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American Morning

California Recall Debates

Aired September 02, 2003 - 09:15   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: Some of the top candidates in California's recall election are getting ready for a debate tomorrow night, Wednesday night. One would-be governor, though, will not be there. Arnold Schwarzenegger spent Labor Day campaigning, while his rivals criticized his decision not to join debate No. 1.
Schwarzenegger, though, tried to turn the attention to what he will be doing a bit later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Campaigning, get the message out there, knocking on doors, going to TV stations and radio stations, talk to the journalists. By the time we are through with this campaign, you guys will be sick and tired of me. Trust me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Schwarzenegger says he will take part in one debate a bit later this month, the month of September.

"Sacramento Bee" columnist Daniel Weintraub is with us now live in California to talk more about the recall race and the issues that face us today.

Good to have you back, Danny. Good morning to you.

DANIEL WEINTRAUB, COLUMNIST, "SACRAMENTO BEE": Good morning.

HEMMER: How critical do you see it with Schwarzenegger not taking part tomorrow evening in debate No. 1?

WEINTRAUB: Well, I don't think it's going to help him any. He's already fighting the impression that he's an amateur at this, that he's maybe not ready for primetime politics, he can't take the tough questions, the specific questions; now ducking the first debate. I'm sure the story of the week is going to be, you know, where's Arnold? Why can't he participate like all of the other major candidates?

HEMMER: And if you follow that line of thinking, that debate in late September, whenever it's scheduled, whenever it takes place, is really -- it's the super bowl of this election. You know, if you're on the fence about Schwarzenegger, this is your time to tune in and see if he's got what it takes. Would you agree with that?

WEINTRAUB: Yes. Well, in a sense, he's going to be building up anticipation and building up pressure on himself by participating in perhaps only one debate. If he went into three or four or five, like the other candidates are planning to do, any one mistake he might make along the way wouldn't be such a big deal. But now, all of the focus is going to be on the one debate that he says he'll participate in.

HEMMER: Meanwhile, your governor, Gray Davis, had some rather interesting comments over the Labor Day weekend. Listen to part of what he said in addressing voters there about his image and his past as governor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: This recall is a humbling experience. I would not wish it on my worst enemy. But if the good people of this state decide that they're going to allow me to finish the term to which they elected me, I promise you I will do some things differently, and I will work every day to make their life better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: We've got about a month left, a little more than that. Does that strategy work now? Does it start paying off?

WEINTRAUB: Well, it still sounds like he's just reading those lines rather than speaking them from the heart, but it is a change in tone from him. I think your viewers know by now that this is the not the warmest politician in America, but he's trying to do some things to connect more with voters, to put himself out on the line, to discuss some of his personal feelings about this process and about politics and government in California. If he has any chance of coming back from this hole that he's in, he's going to have to make that connection, and he's going to do it through...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Daniel, you wrote a piece in the last few days that I want to get quickly here. I apologize for interrupting you. That you do not sense right now that there is any give right now in California voters to not go through with the recall. You know, we say those poll numbers are right about 50 percent. Do you still sense that, that California voters are going forward with this, at least the majority?

WEINTRAUB: Yes, I think that's the case right now. Most of the polls I've seen show that it's a rather large majority. There was one poll that showed it closer. I think that it's still in play. I think that Gray Davis still has a chance to make that connection and start to close that gap. But at this point, I don't sense that voters are having buyers' remorse or backing off from this trend just yet.

HEMMER: Yes, in the short time we do have left here, do you see this election shaping up in more traditional terms lately? We had such a circus atmosphere initially. Now it is what, in your estimation?

WEINTRAUB: Well, it's looking like sort of a two and a half man race. You have Cruz Bustamante, the Democratic lieutenant governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the leading Republican candidate, with Senator Tom McClintock, the more conservative Republican kind of hanging on to the right wing of the Republican vote. It's certainly not a typical race. It's still kind of a primary and general election race at the same time, but it is shaping up as a little bit more of a partisan match-up.

HEMMER: I'd say typical would not be the word I would choose. I don't think anybody else out there would either, including yourself. Thank you, Daniel. Good to see you -- Daniel Weintraub of the "Sacramento Bee."

