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American Morning

Congressman Condit's Interview and Public Reaction

Aired August 23, 2001 - 11:01   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: Look who's talking now? Gary Condit's campaign to rehabilitate his image is in high gear today. His letter to voters is landing in mailboxes across his California district, and the congressman is talking about his conduct in the Chandra Levy case. He'll be on television, radio and in magazines.

Our Rusty Dornin is in Condit's hometown of Modesto, California. Our Jason Carroll is on the streets of Manhattan. Rusty, let's start at home, and that's in Modesto.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, in about an hour the mail trucks will hit the streets here in Modesto and begin delivering the three-page letter from Congressman Gary Condit to more than 200,000 constituents in this area. We're going to read a few of the excerpts from this letter.

He addresses it to, "Dear friends and neighbors," he talks about, "Despite my best attempts to help the police find Chandra, some in the media have criticized me for remaining 'silent.' I have not been silent with those in charge of finding Chandra. I have answered every single question asked by the police and the FBI.

He goes onto say, "Before speaking to the media, I wanted to write to you. I have known so many of you for a long time. You know me to be a hard working, committed to our issues and dedicated to my community and my family. I hope you will understand that I am not perfect and have made my share of mistakes."

He also goes on to say that he hopes his relationship with the constituents is strong enough to endure all of the controversy that is going on.

Well, we are here in the heart of 18th district, and the heart of the backbone of Gary's Condit's district which is agriculture. This is the farmers market in Modesto, California. It takes place every Thursday and Saturday. We are here with one of his constituents that has been farming here since the early -- her family, Rose Bettencourt's family has been farming here since the early 1900s. And she lives in Ceres, which is Gary Condit's district, and has known Congressman Condit ever since he was on the city council. She has been a long time supporter of the congressman.

She is dealing here with a customer, as soon as she is through with the customer here we can talk do her. Rose, you've read the letter.

ROSE BETTENCOURT: Yes, I have.

DORNIN: You've read the letter, and you've been a long time...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me, can I finish -- can we -- let's finish doing business.

DORNIN: They're going to finish this transaction quickly, here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's why we're here, is to do business.

DORNIN: I'm sorry here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, thank you very much.

BETTENCOURT: OK, 3.75, and that's it.

DORNIN: Rose, what's -- you've known the congressman for many, many, many years.

BETTENCOURT: Yes, I have.

DORNIN: And your family has been strong supporters. What do you think after reading this letter?

BETTENCOURT: Well, I think he's doing the best he can. I really don't think -- I think everything is honest with him.

DORNIN: You are still a supporter?

BETTENCOURT: Yes, I am.

DORNIN: If you had one question that you could ask, if you were the interviewer today and you could ask him one question, is there anything on your mind that you would like to see him answer?

BETTENCOURT: No, I wouldn't. Because, I feel like what he has done, or what he hasn't done, is his business.

DORNIN: Does it bother you that he has not spoken out before? That he's taken so long to speak to you?

BETTENCOURT: Really I don't think so. I think he wants to hold it and then let the public know all about it, what he's done.

DORNIN: So, if he ran for re-election tomorrow, would he have your vote?

BETTENCOURT: Yes, he would, because he's done well for the farmers.

DORNIN: Great. Thank you very much, Rose Bettencourt. Her family, organic farmers here in the Modesto area. We've spoken to some other constituents, many people on the fence, some people feel that this letter is rather vague, and are very curious to see what Congressman Condit will have to say in person. Daryn.

KAGAN: Rusty, interesting to hear from folks in that district. Anybody who knows that area knows some of the most incredible produce in the world is grown there, and that's why you can't get in the way of a commercial transaction taking place.

Thank you, Rusty Dornin in Modesto.

Now, let's go on the other side of the country, because folks all across the country will be watching for this letter, also watching television and magazine interviews coming out today and tomorrow.

Let's check with our Jason Carroll who's on the streets of midtown Manhattan, talking to folks there. Jason, good morning again.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you again, Daryn. As you know, anywhere you are in midtown Manhattan, or uptown, or downtown, New Yorkers always have an opinion, whether it is about politics, social issues or even Congressman Condit.

We've got three people here today with us. We've got Philip, Cheyna and we also have Allen. The three of them graciously joining us to give us their opinions about what they expect to hear tonight.

What are some of your thoughts? Expecting to hear anything from the congressman that you haven't heard before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really anything new. I think we'll probably see him try to sort of project some kind of sincerity, honesty, remorse maybe for some of the mistakes he's made, as he has called him.

CARROLL: All right, let's get a move over here to Cheyna here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shana.

CARROLL: Shana, pardon me. Shana not Cheyna. So, Shana, give me some of your -- if you were conducting the interview tonight, what would you ask the congressman?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd be really curious to know what the conversation was like with Chandra Levy, the very last conversation. How she felt, what was going through their relationship, what was happening.

CARROLL: OK. Will you be watching tonight?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I will.

CARROLL: All right. I'm going to move here to Allen. Allen is actually visiting from Condit country. You are from Merced?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Merced, California.

CARROLL: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we're visiting here, first time in New York. My son applied NYU, as a fund major.

CARROLL: All right, but let's talk about Congressman Condit, if we can for just a moment there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, OK.

CARROLL: I hope your son does well at NYU, but he is your congressman. Would you vote for him again?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, definitely not. I did vote for him. I have never seen him very much in the Merced area. And, if I did ask him a question I'd ask him how we could expect him to do an adequate job trying to jungle multiple affairs and be a full-time congressman.

I'm a pediatric dentist there, and with my family and children if I had an affair going if -- if I did, which I never have -- I could not do an adequate job as a pediatric dentist. How we could expect him to be doing a job, doing multiple affairs and juggling his life around, is ridiculous.

