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American Morning
Iraq was Central Theme of State of the Union
Aired January 29, 2003 - 08:05 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: The State of the Union wasn't all about war, but Iraq certainly was a central theme.
With more on the president's address and the Democratic response, let's turn to Suzanne Malveaux, who's standing by at the White House this morning -- is the White House viewing it as a home run last night?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they certainly believe that the president made a number of very good points and they certainly are hoping that it convinced the American people, both in his domestic as well as international agenda, that the administration is moving in the direction that it should be.
The president is taking his agenda on the road today to the American people when he travels to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Some of the highlights of the domestic priorities include a $674 billion economic stimulus package, including tax cuts and small business incentives, Medicare reform with drug benefits for the elderly, new spending for global AIDS prevention, as well as funds for drug treatment and the disadvantaged.
But, of course, the highlight of the speech, as you know, Paula, making the case against Saddam Hussein, the strongest case yet, saying that there was a sense of urgency and that the administration would be willing to do it without the approval of the U.N. Security Council to hold Saddam Hussein to account. The president also linking the Iraqi leader to terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda, and promising that there would be more evidence on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving. From intelligence sources we know, for instance, that thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors, sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Paula, in the days to come, you're going to see quite an active campaign from the president. We have been told that Secretary of State Colin Powell will go before the United Nations Security Council on February 5th, that is, to introduce what he says is new intelligence, making the case against Saddam Hussein. The president also will be meeting with the prime ministers of Italy as well as Britain in the days to come.
On the economic front, as you know, the Democrats came out. They called it upside down economics, saying that his plan would only benefit the wealthiest Americans, certainly wouldn't do anything in the short-term. The president is hoping to push forward his big tax cut plan before Congress. They do not believe they're going to get the kind of numbers that they would like, but they certainly hope that some of that package, at least, gets pushed forward, at least through the Congress, some time in the near future -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks, Suzanne. Suzanne Malveaux reporting from the White House this morning -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Paula, we have tracked quite closely the reactions in Germany and France to the current buildup toward the possibility of war.
We want to check in now in Paris with Jim Bittermann and see how that speech from last night is being received today by the French and others -- Jim, hello.
Good afternoon.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bill.
There was immediate reaction from the French foreign minister here in France. He said that, he welcomed the idea that the United States is going to share some of that intelligence information. He said, after all, that's what we've been asking for now for weeks.
In the press here, this morning, "Le Monde," the leading newspaper in France, had a pretty straight report on the president's speech, but the editorial cartoon is interesting because it has kind of a cynical question mark about that information. It says, the journalist is asking President Bush and Powell and Rumsfeld about the date of February 5th and why that date. And it just says, "Because." So a little skepticism there about the intelligence information, even before it's made public.
Over in Great Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair, however, was much more supportive of President Bush this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If Saddam Hussein is allowed to carry on developing weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological, potentially nuclear weapons, he is not just a threat to his own region, he is a threat to the world. This country's security interests are intimately concerned with this. But I really see no point in trying to pose differences, for example, between ourselves and the United States when the purpose of what we are doing at the moment is to unite the international community around the United Nations position set out in Resolution 1441 and make sure that that resolution is then implemented.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BITTERMAN: And, Bill, just one final note here. One of the top terrorist judges in France, Jean Louis Bruguihre, who's been instrumental at rounding up members of al Qaeda, said this morning that if the United States goes into Iraq unilaterally, it could actually help al Qaeda recruit new members and actually be harmful to the security of both Europe and the United States -- Bill.
HEMMER: Jim, thank you.
Jim Bittermann in Paris, a reminder, as we have said repeatedly, France has a veto, permanent veto as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, a critical voice as far as the argument goes at the U.N. And, again, as we have mentioned many times, the U.N. Security Council starts to look at in private that draft that was delivered on Monday this past week -- Paula, more in a moment.
Back to you now.
ZAHN: Thanks, Bill.
