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President Bush Talks Economy in North Carolina

Aired November 07, 2003 - 15:00   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: If you've been watching CNN, you saw President Bush in North Carolina today pledging not to rest until everybody who wants to work can. The visit was a campaign season twofer, a fund-raising luncheon, followed by a tightly organized community college forum.
CNN's John King live from Winston Salem with details on all this.

The president -- well, good timing for the president, wasn't it?

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good timing, Miles, but, actually, a very interesting lesson in the politics of the economy today, if you watched the president travel here in North Carolina.

You just heard all those numbers from Kathleen Hays. You would think the president would be in just an overwhelmingly optimistic mood. And back at the White House, his aides are. They say they think the economy has finally turned the corner on the issue of creating jobs.

But Mr. Bush here in a state where more than 150,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last three years, so the president choosing his quite words carefully. The president here to raise money, as you noted, also at a community college where they do some job retraining. A bit of an "I told you so" in the president, a subdued tone, but a bit of an "I told you so."

The Democrats, of course, have been criticizing the big Bush tax cuts, saying they're for the wealthy and they're not doing anything to help the economy at large. Mr. Bush saying, not the case, making the case here today that, first, his big tax cuts pulled the economy out of a recession. Now the president says they're finally creating jobs as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The economy's growing. New jobs are being created. And it's an opportunity. I hope you seize it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: But note the rather subdued tone. You can't say the president is bragging there. And here's one of the reasons why.

At this community college, he had a roundtable with workers who have lost their jobs, some, again, 150,000-plus manufacturing jobs in this state gone. More than two million Americans have still lost their jobs in the Bush presidency. One woman told the president she worked in a factory that made small electrical connectors. That factory, she says, has shipped all its jobs overseas. Another woman worked in a textile plant. She said she lost her jobs when those jobs were shipped overseas.

Democrats blame Bush administration free trade policies. The president rejects that. He says free trade is a critical engine of economic growth. But in his fund-raising speech a bit earlier in the day, the president was clearly a bit -- not -- defensive probably the wrong word. But the president clearly has the Democratic criticism in mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: But I understand that trade it a two-way street, that, if we have trade with other neighbors and countries, we expect there to be fair trade coming the other way.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So you see it from the president today.

Make no mistake about it. They think the economy has turned a corner on the question of job creation. They think that has been the missing ingredient, if you will, to his economic pitch on the campaign trail. But they are being a bit careful because so many Americans are still out of work, especially in a state like this, a critical state to the president's reelection campaign, but a state where the pain of the economy has been felt. And it may take a bit time more for people to feel like the economy is truly recovering -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: John, I know today was specifically about the economy. But did the president mention anything about Iraq today?

KING: He mentioned in his speech today, early today, that -- let me give you the exact words -- "not an easy task, but these are essential tasks," the president saying of the missions under way in Iraq.

He was briefed, of course, on the helicopter that went down, the more deaths, his press secretary voicing condolences for those deaths. The president in almost every speech -- the economic roundtable was just on the economy. But in the fund-raising speech, he made the case that the United States is doing the right thing in Iraq and that the United States must stay the course, despite the casualties and the deaths -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's John King, in Winston Salem, thanks.

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 November 7, 2003 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: If you've been watching CNN, you saw President Bush in North Carolina today pledging not to rest until everybody who wants to work can. The visit was a campaign season twofer, a fund-raising luncheon, followed by a tightly organized community college forum.
CNN's John King live from Winston Salem with details on all this.

The president -- well, good timing for the president, wasn't it?

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good timing, Miles, but, actually, a very interesting lesson in the politics of the economy today, if you watched the president travel here in North Carolina.

You just heard all those numbers from Kathleen Hays. You would think the president would be in just an overwhelmingly optimistic mood. And back at the White House, his aides are. They say they think the economy has finally turned the corner on the issue of creating jobs.

But Mr. Bush here in a state where more than 150,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last three years, so the president choosing his quite words carefully. The president here to raise money, as you noted, also at a community college where they do some job retraining. A bit of an "I told you so" in the president, a subdued tone, but a bit of an "I told you so."

The Democrats, of course, have been criticizing the big Bush tax cuts, saying they're for the wealthy and they're not doing anything to help the economy at large. Mr. Bush saying, not the case, making the case here today that, first, his big tax cuts pulled the economy out of a recession. Now the president says they're finally creating jobs as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The economy's growing. New jobs are being created. And it's an opportunity. I hope you seize it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: But note the rather subdued tone. You can't say the president is bragging there. And here's one of the reasons why.

At this community college, he had a roundtable with workers who have lost their jobs, some, again, 150,000-plus manufacturing jobs in this state gone. More than two million Americans have still lost their jobs in the Bush presidency. One woman told the president she worked in a factory that made small electrical connectors. That factory, she says, has shipped all its jobs overseas. Another woman worked in a textile plant. She said she lost her jobs when those jobs were shipped overseas.

Democrats blame Bush administration free trade policies. The president rejects that. He says free trade is a critical engine of economic growth. But in his fund-raising speech a bit earlier in the day, the president was clearly a bit -- not -- defensive probably the wrong word. But the president clearly has the Democratic criticism in mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: But I understand that trade it a two-way street, that, if we have trade with other neighbors and countries, we expect there to be fair trade coming the other way.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So you see it from the president today.

Make no mistake about it. They think the economy has turned a corner on the question of job creation. They think that has been the missing ingredient, if you will, to his economic pitch on the campaign trail. But they are being a bit careful because so many Americans are still out of work, especially in a state like this, a critical state to the president's reelection campaign, but a state where the pain of the economy has been felt. And it may take a bit time more for people to feel like the economy is truly recovering -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: John, I know today was specifically about the economy. But did the president mention anything about Iraq today?

KING: He mentioned in his speech today, early today, that -- let me give you the exact words -- "not an easy task, but these are essential tasks," the president saying of the missions under way in Iraq.

He was briefed, of course, on the helicopter that went down, the more deaths, his press secretary voicing condolences for those deaths. The president in almost every speech -- the economic roundtable was just on the economy. But in the fund-raising speech, he made the case that the United States is doing the right thing in Iraq and that the United States must stay the course, despite the casualties and the deaths -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's John King, in Winston Salem, thanks.

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