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American Morning

Interview With David Gergen, Former White House Advisor

Aired December 16, 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: More now on the Gore announcement. Al Gore had been saying he would make his decision after the holidays, but by yesterday, he had made up his mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "60 MINUTES")

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've decided not to run, and I...

LESLEY STAHL, CBS ANCHOR: You've decided not to run.

GORE: I've decided that I will not be a candidate for president in 2004. My family all gathered here in New York City over the last few days, and I found that I've come to closure on this. I don't think it's the right thing for me to do to be a candidate in 2004.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Now, for another perspective on Al Gore's decision, former White House advisor, David Gergen. He is currently editor-at-large for "U.S. News & World Report." And David Gergen joins us now from Boston.

Good to see you again, David -- welcome.

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: This announcement appeared to even have caught Al Gore's chief aide by surprise. He had to be rerouted from Washington to New York in time for that "60 Minutes" appearance. Why the decision three weeks before he said he'd make it?

GERGEN: Well, I think he's taken the temperature, and he's taken his own temperature, and the two things together, it came up as pretty tepid. His support beyond -- it's wide but shallow.

And he's facing the prospect, Paula, that this coming year, if he was going to get into this race, the entry price is said to be around $50 million. You have to raise that kind of money in order to run for president these days. That means you have to raise about $1 million a week over the next year.

I think that prospect was daunting for him. He just had been out with his extensive television series, promoting his new book, the one he wrote with Tipper Gore. It's not selling. After all of that television, ordinarily a book bangs onto the bestseller list. This did not, and I think that was a disappointment to him, but it was also a revelation about the kind of support he might expect out there.

And finally, every decision like this, it has a lot to do with your inner fire, and those fires seem to be banked at the moment. He's enjoying his outside life, his private life, and I say more power to him. I hope that he finds in the next few years, he's going to find satisfaction and happiness in life.

And I do not count him out for the year 2008. Others have come back. Richard Nixon came back after sitting out an election, lost to Kennedy in '60, sat out '64, came back to win a real surprise in '68. Things can happen. Al Gore will only be 60 years old in 2008. He could easily run again.

ZAHN: And he certainly didn't rule that out in that "60 Minutes" interview last night.

According to "The Washington Post" this morning, a Republican official was quoted as saying that Gore wants to keep his position in history as the guy who should have been president, and that -- quote -- "To run again and get trounced would diminish that." Is there any truth to that?

GERGEN: That had to be part of the calculations that went on, and there were clearly calculations. I mean, he thinks carefully about this.

And the problem, Paula, was that he might not only -- I think he was a favorite for the nomination, but there were senators who were lined up to try to beat him in one of the early primaries. And there was a possibility -- a possibility, not a likelihood, but a possibility -- that he could have lost the nomination, and that truly would have diminished him.

And this way, he goes out with flags flying, keeps open the possibility of 2008, continues to have a voice in Democratic politics. But if you don't have that fire in the belly, and you don't have a lot of followers out there who are just jumping up and down at the prospect of your running, it's wise to make the choice he did.

ZAHN: You talked about the number of Democrats who would be lined up against him in a primary square-off. What about all of those Democrats that came out in the last several weeks and told him not to run? How much do you think that influenced his decision?

GERGEN: I think it influenced it a lot. It goes back to the question of how he could raise the money.

He's got -- you've got to do two things in the year leading up to the primaries. You've got to raise a lot of -- a bundle of money -- way too much. And you've got to put together a team of advisors who are totally dedicated to you. I think he could have found some advisors, but there were others who were with him two years ago, who were not excited about another prospect, who were beginning to look around at other candidates. So, I think he would have had some trouble recruiting. And it goes to the notion that there were a lot of Democrats saying, Al, you know, we love you, fellow, but this is probably not your time, and maybe you ought to sit one out.

ZAHN: David, I wanted to close with one of the highlights of Al Gore's appearance on "Saturday Night Live" on Saturday night.

GERGEN: OK.

ZAHN: Let's both watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

GORE: Joe, will you be my running mate?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, oh, yes!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe Al didn't pick me. What is wrong with me? If I can't be in the White House as Al Gore's vice president, I don't ever want to be in the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: All right, we didn't see much of Al Gore in that particular sketch of that little, small part we just showed, but what do you think is the lingering image people were left with, with his last stab on late-night comedy?

GERGEN: Well, I think we're probably going to see him on "Saturday Night Live" again. I think they enjoyed it for the most part.

What was interesting about that, Paula, was the putdowns of the other candidates. This was just on the eve of going out himself. It's surprising that he would go along with -- had the humor. And it didn't do much for Senator Lieberman. It didn't do much for John Edwards, in the other parts, it didn't do much for John Kerry.

ZAHN: And we end with that hot tub shot there, David. I don't know whether you could see it on your monitor from Boston, but that was one of the funnier ones of the night.

GERGEN: Yes, he's got a good sense of humor underneath all of that. What he couldn't do, Paula, and I think last night with Lesley Stahl, he still has that public mask that he wears. It's hard to understand who the true Al Gore is, and what he truly believes in. And I think last night we didn't get a full sense of what was in his head, or what was in his heart at this point.

What we know is, he's sitting this one out; he will continue to be a voice. I think he'll continue to have an influence -- a significant influence in American public life.

ZAHN: Very much appreciate your input this morning -- David Gergen...

GERGEN: Thank you.