And we're going to talk right now a little bit more with two men who know what it takes to prepare a State of the Union address. Former Bush speechwriter David Frum is credited with the phrase axis of evil, the memorable flourish from last year's speech, and Michael Waldman, a former Clinton speechwriter, who wrote last night's Democratic response.
They both join us now to critique last night's speech.
Welcome, gentlemen.
I'm going to start with you first, Michael, this morning.
And from a speechwriter's point of view, what worked about the president's speech last night?
MICHAEL WALDMAN, CLINTON SPEECHWRITER: Well, I thought the discussion of Iraq and foreign policy was relentlessly low key, almost non-rhetorical, and that was appropriate. I thought before the speech that he needed to lay out, like he did at the United Nations earlier in September, the factual case, and I thought he went part of the way there, though really in a sense he's also kicked the can down the road to the U.N. Security Council and what may have to be another very big and dramatic speech a few weeks or months from now.
ZAHN: David, what would you have done differently last night if you had written the speech?
DAVID FRUM, FORMER BUSH SPEECHWRITER: I liked the speech a lot. I thought it was a classic Bush speech, wrapped up a little bit inside a traditional State of the Union speech. There were seven priorities last night in classic Bush speech, if you count terrorism as a priority. A classic Bush speech would have three.
He had some hard domestic priorities, the tax plan and Medicare reform, which he spoke very powerfully about. I think I would have been tempted to cut some of the things that were presented, were just ticked off as things that somebody cares about, but we're not really going to push for, the hydroelectric cars, for example.
ZAHN: And let's talk about Michael's analysis that perhaps the president just sort of kicked the can when it came to what might happen down the road with Iraq. We're going to quickly replay what the president had to say perhaps when he was the most passionate last night on the threat that Iraq poses to the U.S.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans, this time armed by Saddam Hussein. Take one vial, one canister, one crate, slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy and it is not an option.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Now, Michael, when you look at some of the overnight polls, in particular the Gallup poll, it would show there's been a huge shift in public opinion from last week, when basically those that responded said the economy was their chief concern. Last night by a two to one margin, those who watched the speech said Iraq was their chief concern.
Does that mean the speech worked?
WALDMAN: Well, that's not really a surprise. It was effective and also the president can help set an agenda with a speech like this. I also think, in fact, that a lot of Americans really didn't believe we were going to war or close to it until about a week ago.
But I actually disagree a little bit with what David Frum said about the domestic side. I was struck by, in my mind, how much President Bush seemed to be phoning it in. His discussion, for example, of his economic plan was perfunctory. He devoted much more time to talking about faith-based programs for addiction, which may be a good thing, then he did to the centerpiece of his tax plan.
I think, to me, the speech signaled that he understood that his domestic program, as well as a lot else, rode on what happened with Iraq.
ZAHN: Michael -- excuse me, David?
FRUM: Some truth to that. I mean it is true that the two actually mutually support each other, just as the success of his domestic program rests on the success of Iraq, as Michael said, so his ability to pursue a foreign policy depends on convincing the American people that he is, indeed, paying attention at home.
That's why he led with the domestic portion, not because this program was so radical or dramatic, but because it reminded people, look, I am not forgetting you. I am not forgetting you, but I have work to do outside the borders of this country that is essential to your security, as well.
So he needed both.
ZAHN: Some final quick thoughts on the resonance you think this speech will have, Michael?
WALDMAN: I think that there won't be remembered for a vivid line or for anything as dramatic as axis of evil or something like that. It's not a speech, this one, to be carved on the wall of a library. It'll be remembered as the precursor to some great action and cause and that's how we'll remember it, for good or bad.
ZAHN: And, David?
FRUM: I completely agree with that. I think the power of words ultimately comes from the actions attached to them. If Winston Churchill said we will negotiate on the beaches, no matter how memorable the phrase was, we wouldn't want to remember it.
ZAHN: Point well taken.
David Frum, Michael Waldman, thank you both for joining us this morning.
FRUM: Thank you.
