Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Recall Countdown

Aired October 01, 2003 - 09:04   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: Today a new poll is out from "The L.A. Times." It does not offer good news from the current governor, Gray Davis.
Bob Franken, tracking the numbers live again in Los Angeles.

Hello, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

And it reinforces what the CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll reported over the weekend, that the trends are going against Governor Gray Davis and for the recall. He has to have 50 percent plus one vote to stay in office. Right now, 56 percent of those defined as likely voters by "The L.A. Times" said they were going to vote for the recall; 42 percent, no. There is a plus or minus three-point margin of error in this poll.

Also bad news for Democrat Cruz Bustamante. Arnold Schwarzenegger has surged ahead. He's at 40 percent of those who are considered the likely voters. As you can see, Cruz Bustamante, 32 percent. Tom McClintock is continuing his slide a little bit, too. Now the Gray Davis people this time are not calling the poll a joke. They are in fact privately very nervous about it, but they're taking their best shots. The governor will be accompanied today by the latest Democrat and the latest Democratic presidential candidate, General Wesley Clark. He's going to be in the state today campaigning not only with governor Gray Davis, but also with Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante.

And former President Bill Clinton is going to be making a return appearance tomorrow in California. He's put out a radio ad today, which is really just a recording of a speech that he had made while here, at this church as a matter of fact, saying that the recall was a bad idea. Well, he's going to be back in the state, Bill, campaigning, trying to convince people that no matter what the polls show, it is a bad idea and it should be voted down. Now that will be considered an upset, but six days to go -- Bill.

HEMMER: That's right. In politics, they call it crunch time. It's upon us soon.

Thank you, Bob Franken in L.A. -- Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: With us now to talk about the campaign and the latest poll numbers, "Los Angeles Times" writer Michael Finnegan. Michael, thanks for being with us today.

MICHAEL FINNEGAN, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Thank you.

COLLINS: Let's go ahead start with the very latest in your paper's poll here of the likely voters polled, 56 percent say now that they actually support the recall, versus 42 percent who say they don't support it. That is Significantly more people in favor than a poll your paper ran in early September, up six points in fact. Your thoughts on that?

FINNEGAN: Well, that's right, from the start, Davis has been trying to get Democrats who support the recall to come back the other way, but it doesn't appear to be working at this point.

On the contrary, more Democrats are now supporting the recall than were in our last poll early -- in early September.

COLLINS: But when you look at other polls, specifically a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll that came out on Sunday, that poll actually found 63 percent of probable voters would vote to recall Davis, while 35 percent would vote to keep him. Does anybody actually think that things are looking up for Gray Davis? You know, especially when you look at those numbers?

FINNEGAN: Well, clearly, they're not looking up for Davis. This -- you couldn't interpret any of the polls that way.

His big problem for a couple years now has been that voters in California don't think that he showed leadership in the energy crisis, and then after that, the budget crisis. And his campaign fund-raising has also been a big problem. His critics have charged that he trades state favors for campaign donations. And the poll essentially suggests that Schwarzenegger has emerged in voters' minds, many voters' minds, as a viable alternative who would remedy both of those situations. They see him as a strong leader who would stand up to the influence of special interests in Sacramento.

COLLINS: And according to your poll today for Schwarzenegger, 40 percent of people voting for him. Do you think this lead is actually insurmountable at this point with only a week left, a little less?

FINNEGAN: Not necessarily. This is an extraordinary election, and absolutely anything could happen. So, no. I mean, this is not necessarily solid all the way to the end. We don't know.

COLLINS: How much of an impact will be felt now that Arianna Huffington is no longer in the race?

FINNEGAN: Probably very little. She barely registered in the polls, 1 percent or less, somewhere around there. But, you know, she could speak out against the recall, and to that extent, I suppose, could be of a little help to Davis.

COLLINS: Do you think that Arnold Schwarzenegger will have any problem, though, attracting the female vote? FINNEGAN: Actually, his support among women has grown. It's not as strong as his support among men, but it doesn't appear to be a big problem for him at this point.

COLLINS: So let me just ask you now, we're seeing some of these campaign ads. What are the voters' reactions to them, from what year seeing there?

FINNEGAN: Well, Schwarzenegger has dominated the television airwaves in California. He's spent more money than his opponents and more money than Davis. And by all appearances, the basic message of his ad, of his ads, that he's an outsider that would shake up things in Sacramento, that appears to be having some impact on voters.

COLLINS: All right, Michael Finnegan from "The Los Angeles Times." Thanks for your time today.

