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American Morning

Interview with Hadassah Lieberman

Aired January 26, 2004 - 07:39   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: After skipping Iowa to focus on New Hampshire, tomorrow's primary there could make or break Senator Joe Lieberman's run for the White House. And it is clear that he believes his wife Hadassah is vital to his campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Que pasa, Hadassah, right? So one of the other candidates has Madonna. But I've got Hadassah. I'd take her any time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Lieberman is behind in the polls, but the senator and his wife are working hard to close the gap.

Hadassah Lieberman joins us this morning from Manchester to talk about their campaign.

Nice to see you, Mrs. Lieberman.

Thanks for being with us.

HADASSAH LIEBERMAN, WIFE OF SENATOR JOSEPH LIEBERMAN: Good morning.

It's great to be here.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

Well, you literally picked up and moved to New Hampshire to focus on the campaigning there. And your husband is down in the polls. In fact, if you believe some of the polls, down 26 percent, if you're going to believe some of those numbers.

How has it been to campaign truly as the underdogs in this race?

LIEBERMAN: Well, first of all, let me correct you. We're campaigning now against the undecided voter. And on top of that, apparently strategists are now saying that 50 percent of those who have decided are changing their minds. So none of the polls are clear and it's not clear where Joey fits in, at what point, and we're working hard. We're feeling Joementum on the streets.

O'BRIEN: You know, I was going to ask you about that, because I've got to say, I hadn't heard that word before your husband kind of made it up the other day. LIEBERMAN: Definitely.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of exactly what he means by Joementum.

LIEBERMAN: Well, you know, we had a town hall -- we've had a whole bunch of them. We had a town hall in Nashua and it was so overflowed that they pulled me out of the first one that was -- the one that had been scheduled, to go to the second one. And I was standing there on the steps and people were, you know, huddled around.

What it means, honestly, is that we're going out onto the streets meeting people. They're upbeat. They're responding to Joe. It's exciting and, you know, this is democracy in the raw.

O'BRIEN: So you think this race is wide open at this point?

LIEBERMAN: I do think it's wide open. Look, obviously, you know, Joe -- the expectations for Joe were what they were. All we know, as we meet people and they see Joe, he is a man of integrity. What you see is what you get. He's ready to lead. He could be president tomorrow for all the people, not just some of the people.

I'm proud of Joey. I'm proud we're out there. And, you know, as a naturalized citizen, to be in the middle of this primary state in our democracy is very exciting.

O'BRIEN: Speculate for me, look forward.

LIEBERMAN: Yes?

O'BRIEN: If you eventually are the first lady of this country, what would your role be? How would you design that role for yourself?

LIEBERMAN: I, you know, I've been thinking about it, obviously, through this year. I think the most important thing that I can do for my husband and for the country would be to listen, to listen to the people and bring back some of the problems that seem to resonate most clearly, most loudly, to my husband and to a White House.

O'BRIEN: You obviously, I think it's fair to say, know your husband better than anybody else. What, if you could talk to a bunch of people, and as you obviously do, what message do you like to get out about him? What do you think is the Joe Lieberman that we don't see, necessarily, each and every day? What would you like to say about Joe Lieberman who's running for president?

LIEBERMAN: Well, in addition to, you know, his 30 plus years of experience and just being there all the time for the people of Connecticut and for the people, you know, when he's in the Senate, this is a man you can trust, you can believe in. This is a man who's ready to be president and he will be president for all the people. He will bring the country together. He's a good man, an experienced man, one who loves the people.

O'BRIEN: Hadassah Lieberman joining us this morning.

Nice to see you, Mrs. Lieberman.

Thanks for being with us.

We appreciate it.

LIEBERMAN: Nice to see you.

Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: Our interviews with the wives of the candidates will continue this morning. At 8:30 Eastern time, we're going to talk with Bert Clark. She is the wife, of course, of General Wesley Clark. And in our final hour, we'll be joined by Elizabeth Edwards, obviously the wife of North Carolina Senator John Edwards.

