Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Interview With Sen. Tom Daschle
Aired January 08, 2003 - 07:33 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: Back home now, Tom Daschle will be waging his battles with the president from Capitol Hill, not the campaign trail. The Senate minority leader surprised many people, including his own staff, when he announced yesterday that he won't run for president. Instead, the South Dakota Democrat plans to defend his Senate seat in 2004.
And Tom Daschle joins us this morning from Capitol Hill.
Good morning, sir.
Thanks so much for being with us.
SEN. THOMAS DASCHLE (D-SD), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Good morning, Paula.
Glad to be here.
ZAHN: So how close did you get to running?
DASCHLE: Well, it was pretty close, actually. I had to make a decision before the session started yesterday in my own mind. And the more I thought about it, the more I felt my passion is still here. I love what I'm doing. I'm honored to be the leader of the Democratic Caucus and I wanted to continue.
ZAHN: But our own Jon Karl says as late as 7:00 on Monday night, you were interviewing candidates to work for a possible presidential campaign.
DASCHLE: Well, we felt that if I were to make the decision that we really had to be up and running very quickly. Already we had waited longer than most of the candidates. And so it was our hope that we could jump start just as quickly as the decision was made definitively. So that was the reason we began working on an organization to be ready in case that decision was made.
ZAHN: And of all your Senate colleagues and House colleagues who've expressed an interest in running for president on the Democratic side, who do you think has the best chance of beating President Bush?
DASCHLE: Now, that's a good question. I think it's too early to tell, Paula. I think that there are some excellent candidates out there. They are, as you said, friends of mine that have been out there for some time making their case and we'll have to see just how it all unfolds. But I have every expectation it will be a competitive presidential year.
ZAHN: Let me ask you this, what kind of a management challenge does this represent to you when you will have so many of your Senate colleagues, in particular, jockeying for position on the campaign trail?
DASCHLE: Well, that's also something that you think a lot about as leader. But I think it's actually an asset to have them out there. They have an opportunity to get on your show and other shows to espouse the Democratic message in a way that you can't when you're not a candidate. So in many respects they'll be amplifying what it is that many of us are trying to say, as well.
I think that's a real advantage and hopefully it'll be somewhat of a unified message. There will be some differences, but by and large Democrats generally, I think, will be, have, will have an opportunity to articulate the same message, and that's good for us.
ZAHN: Well, that certainly didn't happen going into the midterm elections, did it?
DASCHLE: Well, I think that on the major issues it did. Obviously there are differences with regard to some of the tax questions, the economic issues. But there was so much for which there was agreement, as well. There will always be differences on either side. Both parties have that occasion. But I think by and large we are a unified caucus and we look forward to the debates ahead.
ZAHN: Well, let's talk about the debate over the president's economic stimulus plan. Your party announcing its plan in advance of the president's. When Congress is done debating the competing plans, can you tell the average American taxpayer this morning what it is they might end up with in the compromise process?
DASCHLE: Well, I think it's probably too early to tell, as much as I would like to be able to tell them exactly what they should expect. What I hope they can expect is that we will not exacerbate the debt. We will try to keep a limited scope in the stimulus package. I hope that we can benefit them directly in meaningful tax relief that is immediate, rather than long-term and largely directed to those at the very top.
If we can provide the average working class family, the person watching CNN this morning, with that opportunity, then I think we'll have succeeded.
ZAHN: I want to move back to foreign affairs for a moment and share with you the results of the latest CNN/"USA Today" poll about the president's popularity with the American public and his party. And basically it says that the majority of the Americans polled think Republicans will do a better job than Democrats on the issue of terrorism, Iraq and world affairs.
Now, as so many Democrats mount presidential campaigns, how is it that they should plan to take the president on at this time of his enormous popularity? DASCHLE: Well, polls are only a snapshot of the current moment and I think polls change, as you've noticed, many, many times. So what we have to do is to continue to espouse our positions, to articulate them as clearly as we can and to offer alternatives where we think they are necessary. We'll agree with the president when we think he's right. We'll disagree when we think he's wrong.
He's wrong on economic stimulus and we'll offer alternatives. I think in large part he's right in many of his foreign policy aspects, especially with regard to North Korea. I was very pleased with the decision...
ZAHN: Are you happy with that announcement? Yes?
DASCHLE: I was. It represents yet another change in their position. They've shifted on a number of occasions. But in this case it was the right change and I think it's important that we enter into direct dialogue and I think you'll find most Democrats very strongly in support of that effort.
ZAHN: I know you say you're not going to run in 2004. How about 2008?
DASCHLE: Well, that's a possibility. We'll take a look at it down the road. It's a long ways out. But I won't close the door on that one.
ZAHN: All right, Senator Tom Daschle, it's always good to see you.
Thanks so much for joining us right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
DASCHLE: Thank you.
