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American Morning
Interview with Bob Beckel, Cliff May
Aired July 16, 2002 - 08:18 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We have just heard from Governor Tom Ridge, the director of homeland security, about the plan that President Bush will unveil a bit later today. Also, we want to talk about when the president speaks, the markets go down. What happened yesterday?
Let's let the Democratic strategist, Bob Beckel, and former Republican communications director Cliff May to sound off today on how today's strategy may play out.
Good morning, men. It's been a while since we've done this. Good to see you again.
BOB BECKEL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes. Bill, good to see you.
CLIFF MAY, FORMER RNC DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS: Good to see you.
HEMMER: All right.
Hey, listen, Cliff, yesterday the White House clearly had a strategy to go out to the American people and say you know what, just look beneath the numbers here. The economy is not as bad as everyone thinks. They're strengthening the economy. But the investors completely ignored the message, sent shock waves through the market yesterday.
Is the strategy backfiring and would you anticipate the White House to clam up, I guess, when the markets are open, Cliff?
MAY: No, I don't think so. And I don't think, Bill, that what happens is that the investors out there are watching the speech and putting in their sell and buy orders at that same moment.
What Bush said is true. This economy is basically a sound economy. But we have had, we do have some problems. We have had an erosion of corporate ethics in recent years. We have under funded the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is the cop on the beat, for many, many years. So we have to do some things to repair all this, put those who are guilty of fraud in jail, make sure others are obeying the law and then maybe pass some more laws that make sure that investors can see what the numbers really are before they invest.
HEMMER: Listen, I don't disagree with the argument you're making here. But why do investors seem to ignore the message?
MAY: Well, I'm not sure they ignore the message. I don't think you can take that from one speech. Look, yesterday the Nasdaq...
HEMMER: But, look, six straight days of down on the Dow.
MAY: The Nasdaq...
HEMMER: I'm just pointing out the facts. That's all.
MAY: Sure. Absolutely. And the fact is the Nasdaq ended up up yesterday. But nobody can tell you with one speech what the market's going to do. If presidents could do that, believe me, every November the market would go up 500 points without exception. That's not the way it works.
People have to -- look, people are spooked about the market a little bit, and people have to take a breath and look at what's really going on in the economy over the long-term and decide do they want to invest in the future, long-term. No one speech is going to change the psychology.
HEMMER: How about it, Bob? And before you launch into there, Cliff said earlier that some Democrats are essentially doing some political profit taking right now.
MAY: Exactly.
HEMMER: Your shot.
BECKEL: They are and they should be. But let me -- I just wanted to be sure Cliff was finished with all of his White House talking points that were faxed to him this morning.
Look, the fact of the matter is, like it or not, the Republican Party is associated in the public's mind with corporate America and it has been for as long as Democrats have been associated with the union movement. So the idea that somehow they're going to get out from underneath this and blame, again, Bill Clinton, is ludicrous. I mean they blame Clinton for everything -- I guess the next thing is sun spots going badly.
But the point is that the public isn't buying it. This is on Bush's watch and we cannot ignore the fact, whether it's fair or unfair, that Democrats are jumping on two very real issues involving the president and the vice president of the United States in oil deals of which the abuses are very similar to the ones we're finding in corporate America.
HEMMER: But there hasn't been any proven abuse just yet. But get back to the point, Bob.
MAY: Yes, let's talk about the point, Bob.
HEMMER: The true test, the true test in all of this is time, is it not? If the economy rebounds and the stock market has a bit of a rebound itself, then essentially the White House rebounds, as well? Would you agree with that logic?
BECKEL: No, I wouldn't. Why the fact, Bill -- do I have to get back to the truth. There's some assumption there that because Cliff reads off of his notes...
HEMMER: I didn't say get back to the truth. I just said get back to the point.
BECKEL: I know it, pal. I'm just, I'm giving you a little heat.
HEMMER: All right, pal. OK.
MAY: No one expects you to get back to...
(CROSSTALK)
MAY: ... Bob.
BECKEL: You know what?
MAY: It'll be years before you get back to the point.
BECKEL: Cliff, please, we've heard the seminar, OK?
Look, the fact is that this has now crossed into an area where I know a good deal about, and that is politics. And there's an old adage in politics. Any issue that's alive on August 1 of an election year is one that's going to carry in the voters' minds to the voting booth. And this one now is perilously close, I think, to disrupting the Republicans' efforts to bolster the House and win back the Senate.
They will not win back the Senate. And I'm getting very, very cautiously now optimistic that they're not going to get the House. And they're going to have a lot of governors swept out of office.
The fact is that this war on terrorism that George Bush keeps talking about and trying to change the subject to does not overcome the principle, overriding factor of American politics, and that is that people vote their pocketbook. And now, 60 percent of the people are in the market and 60 percent are a lot poorer as a result.
HEMMER: Got to...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Let me, I'm up against time here fellows. I'm sorry about that. Homeland security, we're going to get more details of the plan in about an hour's time. Cliff, is the White House the moving the ball on this?
MAY: Yes, I think the White House is trying very hard to organize this in a way that makes a lot of sense. Homeland security is an important part of the war on terrorism. It's the defensive part, not the offensive part. And what they're trying to do is show that they have an idea, a strategy, a way of making our lives safer right now. Look, one of the reasons the market's spooked is right now we live in a time of tremendous uncertainty. Getting on a plane is a tremendous danger, not to mention a tremendous inconvenience. And we, and that's part of what my response to Bob has to be. We've got real problems in this country with the psychology of the markets, with faith in the future, with the war on terrorism. And all Bob can do is salivate over how this is going to help the Democrats in November instead of saying what do we do to make this country stronger, better, more prosperous, grow the economy.
If he wants to run as the anti-business party and the party that doesn't think the war on terrorism counts for anything, well, good luck to him.
BECKEL: You know, Cliff, you guys have been running on Bill Clinton for eight years. You have no idea...
MAY: I haven't mentioned Bill Clinton at all.
BECKEL: You know...
MAY: You've mentioned him five times this morning.
BECKEL: That's right.
MAY: Not once have I mentioned Bill Clinton.
BECKEL: Hold it. Let me just -- can I just wrap this up for the morning, Cliff?
MAY: Or Hillary Clinton. Or Terry McCauliffe.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: Make it quick, Bob. We've got to run. I'm sorry.
BECKEL: OK. The fact of the matter is the markets were way up after the war on terrorism. Secondly, it seems to me that it's bogging down. And three, the public is losing interest in it and turning to the economy and it's going to cost Bush. And then Cliff can give us a seminar on why George Bush caused the Republican Party to lose.
HEMMER: We've got to go. We'll do the seminar next week or a bit later in the week.
BECKEL: OK. Good.
HEMMER: OK?
BECKEL: It will be my pleasure, Bill.
HEMMER: We'll see...
BECKEL: It's going to be so important.
HEMMER: We'll see and we'll get the announcement in about an hour's time at the White House.
MAY: OK. Be good.
HEMMER: Thank you, men. Bob and Cliff sound off this morning.
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