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American Morning
Bush Prepares for Speech on Wall Street
Aired July 09, 2002 - 09:00 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: "Up Front" this morning though, President Bush calls for a crackdown on corporate corruption. The president visits New York City this morning to promote tough new penalties for those who cook the books.
John King is in town now traveling with the president. He joins us live from Wall Street with a preview.
Good morning, John.
What have you learned?
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Paula.
This a high stakes moment for the president, who will be here on Wall Street in a little more than two hours to deliver a speech, a tough new speech calling for new steps by the government and new steps by corporate leaders to restore confidence, Mr. Bush will say, in the stock market and the broader U.S. economy. Mr. Bush comes here at a time this whole debate over corporate corruption is a growing policy and political debate back in Washington.
In his speech here on Wall Street today, the president will say that any CEO that cooks the books, deliberately misleads investors and the American public at large about the financial situation of his company, should face jail time.
Mr. Bush will also call, we are told, for $20 million in emergency funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission now, to hire new investigators and for $100 million next year so that the SEC can hire even more investigators to look into corruption fraud and corruption and improve its technology.
Mr. Bush offered a preview of his speech yesterday at a hastily arranged White House conference. Mr. Bush says tough new steps from the federal government are absolutely critical to restore what he says is waning investor confidence in the stock market.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll outline tough new laws and actions to punish abuses, restore investor confidence, and protect the pensions of American workers. We have a duty to every worker, shareholder, and investor in America to punish the guilty, to close loopholes and protect employee pensions, and we will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Mr. Bush also will outline new steps he says will take corporate accounting -- quote -- "out of the shadows." That obviously a reference to the accounting scandals that have forced Enron into bankruptcy, troubling WorldCom, the giant -- technology giant right now. Those hearings continue on Washington.
Mr. Bush will make the case that Democrats should work with him. But he also comes here to Wall Street at a moment when many Democrats are questioning the past business dealings of this president as well as Vice President Dick Cheney. So a major policy debate here on Wall Street today as the president puts his new proposals forward. A very much also a political issue back in Washington -- Paula.
ZAHN: So John, the president's speech comes at a time when a liberal Democratic group is unleashing an ad which basically accuses the president of being a hypocrite, and the vice president. The president, they point to this Harken Energy controversy. We saw a taste of some of the questions the president faced yesterday. How much is this on his mind as he tries to gain the support of these folks on Wall Street?
KING: Well, very much on his mind, like it or not, Paula. You also saw, in addition to a taste of the questions, a taste of the president's irritation, and at times annoyance, with all those questions. Mr. Bush makes the case that yes, he was investigated for insider trading back in 1991, but that he was cleared and that those allegations are being recycled now by the Democrats to undermine him as he tries to push this debate about corporate corruption and responsibility forward.
But the White House is well aware we are in a mid-term election year. He is a very popular president. Many Democrats frustrated they have not been able to score more points against this Republican president on other domestic issues. Largely they attribute that to the president's wartime popularity. The Democrats believe they have an issue here.
The challenge for Mr. Bush is to lead the policy debate, but also prove he can use the bully pulpit of the presidency to capture the political side of this argument, as well at a time the administration will face some harsh criticism, including that new ad you just talked about.
ZAHN: Well, how does the administration plan to confront the continuing interest in this? And how many legs do they think this story has?
KING: One of the reasons Mr. Bush came in to the briefing room for that news conference yesterday was that the administration was concerned that, as the president outlined his proposals today, there would be a lot of focus on why hasn't he answered questioned directly about his Harken Energy deal back in 1991. So the White House wanted the president to answer all the questions. And now the White House case is Let's focus on the proposals the president has put on the table -- if you have any legitimate new questions about Harken Energy, ask them, but do not try to recycle old information.
It is a strategy we have seen presidents use in the past, including President Clinton, who often had such events and such a strategy during major political moments in his administration. The White House, hoping the president can say anyone who wants to talk about the past is obscuring this, trying to talk about politics at a time he needs and Washington needs bipartisan on a bipartisan basis to focus on restoring investor confidence in the stock market. Mr. Bush hopes to make that case. This will be a major test not only of his policy proposals but of his powers of persuasion.
ZAHN: All right, John, CNN will be checking in with you throughout the morning. Thanks so much for the update.
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