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Political Trail Mix: Democratic Primaries, Arnold's First Major Speech

Aired January 06, 2004 - 14:31   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.


MARTIN SAVIDGE, ANCHOR: Major headlines today in the world of politics. Democratic hopefuls make their case in a radio debate in Iowa. Howard Dean picks up another influential endorsement and Arnold Schwarzenegger addresses Californians in his first major speech as governor.
National correspondent Bob Franken follows what we are calling the political trail mix in Washington.

Let's start with the debate that's going on right now, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are we calling it that?

SAVIDGE: I don't know. I guess we are. Sounds clever.

FRANKEN: Well, yes. And trail mix, of course, includes a lot of nuts. So you'll have to live with that.

But the radio debate. It's another in the what seems to be the endless string of debates. This one is going to be on radio. Oftentimes there's a different dynamic because people don't have to worry so much about the position as they deliver their sound bites.

It's interesting. It's an NPR debate. And a lot of people don't really listen to one individual debate. But there's sort of a cumulative impression that comes with all these debates.

And of course, the accumulation of these impressions could start to really mean something because, after all these months, we're just a little bit over -- a little bit around the two-week mark when it comes to the caucus in Iowa, which is the start of the beginning of somebody's success, and of course could be the end of some of the candidacies.

SAVIDGE: Well, the Bradley enforcement today for Dean, any real impact on the campaign?

FRANKEN: Well, I'll tell you, it gives Howard Dean the chance to say that he, in fact, is a mainstream Democrat.

Of course, there are many in the Democratic Party that say all he's really doing is No. 1, appealing to the fringe, and No. 2, that he is just simply going to hand the election to George W. Bush.

But now he can say that he has the two main candidates for the Democratic nomination, the last time around, as people who provided endorsements. Of course, Vice President -- former Vice President Al Gore provided his endorsement. Now Bill Bradley has come on board as Howard Dean seems to be making a very, very strenuous effort now to try and patch things up.

Of course, there are several other Democratic candidates who say that the patching up is really premature, because first there's that little matter of the caucus in Iowa, the primary in New Hampshire and the subsequent primaries the week after that.

SAVIDGE: And then we've got Governor Schwarzenegger giving his first State of the State address tonight. And what are we expecting there? Is he still talking compromise?

FRANKEN: Well, he seems to be talking compromise successfully. According to the "L.A. Times," he has reached a deal with the teacher's union to cut back on the amount of increase it's going to be getting this year for education.

Now of course he had campaigned, saying that the one thing that was sacrosanct, that he was not going to touch was education, particularly grades K through 12. And now he, of course, is in office and dealing with the realities of governing, as opposed to the issues that come up in campaigning.

He has come up with a deal. It is another time that he's been able to do that. And as a matter of fact, people who were worried that he was going to be an amateur who would botch things up politically are expressing some admiration at the way he's been able to build consensus, which of course, is what an office holder is supposed to be able to do.

SAVIDGE: Bob Franken, thanks very much as we look ahead for the political events that are just over the horizon. Appreciate it.

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




Major Speech>


Aired January 6, 2004 - 14:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, ANCHOR: Major headlines today in the world of politics. Democratic hopefuls make their case in a radio debate in Iowa. Howard Dean picks up another influential endorsement and Arnold Schwarzenegger addresses Californians in his first major speech as governor.
National correspondent Bob Franken follows what we are calling the political trail mix in Washington.

Let's start with the debate that's going on right now, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are we calling it that?

SAVIDGE: I don't know. I guess we are. Sounds clever.

FRANKEN: Well, yes. And trail mix, of course, includes a lot of nuts. So you'll have to live with that.

But the radio debate. It's another in the what seems to be the endless string of debates. This one is going to be on radio. Oftentimes there's a different dynamic because people don't have to worry so much about the position as they deliver their sound bites.

It's interesting. It's an NPR debate. And a lot of people don't really listen to one individual debate. But there's sort of a cumulative impression that comes with all these debates.

And of course, the accumulation of these impressions could start to really mean something because, after all these months, we're just a little bit over -- a little bit around the two-week mark when it comes to the caucus in Iowa, which is the start of the beginning of somebody's success, and of course could be the end of some of the candidacies.

SAVIDGE: Well, the Bradley enforcement today for Dean, any real impact on the campaign?

FRANKEN: Well, I'll tell you, it gives Howard Dean the chance to say that he, in fact, is a mainstream Democrat.

Of course, there are many in the Democratic Party that say all he's really doing is No. 1, appealing to the fringe, and No. 2, that he is just simply going to hand the election to George W. Bush.

But now he can say that he has the two main candidates for the Democratic nomination, the last time around, as people who provided endorsements. Of course, Vice President -- former Vice President Al Gore provided his endorsement. Now Bill Bradley has come on board as Howard Dean seems to be making a very, very strenuous effort now to try and patch things up.

Of course, there are several other Democratic candidates who say that the patching up is really premature, because first there's that little matter of the caucus in Iowa, the primary in New Hampshire and the subsequent primaries the week after that.

SAVIDGE: And then we've got Governor Schwarzenegger giving his first State of the State address tonight. And what are we expecting there? Is he still talking compromise?

FRANKEN: Well, he seems to be talking compromise successfully. According to the "L.A. Times," he has reached a deal with the teacher's union to cut back on the amount of increase it's going to be getting this year for education.

Now of course he had campaigned, saying that the one thing that was sacrosanct, that he was not going to touch was education, particularly grades K through 12. And now he, of course, is in office and dealing with the realities of governing, as opposed to the issues that come up in campaigning.

He has come up with a deal. It is another time that he's been able to do that. And as a matter of fact, people who were worried that he was going to be an amateur who would botch things up politically are expressing some admiration at the way he's been able to build consensus, which of course, is what an office holder is supposed to be able to do.

SAVIDGE: Bob Franken, thanks very much as we look ahead for the political events that are just over the horizon. Appreciate it.

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




Major Speech>