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American Morning

Democrats Debate

Aired October 09, 2003 - 08:39   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: What can we expect later tonight? In fact, you'll see it only in one place, too, here on CNN, later in primetime.
For more on this, syndicated radio talk show host Armstrong Williams back with us here live in Washington. Nice to see you here. Good morning.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Also here in New York, Joe Conason, "New York Observer" columnist and the author of "Big Lies, The Right Wing Propaganda Machine and How it Distorts the Truth."

Nice to see you, Joe. Good morning to you.

Armstrong, who is wearing the bullseye tonight? Is it General Clark?

WILLIAMS: Yes, General Clark is wearing the bullseye. He's trying to portray himself differently from the other candidates and not putting as much emphasis on New Hampshire and Iowa as other candidates. He's focusing on Oklahoma and New Mexico and other places in the country, because of his late entry, he does not feel he can win.

But he will face some tough questions tonight, because, you know, he's the head chicken right now. When you're the head chicken, the other candidates must decapitate you in order to make themselves look good. John Kerry is certainly embroiled in his own fiasco. disorganized. He has a tooth (ph) for everything, because he's so insecure, he can't seem to make up his mind, who can be his campaign manager, who can be his campaign manager, who can be his speechwriter, so it's brought about some disarray in his campaign.

But Wesley Clark is a very sharp guy. Let's not forget, he graduated from West Point. The American people willing to give him a break. He's a general. He supported Reagan. He supported Nixon. In fact, he comes closest to having conservative credentials and traditional value credentials, and many people can sort of magnetize to that.

So listen, we can't just dismiss him. He may have had a late start, but the guy's pretty bright, and he's shown that he's willing to read to study the information for himself instead of being spoon- fed by his surrounders.

HEMMER: All right, Armstrong, you're on the record.

Joe, how critical is it for General Clark?

JOE CONASON, "NEW YORK OBSERVER": He has to show he has command of the issues tonight, I agree with that. He got a bit of a pass the last time, said he wasn't quite ready to deal with some issues like health care. Now he's got to give answers, and I think he will be a target that sense, although they're also to be going after Governor Dean.

HEMMER: Next question, pick up on that, Joe, where does that leave Howard Dean?

CONASON: Well, he's still the putative front-runner. Certainly in Iowa and New Hampshire, he's the candidate to beat, particularly for Kerry, but also for anyone else who's hoping to make a leap in the early stages of the campaign. Dean is the target. He has the most money and he's somebody that has to elbow out of the way if you're going to get up to the front of the pack.

HEMMER: A lot of people are wondering, Armstrong, why don't you take this one, how does John Edwards gain traction right now?

WILLIAMS: You know, we learned from the days of when Gore ran for president and when Gore lost his state and Clinton lost Arkansas. If John Edwards does not gain the respect and trust of the people in North Carolina, he has no chance of winning North Carolina, nor the South. He has to first prove that he can win in the South, because that's where his strength lies. He's a Southern boy. So he has to get it together in his own state and prove he can win there, and then he can gain credibility around the country.

HEMMER: Same question, Joe, wrap it up for us, you said at one point you're not even sure why John Edwards is in this race? Why is that?

CONASON: Well, he's a freshman senator. It's not clear that he has the kind of record you need to run for president, or the gravitas or the weight. So I'm not sure he's going to make it much further. Senator Graham showed the way to narrow the field down to those who really have a shot at George Bush, and I think some others will probably follow him over the next couple of months.

HEMMER: We'll watch it tonight, as I'm sure you both will as well. Thanks, Joe Conason, Armstrong Williams. Appreciate your time in New York and 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 October 9, 2003 - 08:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: What can we expect later tonight? In fact, you'll see it only in one place, too, here on CNN, later in primetime.
For more on this, syndicated radio talk show host Armstrong Williams back with us here live in Washington. Nice to see you here. Good morning.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Also here in New York, Joe Conason, "New York Observer" columnist and the author of "Big Lies, The Right Wing Propaganda Machine and How it Distorts the Truth."

Nice to see you, Joe. Good morning to you.

Armstrong, who is wearing the bullseye tonight? Is it General Clark?

WILLIAMS: Yes, General Clark is wearing the bullseye. He's trying to portray himself differently from the other candidates and not putting as much emphasis on New Hampshire and Iowa as other candidates. He's focusing on Oklahoma and New Mexico and other places in the country, because of his late entry, he does not feel he can win.

But he will face some tough questions tonight, because, you know, he's the head chicken right now. When you're the head chicken, the other candidates must decapitate you in order to make themselves look good. John Kerry is certainly embroiled in his own fiasco. disorganized. He has a tooth (ph) for everything, because he's so insecure, he can't seem to make up his mind, who can be his campaign manager, who can be his campaign manager, who can be his speechwriter, so it's brought about some disarray in his campaign.

But Wesley Clark is a very sharp guy. Let's not forget, he graduated from West Point. The American people willing to give him a break. He's a general. He supported Reagan. He supported Nixon. In fact, he comes closest to having conservative credentials and traditional value credentials, and many people can sort of magnetize to that.

So listen, we can't just dismiss him. He may have had a late start, but the guy's pretty bright, and he's shown that he's willing to read to study the information for himself instead of being spoon- fed by his surrounders.

HEMMER: All right, Armstrong, you're on the record.

Joe, how critical is it for General Clark?

JOE CONASON, "NEW YORK OBSERVER": He has to show he has command of the issues tonight, I agree with that. He got a bit of a pass the last time, said he wasn't quite ready to deal with some issues like health care. Now he's got to give answers, and I think he will be a target that sense, although they're also to be going after Governor Dean.

HEMMER: Next question, pick up on that, Joe, where does that leave Howard Dean?

CONASON: Well, he's still the putative front-runner. Certainly in Iowa and New Hampshire, he's the candidate to beat, particularly for Kerry, but also for anyone else who's hoping to make a leap in the early stages of the campaign. Dean is the target. He has the most money and he's somebody that has to elbow out of the way if you're going to get up to the front of the pack.

HEMMER: A lot of people are wondering, Armstrong, why don't you take this one, how does John Edwards gain traction right now?

WILLIAMS: You know, we learned from the days of when Gore ran for president and when Gore lost his state and Clinton lost Arkansas. If John Edwards does not gain the respect and trust of the people in North Carolina, he has no chance of winning North Carolina, nor the South. He has to first prove that he can win in the South, because that's where his strength lies. He's a Southern boy. So he has to get it together in his own state and prove he can win there, and then he can gain credibility around the country.

HEMMER: Same question, Joe, wrap it up for us, you said at one point you're not even sure why John Edwards is in this race? Why is that?

CONASON: Well, he's a freshman senator. It's not clear that he has the kind of record you need to run for president, or the gravitas or the weight. So I'm not sure he's going to make it much further. Senator Graham showed the way to narrow the field down to those who really have a shot at George Bush, and I think some others will probably follow him over the next couple of months.

HEMMER: We'll watch it tonight, as I'm sure you both will as well. Thanks, Joe Conason, Armstrong Williams. Appreciate your time in New York and 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