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American Morning
Democrats Take Aim
Aired May 05, 2003 - 08:19 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, the gloves are off. The Democrats who would be president took aim at George Bush and one another in South Carolina nearly nine months before the state's primary. When the nine announced candidates met Saturday night, it marked the earliest formal televised debate in presidential election history.
Here's a look. Oh, here, actually, I'm sorry, we are going to -- we're already looking at it and we have senior analyst Jeff Greenfield with us at this time.
Now, this is obviously incredibly early. Is there any way we can look at this and see who might be a front runner here?
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. And if that's how anybody's looking for this, you know, the who won, who lost, I think it is ridiculously early. And nine candidates do make for an unruly format, though I think Stephanopoulos handled it well.
But I think we did learn some intriguing stuff about the premises these candidates are taking into the campaigns.
First, in strategic terms, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean clearly see each other as primary targets. You should pardon the pun. Both claim regional ties to New Hampshire. The longer shot, Dean, wants the often contrarian New Hampshire voters to give him the victory that would effectively end Kerry's presidential chances. So their dust up over national security and campaign tactics did get a little bit personal.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: I don't need any lectures in courage from Howard Dean.
HOWARD DEAN, FORMER VERMONT GOVERNOR: If Senator Kerry had some concerns about my fitness to serve, then he speak to me directly about that rather than through his spokesmen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: OK, now, second, Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut -- I thought this was really intriguing -- is clearly signaling his intention to run a centrist campaign. And that's a risky strategy because the more ideological of the party voters in both parties tend to show up in the primaries. So listen to Lieberman not just on national security, but a couple of other issues.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: We're not going to solve all of our problems with George Bush's big, irresponsible tax cut.
The American citizens have a right to own firearms.
How can we win this election if we send a message of weakness on defense and security after September 11?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: He also came out against registration and licensing of handguns, by the way.
Now, third, North Carolina Senator John Edwards clearly out to claim the populist vote. He repeatedly used the term "corporate culture" as a way to criticize the president's overall economic plan, talked about his humble family roots.
And listen to how he went after the health care plan of Congressman Dick Gephardt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), NORTH CAROLINA: Working people have been severely disadvantaged as a result of the greed and the corporate culture that exists. To me, to me this is what it feels like. It feels like saying you're in good hands with Enron.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Now, as for Congressman Gephardt, the fact that all of his major opponents went after his health care plan, I think, tells us something interesting. I think they worry about whether Gephardt is about to seize the high ground on a bedrock Democratic issue. Gephardt's 13 years in the House leadership, his ties to organized labor, are formidable assets and those are things he explicitly pointed to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MS), MINORITY LEADER: Let me say that if you're looking for the fresh face and the new face, I'm probably not your candidate. If you're looking for somebody that has real experience over 27 years in the House, 13 years as Democratic leader on every domestic and foreign issue this country's faced, then I may be your candidate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Now, we didn't hear all that much from Florida Senator Bob Graham. Interesting, two term former governor of the most competitive big state in the country.
COLLINS: Right.
GREENFIELD: Three term senator. Will those credentials mean anything in presidential campaigns?
COLLINS: He hasn't even formally entered, though.
GREENFIELD: No, he hasn't. And they didn't help Richard Lugar in 1996. They didn't help Orrin Hatch in 2000. But Graham may be a very interesting wild card.
And, of course, there's Al Sharpton. South Carolina, more than 40 percent of the primary voters there African-American, and a run by Al Sharpton would give the Democratic Party officials fits.
COLLINS: Fits, indeed.
All right, well, they certainly have a long time to figure it all out, don't they?
GREENFIELD: Yes, it is very early.
COLLINS: All right, senior analyst Jeff Greenfield, thanks so much.
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 May 5, 2003 - 08:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, the gloves are off. The Democrats who would be president took aim at George Bush and one another in South Carolina nearly nine months before the state's primary. When the nine announced candidates met Saturday night, it marked the earliest formal televised debate in presidential election history.
Here's a look. Oh, here, actually, I'm sorry, we are going to -- we're already looking at it and we have senior analyst Jeff Greenfield with us at this time.
Now, this is obviously incredibly early. Is there any way we can look at this and see who might be a front runner here?
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. And if that's how anybody's looking for this, you know, the who won, who lost, I think it is ridiculously early. And nine candidates do make for an unruly format, though I think Stephanopoulos handled it well.
But I think we did learn some intriguing stuff about the premises these candidates are taking into the campaigns.
First, in strategic terms, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean clearly see each other as primary targets. You should pardon the pun. Both claim regional ties to New Hampshire. The longer shot, Dean, wants the often contrarian New Hampshire voters to give him the victory that would effectively end Kerry's presidential chances. So their dust up over national security and campaign tactics did get a little bit personal.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: I don't need any lectures in courage from Howard Dean.
HOWARD DEAN, FORMER VERMONT GOVERNOR: If Senator Kerry had some concerns about my fitness to serve, then he speak to me directly about that rather than through his spokesmen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: OK, now, second, Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut -- I thought this was really intriguing -- is clearly signaling his intention to run a centrist campaign. And that's a risky strategy because the more ideological of the party voters in both parties tend to show up in the primaries. So listen to Lieberman not just on national security, but a couple of other issues.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: We're not going to solve all of our problems with George Bush's big, irresponsible tax cut.
The American citizens have a right to own firearms.
How can we win this election if we send a message of weakness on defense and security after September 11?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: He also came out against registration and licensing of handguns, by the way.
Now, third, North Carolina Senator John Edwards clearly out to claim the populist vote. He repeatedly used the term "corporate culture" as a way to criticize the president's overall economic plan, talked about his humble family roots.
And listen to how he went after the health care plan of Congressman Dick Gephardt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), NORTH CAROLINA: Working people have been severely disadvantaged as a result of the greed and the corporate culture that exists. To me, to me this is what it feels like. It feels like saying you're in good hands with Enron.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Now, as for Congressman Gephardt, the fact that all of his major opponents went after his health care plan, I think, tells us something interesting. I think they worry about whether Gephardt is about to seize the high ground on a bedrock Democratic issue. Gephardt's 13 years in the House leadership, his ties to organized labor, are formidable assets and those are things he explicitly pointed to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D-MS), MINORITY LEADER: Let me say that if you're looking for the fresh face and the new face, I'm probably not your candidate. If you're looking for somebody that has real experience over 27 years in the House, 13 years as Democratic leader on every domestic and foreign issue this country's faced, then I may be your candidate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Now, we didn't hear all that much from Florida Senator Bob Graham. Interesting, two term former governor of the most competitive big state in the country.
COLLINS: Right.
GREENFIELD: Three term senator. Will those credentials mean anything in presidential campaigns?
COLLINS: He hasn't even formally entered, though.
GREENFIELD: No, he hasn't. And they didn't help Richard Lugar in 1996. They didn't help Orrin Hatch in 2000. But Graham may be a very interesting wild card.
And, of course, there's Al Sharpton. South Carolina, more than 40 percent of the primary voters there African-American, and a run by Al Sharpton would give the Democratic Party officials fits.
COLLINS: Fits, indeed.
All right, well, they certainly have a long time to figure it all out, don't they?
GREENFIELD: Yes, it is very early.
COLLINS: All right, senior analyst Jeff Greenfield, thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