WALDMAN: Thank you.
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 29, 2003 - 08:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The State of the Union wasn't all about war, but Iraq certainly was a central theme.
With more on the president's address and the Democratic response, let's turn to Suzanne Malveaux, who's standing by at the White House this morning -- is the White House viewing it as a home run last night?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they certainly believe that the president made a number of very good points and they certainly are hoping that it convinced the American people, both in his domestic as well as international agenda, that the administration is moving in the direction that it should be.
The president is taking his agenda on the road today to the American people when he travels to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Some of the highlights of the domestic priorities include a $674 billion economic stimulus package, including tax cuts and small business incentives, Medicare reform with drug benefits for the elderly, new spending for global AIDS prevention, as well as funds for drug treatment and the disadvantaged.
But, of course, the highlight of the speech, as you know, Paula, making the case against Saddam Hussein, the strongest case yet, saying that there was a sense of urgency and that the administration would be willing to do it without the approval of the U.N. Security Council to hold Saddam Hussein to account. The president also linking the Iraqi leader to terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda, and promising that there would be more evidence on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving. From intelligence sources we know, for instance, that thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors, sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Paula, in the days to come, you're going to see quite an active campaign from the president. We have been told that Secretary of State Colin Powell will go before the United Nations Security Council on February 5th, that is, to introduce what he says is new intelligence, making the case against Saddam Hussein. The president also will be meeting with the prime ministers of Italy as well as Britain in the days to come.
On the economic front, as you know, the Democrats came out. They called it upside down economics, saying that his plan would only benefit the wealthiest Americans, certainly wouldn't do anything in the short-term. The president is hoping to push forward his big tax cut plan before Congress. They do not believe they're going to get the kind of numbers that they would like, but they certainly hope that some of that package, at least, gets pushed forward, at least through the Congress, some time in the near future -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks, Suzanne. Suzanne Malveaux reporting from the White House this morning -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Paula, we have tracked quite closely the reactions in Germany and France to the current buildup toward the possibility of war.
We want to check in now in Paris with Jim Bittermann and see how that speech from last night is being received today by the French and others -- Jim, hello.
Good afternoon.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bill.
There was immediate reaction from the French foreign minister here in France. He said that, he welcomed the idea that the United States is going to share some of that intelligence information. He said, after all, that's what we've been asking for now for weeks.
In the press here, this morning, "Le Monde," the leading newspaper in France, had a pretty straight report on the president's speech, but the editorial cartoon is interesting because it has kind of a cynical question mark about that information. It says, the journalist is asking President Bush and Powell and Rumsfeld about the date of February 5th and why that date. And it just says, "Because." So a little skepticism there about the intelligence information, even before it's made public.
Over in Great Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair, however, was much more supportive of President Bush this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If Saddam Hussein is allowed to carry on developing weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological, potentially nuclear weapons, he is not just a threat to his own region, he is a threat to the world. This country's security interests are intimately concerned with this. But I really see no point in trying to pose differences, for example, between ourselves and the United States when the purpose of what we are doing at the moment is to unite the international community around the United Nations position set out in Resolution 1441 and make sure that that resolution is then implemented.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BITTERMAN: And, Bill, just one final note here. One of the top terrorist judges in France, Jean Louis Bruguihre, who's been instrumental at rounding up members of al Qaeda, said this morning that if the United States goes into Iraq unilaterally, it could actually help al Qaeda recruit new members and actually be harmful to the security of both Europe and the United States -- Bill.
HEMMER: Jim, thank you.
Jim Bittermann in Paris, a reminder, as we have said repeatedly, France has a veto, permanent veto as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, a critical voice as far as the argument goes at the U.N. And, again, as we have mentioned many times, the U.N. Security Council starts to look at in private that draft that was delivered on Monday this past week -- Paula, more in a moment.
Back to you now.
ZAHN: Thanks, Bill.
