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Kerry Leading in Polls as Today's Primaries Take Place
Aired February 10, 2004 - 14:30 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not focused on it. What records? I don't have any idea what you're talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's an old adage in politics, when your opponent is shooting himself in the foot, don't get in the way. And perhaps that's what's motivating Kerry right now.
But Kerry is the man to watch, as we pointed out, in these primaries that are being held. It's part of a strategy to prove he can run everywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN (voice-over): Now John Kerry gets to try his Southern strategy which is really quite simple. Win in the South.
KERRY: Stand up and fight with me.
FRANKEN: The polls show that Kerry can expect to be victorious here in Virginia and Tennessee, which would be his first wins in Dixie.
In fact, he's become such a favorite, that native sons John Edwards and Wesley Clark have jettisoned their Southern victory hopes and are now battling for Southern runner-up.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I want to do is finish in the top two here in Virginia. Top two in Tennessee. Then we go on to Wisconsin.
As I said earlier, I think this thing is very quickly narrowing to a two-person race.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You've got some voices in this race. You got a great lawyer. He's a wonderful man. He's a great lawyer. You've got a man who spent his life in the Senate. He's a wonderful legislator. Or you got somebody like me.
FRANKEN: Of course, there is somebody like Howard Dean, way up north in Wisconsin, where he is trying not to make his last stand.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The media claims that this contest is already over. They say that Wisconsin's voice doesn't count, that your vote doesn't count. They expect you to rubber-stamp everybody else's choice.
You don't have to listen to them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: Well, what we have to listen to is Howard Dean and the ever-changing strategy in Wisconsin. First he said that that would be where he'd either win or get out.
He says he's changed his mind, or what he really said is that his supporters changed his mind for him.
Of course we'll have to see how all of this is affected by the results tonight in Tennessee and Virginia -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR: All right. Bob Franken, we'll check in with you. Thank you.
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 February 10, 2004 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not focused on it. What records? I don't have any idea what you're talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's an old adage in politics, when your opponent is shooting himself in the foot, don't get in the way. And perhaps that's what's motivating Kerry right now.
But Kerry is the man to watch, as we pointed out, in these primaries that are being held. It's part of a strategy to prove he can run everywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN (voice-over): Now John Kerry gets to try his Southern strategy which is really quite simple. Win in the South.
KERRY: Stand up and fight with me.
FRANKEN: The polls show that Kerry can expect to be victorious here in Virginia and Tennessee, which would be his first wins in Dixie.
In fact, he's become such a favorite, that native sons John Edwards and Wesley Clark have jettisoned their Southern victory hopes and are now battling for Southern runner-up.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I want to do is finish in the top two here in Virginia. Top two in Tennessee. Then we go on to Wisconsin.
As I said earlier, I think this thing is very quickly narrowing to a two-person race.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You've got some voices in this race. You got a great lawyer. He's a wonderful man. He's a great lawyer. You've got a man who spent his life in the Senate. He's a wonderful legislator. Or you got somebody like me.
FRANKEN: Of course, there is somebody like Howard Dean, way up north in Wisconsin, where he is trying not to make his last stand.
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The media claims that this contest is already over. They say that Wisconsin's voice doesn't count, that your vote doesn't count. They expect you to rubber-stamp everybody else's choice.
You don't have to listen to them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: Well, what we have to listen to is Howard Dean and the ever-changing strategy in Wisconsin. First he said that that would be where he'd either win or get out.
He says he's changed his mind, or what he really said is that his supporters changed his mind for him.
Of course we'll have to see how all of this is affected by the results tonight in Tennessee and Virginia -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR: All right. Bob Franken, we'll check in with you. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
