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American Morning
Roots of Current Political Debate
Aired September 26, 2002 - 08:16 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: It is point and counterpoint in D.C. The leading Democrat in the Senate, Tom Daschle, accusing the president of politicizing the debate about Iraq and homeland security. Republicans suggest that it is Tom Daschle who is the one who is playing politics.
The question we have, is it the politics of war? With midterm elections just a few weeks away, about five or six on the calendar, is it the politics now of the season in Washington?
Jeff Greenfield, our senior political analyst, can give us some perspective on that.
You've got to look at the calendar, because that's what everybody's talking about, with the midterm election.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: True.
HEMMER: Why, then, this week, and specifically yesterday did this come to a head?
GREENFIELD: Well, let's take a step back, because I think it is this week. You have to start, I think, in San Francisco on Monday when former Vice President Gore, a one time hawk on Iraq 11 years ago, broke very sharply with the administration's policy and raised at least the specter of the administration politicizing the war.
I want to take a look at what the former vice president had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, the timing of this sudden burst or urgency to immediately take up this new cause as America's new top priority, displacing our former top priority, the war against Osama bin Laden, was explained by, innocently, I believe, by the White House chief of staff in this now well known statement, and I quote, "From an advertising point of view, you don't launch a new product line until after Labor Day."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Now, OK. So there's certainly the implication there that the vice president thinks there's politics abroad, right?
Now, vice president -- I'm sorry, the president, campaigning in New Jersey, made this statement, which you already played this morning, but we need to put it back on the table, about the Senate's obstruction of the homeland security bill. And here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Senate is more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: OK, now Senator Daschle, who clearly has been frustrated by the fact that the midterm elections are coming. If Iraq dominates the conversation, that probably helps the Republicans. But hearing those comments, which were a little vague -- I mean what was the president talking about? The homeland security bill? A broader attack on the Senate, the Democratic Senate?
So as we've seen, Daschle, if I may put it this way, went ballistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. THOMAS DASCHLE (D-SD), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: The president is quoted in the "Washington Post" this morning as saying that the Democratic controlled Senate is not interested in the security of the American people. Not interested in the security of the American people? That's is outrageous. Outrageous. The president ought to apologize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: And then yesterday, Minority Leader Trent Lott came on the Senate floor to, in effect, say no, the president's not attacking anybody's patriotism and let's just keep our eye on the ball. Here's what Senator Lott had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MINORITY LEADER: Who is the enemy here, the president of the United States or Saddam Hussein? That's who was attacked this morning here on the floor of the United States Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: So there you are, Bill. I think this is a lot of pent up frustration, people on both sides very edgy about the notion of politicizing the war, but also, frankly, not all that reluctant to suggest that the other side wants to do that.
HEMMER: Yes, very interesting thoughts. If you go back to Al Gore trying to keep it on topic for the war on terror, Condoleezza Rice last night on PBS making this link between Iraq and al Qaeda. Donald Rumsfeld doing the same thing in Warsaw. But back in Washington, specifically, where do you see the politics right now being measured up?
GREENFIELD: Look, here, I think one of the things that has, accounts for this sudden eruption of temper, and I was thinking about this yesterday, is go back to the Gulf War debate in 1990 and '91. One of the big differences was nobody thought control of the Congress was at stake. The Democrats had firm control of the House and Senate. The midterm elections were basically a wash.
This time a confrontation with Iraq is being ratcheted up at the time when both houses of Congress are very much up for grabs, when Democrats, particularly rank and file Democrats, many of whom came to politics from an anti-war perspective in Vietnam, feel their leaders are walking away from the peace issue out of their own political motives. Well, everybody's got a very intense feeling about this.
HEMMER: Quickly, 10 seconds left here. Do you agree with some of the pundits who believe that Al Gore kind of took the bull by the horns earlier in the week and Tom Daschle is now trying to take it back and be the leader of the Democratic Party?
GREENFIELD: Well, I think, you know, you can't ignore the fact that both of them have some interest in the presidency and that Al Gore knows what the base of the Democratic Party is, you know. It is basically more liberal left than the rest of the country.
But very quickly, when it comes to matters of war and peace, I'm always reluctant to say it's all politics, because it really is life and death stuff.
HEMMER: That is true. And it does not necessarily stop at water's edge.