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 - 09:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the top candidates in California's recall election are getting ready for a debate tomorrow night, Wednesday night. One would-be governor, though, will not be there. Arnold Schwarzenegger spent Labor Day campaigning, while his rivals criticized his decision not to join debate No. 1.
Schwarzenegger, though, tried to turn the attention to what he will be doing a bit later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Campaigning, get the message out there, knocking on doors, going to TV stations and radio stations, talk to the journalists. By the time we are through with this campaign, you guys will be sick and tired of me. Trust me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Schwarzenegger says he will take part in one debate a bit later this month, the month of September.

"Sacramento Bee" columnist Daniel Weintraub is with us now live in California to talk more about the recall race and the issues that face us today.

Good to have you back, Danny. Good morning to you.

DANIEL WEINTRAUB, COLUMNIST, "SACRAMENTO BEE": Good morning.

HEMMER: How critical do you see it with Schwarzenegger not taking part tomorrow evening in debate No. 1?

WEINTRAUB: Well, I don't think it's going to help him any. He's already fighting the impression that he's an amateur at this, that he's maybe not ready for primetime politics, he can't take the tough questions, the specific questions; now ducking the first debate. I'm sure the story of the week is going to be, you know, where's Arnold? Why can't he participate like all of the other major candidates?

HEMMER: And if you follow that line of thinking, that debate in late September, whenever it's scheduled, whenever it takes place, is really -- it's the super bowl of this election. You know, if you're on the fence about Schwarzenegger, this is your time to tune in and see if he's got what it takes. Would you agree with that?

WEINTRAUB: Yes. Well, in a sense, he's going to be building up anticipation and building up pressure on himself by participating in perhaps only one debate. If he went into three or four or five, like the other candidates are planning to do, any one mistake he might make along the way wouldn't be such a big deal. But now, all of the focus is going to be on the one debate that he says he'll participate in.

HEMMER: Meanwhile, your governor, Gray Davis, had some rather interesting comments over the Labor Day weekend. Listen to part of what he said in addressing voters there about his image and his past as governor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: This recall is a humbling experience. I would not wish it on my worst enemy. But if the good people of this state decide that they're going to allow me to finish the term to which they elected me, I promise you I will do some things differently, and I will work every day to make their life better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: We've got about a month left, a little more than that. Does that strategy work now? Does it start paying off?

WEINTRAUB: Well, it still sounds like he's just reading those lines rather than speaking them from the heart, but it is a change in tone from him. I think your viewers know by now that this is the not the warmest politician in America, but he's trying to do some things to connect more with voters, to put himself out on the line, to discuss some of his personal feelings about this process and about politics and government in California. If he has any chance of coming back from this hole that he's in, he's going to have to make that connection, and he's going to do it through...

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Daniel, you wrote a piece in the last few days that I want to get quickly here. I apologize for interrupting you. That you do not sense right now that there is any give right now in California voters to not go through with the recall. You know, we say those poll numbers are right about 50 percent. Do you still sense that, that California voters are going forward with this, at least the majority?

WEINTRAUB: Yes, I think that's the case right now. Most of the polls I've seen show that it's a rather large majority. There was one poll that showed it closer. I think that it's still in play. I think that Gray Davis still has a chance to make that connection and start to close that gap. But at this point, I don't sense that voters are having buyers' remorse or backing off from this trend just yet.

HEMMER: Yes, in the short time we do have left here, do you see this election shaping up in more traditional terms lately? We had such a circus atmosphere initially. Now it is what, in your estimation?

WEINTRAUB: Well, it's looking like sort of a two and a half man race. You have Cruz Bustamante, the Democratic lieutenant governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the leading Republican candidate, with Senator Tom McClintock, the more conservative Republican kind of hanging on to the right wing of the Republican vote. It's certainly not a typical race. It's still kind of a primary and general election race at the same time, but it is shaping up as a little bit more of a partisan match-up.

HEMMER: I'd say typical would not be the word I would choose. I don't think anybody else out there would either, including yourself. Thank you, Daniel. Good to see you -- Daniel Weintraub of the "Sacramento Bee."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.