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Can Anybody Slow Kerry's Momentum?

Aired February 02, 2004 - 07:38   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: Politics now. Tomorrow, John Kerry could take a giant step in his march towards the Democratic presidential nomination. He's running strong in all seven states that will hold primaries or caucuses on Tuesday.
Can anybody slow Kerry's momentum?

CNN political analyst Donna Brazile joins us this morning from Washington, D.C. -- hey, Donna, good morning.

Nice to see you.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Let's go to the latest poll numbers, shall we? A new CNN/"Los Angeles Times" poll suggests that Senator Kerry is leading in Arizona and Missouri, and making a strong showing in South Carolina, where Senator Edwards is actually in the lead there.

Do you, what do you, when you read polls like this, what kind of stock do you put in them?

BRAZILE: Well, first of all, John Kerry is running the only viable national campaign. He is competing in all seven states. He has advertisements, people on the ground. I think John Kerry will continue to get a large bounce from his victories in Iowa and New Hampshire. He's going to come out on February 3 with a strong number of delegates and he's going to continue to pick up support along the way because of the nature of his campaign.

Look, I don't believe it's over. The other candidates are cherry picking their states. Who knows, Joe Lieberman might come in first or second in Delaware; General Clark may come in first or second in Oklahoma or Arizona; Howard Dean, I believe, has to come in second in a couple of states and third in many of the others in order to remain viable for the nomination.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the other candidates' strategy, that cherry picking strategy that you talk about. I mean what does it actually buy a candidate? They have a little victory here, a little victory there. Does that just give them more time in the game, I mean especially, if it sounds like you're saying John Kerry is essentially unstoppable?

BRAZILE: Well, they're trying to pick up fuel. Look, tomorrow, 269 delegates are at stake. They're trying to keep their campaign going until March 2, when almost a quarter of the delegates will be available to them. So their strategy is not right now to try to eke out major victories, but to become the, what I call the alternative to John Kerry, to position themselves to be the person just in case. That's what they're doing right now.

O'BRIEN: So you're looking at -- and they are looking at, you're saying -- a March deadline. When Terry McCauliffe says that February 3 is kind of the do or die date, that if you haven't won a primary by February 3, you should get out of the race, do you think that that -- that he's right on that front or no?

BRAZILE: Well, I think they're going to be like the ground hog. They're going to look at their shadow and perhaps give themselves six more weeks to compete for delegates. Terry is absolutely right, it's quitting time for many of the campaigns. But you know what? These guys are now on the road. They feel that they are obligated because they are on the ballot to keep their campaigns going. And I believe some time after the March 2 -- I hope it goes to March 9, because I would like to see them go down to Louisiana and compete for those votes, as well.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about Howard Dean's campaign.

Do you think he's out of it? Do you think he could rebound, especially in light of the most recent troubles that we've heard about Joe Trippi leaving the campaign, the financial difficulties that have been reported?

BRAZILE: Well, no, there's no question that his body is still warm. The campaign is regrouping and refocusing. I thought he did a great job yesterday on "Meet The Press." But the fact of the matter is is that if Howard Dean doesn't become viable right now and begin to win states like Michigan and Washington, where he's put a great deal of resources, then I think it will be difficult for Howard Dean to continue.

Look, he has a strong campaign, a lot of grassroots support. I would hate to see those people, you know, stay out of the process over the next six weeks. So good luck to the Dean campaign, but they've got to really get their feet back on the ground.

O'BRIEN: Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing for the party with the candidates who stay in maybe longer than they should?

BRAZILE: Well, I think for candidates who are just going after a particular constituency, are trying to narrow their focus on just, you know, a convention spot, that's bad. But there are some of the candidates, like John Edwards. He -- John Edwards caught fire in Iowa and New Hampshire. He should continue. I also believe that, again, Clark and Dean, the outsider campaigns, they should also continue.

But, look, if you're not picking up delegates, if you're not garnering the type of support that John Kerry is picking up with governors and elected officials coming on board, then it's quitting time.

O'BRIEN: You've said that before and still nobody really quit after that.

Donna Brazile, as always, nice to have you.

Thanks for being with us this morning.

Of course we're going to continue to check in with you as this race progresses.

We also want to mention stay with CNN tomorrow for full coverage of the seven Democratic contests. Start your day with AMERICAN MORNING and get the coverage of the results on CNN tomorrow night. That begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time.