GREENFIELD: That's for sure.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jeff. We'll talk again.
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 - 08:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is point and counterpoint in D.C. The leading Democrat in the Senate, Tom Daschle, accusing the president of politicizing the debate about Iraq and homeland security. Republicans suggest that it is Tom Daschle who is the one who is playing politics.
The question we have, is it the politics of war? With midterm elections just a few weeks away, about five or six on the calendar, is it the politics now of the season in Washington?
Jeff Greenfield, our senior political analyst, can give us some perspective on that.
You've got to look at the calendar, because that's what everybody's talking about, with the midterm election.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: True.
HEMMER: Why, then, this week, and specifically yesterday did this come to a head?
GREENFIELD: Well, let's take a step back, because I think it is this week. You have to start, I think, in San Francisco on Monday when former Vice President Gore, a one time hawk on Iraq 11 years ago, broke very sharply with the administration's policy and raised at least the specter of the administration politicizing the war.
I want to take a look at what the former vice president had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, the timing of this sudden burst or urgency to immediately take up this new cause as America's new top priority, displacing our former top priority, the war against Osama bin Laden, was explained by, innocently, I believe, by the White House chief of staff in this now well known statement, and I quote, "From an advertising point of view, you don't launch a new product line until after Labor Day."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Now, OK. So there's certainly the implication there that the vice president thinks there's politics abroad, right?
Now, vice president -- I'm sorry, the president, campaigning in New Jersey, made this statement, which you already played this morning, but we need to put it back on the table, about the Senate's obstruction of the homeland security bill. And here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Senate is more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: OK, now Senator Daschle, who clearly has been frustrated by the fact that the midterm elections are coming. If Iraq dominates the conversation, that probably helps the Republicans. But hearing those comments, which were a little vague -- I mean what was the president talking about? The homeland security bill? A broader attack on the Senate, the Democratic Senate?
So as we've seen, Daschle, if I may put it this way, went ballistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. THOMAS DASCHLE (D-SD), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: The president is quoted in the "Washington Post" this morning as saying that the Democratic controlled Senate is not interested in the security of the American people. Not interested in the security of the American people? That's is outrageous. Outrageous. The president ought to apologize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: And then yesterday, Minority Leader Trent Lott came on the Senate floor to, in effect, say no, the president's not attacking anybody's patriotism and let's just keep our eye on the ball. Here's what Senator Lott had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MINORITY LEADER: Who is the enemy here, the president of the United States or Saddam Hussein? That's who was attacked this morning here on the floor of the United States Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: So there you are, Bill. I think this is a lot of pent up frustration, people on both sides very edgy about the notion of politicizing the war, but also, frankly, not all that reluctant to suggest that the other side wants to do that.
HEMMER: Yes, very interesting thoughts. If you go back to Al Gore trying to keep it on topic for the war on terror, Condoleezza Rice last night on PBS making this link between Iraq and al Qaeda. Donald Rumsfeld doing the same thing in Warsaw. But back in Washington, specifically, where do you see the politics right now being measured up?
GREENFIELD: Look, here, I think one of the things that has, accounts for this sudden eruption of temper, and I was thinking about this yesterday, is go back to the Gulf War debate in 1990 and '91. One of the big differences was nobody thought control of the Congress was at stake. The Democrats had firm control of the House and Senate. The midterm elections were basically a wash.
This time a confrontation with Iraq is being ratcheted up at the time when both houses of Congress are very much up for grabs, when Democrats, particularly rank and file Democrats, many of whom came to politics from an anti-war perspective in Vietnam, feel their leaders are walking away from the peace issue out of their own political motives. Well, everybody's got a very intense feeling about this.
HEMMER: Quickly, 10 seconds left here. Do you agree with some of the pundits who believe that Al Gore kind of took the bull by the horns earlier in the week and Tom Daschle is now trying to take it back and be the leader of the Democratic Party?
GREENFIELD: Well, I think, you know, you can't ignore the fact that both of them have some interest in the presidency and that Al Gore knows what the base of the Democratic Party is, you know. It is basically more liberal left than the rest of the country.
But very quickly, when it comes to matters of war and peace, I'm always reluctant to say it's all politics, because it really is life and death stuff.
HEMMER: That is true. And it does not necessarily stop at water's edge.
GREENFIELD: That's for sure.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jeff. We'll talk again.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
