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American Morning
Battle for California
Aired August 26, 2003 - 09:41 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: California's governor election, 42 days away. There are signs the two top candidates are taking off the gloves as of yesterday. From Sacramento, back with us to sort out the latest campaign developments, "Sacramento Bee" columnist Daniel Weintraub is our guest yet again.
Good to see you, Daniel. Good morning here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Rudy Giuliani wanted to back Bill Simon. Bill Simon says no, as of this past weekend. Do Californians listen to a Northeasterners when it comes to this governor's race? Will Rudy have an impact for Schwarzenegger?
DANIEL WEINTRAUB, "THE SACRAMENTO BEE": Well, he's certainly not going to be decisive. But Schwarzenegger, coming from the acting world with no experience in government and politics, can use all the help he can get in burnishing credentials, and Giuliani certainly has a lot of credibility with voters everywhere, including California, on what government's all about. So, yes, I think in the background, in the atmospherics, it's a plus for Arnold, but it won't be decisive.
HEMMER: And what's your read on Mike Murphy, helping on McCain's campaign back in the year 2000? What's the impact there?
WEINTRAUB: A couple of things there. I think with McCain, Murphy showed that he knows how to run sort of an insurgency campaign, a campaign that has the ability to attract votes, or at least support from both sides of the aisle, from Democrats and independents, as well as Republicans. He never made it to a general election. But in this case, they're already in a general election. Murphy helped three Republican candidates for governor in Midwest and Northeast states win in Democratic-leaning states in the 1990s. So he might be able to help Arnold shape his message a little bit better for reaching out to Democrats.
HEMMER: Meanwhile, President Clinton is going to will stump for Gray Davis. You guys are going to be at the center of the political universe. You know that right now, 42 days answer counting?
WEINTRAUB: Yes, well, Clinton has been very popular in California, especially among Democrats, of course, and he's known as a fighter and kind of a comeback kid. So if he hits the stump with Governor Davis, I wouldn't be surprised to see that push his numbers up a little bit, and before long, people might be talking about whether the recall itself is going to pass or fail before we even get to the replacement election. HEMMER: Daniel, you're with Soledad yesterday talking about these poll numbers. Some interesting finds here, too. About 50 percent say they support it, which is right on their borderline. When asked whether or not they would change their mind possibly, 46 percent still say they may still change their mind. You don't think this polling is necessarily accurate, though. Why is that?
WEINTRAUB: Just because of the unique nature of this campaign. We've never been in a campaign, no one's ever been in a campaign like this, where you have the two questions. First, up or down on Gray Davis. Second, if he's thrown out, who should replace him? The other factor is that the two major candidates are concentrating a lot on bringing new voters into this election. Arnold is reaching out to occasional voters, the moviegoers, the fans of his who are turned off by the political process might jump in now. Cruz Bustamante, the lieutenant governor, is trying to get Hispanic voters who haven't voted in the past to sign up and vote for him. So I don't think pollsters have any idea how many of those people are going to make it to the polls and how they're going to vote.
HEMMER: You talked about this secret weapon for Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday, and also watch the final 10 days of this campaign, the homestretch. Gray Davis says only then will he announce who he will back if, indeed, he is recalled in this race. Thanks, Daniel. We'll talk again a bit later in the week.
WEINTRAUB: 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 August 26, 2003 - 09:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: California's governor election, 42 days away. There are signs the two top candidates are taking off the gloves as of yesterday. From Sacramento, back with us to sort out the latest campaign developments, "Sacramento Bee" columnist Daniel Weintraub is our guest yet again.
Good to see you, Daniel. Good morning here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Rudy Giuliani wanted to back Bill Simon. Bill Simon says no, as of this past weekend. Do Californians listen to a Northeasterners when it comes to this governor's race? Will Rudy have an impact for Schwarzenegger?
DANIEL WEINTRAUB, "THE SACRAMENTO BEE": Well, he's certainly not going to be decisive. But Schwarzenegger, coming from the acting world with no experience in government and politics, can use all the help he can get in burnishing credentials, and Giuliani certainly has a lot of credibility with voters everywhere, including California, on what government's all about. So, yes, I think in the background, in the atmospherics, it's a plus for Arnold, but it won't be decisive.
HEMMER: And what's your read on Mike Murphy, helping on McCain's campaign back in the year 2000? What's the impact there?
WEINTRAUB: A couple of things there. I think with McCain, Murphy showed that he knows how to run sort of an insurgency campaign, a campaign that has the ability to attract votes, or at least support from both sides of the aisle, from Democrats and independents, as well as Republicans. He never made it to a general election. But in this case, they're already in a general election. Murphy helped three Republican candidates for governor in Midwest and Northeast states win in Democratic-leaning states in the 1990s. So he might be able to help Arnold shape his message a little bit better for reaching out to Democrats.
HEMMER: Meanwhile, President Clinton is going to will stump for Gray Davis. You guys are going to be at the center of the political universe. You know that right now, 42 days answer counting?
WEINTRAUB: Yes, well, Clinton has been very popular in California, especially among Democrats, of course, and he's known as a fighter and kind of a comeback kid. So if he hits the stump with Governor Davis, I wouldn't be surprised to see that push his numbers up a little bit, and before long, people might be talking about whether the recall itself is going to pass or fail before we even get to the replacement election. HEMMER: Daniel, you're with Soledad yesterday talking about these poll numbers. Some interesting finds here, too. About 50 percent say they support it, which is right on their borderline. When asked whether or not they would change their mind possibly, 46 percent still say they may still change their mind. You don't think this polling is necessarily accurate, though. Why is that?
WEINTRAUB: Just because of the unique nature of this campaign. We've never been in a campaign, no one's ever been in a campaign like this, where you have the two questions. First, up or down on Gray Davis. Second, if he's thrown out, who should replace him? The other factor is that the two major candidates are concentrating a lot on bringing new voters into this election. Arnold is reaching out to occasional voters, the moviegoers, the fans of his who are turned off by the political process might jump in now. Cruz Bustamante, the lieutenant governor, is trying to get Hispanic voters who haven't voted in the past to sign up and vote for him. So I don't think pollsters have any idea how many of those people are going to make it to the polls and how they're going to vote.
HEMMER: You talked about this secret weapon for Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday, and also watch the final 10 days of this campaign, the homestretch. Gray Davis says only then will he announce who he will back if, indeed, he is recalled in this race. Thanks, Daniel. We'll talk again a bit later in the week.
WEINTRAUB: 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