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 January 26, 2004 - 07:39   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: After skipping Iowa to focus on New Hampshire, tomorrow's primary there could make or break Senator Joe Lieberman's run for the White House. And it is clear that he believes his wife Hadassah is vital to his campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Que pasa, Hadassah, right? So one of the other candidates has Madonna. But I've got Hadassah. I'd take her any time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Lieberman is behind in the polls, but the senator and his wife are working hard to close the gap.

Hadassah Lieberman joins us this morning from Manchester to talk about their campaign.

Nice to see you, Mrs. Lieberman.

Thanks for being with us.

HADASSAH LIEBERMAN, WIFE OF SENATOR JOSEPH LIEBERMAN: Good morning.

It's great to be here.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

Well, you literally picked up and moved to New Hampshire to focus on the campaigning there. And your husband is down in the polls. In fact, if you believe some of the polls, down 26 percent, if you're going to believe some of those numbers.

How has it been to campaign truly as the underdogs in this race?

LIEBERMAN: Well, first of all, let me correct you. We're campaigning now against the undecided voter. And on top of that, apparently strategists are now saying that 50 percent of those who have decided are changing their minds. So none of the polls are clear and it's not clear where Joey fits in, at what point, and we're working hard. We're feeling Joementum on the streets.

O'BRIEN: You know, I was going to ask you about that, because I've got to say, I hadn't heard that word before your husband kind of made it up the other day. LIEBERMAN: Definitely.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of exactly what he means by Joementum.

LIEBERMAN: Well, you know, we had a town hall -- we've had a whole bunch of them. We had a town hall in Nashua and it was so overflowed that they pulled me out of the first one that was -- the one that had been scheduled, to go to the second one. And I was standing there on the steps and people were, you know, huddled around.

What it means, honestly, is that we're going out onto the streets meeting people. They're upbeat. They're responding to Joe. It's exciting and, you know, this is democracy in the raw.

O'BRIEN: So you think this race is wide open at this point?

LIEBERMAN: I do think it's wide open. Look, obviously, you know, Joe -- the expectations for Joe were what they were. All we know, as we meet people and they see Joe, he is a man of integrity. What you see is what you get. He's ready to lead. He could be president tomorrow for all the people, not just some of the people.

I'm proud of Joey. I'm proud we're out there. And, you know, as a naturalized citizen, to be in the middle of this primary state in our democracy is very exciting.

O'BRIEN: Speculate for me, look forward.

LIEBERMAN: Yes?

O'BRIEN: If you eventually are the first lady of this country, what would your role be? How would you design that role for yourself?

LIEBERMAN: I, you know, I've been thinking about it, obviously, through this year. I think the most important thing that I can do for my husband and for the country would be to listen, to listen to the people and bring back some of the problems that seem to resonate most clearly, most loudly, to my husband and to a White House.

O'BRIEN: You obviously, I think it's fair to say, know your husband better than anybody else. What, if you could talk to a bunch of people, and as you obviously do, what message do you like to get out about him? What do you think is the Joe Lieberman that we don't see, necessarily, each and every day? What would you like to say about Joe Lieberman who's running for president?

LIEBERMAN: Well, in addition to, you know, his 30 plus years of experience and just being there all the time for the people of Connecticut and for the people, you know, when he's in the Senate, this is a man you can trust, you can believe in. This is a man who's ready to be president and he will be president for all the people. He will bring the country together. He's a good man, an experienced man, one who loves the people.

O'BRIEN: Hadassah Lieberman joining us this morning.

Nice to see you, Mrs. Lieberman.

Thanks for being with us.

We appreciate it.

LIEBERMAN: Nice to see you.

Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: Our interviews with the wives of the candidates will continue this morning. At 8:30 Eastern time, we're going to talk with Bert Clark. She is the wife, of course, of General Wesley Clark. And in our final hour, we'll be joined by Elizabeth Edwards, obviously the wife of North Carolina Senator John Edwards.

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