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




SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Politics now. Tomorrow, John Kerry could take a giant step in his march towards the Democratic presidential nomination. He's running strong in all seven states that will hold primaries or caucuses on Tuesday.

Can anybody slow Kerry's momentum?

CNN political analyst Donna Brazile joins us this morning from Washington, D.C. -- hey, Donna, good morning.

Nice to see you.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Let's go to the latest poll numbers, shall we? A new CNN/"Los Angeles Times" poll suggests that Senator Kerry is leading in Arizona and Missouri, and making a strong showing in South Carolina, where Senator Edwards is actually in the lead there.

Do you, what do you, when you read polls like this, what kind of stock do you put in them?

BRAZILE: Well, first of all, John Kerry is running the only viable national campaign. He is competing in all seven states. He has advertisements, people on the ground. I think John Kerry will continue to get a large bounce from his victories in Iowa and New Hampshire. He's going to come out on February 3 with a strong number of delegates and he's going to continue to pick up support along the way because of the nature of his campaign.

Look, I don't believe it's over. The other candidates are cherry picking their states. Who knows, Joe Lieberman might come in first or second in Delaware; General Clark may come in first or second in Oklahoma or Arizona; Howard Dean, I believe, has to come in second in a couple of states and third in many of the others in order to remain viable for the nomination.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the other candidates' strategy, that cherry picking strategy that you talk about. I mean what does it actually buy a candidate? They have a little victory here, a little victory there. Does that just give them more time in the game, I mean especially, if it sounds like you're saying John Kerry is essentially unstoppable?

BRAZILE: Well, they're trying to pick up fuel. Look, tomorrow, 269 delegates are at stake. They're trying to keep their campaign going until March 2, when almost a quarter of the delegates will be available to them. So their strategy is not right now to try to eke out major victories, but to become the, what I call the alternative to John Kerry, to position themselves to be the person just in case. That's what they're doing right now.

O'BRIEN: So you're looking at -- and they are looking at, you're saying -- a March deadline. When Terry McCauliffe says that February 3 is kind of the do or die date, that if you haven't won a primary by February 3, you should get out of the race, do you think that that -- that he's right on that front or no?

BRAZILE: Well, I think they're going to be like the ground hog. They're going to look at their shadow and perhaps give themselves six more weeks to compete for delegates. Terry is absolutely right, it's quitting time for many of the campaigns. But you know what? These guys are now on the road. They feel that they are obligated because they are on the ballot to keep their campaigns going. And I believe some time after the March 2 -- I hope it goes to March 9, because I would like to see them go down to Louisiana and compete for those votes, as well.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about Howard Dean's campaign.

Do you think he's out of it? Do you think he could rebound, especially in light of the most recent troubles that we've heard about Joe Trippi leaving the campaign, the financial difficulties that have been reported?

BRAZILE: Well, no, there's no question that his body is still warm. The campaign is regrouping and refocusing. I thought he did a great job yesterday on "Meet The Press." But the fact of the matter is is that if Howard Dean doesn't become viable right now and begin to win states like Michigan and Washington, where he's put a great deal of resources, then I think it will be difficult for Howard Dean to continue.

Look, he has a strong campaign, a lot of grassroots support. I would hate to see those people, you know, stay out of the process over the next six weeks. So good luck to the Dean campaign, but they've got to really get their feet back on the ground.

O'BRIEN: Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing for the party with the candidates who stay in maybe longer than they should?

BRAZILE: Well, I think for candidates who are just going after a particular constituency, are trying to narrow their focus on just, you know, a convention spot, that's bad. But there are some of the candidates, like John Edwards. He -- John Edwards caught fire in Iowa and New Hampshire. He should continue. I also believe that, again, Clark and Dean, the outsider campaigns, they should also continue.

But, look, if you're not picking up delegates, if you're not garnering the type of support that John Kerry is picking up with governors and elected officials coming on board, then it's quitting time.

O'BRIEN: You've said that before and still nobody really quit after that.

Donna Brazile, as always, nice to have you.

Thanks for being with us this morning.

Of course we're going to continue to check in with you as this race progresses.

We also want to mention stay with CNN tomorrow for full coverage of the seven Democratic contests. Start your day with AMERICAN MORNING and get the coverage of the results on CNN tomorrow night. That begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time.

