "Reporter's Notebook."
All right, Bob, you were just -- there you are. You were just in Mississippi, where they're about to have a race for -- about to have a vote for governor. How is that race shaping up?
ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The polls show, Judy, that the Republican candidate, former GOP national chairman Haley Barbour, for the first time is beyond the limits, the margin of error, against the Democratic incumbent, Governor Ronnie Musgrove. But it's still close.
Now, in Washington, the Republicans are bringing up the vote tomorrow on Mississippi's Judge Pickering for the U.S. Court of Appeals. I think that will help. But I was in Mississippi. Nobody thinks that's of much interest, just because the Democrats are against him. In fact, Governor Musgrove doesn't even campaign as a Democrat. He says he's an independent and a conservative. Haley Barbour says he's a Republican and a conservative.
(LAUGHTER)
WOODRUFF: All right, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor-elect of California, he is in Washington today and tomorrow to, among other things, talk about the wildfires in California. What are you hearing about Democrats?
NOVAK: Well, of course, this was scheduled long before the wildfires. And Schwarzenegger is a very lucky guy. He's getting the credit for bringing back the money, which he'll get for this. Senator Barbara Boxer, I'm told, Democrat, is very upset that he's getting all this credit. And they've been talking possibly that she's going to run back to California and take credit for the aid. So, politics never stops, even when there's fires.
WOODRUFF: Very quickly, on to the energy bill. What are you hearing?
NOVAK: There is -- as of yesterday, it was considered dead, after all that work, because of ethanol. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is opposing House Speaker Dennis Hastert on ethanol. Nothing's going to happen now. It was supposed to pass this week. If it passes at all, it will be around Christmastime, some people say.
WOODRUFF: Well, and we'll see whether they're even in session.
OK, we're going to leave it there, Bob Novak. And we'll see you on CROSSFIRE at 4:30.
NOVAK: Thank you.
WOODRUFF: Thanks very much.
Tuesday's election -- we talked about Mississippi -- but there's also an election in Kentucky. The election for governor will end a bitter campaign featuring a lot of tough talk and a lot of complaints from both sides, of course, about negative campaigning.
Here now, CNN's Bruce Morton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kentucky, horses, blue, well, bluish sometimes, grass, and a scandal. In September 2002, Governor Paul Patton denied, then admitted, an affair with Tina Conner, denied, telling state inspectors to help her during the affair or punish her after she ended it.
GOV. PAUL PATTON (D), KENTUCKY: Again, I apologize to the people of Kentucky for my failure.
MORTON: This year's Democratic candidate, Attorney General Ben Chandler, whose grandfather Happy was both governor and baseball commissioner, had nothing to do with all this. But Democrats have held the governorship for more than 30 years. And Republican candidate Congressman Ernie Fletcher says time for a change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FLETCHER CAMPAIGN AD)
NARRATOR: Ben has not cleaned up Frankfort in eight years and couldn't clean it up in four more. Nothing is going to change until these people of the past are gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORTON: Chandler has a dog ad, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CHANDLER CAMPAIGN AD)
NARRATOR: Ernie Fletcher, the special interests have him very well trained.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit, Ernie.
NARRATOR: Fletcher voted to give Enron millions in tax rebates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lie down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORTON: What? Negative campaigning?
BEN CHANDLER (D), KENTUCKY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I will not run a single negative ad. Please, just pull your negative ads. ERNIE FLETCHER (R), KENTUCKY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You have been attacking since the very, very beginning, Ben. And now to try to put on a face where you're out here and you're not saying anything as far as attacking me, is -- that's just not accurate.
MORTON: Fletcher has had some serious help. President Bush's visit raised $1.25 million.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The best man to be the governor of Kentucky is Ernie Fletcher.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MORTON: But it's the Patton scandal that gives the Republicans a theme.
MARK HEBERT, WHAS-TV: They're just using that and going into broader terms, that there's corruption and scandal and sex. And all the bad things in Frankfort right now associated with state government and the Patton administration, they're transferring all of that to Ben Chandler.
MORTON: And it seems to be working. Two recent polls show Fletcher ahead by nine points, more than the margin of error.
There's a 100-year-old poem about Kentucky that's still relevant. The last two lines are, "The landscape is the grandest and politics the damndest in Kentucky."