My pleasure, Paula.
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 January 8, 2003 - 07:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Back home now, Tom Daschle will be waging his battles with the president from Capitol Hill, not the campaign trail. The Senate minority leader surprised many people, including his own staff, when he announced yesterday that he won't run for president. Instead, the South Dakota Democrat plans to defend his Senate seat in 2004.
And Tom Daschle joins us this morning from Capitol Hill.
Good morning, sir.
Thanks so much for being with us.
SEN. THOMAS DASCHLE (D-SD), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Good morning, Paula.
Glad to be here.
ZAHN: So how close did you get to running?
DASCHLE: Well, it was pretty close, actually. I had to make a decision before the session started yesterday in my own mind. And the more I thought about it, the more I felt my passion is still here. I love what I'm doing. I'm honored to be the leader of the Democratic Caucus and I wanted to continue.
ZAHN: But our own Jon Karl says as late as 7:00 on Monday night, you were interviewing candidates to work for a possible presidential campaign.
DASCHLE: Well, we felt that if I were to make the decision that we really had to be up and running very quickly. Already we had waited longer than most of the candidates. And so it was our hope that we could jump start just as quickly as the decision was made definitively. So that was the reason we began working on an organization to be ready in case that decision was made.
ZAHN: And of all your Senate colleagues and House colleagues who've expressed an interest in running for president on the Democratic side, who do you think has the best chance of beating President Bush?
DASCHLE: Now, that's a good question. I think it's too early to tell, Paula. I think that there are some excellent candidates out there. They are, as you said, friends of mine that have been out there for some time making their case and we'll have to see just how it all unfolds. But I have every expectation it will be a competitive presidential year.
ZAHN: Let me ask you this, what kind of a management challenge does this represent to you when you will have so many of your Senate colleagues, in particular, jockeying for position on the campaign trail?
DASCHLE: Well, that's also something that you think a lot about as leader. But I think it's actually an asset to have them out there. They have an opportunity to get on your show and other shows to espouse the Democratic message in a way that you can't when you're not a candidate. So in many respects they'll be amplifying what it is that many of us are trying to say, as well.
I think that's a real advantage and hopefully it'll be somewhat of a unified message. There will be some differences, but by and large Democrats generally, I think, will be, have, will have an opportunity to articulate the same message, and that's good for us.
ZAHN: Well, that certainly didn't happen going into the midterm elections, did it?
DASCHLE: Well, I think that on the major issues it did. Obviously there are differences with regard to some of the tax questions, the economic issues. But there was so much for which there was agreement, as well. There will always be differences on either side. Both parties have that occasion. But I think by and large we are a unified caucus and we look forward to the debates ahead.
ZAHN: Well, let's talk about the debate over the president's economic stimulus plan. Your party announcing its plan in advance of the president's. When Congress is done debating the competing plans, can you tell the average American taxpayer this morning what it is they might end up with in the compromise process?
DASCHLE: Well, I think it's probably too early to tell, as much as I would like to be able to tell them exactly what they should expect. What I hope they can expect is that we will not exacerbate the debt. We will try to keep a limited scope in the stimulus package. I hope that we can benefit them directly in meaningful tax relief that is immediate, rather than long-term and largely directed to those at the very top.
If we can provide the average working class family, the person watching CNN this morning, with that opportunity, then I think we'll have succeeded.
ZAHN: I want to move back to foreign affairs for a moment and share with you the results of the latest CNN/"USA Today" poll about the president's popularity with the American public and his party. And basically it says that the majority of the Americans polled think Republicans will do a better job than Democrats on the issue of terrorism, Iraq and world affairs.
Now, as so many Democrats mount presidential campaigns, how is it that they should plan to take the president on at this time of his enormous popularity? DASCHLE: Well, polls are only a snapshot of the current moment and I think polls change, as you've noticed, many, many times. So what we have to do is to continue to espouse our positions, to articulate them as clearly as we can and to offer alternatives where we think they are necessary. We'll agree with the president when we think he's right. We'll disagree when we think he's wrong.
He's wrong on economic stimulus and we'll offer alternatives. I think in large part he's right in many of his foreign policy aspects, especially with regard to North Korea. I was very pleased with the decision...
ZAHN: Are you happy with that announcement? Yes?
DASCHLE: I was. It represents yet another change in their position. They've shifted on a number of occasions. But in this case it was the right change and I think it's important that we enter into direct dialogue and I think you'll find most Democrats very strongly in support of that effort.
ZAHN: I know you say you're not going to run in 2004. How about 2008?
DASCHLE: Well, that's a possibility. We'll take a look at it down the road. It's a long ways out. But I won't close the door on that one.
ZAHN: All right, Senator Tom Daschle, it's always good to see you.
Thanks so much for joining us right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
DASCHLE: Thank you.
My pleasure, Paula.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