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 February 2, 2004 - 07:38   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Politics now. Tomorrow, John Kerry could take a giant step in his march towards the Democratic presidential nomination. He's running strong in all seven states that will hold primaries or caucuses on Tuesday.
Can anybody slow Kerry's momentum?

CNN political analyst Donna Brazile joins us this morning from Washington, D.C. -- hey, Donna, good morning.

Nice to see you.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Let's go to the latest poll numbers, shall we? A new CNN/"Los Angeles Times" poll suggests that Senator Kerry is leading in Arizona and Missouri, and making a strong showing in South Carolina, where Senator Edwards is actually in the lead there.

Do you, what do you, when you read polls like this, what kind of stock do you put in them?

BRAZILE: Well, first of all, John Kerry is running the only viable national campaign. He is competing in all seven states. He has advertisements, people on the ground. I think John Kerry will continue to get a large bounce from his victories in Iowa and New Hampshire. He's going to come out on February 3 with a strong number of delegates and he's going to continue to pick up support along the way because of the nature of his campaign.

Look, I don't believe it's over. The other candidates are cherry picking their states. Who knows, Joe Lieberman might come in first or second in Delaware; General Clark may come in first or second in Oklahoma or Arizona; Howard Dean, I believe, has to come in second in a couple of states and third in many of the others in order to remain viable for the nomination.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the other candidates' strategy, that cherry picking strategy that you talk about. I mean what does it actually buy a candidate? They have a little victory here, a little victory there. Does that just give them more time in the game, I mean especially, if it sounds like you're saying John Kerry is essentially unstoppable?

BRAZILE: Well, they're trying to pick up fuel. Look, tomorrow, 269 delegates are at stake. They're trying to keep their campaign going until March 2, when almost a quarter of the delegates will be available to them. So their strategy is not right now to try to eke out major victories, but to become the, what I call the alternative to John Kerry, to position themselves to be the person just in case. That's what they're doing right now.

O'BRIEN: So you're looking at -- and they are looking at, you're saying -- a March deadline. When Terry McCauliffe says that February 3 is kind of the do or die date, that if you haven't won a primary by February 3, you should get out of the race, do you think that that -- that he's right on that front or no?

BRAZILE: Well, I think they're going to be like the ground hog. They're going to look at their shadow and perhaps give themselves six more weeks to compete for delegates. Terry is absolutely right, it's quitting time for many of the campaigns. But you know what? These guys are now on the road. They feel that they are obligated because they are on the ballot to keep their campaigns going. And I believe some time after the March 2 -- I hope it goes to March 9, because I would like to see them go down to Louisiana and compete for those votes, as well.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about Howard Dean's campaign.

Do you think he's out of it? Do you think he could rebound, especially in light of the most recent troubles that we've heard about Joe Trippi leaving the campaign, the financial difficulties that have been reported?

BRAZILE: Well, no, there's no question that his body is still warm. The campaign is regrouping and refocusing. I thought he did a great job yesterday on "Meet The Press." But the fact of the matter is is that if Howard Dean doesn't become viable right now and begin to win states like Michigan and Washington, where he's put a great deal of resources, then I think it will be difficult for Howard Dean to continue.

Look, he has a strong campaign, a lot of grassroots support. I would hate to see those people, you know, stay out of the process over the next six weeks. So good luck to the Dean campaign, but they've got to really get their feet back on the ground.

O'BRIEN: Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing for the party with the candidates who stay in maybe longer than they should?

BRAZILE: Well, I think for candidates who are just going after a particular constituency, are trying to narrow their focus on just, you know, a convention spot, that's bad. But there are some of the candidates, like John Edwards. He -- John Edwards caught fire in Iowa and New Hampshire. He should continue. I also believe that, again, Clark and Dean, the outsider campaigns, they should also continue.

But, look, if you're not picking up delegates, if you're not garnering the type of support that John Kerry is picking up with governors and elected officials coming on board, then it's quitting time.

O'BRIEN: You've said that before and still nobody really quit after that.

Donna Brazile, as always, nice to have you.

Thanks for being with us this morning.

Of course we're going to continue to check in with you as this race progresses.

We also want to mention stay with CNN tomorrow for full coverage of the seven Democratic contests. Start your day with AMERICAN MORNING and get the coverage of the results on CNN tomorrow night. That begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time.

