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American Morning

269 Democratic Presidential Convention Delegates Up For Grabs

Aired February 03, 2004 - 08:04   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: There are some 269 Democratic presidential convention delegates up for grabs in seven states today. Five states -- Delaware, South Carolina, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arizona -- are holding primaries today. Two states -- North Dakota and New Mexico -- are holding caucuses.
One of the big battlegrounds is South Carolina, where Senator John Edwards is locked in a tight battle with national front runner John Kerry.

National correspondent Bob Franken is in Columbia, South Carolina for us this morning -- hey, Bob, good morning to you.

And give us a sense of just how crucial the African-American vote is going to be there today for John Edwards.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a good question because this is the first time that we've had an election this year where the African-American vote has been a factor. Iowa and New Hampshire have negligible minority populations. But in this state, it's about a third of the electorate. And that is, of course, representative more of the United States. So it's going to be a big test here, as the test of the Hispanic vote is going to be in other states.

The other thing that's significant about South Carolina, of course, is the fact that John Edwards is considered the favorite here. The polls show that he's ahead, as you pointed out. But if he is upset by John Kerry, David Broder of the "Washington Post" is quoting staff members who say that Edwards would pull out and throw his support to Kerry.

So the stakes here are exceedingly high.

O'BRIEN: What about John Kerry's chances of winning what is sure to be a very big delegate prize, Missouri?

FRANKEN: Missouri was Dick Gephardt country, but Gephardt pulled out. Then Kerry pulled in and started paying attention to the state. He's considered the prohibitive favorite there. Kerry is, in fact, considered the favorite in five states, Soledad, and anything less than that would be probably considered in this expectations game a little bit of a setback.

He has some hopes, as you pointed out, of pulling ahead in all seven states and many of the experts say that would make him unstoppable. O'BRIEN: And Wesley Clark, what happens to him at the end of the day? If he does not win a primary today, do you think he's out?

FRANKEN: Well, a lot of the people do believe he's out. He has been criticized by some Democratic political professionals as not really running the best of campaigns. He's put a lot of eggs into the Oklahoma basket because that is a neighboring state of his home in Arkansas. So Wesley Clark has to pull out a win, most people believe, or his campaign is going to lose a lot of credibility and, more importantly, a lot of contribution.

O'BRIEN: Bob Franken for us this morning.

Bob, thanks a lot.

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




Grabs>


Aired February 3, 2004 - 08:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: There are some 269 Democratic presidential convention delegates up for grabs in seven states today. Five states -- Delaware, South Carolina, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arizona -- are holding primaries today. Two states -- North Dakota and New Mexico -- are holding caucuses.
One of the big battlegrounds is South Carolina, where Senator John Edwards is locked in a tight battle with national front runner John Kerry.

National correspondent Bob Franken is in Columbia, South Carolina for us this morning -- hey, Bob, good morning to you.

And give us a sense of just how crucial the African-American vote is going to be there today for John Edwards.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a good question because this is the first time that we've had an election this year where the African-American vote has been a factor. Iowa and New Hampshire have negligible minority populations. But in this state, it's about a third of the electorate. And that is, of course, representative more of the United States. So it's going to be a big test here, as the test of the Hispanic vote is going to be in other states.

The other thing that's significant about South Carolina, of course, is the fact that John Edwards is considered the favorite here. The polls show that he's ahead, as you pointed out. But if he is upset by John Kerry, David Broder of the "Washington Post" is quoting staff members who say that Edwards would pull out and throw his support to Kerry.

So the stakes here are exceedingly high.

O'BRIEN: What about John Kerry's chances of winning what is sure to be a very big delegate prize, Missouri?

FRANKEN: Missouri was Dick Gephardt country, but Gephardt pulled out. Then Kerry pulled in and started paying attention to the state. He's considered the prohibitive favorite there. Kerry is, in fact, considered the favorite in five states, Soledad, and anything less than that would be probably considered in this expectations game a little bit of a setback.

He has some hopes, as you pointed out, of pulling ahead in all seven states and many of the experts say that would make him unstoppable. O'BRIEN: And Wesley Clark, what happens to him at the end of the day? If he does not win a primary today, do you think he's out?

FRANKEN: Well, a lot of the people do believe he's out. He has been criticized by some Democratic political professionals as not really running the best of campaigns. He's put a lot of eggs into the Oklahoma basket because that is a neighboring state of his home in Arkansas. So Wesley Clark has to pull out a win, most people believe, or his campaign is going to lose a lot of credibility and, more importantly, a lot of contribution.

O'BRIEN: Bob Franken for us this morning.

Bob, thanks a lot.

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




Grabs>