And we're going to talk right now a little bit more with two men who know what it takes to prepare a State of the Union address. Former Bush speechwriter David Frum is credited with the phrase axis of evil, the memorable flourish from last year's speech, and Michael Waldman, a former Clinton speechwriter, who wrote last night's Democratic response.
They both join us now to critique last night's speech.
Welcome, gentlemen.
I'm going to start with you first, Michael, this morning.
And from a speechwriter's point of view, what worked about the president's speech last night?
MICHAEL WALDMAN, CLINTON SPEECHWRITER: Well, I thought the discussion of Iraq and foreign policy was relentlessly low key, almost non-rhetorical, and that was appropriate. I thought before the speech that he needed to lay out, like he did at the United Nations earlier in September, the factual case, and I thought he went part of the way there, though really in a sense he's also kicked the can down the road to the U.N. Security Council and what may have to be another very big and dramatic speech a few weeks or months from now.
ZAHN: David, what would you have done differently last night if you had written the speech?
DAVID FRUM, FORMER BUSH SPEECHWRITER: I liked the speech a lot. I thought it was a classic Bush speech, wrapped up a little bit inside a traditional State of the Union speech. There were seven priorities last night in classic Bush speech, if you count terrorism as a priority. A classic Bush speech would have three.
He had some hard domestic priorities, the tax plan and Medicare reform, which he spoke very powerfully about. I think I would have been tempted to cut some of the things that were presented, were just ticked off as things that somebody cares about, but we're not really going to push for, the hydroelectric cars, for example.
ZAHN: And let's talk about Michael's analysis that perhaps the president just sort of kicked the can when it came to what might happen down the road with Iraq. We're going to quickly replay what the president had to say perhaps when he was the most passionate last night on the threat that Iraq poses to the U.S.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans, this time armed by Saddam Hussein. Take one vial, one canister, one crate, slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy and it is not an option.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Now, Michael, when you look at some of the overnight polls, in particular the Gallup poll, it would show there's been a huge shift in public opinion from last week, when basically those that responded said the economy was their chief concern. Last night by a two to one margin, those who watched the speech said Iraq was their chief concern.
Does that mean the speech worked?
WALDMAN: Well, that's not really a surprise. It was effective and also the president can help set an agenda with a speech like this. I also think, in fact, that a lot of Americans really didn't believe we were going to war or close to it until about a week ago.
But I actually disagree a little bit with what David Frum said about the domestic side. I was struck by, in my mind, how much President Bush seemed to be phoning it in. His discussion, for example, of his economic plan was perfunctory. He devoted much more time to talking about faith-based programs for addiction, which may be a good thing, then he did to the centerpiece of his tax plan.
I think, to me, the speech signaled that he understood that his domestic program, as well as a lot else, rode on what happened with Iraq.
ZAHN: Michael -- excuse me, David?
FRUM: Some truth to that. I mean it is true that the two actually mutually support each other, just as the success of his domestic program rests on the success of Iraq, as Michael said, so his ability to pursue a foreign policy depends on convincing the American people that he is, indeed, paying attention at home.
That's why he led with the domestic portion, not because this program was so radical or dramatic, but because it reminded people, look, I am not forgetting you. I am not forgetting you, but I have work to do outside the borders of this country that is essential to your security, as well.
So he needed both.
ZAHN: Some final quick thoughts on the resonance you think this speech will have, Michael?
WALDMAN: I think that there won't be remembered for a vivid line or for anything as dramatic as axis of evil or something like that. It's not a speech, this one, to be carved on the wall of a library. It'll be remembered as the precursor to some great action and cause and that's how we'll remember it, for good or bad.
ZAHN: And, David?
FRUM: I completely agree with that. I think the power of words ultimately comes from the actions attached to them. If Winston Churchill said we will negotiate on the beaches, no matter how memorable the phrase was, we wouldn't want to remember it.
ZAHN: Point well taken.
David Frum, Michael Waldman, thank you both for joining us this morning.
FRUM: Thank you.
WALDMAN: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
