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American Morning

Congressman Condit Works On Survival Strategy

Aired August 20, 2001 - 09:33   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: With Chandra Levy still missing, advisors to Congressman Gary Condit now work behind the scenes on a political survival strategy.

CNN's Bob Franken spoke with voters in Condit's district, he found that opinion there is divided.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The weekend farmers market is a Modesto area tradition, and so was the nearly automatic vote for Gary Condit, until now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did vote for him. Both my husband and I both voted for him in every election. But the way my husband and I both feel is that he's being a coward.

FRANKEN (on camera): At Gary Condit's office, just a block away from the farmers market, top members of the staff spend much of their time on the phones with advisors and with Condit, trying to develop a strategy to win back his voters.

(voice-over): Richard Ross, who appeared on ABC's "This Week, " has been one of those advisors since 1982.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD ROSS, CONDIT ADVISER: They'll weigh it. They'll weigh his public and his private lives. They'll balance it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If his election were in November, I think he'd be in deep trouble. But the election isn't until a year from November, and people are pretty forgiving.

FRANKEN: Still, Condit's advisors say they'll start soon, almost certainly before Labor Day, with a mass mailing to constituents. And they're working on a variety of options for media interviews. Exactly what, who and where are under intense discussion.

The attorneys for Chandra Levy's family say their demands are unchanged, whatever Condit's strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY MARTIN, LEVY FAMILY ATTORNEY: We really would have nothing to say about that. We would hope that he would meet with me and my investigators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: Condit and his lawyers have repeatedly rejected that, saying that the congressman has provided police and FBI agents all the information he has.

As the politicians and lawyers debate effective strategy, so do the voters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want to know where he's coming from, and I certainly feel he's totally innocent of anything other than having adultery.

FRANKEN: But her daughter thinks it's too late for Condit to survive politically.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, DAUGHTER: It's been broadcast enough, and with everything that's transpired, and as long as she's missing, I don't see how he can.

FRANKEN: Chandra Levy is still missing, and while Condit tries to figure out a political strategy, investigators have had no luck in figuring out what happened to her.

Bob Franken, CNN, Modesto, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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