Bruce Morton, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 October 29, 2003 - 15:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Bob Novak joins us now with his "Reporter's Notebook."
All right, Bob, you were just -- there you are. You were just in Mississippi, where they're about to have a race for -- about to have a vote for governor. How is that race shaping up?
ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The polls show, Judy, that the Republican candidate, former GOP national chairman Haley Barbour, for the first time is beyond the limits, the margin of error, against the Democratic incumbent, Governor Ronnie Musgrove. But it's still close.
Now, in Washington, the Republicans are bringing up the vote tomorrow on Mississippi's Judge Pickering for the U.S. Court of Appeals. I think that will help. But I was in Mississippi. Nobody thinks that's of much interest, just because the Democrats are against him. In fact, Governor Musgrove doesn't even campaign as a Democrat. He says he's an independent and a conservative. Haley Barbour says he's a Republican and a conservative.
(LAUGHTER)
WOODRUFF: All right, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor-elect of California, he is in Washington today and tomorrow to, among other things, talk about the wildfires in California. What are you hearing about Democrats?
NOVAK: Well, of course, this was scheduled long before the wildfires. And Schwarzenegger is a very lucky guy. He's getting the credit for bringing back the money, which he'll get for this. Senator Barbara Boxer, I'm told, Democrat, is very upset that he's getting all this credit. And they've been talking possibly that she's going to run back to California and take credit for the aid. So, politics never stops, even when there's fires.
WOODRUFF: Very quickly, on to the energy bill. What are you hearing?
NOVAK: There is -- as of yesterday, it was considered dead, after all that work, because of ethanol. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is opposing House Speaker Dennis Hastert on ethanol. Nothing's going to happen now. It was supposed to pass this week. If it passes at all, it will be around Christmastime, some people say.
WOODRUFF: Well, and we'll see whether they're even in session.
OK, we're going to leave it there, Bob Novak. And we'll see you on CROSSFIRE at 4:30.
NOVAK: Thank you.
WOODRUFF: Thanks very much.
Tuesday's election -- we talked about Mississippi -- but there's also an election in Kentucky. The election for governor will end a bitter campaign featuring a lot of tough talk and a lot of complaints from both sides, of course, about negative campaigning.
Here now, CNN's Bruce Morton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kentucky, horses, blue, well, bluish sometimes, grass, and a scandal. In September 2002, Governor Paul Patton denied, then admitted, an affair with Tina Conner, denied, telling state inspectors to help her during the affair or punish her after she ended it.
GOV. PAUL PATTON (D), KENTUCKY: Again, I apologize to the people of Kentucky for my failure.
MORTON: This year's Democratic candidate, Attorney General Ben Chandler, whose grandfather Happy was both governor and baseball commissioner, had nothing to do with all this. But Democrats have held the governorship for more than 30 years. And Republican candidate Congressman Ernie Fletcher says time for a change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FLETCHER CAMPAIGN AD)
NARRATOR: Ben has not cleaned up Frankfort in eight years and couldn't clean it up in four more. Nothing is going to change until these people of the past are gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORTON: Chandler has a dog ad, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CHANDLER CAMPAIGN AD)
NARRATOR: Ernie Fletcher, the special interests have him very well trained.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit, Ernie.
NARRATOR: Fletcher voted to give Enron millions in tax rebates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lie down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORTON: What? Negative campaigning?
BEN CHANDLER (D), KENTUCKY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I will not run a single negative ad. Please, just pull your negative ads. ERNIE FLETCHER (R), KENTUCKY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You have been attacking since the very, very beginning, Ben. And now to try to put on a face where you're out here and you're not saying anything as far as attacking me, is -- that's just not accurate.
MORTON: Fletcher has had some serious help. President Bush's visit raised $1.25 million.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The best man to be the governor of Kentucky is Ernie Fletcher.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MORTON: But it's the Patton scandal that gives the Republicans a theme.
MARK HEBERT, WHAS-TV: They're just using that and going into broader terms, that there's corruption and scandal and sex. And all the bad things in Frankfort right now associated with state government and the Patton administration, they're transferring all of that to Ben Chandler.
MORTON: And it seems to be working. Two recent polls show Fletcher ahead by nine points, more than the margin of error.
There's a 100-year-old poem about Kentucky that's still relevant. The last two lines are, "The landscape is the grandest and politics the damndest in Kentucky."
Bruce Morton, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
