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CNN Live Today
California Recall
Aired August 20, 2003 - 10:18 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Voters today are getting a first look at Arnold Schwarzenegger's television campaign. Governor Gray Davis has taken to the airwaves to get out and fight the recall. Let's see how things look from the ground.
Bob Franken is in L.A. and has the latest on this unprecedented political drama.
Good morning, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is certainly unprecedented, but then what in California is not. Governor Gray Davis has decided to get some unprecedented vigor as he decides to fight the recall. With a speech made at UCLA last night, he came out swinging, saying yes, he's made some mistakes, but that this is just an effort by the Republicans to steal the election. He's borrowing a page from the book of President Bill Clinton, who, of course, went through his own efforts and his efforts to fight the recall. He successfully, of course, avoided being removed from office.
The former president will be out here in September campaigning for Governor Davis.
Some of the problem that Davis had, however, came from his fellow Democrat, Cruz Bustamante, the lieutenant governor running as an alternative to the recall, in spite of the fact that Davis would have rather that he not done so. Bustamante chose yesterday, and the speech from Davis, to hold his own news conference outside his house near Sacramento, toe to come up with his own budget plan, somewhat different from the governor's, and also to say that the governor's going to have to do more than just say he's sorry, he's going to have to back it up with plans of his own. That is what's going on with the Democrats.
The Republicans, well, of course, their headliner continues to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. He came out with his ads yesterday, the kind of touchy feely political ads that you would have expected up until now. He does have an event today that promises to have some substance to it. He's having a financial summit that will be led by Warren Buffett, the investor turned adviser, who has already become controversial here, and George Schultz, the former secretary of state. Schwarzenegger has a news conference that follows.
Now all of this, of course, hangs on a decision by a federal judge. Today at some point the judge is supposed to rule on whether the recall can proceed on schedule October 7th. That ruling is expected today. The one thing we do know, Leon, is that there will be a court appeal. They appeal just about everything out here, which of course is understandable, because just about everything, as you pointed out at the beginning, is unprecedented.
HARRIS: And we also know how Gray Davis has vowed to fight. And No one has ever basically taken him short to on his vows to do just that. So he may end up facing this in court for some time. We'll check to see how it plays out then.
Thanks, Bob. Good to see you as always, pal. Bob Franken out in L.A.
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 August 20, 2003 - 10:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Voters today are getting a first look at Arnold Schwarzenegger's television campaign. Governor Gray Davis has taken to the airwaves to get out and fight the recall. Let's see how things look from the ground.
Bob Franken is in L.A. and has the latest on this unprecedented political drama.
Good morning, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is certainly unprecedented, but then what in California is not. Governor Gray Davis has decided to get some unprecedented vigor as he decides to fight the recall. With a speech made at UCLA last night, he came out swinging, saying yes, he's made some mistakes, but that this is just an effort by the Republicans to steal the election. He's borrowing a page from the book of President Bill Clinton, who, of course, went through his own efforts and his efforts to fight the recall. He successfully, of course, avoided being removed from office.
The former president will be out here in September campaigning for Governor Davis.
Some of the problem that Davis had, however, came from his fellow Democrat, Cruz Bustamante, the lieutenant governor running as an alternative to the recall, in spite of the fact that Davis would have rather that he not done so. Bustamante chose yesterday, and the speech from Davis, to hold his own news conference outside his house near Sacramento, toe to come up with his own budget plan, somewhat different from the governor's, and also to say that the governor's going to have to do more than just say he's sorry, he's going to have to back it up with plans of his own. That is what's going on with the Democrats.
The Republicans, well, of course, their headliner continues to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. He came out with his ads yesterday, the kind of touchy feely political ads that you would have expected up until now. He does have an event today that promises to have some substance to it. He's having a financial summit that will be led by Warren Buffett, the investor turned adviser, who has already become controversial here, and George Schultz, the former secretary of state. Schwarzenegger has a news conference that follows.
Now all of this, of course, hangs on a decision by a federal judge. Today at some point the judge is supposed to rule on whether the recall can proceed on schedule October 7th. That ruling is expected today. The one thing we do know, Leon, is that there will be a court appeal. They appeal just about everything out here, which of course is understandable, because just about everything, as you pointed out at the beginning, is unprecedented.
HARRIS: And we also know how Gray Davis has vowed to fight. And No one has ever basically taken him short to on his vows to do just that. So he may end up facing this in court for some time. We'll check to see how it plays out then.
Thanks, Bob. Good to see you as always, pal. Bob Franken out in L.A.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