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




SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Politics now. Tomorrow, John Kerry could take a giant step in his march towards the Democratic presidential nomination. He's running strong in all seven states that will hold primaries or caucuses on Tuesday.

Can anybody slow Kerry's momentum?

CNN political analyst Donna Brazile joins us this morning from Washington, D.C. -- hey, Donna, good morning.

Nice to see you.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Let's go to the latest poll numbers, shall we? A new CNN/"Los Angeles Times" poll suggests that Senator Kerry is leading in Arizona and Missouri, and making a strong showing in South Carolina, where Senator Edwards is actually in the lead there.

Do you, what do you, when you read polls like this, what kind of stock do you put in them?

BRAZILE: Well, first of all, John Kerry is running the only viable national campaign. He is competing in all seven states. He has advertisements, people on the ground. I think John Kerry will continue to get a large bounce from his victories in Iowa and New Hampshire. He's going to come out on February 3 with a strong number of delegates and he's going to continue to pick up support along the way because of the nature of his campaign.

Look, I don't believe it's over. The other candidates are cherry picking their states. Who knows, Joe Lieberman might come in first or second in Delaware; General Clark may come in first or second in Oklahoma or Arizona; Howard Dean, I believe, has to come in second in a couple of states and third in many of the others in order to remain viable for the nomination.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the other candidates' strategy, that cherry picking strategy that you talk about. I mean what does it actually buy a candidate? They have a little victory here, a little victory there. Does that just give them more time in the game, I mean especially, if it sounds like you're saying John Kerry is essentially unstoppable?

BRAZILE: Well, they're trying to pick up fuel. Look, tomorrow, 269 delegates are at stake. They're trying to keep their campaign going until March 2, when almost a quarter of the delegates will be available to them. So their strategy is not right now to try to eke out major victories, but to become the, what I call the alternative to John Kerry, to position themselves to be the person just in case. That's what they're doing right now.

O'BRIEN: So you're looking at -- and they are looking at, you're saying -- a March deadline. When Terry McCauliffe says that February 3 is kind of the do or die date, that if you haven't won a primary by February 3, you should get out of the race, do you think that that -- that he's right on that front or no?

BRAZILE: Well, I think they're going to be like the ground hog. They're going to look at their shadow and perhaps give themselves six more weeks to compete for delegates. Terry is absolutely right, it's quitting time for many of the campaigns. But you know what? These guys are now on the road. They feel that they are obligated because they are on the ballot to keep their campaigns going. And I believe some time after the March 2 -- I hope it goes to March 9, because I would like to see them go down to Louisiana and compete for those votes, as well.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about Howard Dean's campaign.

Do you think he's out of it? Do you think he could rebound, especially in light of the most recent troubles that we've heard about Joe Trippi leaving the campaign, the financial difficulties that have been reported?

BRAZILE: Well, no, there's no question that his body is still warm. The campaign is regrouping and refocusing. I thought he did a great job yesterday on "Meet The Press." But the fact of the matter is is that if Howard Dean doesn't become viable right now and begin to win states like Michigan and Washington, where he's put a great deal of resources, then I think it will be difficult for Howard Dean to continue.

Look, he has a strong campaign, a lot of grassroots support. I would hate to see those people, you know, stay out of the process over the next six weeks. So good luck to the Dean campaign, but they've got to really get their feet back on the ground.

O'BRIEN: Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing for the party with the candidates who stay in maybe longer than they should?

BRAZILE: Well, I think for candidates who are just going after a particular constituency, are trying to narrow their focus on just, you know, a convention spot, that's bad. But there are some of the candidates, like John Edwards. He -- John Edwards caught fire in Iowa and New Hampshire. He should continue. I also believe that, again, Clark and Dean, the outsider campaigns, they should also continue.

But, look, if you're not picking up delegates, if you're not garnering the type of support that John Kerry is picking up with governors and elected officials coming on board, then it's quitting time.

O'BRIEN: You've said that before and still nobody really quit after that.

Donna Brazile, as always, nice to have you.

Thanks for being with us this morning.

Of course we're going to continue to check in with you as this race progresses.

We also want to mention stay with CNN tomorrow for full coverage of the seven Democratic contests. Start your day with AMERICAN MORNING and get the coverage of the results on CNN tomorrow night. That begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time.

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