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American Morning
War of Words
Aired September 26, 2002 - 07:08 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: Any goodwill between the White House and Senate Democrats on the issue of Iraq seems to be unraveling, after President Bush earlier this week accused the Democratic-controlled Senate of not being interested in national security.
An angry Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle took to the podium yesterday and returned the fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: You tell those who fought in Vietnam and in World War II they are not interested in the security of the American people. That is outrageous. Outrageous!
The president ought to apologize to Senator Inouye and every veteran who has fought in every war who is a Democrat in the United States Senate. He ought to apologize to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Well, the White House says it was all taken out of context, and an apology is unlikely. Now, each side is accusing the other of turning it into a political issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You may try to politicize it. I view it as my main obligation; that is to protect the American people. It's the most important job this president will have, and it's the most important job future presidents will have, because the nature of war has changed. We're vulnerable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: And our Kate Snow joins us from the Capitol.
Kate, if you would, take us back to what the original comments were that sparked all of this. In fact, the president was talking about homeland security, wasn't he?
KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He was. And let me go back to yesterday morning's "Washington Post," Paula, which is what you heard Senator Daschle alluding to in the sound that you just played. It was a quote in the "Post" yesterday that said, President Bush said that the Senate was -- quote -- "not interested in the security of the American people." He did make that statement on Monday, but he made it in the context of the big debate that's going on right now in the Senate about a Homeland Security Department. He was saying, if they don't pass that Homeland Security Department, it essentially proves that they're not interested in the security of the American people. So, that's the context.
Now, this morning, though, today's "Washington Post" running another banner headline. The headline this morning in our paper, "Daschle angered by Bush statement." That's putting it mildly.
We are told by Senate sources, Paula, that Daschle went into a meeting yesterday morning with some Democrats and was just furious. I mean, just absolutely outraged by the latest headline in the "Post" yesterday, on top of other things that he sees as proof that Republicans are trying to use a potential war with Iraq to their political advantage.
Again, the thing that pushed him over the edge was that "Washington Post" comment from President Bush. The White House saying that's out of context, because it had to do with homeland security.
So then, later yesterday, Paula, we went back and forth again. You had Daschle coming to the Senate floor and saying, I don't care what the context is, I'm still angry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DASCHLE: What context is there that legitimizes an accusation of that kind? I don't care whether you're talking about homeland security. I don't think you can talk about Iraq. You can't talk about war. You can't talk about any context that justifies a political comment like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now, President Bush, as you saw, Paula, never directly addressed this. We'll see if he addresses it later on today.
But Ari Fleischer spent a long time in his briefing yesterday, Paula, trying to argue that the White House is being taken out of context. He said, everybody ought to take a breath and calm down -- Paula.
ZAHN: But the fact remains, Kate, that the issue of Iraq is highly politicized. And you had in "The Washington Post" this morning some friends of Tom Daschle suggesting at a time when they're trying to win bipartisan support for a war resolution that Tom Daschle felt like he was played for a fool here, right? But it goes both ways.
SNOW: That's the sense that we're getting from our sources about this meeting that happened yesterday morning. That he walked in there and said, what is this? We're being made to look bad here. I've got to respond in some way. And so, his colleagues urged him to get out there and make that first statement that he made -- the angry statement that he made on the Senate floor yesterday. Paula, there's definitely a question mark now hanging over that resolution that the White House sent up last week that they want Congress to pass, authorizing the president to use force. The big question now is: Will this political back and forth influence that debate?
Yesterday, aides were sitting down for several hours -- those are aides to Daschle, Lott, the other leader of the Senate, and the two leaders of the House -- trying to hammer out the language. So, they're making progress behind the scenes, but their bosses are obviously exchanging a lot of fiery words. The question is whether that's going to impact those negotiations.
ZAHN: Oh, I guess we can bet it will. Thanks, Kate -- appreciate that report.
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 September 26, 2002 - 07:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Any goodwill between the White House and Senate Democrats on the issue of Iraq seems to be unraveling, after President Bush earlier this week accused the Democratic-controlled Senate of not being interested in national security.
An angry Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle took to the podium yesterday and returned the fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: You tell those who fought in Vietnam and in World War II they are not interested in the security of the American people. That is outrageous. Outrageous!
The president ought to apologize to Senator Inouye and every veteran who has fought in every war who is a Democrat in the United States Senate. He ought to apologize to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Well, the White House says it was all taken out of context, and an apology is unlikely. Now, each side is accusing the other of turning it into a political issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You may try to politicize it. I view it as my main obligation; that is to protect the American people. It's the most important job this president will have, and it's the most important job future presidents will have, because the nature of war has changed. We're vulnerable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: And our Kate Snow joins us from the Capitol.
Kate, if you would, take us back to what the original comments were that sparked all of this. In fact, the president was talking about homeland security, wasn't he?
KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He was. And let me go back to yesterday morning's "Washington Post," Paula, which is what you heard Senator Daschle alluding to in the sound that you just played. It was a quote in the "Post" yesterday that said, President Bush said that the Senate was -- quote -- "not interested in the security of the American people." He did make that statement on Monday, but he made it in the context of the big debate that's going on right now in the Senate about a Homeland Security Department. He was saying, if they don't pass that Homeland Security Department, it essentially proves that they're not interested in the security of the American people. So, that's the context.
Now, this morning, though, today's "Washington Post" running another banner headline. The headline this morning in our paper, "Daschle angered by Bush statement." That's putting it mildly.
We are told by Senate sources, Paula, that Daschle went into a meeting yesterday morning with some Democrats and was just furious. I mean, just absolutely outraged by the latest headline in the "Post" yesterday, on top of other things that he sees as proof that Republicans are trying to use a potential war with Iraq to their political advantage.
Again, the thing that pushed him over the edge was that "Washington Post" comment from President Bush. The White House saying that's out of context, because it had to do with homeland security.
So then, later yesterday, Paula, we went back and forth again. You had Daschle coming to the Senate floor and saying, I don't care what the context is, I'm still angry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DASCHLE: What context is there that legitimizes an accusation of that kind? I don't care whether you're talking about homeland security. I don't think you can talk about Iraq. You can't talk about war. You can't talk about any context that justifies a political comment like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now, President Bush, as you saw, Paula, never directly addressed this. We'll see if he addresses it later on today.
But Ari Fleischer spent a long time in his briefing yesterday, Paula, trying to argue that the White House is being taken out of context. He said, everybody ought to take a breath and calm down -- Paula.
ZAHN: But the fact remains, Kate, that the issue of Iraq is highly politicized. And you had in "The Washington Post" this morning some friends of Tom Daschle suggesting at a time when they're trying to win bipartisan support for a war resolution that Tom Daschle felt like he was played for a fool here, right? But it goes both ways.
SNOW: That's the sense that we're getting from our sources about this meeting that happened yesterday morning. That he walked in there and said, what is this? We're being made to look bad here. I've got to respond in some way. And so, his colleagues urged him to get out there and make that first statement that he made -- the angry statement that he made on the Senate floor yesterday. Paula, there's definitely a question mark now hanging over that resolution that the White House sent up last week that they want Congress to pass, authorizing the president to use force. The big question now is: Will this political back and forth influence that debate?
Yesterday, aides were sitting down for several hours -- those are aides to Daschle, Lott, the other leader of the Senate, and the two leaders of the House -- trying to hammer out the language. So, they're making progress behind the scenes, but their bosses are obviously exchanging a lot of fiery words. The question is whether that's going to impact those negotiations.
ZAHN: Oh, I guess we can bet it will. Thanks, Kate -- appreciate that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
