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American Morning
Presidential Polls
Aired September 02, 2003 - 07:12 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: Labor Day is now behind us, so now the race for the White House is getting under way in earnest. Only 400 and some odd days to go before America chooses its next president.
Who's up and who's down in the polling? Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, now with us live in D.C. to take us through the latest numbers there.
Good morning -- Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Bill.
A crowded field. Two issues: Who is ahead? Who cares?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Nine Democrats are running for president. But is anyone paying attention? Two-thirds of Democrats cannot name a single one of them, according to a CBS news poll.
Give them the names and what happens? Joe Lieberman comes out on top. He was Al Gore's running mate. Dick Gephardt comes in second. He ran for president before. Howard Dean and John Kerry are the only other contenders in double digits.
So, how can Dean be seen as the front-runner? Here's how. Dean is running ahead of Gephardt, the local favorite, in Iowa. If Gephardt loses Iowa, it's hard to see how he can continue.
Dean is running ahead of Kerry, the local favorite in New Hampshire. If Kerry loses New Hampshire, it's hard to see how he can continue.
Then what? Who's left to stop Dean? Lieberman and Edwards might make a showing in more conservative states like Arizona and South Carolina. But after months of campaigning, neither candidate has acquired momentum.
Democratic insiders who want to stop Dean because they think he can't beat Bush don't seem to have a candidate. That's why some have given to fantasizing about getting someone else to run, like, say, Hillary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Those Democratic insiders worry that if Howard Dean becomes the nominee, the election could turn out to be a referendum on Iraq, gay civil unions and repealing the Bush tax cuts, not, in their view, the Democrats' best issues -- Bill.
HEMMER: Well, we know this White House is building up quite a coffer, raising an awful lot of money, Bill -- a quite formidable foe. What are Democrats saying that could be the weaknesses of the White House 14 months away?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I'd say the Democrats are saying the White House has four big weaknesses. There are jobs. Then, there are jobs. There are also jobs. And, oh, if the situation continues to deteriorate, Iraq.
HEMMER: Got it, Bill. We'll watch it, thanks. Bill Schneider in D.C.
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 September 2, 2003 - 07:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Labor Day is now behind us, so now the race for the White House is getting under way in earnest. Only 400 and some odd days to go before America chooses its next president.
Who's up and who's down in the polling? Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, now with us live in D.C. to take us through the latest numbers there.
Good morning -- Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Bill.
A crowded field. Two issues: Who is ahead? Who cares?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Nine Democrats are running for president. But is anyone paying attention? Two-thirds of Democrats cannot name a single one of them, according to a CBS news poll.
Give them the names and what happens? Joe Lieberman comes out on top. He was Al Gore's running mate. Dick Gephardt comes in second. He ran for president before. Howard Dean and John Kerry are the only other contenders in double digits.
So, how can Dean be seen as the front-runner? Here's how. Dean is running ahead of Gephardt, the local favorite, in Iowa. If Gephardt loses Iowa, it's hard to see how he can continue.
Dean is running ahead of Kerry, the local favorite in New Hampshire. If Kerry loses New Hampshire, it's hard to see how he can continue.
Then what? Who's left to stop Dean? Lieberman and Edwards might make a showing in more conservative states like Arizona and South Carolina. But after months of campaigning, neither candidate has acquired momentum.
Democratic insiders who want to stop Dean because they think he can't beat Bush don't seem to have a candidate. That's why some have given to fantasizing about getting someone else to run, like, say, Hillary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Those Democratic insiders worry that if Howard Dean becomes the nominee, the election could turn out to be a referendum on Iraq, gay civil unions and repealing the Bush tax cuts, not, in their view, the Democrats' best issues -- Bill.
HEMMER: Well, we know this White House is building up quite a coffer, raising an awful lot of money, Bill -- a quite formidable foe. What are Democrats saying that could be the weaknesses of the White House 14 months away?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I'd say the Democrats are saying the White House has four big weaknesses. There are jobs. Then, there are jobs. There are also jobs. And, oh, if the situation continues to deteriorate, Iraq.
HEMMER: Got it, Bill. We'll watch it, thanks. Bill Schneider in D.C.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