ZAHN: ... as always, nice to have you on the air with us.

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 December 16, 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: More now on the Gore announcement. Al Gore had been saying he would make his decision after the holidays, but by yesterday, he had made up his mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "60 MINUTES")

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've decided not to run, and I...

LESLEY STAHL, CBS ANCHOR: You've decided not to run.

GORE: I've decided that I will not be a candidate for president in 2004. My family all gathered here in New York City over the last few days, and I found that I've come to closure on this. I don't think it's the right thing for me to do to be a candidate in 2004.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Now, for another perspective on Al Gore's decision, former White House advisor, David Gergen. He is currently editor-at-large for "U.S. News & World Report." And David Gergen joins us now from Boston.

Good to see you again, David -- welcome.

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: This announcement appeared to even have caught Al Gore's chief aide by surprise. He had to be rerouted from Washington to New York in time for that "60 Minutes" appearance. Why the decision three weeks before he said he'd make it?

GERGEN: Well, I think he's taken the temperature, and he's taken his own temperature, and the two things together, it came up as pretty tepid. His support beyond -- it's wide but shallow.

And he's facing the prospect, Paula, that this coming year, if he was going to get into this race, the entry price is said to be around $50 million. You have to raise that kind of money in order to run for president these days. That means you have to raise about $1 million a week over the next year.

I think that prospect was daunting for him. He just had been out with his extensive television series, promoting his new book, the one he wrote with Tipper Gore. It's not selling. After all of that television, ordinarily a book bangs onto the bestseller list. This did not, and I think that was a disappointment to him, but it was also a revelation about the kind of support he might expect out there.

And finally, every decision like this, it has a lot to do with your inner fire, and those fires seem to be banked at the moment. He's enjoying his outside life, his private life, and I say more power to him. I hope that he finds in the next few years, he's going to find satisfaction and happiness in life.

And I do not count him out for the year 2008. Others have come back. Richard Nixon came back after sitting out an election, lost to Kennedy in '60, sat out '64, came back to win a real surprise in '68. Things can happen. Al Gore will only be 60 years old in 2008. He could easily run again.

ZAHN: And he certainly didn't rule that out in that "60 Minutes" interview last night.

According to "The Washington Post" this morning, a Republican official was quoted as saying that Gore wants to keep his position in history as the guy who should have been president, and that -- quote -- "To run again and get trounced would diminish that." Is there any truth to that?

GERGEN: That had to be part of the calculations that went on, and there were clearly calculations. I mean, he thinks carefully about this.

And the problem, Paula, was that he might not only -- I think he was a favorite for the nomination, but there were senators who were lined up to try to beat him in one of the early primaries. And there was a possibility -- a possibility, not a likelihood, but a possibility -- that he could have lost the nomination, and that truly would have diminished him.

And this way, he goes out with flags flying, keeps open the possibility of 2008, continues to have a voice in Democratic politics. But if you don't have that fire in the belly, and you don't have a lot of followers out there who are just jumping up and down at the prospect of your running, it's wise to make the choice he did.

ZAHN: You talked about the number of Democrats who would be lined up against him in a primary square-off. What about all of those Democrats that came out in the last several weeks and told him not to run? How much do you think that influenced his decision?

GERGEN: I think it influenced it a lot. It goes back to the question of how he could raise the money.

He's got -- you've got to do two things in the year leading up to the primaries. You've got to raise a lot of -- a bundle of money -- way too much. And you've got to put together a team of advisors who are totally dedicated to you. I think he could have found some advisors, but there were others who were with him two years ago, who were not excited about another prospect, who were beginning to look around at other candidates. So, I think he would have had some trouble recruiting. And it goes to the notion that there were a lot of Democrats saying, Al, you know, we love you, fellow, but this is probably not your time, and maybe you ought to sit one out.

ZAHN: David, I wanted to close with one of the highlights of Al Gore's appearance on "Saturday Night Live" on Saturday night.

GERGEN: OK.

ZAHN: Let's both watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

GORE: Joe, will you be my running mate?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, oh, yes!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe Al didn't pick me. What is wrong with me? If I can't be in the White House as Al Gore's vice president, I don't ever want to be in the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: All right, we didn't see much of Al Gore in that particular sketch of that little, small part we just showed, but what do you think is the lingering image people were left with, with his last stab on late-night comedy?

GERGEN: Well, I think we're probably going to see him on "Saturday Night Live" again. I think they enjoyed it for the most part.

What was interesting about that, Paula, was the putdowns of the other candidates. This was just on the eve of going out himself. It's surprising that he would go along with -- had the humor. And it didn't do much for Senator Lieberman. It didn't do much for John Edwards, in the other parts, it didn't do much for John Kerry.

ZAHN: And we end with that hot tub shot there, David. I don't know whether you could see it on your monitor from Boston, but that was one of the funnier ones of the night.

GERGEN: Yes, he's got a good sense of humor underneath all of that. What he couldn't do, Paula, and I think last night with Lesley Stahl, he still has that public mask that he wears. It's hard to understand who the true Al Gore is, and what he truly believes in. And I think last night we didn't get a full sense of what was in his head, or what was in his heart at this point.

What we know is, he's sitting this one out; he will continue to be a voice. I think he'll continue to have an influence -- a significant influence in American public life.

ZAHN: Very much appreciate your input this morning -- David Gergen...

GERGEN: Thank you.

ZAHN: ... as always, nice to have you on the air with us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.