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 October 1, 2003 - 09:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Today a new poll is out from "The L.A. Times." It does not offer good news from the current governor, Gray Davis.
Bob Franken, tracking the numbers live again in Los Angeles.

Hello, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

And it reinforces what the CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll reported over the weekend, that the trends are going against Governor Gray Davis and for the recall. He has to have 50 percent plus one vote to stay in office. Right now, 56 percent of those defined as likely voters by "The L.A. Times" said they were going to vote for the recall; 42 percent, no. There is a plus or minus three-point margin of error in this poll.

Also bad news for Democrat Cruz Bustamante. Arnold Schwarzenegger has surged ahead. He's at 40 percent of those who are considered the likely voters. As you can see, Cruz Bustamante, 32 percent. Tom McClintock is continuing his slide a little bit, too. Now the Gray Davis people this time are not calling the poll a joke. They are in fact privately very nervous about it, but they're taking their best shots. The governor will be accompanied today by the latest Democrat and the latest Democratic presidential candidate, General Wesley Clark. He's going to be in the state today campaigning not only with governor Gray Davis, but also with Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante.

And former President Bill Clinton is going to be making a return appearance tomorrow in California. He's put out a radio ad today, which is really just a recording of a speech that he had made while here, at this church as a matter of fact, saying that the recall was a bad idea. Well, he's going to be back in the state, Bill, campaigning, trying to convince people that no matter what the polls show, it is a bad idea and it should be voted down. Now that will be considered an upset, but six days to go -- Bill.

HEMMER: That's right. In politics, they call it crunch time. It's upon us soon.

Thank you, Bob Franken in L.A. -- Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: With us now to talk about the campaign and the latest poll numbers, "Los Angeles Times" writer Michael Finnegan. Michael, thanks for being with us today.

MICHAEL FINNEGAN, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Thank you.

COLLINS: Let's go ahead start with the very latest in your paper's poll here of the likely voters polled, 56 percent say now that they actually support the recall, versus 42 percent who say they don't support it. That is Significantly more people in favor than a poll your paper ran in early September, up six points in fact. Your thoughts on that?

FINNEGAN: Well, that's right, from the start, Davis has been trying to get Democrats who support the recall to come back the other way, but it doesn't appear to be working at this point.

On the contrary, more Democrats are now supporting the recall than were in our last poll early -- in early September.

COLLINS: But when you look at other polls, specifically a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll that came out on Sunday, that poll actually found 63 percent of probable voters would vote to recall Davis, while 35 percent would vote to keep him. Does anybody actually think that things are looking up for Gray Davis? You know, especially when you look at those numbers?

FINNEGAN: Well, clearly, they're not looking up for Davis. This -- you couldn't interpret any of the polls that way.

His big problem for a couple years now has been that voters in California don't think that he showed leadership in the energy crisis, and then after that, the budget crisis. And his campaign fund-raising has also been a big problem. His critics have charged that he trades state favors for campaign donations. And the poll essentially suggests that Schwarzenegger has emerged in voters' minds, many voters' minds, as a viable alternative who would remedy both of those situations. They see him as a strong leader who would stand up to the influence of special interests in Sacramento.

COLLINS: And according to your poll today for Schwarzenegger, 40 percent of people voting for him. Do you think this lead is actually insurmountable at this point with only a week left, a little less?

FINNEGAN: Not necessarily. This is an extraordinary election, and absolutely anything could happen. So, no. I mean, this is not necessarily solid all the way to the end. We don't know.

COLLINS: How much of an impact will be felt now that Arianna Huffington is no longer in the race?

FINNEGAN: Probably very little. She barely registered in the polls, 1 percent or less, somewhere around there. But, you know, she could speak out against the recall, and to that extent, I suppose, could be of a little help to Davis.

COLLINS: Do you think that Arnold Schwarzenegger will have any problem, though, attracting the female vote? FINNEGAN: Actually, his support among women has grown. It's not as strong as his support among men, but it doesn't appear to be a big problem for him at this point.

COLLINS: So let me just ask you now, we're seeing some of these campaign ads. What are the voters' reactions to them, from what year seeing there?

FINNEGAN: Well, Schwarzenegger has dominated the television airwaves in California. He's spent more money than his opponents and more money than Davis. And by all appearances, the basic message of his ad, of his ads, that he's an outsider that would shake up things in Sacramento, that appears to be having some impact on voters.

COLLINS: All right, Michael Finnegan from "The Los Angeles Times." Thanks for your time today.

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