CARROLL: Anything you would expect to hear tonight that you haven't heard before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'll be on an airplane. I've already made up my mind, I absolutely will not vote for him. I see parents in my practice every day and I don't see strong support for him. I hear people that are embarrassed about him.

And we're getting a new university in our town, a major university, the University of California, Merced, that we should be proud of and bragging about. Instead, we're embarrassed and ashamed of what this person has done.

CARROLL: the congressman says he just wants to clear the record. Do you think there's any chance at all that he will be able to do that tonight?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't think so. I think there's been too much media coverage, there's been too much attention drawn to him. And I think that his career is finished.

CARROLL: Again, Philip, he just wants to clear the record. Says he's gone through some personal pain as well. Do you think he will get any chance to do that tonight, sort of clear the record?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's in a very difficult spot, because as we saw with Clinton and Lewinsky, he's in a position where we all know he has to have a certain amount of discretion to protect his career and his relationship with his family. So, we have to kind of be a little skeptical about anything he'll say.

CARROLL: Again, we want to thank the three of you. And Allen, I think there's a letter waiting for you at home when you get back from the congressman. Hopefully you'll have a chance to read that.

Again, lots of opinions out here on the streets of New York. Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Jason, thank you. And thanks to all of the folks sharing their opinions this morning.

With more, here's Stephen.

STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Congressman Condit is hoping that letter and his media appearances will smooth things over with voters at home. But will the strategy work?

Let's bring in Larry Sabato, a professor of government at the University of Virginia, and the author of "Overtime: The Election 2000 Thriller." Professor Sabato joins us from Charlottesville.

Professor, thank you for joining us today.

PROF. LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you, Stephen.

FRAZIER: You've heard the letter almost word for word, and you think it's very clever, at least in print.

SABATO: Yes, I read it. It is clever, but very misleading and deceptive. However, that doesn't mean it won't work.

I think one of your interviews with the lady in the stall, who was conducting the sale, is typical of many voters. They are incredibly gullible and they will buy a lot of this.

FRAZIER: Well, when you say she's gullible and it's misleading, let's go through and deconstruct it. What part do you think is misleading?

SABATO: I thought the most outrageous part was his suggestion that he has cooperated fully with the police from day one. None of us were in that room, other than Condit and, I guess, some of his assistants and the police. The police tell us that he misled them. Gary Condit says that he was fully cooperative. I don't know about you, but between the police and Gary Condit, I'm very inclined to believe the police.

FRAZIER: So, that would be a complete falsehood then.

SABATO: In my view it's a complete falsehood, but again, it's cleverly worded. It's part of the truth. It is half the truth. Condit is pulling a Clinton. It worked for Clinton, but Clinton was president, that's a very different thing than being a back-bencher congressman, which is what Condit is.

FRAZIER: Well, he's trying to deflect attention from himself, but he can't really make the police the bad guys here, and he can't make Chandra Levy's family the bad guys. Who is left?

SABATO: The media. He's going after the media, and he's using an old technique. He's taking the worst of the coverage, what he calls the tabloid coverage, and he's tarring all the rest of you with it. Obviously, it is unfair to anybody who studies media, but it is a technique that works. It has worked many times. It may work partly here. We will see. He's got to go through a lot of hoops before this succeeds and he's reelected.

FRAZIER: Well, you mentioned the choice of words, the very clever wording here. We've got some of it available to look at. I know you've been look at things very closely. Let me make sure I'm not directing you to anything you don't have here.

I found interesting that there's a little bit of a misspelling here, "Some suggest that not talking with the media could mean I had something to do with Chandra's disappearance. I did not. I pray she has not met the same fate as the other young women who have disappeared from the same neighborhood."

What is that all about?

SABATO: Again, he's blaming the media, and he's suggesting that he had nothing to do with the disappearance, and Chandra Levy's disappearance is a part of that pattern in that neighborhood. That may or may not be true.

You know, Stephen, focus on what he doesn't say in the letter, that's much more significant. What he doesn't say is an admission outright that he had multiple affairs over many years, including in at least one case with someone in his office. He doesn't admit misleading the police as the police say he did. And also, I think he's got a number of other pieces of the puzzle that he has not mentioned that reflect very unfavorably upon him.

FRAZIER: Well, is it fair to bring those up, if in fact, as he cites, these are parts of his private life that may have no bearing on this?

SABATO: I've been a long-time supporter of dividing public life from private life to the extent possible. I do believe public people deserve some zone of privacy. But, that doesn't include something that reaches the police blotter. A young woman is missing, many believe she may be dead, the congressman had information that could have helped the police in the beginning, he wasn't forthcoming.

Let's also not forget that there's another witness, another woman with whom Condit certainly had an affair, who claims that Condit asked her to lie, to misrepresent the truth. All of these things are legitimate for public discussion.

FRAZIER: And not just for private discussion between investigators and the congressman.

SABATO: That's absolutely true. You know, in the end public people, elected officials, have to be responsive to their constituency, and I think there's a good argument to be made that they are role models to a certain degree. I don't know anyone who would consider Gary Condit to be a good role model. That may or may not result in his defeat. We'll have to see. FRAZIER: Well, Professor Sabato, you are speaking to us there, of course, from the university created by Thomas Jefferson, one of the great roles models of the founding fathers, who also had some secrets in his private life. So, we know you are well suited to talk about both private and public work.

Larry Sabato, thanks for joining us.

SABATO: Thank you, Stephen.

FRAZIER: CNN plans a wrap-up of Congressman Condit's media interviews, and what voters, and pundits, and other politicians are thinking about what he has to say. Tune in for "Condit Speaks: The Reaction." That's a special report tonight at 11:00 p.m. in the east, 8:00 p.m. in the west.

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