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American Morning

Interview With John Edwards

Aired February 04, 2004 - 07:04   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: This morning, Senator John Edwards is savoring a campaign-saving victory. He's moving on from South Carolina, both literally and figuratively.
John Edwards joins us this morning from Memphis, Tennessee.

Nice to see you, Senator. Thanks for being with us.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Glad to be with you, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Congratulations on your nice, hefty victory over Senator Kerry yesterday.

EDWARDS: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Obviously, you won South Carolina, but that doesn't mean you can necessarily take the nation if you can just win in the South, does it?

EDWARDS: Oh, know, of course not. You have to be able to run a national campaign, compete everywhere. I think actually, Soledad, if you look at what has happened so far in Iowa, the place we started, which is a long way from the South, Senator Kerry and I finished very close to each other, one-two. We both actually came out of nowhere to do that.

I competed very well in New Hampshire. Last night, I was in a virtual dead heat with Wesley Clark in Oklahoma. I finished a strong second in Missouri.

No, it's clear that I'm running a national campaign and that this field is narrowing right now.

O'BRIEN: The exit polls, though, show Senator Kerry really doing well with seniors, with Latinos, with union voters. How do you go up against that when he seems to have strong support across a very wide range?

EDWARDS: Well, I would say the same thing about myself, Soledad. If you look at the exit polls from last night in a number of these states, what you will see is, for example, in South Carolina, I did well in the South, well among rural voters, well among African- Americans -- all of which are absolutely critical to us winning the general election. And as your own polls showed within the last 48 hours, if the election were held today, nationally I would beat George Bush.

So, obviously I'm somebody who can beat George Bush nationally. I can compete against him in key states.

O'BRIEN: Outside of the South, where do you think you can win?

EDWARDS: Well, I think there are a number of southern states we can win. I mean, I can just start listing them. My own state in North Carolina. I think South Carolina, where they've lost so many jobs and are very angry about what George Bush has done. Georgia, Arkansas, Louisiana...

O'BRIEN: But outside of the South...

EDWARDS: In fact...

O'BRIEN: Name the states where you think you can take it.

EDWARDS: Oh, I'm sorry.

O'BRIEN: That's all right. It wasn't clear. Outside of the South, what states do you think you can carry?

EDWARDS: Against George Bush or you mean in the primaries?

O'BRIEN: In the primaries.

EDWARDS: In the primaries? Well, the next set of states we go to are Tennessee, Virginia. Wisconsin comes a couple weeks later. I think I can do very well in Wisconsin. I think I'll be very competitive there.

I think it's also true that a couple weeks later than that, if I have the schedule straight in my head, we go to California, New York, a whole group of states around the country, all of which I expect to be very competitive in. And I think we're down to this is quickly narrowing to a two-person race, even at the most arguably three at this point, which is exactly what we needed to have happen. We need that kind of focus, because what people are responding to in South Carolina, Oklahoma, Iowa, other places across the country, are my new ideas, my fresh positive ideas about how we give hope back had to the American people, which they are hungry for.

O'BRIEN: You say it looks like it's coming down to a two, maybe a three-man race. Any aspirations -- in the past you said no -- to being vice president?

EDWARDS: Oh, absolutely none. This is about being president, because I think if we're going to do the things that need to be done for this country, if we're going to have a president who comes from the same background that most Americans come from, from a working- class family, if we're going to have a president who is not a Washington insider, who knows the changes that need to take place in Washington to change America, I need to be president of the United States. And that's what this race is about for me. O'BRIEN: Senator Kerry clearly now the front-runner. He's won seven of the nine contests so far, 50 percent of the delegates he won last night. Do think you're going to start to focus on him and his record, attacking him a little bit more now? Is that part of the strategy?

EDWARDS: There's no attack in my strategy. I can tell you that. What got me to this place, Soledad, was a positive message with new, fresh ideas about how we make this country work for everybody. And for me that's what this election is about. When people ask me directly about differences between Senator Kerry and myself, I'll answer those questions, as I'm sure he will.

But my focus is not on either Senator Kerry or any of the other candidates. My focus is on making sure the American people know why I'm running as president and what I will do as their president.

O'BRIEN: Senator John Edwards joining us this morning. Congratulations to you. Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us.

EDWARDS: Great to see you. Thank you.

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 4, 2004 - 07:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, Senator John Edwards is savoring a campaign-saving victory. He's moving on from South Carolina, both literally and figuratively.
John Edwards joins us this morning from Memphis, Tennessee.

Nice to see you, Senator. Thanks for being with us.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Glad to be with you, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Congratulations on your nice, hefty victory over Senator Kerry yesterday.

EDWARDS: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Obviously, you won South Carolina, but that doesn't mean you can necessarily take the nation if you can just win in the South, does it?

EDWARDS: Oh, know, of course not. You have to be able to run a national campaign, compete everywhere. I think actually, Soledad, if you look at what has happened so far in Iowa, the place we started, which is a long way from the South, Senator Kerry and I finished very close to each other, one-two. We both actually came out of nowhere to do that.

I competed very well in New Hampshire. Last night, I was in a virtual dead heat with Wesley Clark in Oklahoma. I finished a strong second in Missouri.

No, it's clear that I'm running a national campaign and that this field is narrowing right now.

O'BRIEN: The exit polls, though, show Senator Kerry really doing well with seniors, with Latinos, with union voters. How do you go up against that when he seems to have strong support across a very wide range?

EDWARDS: Well, I would say the same thing about myself, Soledad. If you look at the exit polls from last night in a number of these states, what you will see is, for example, in South Carolina, I did well in the South, well among rural voters, well among African- Americans -- all of which are absolutely critical to us winning the general election. And as your own polls showed within the last 48 hours, if the election were held today, nationally I would beat George Bush.

So, obviously I'm somebody who can beat George Bush nationally. I can compete against him in key states.

O'BRIEN: Outside of the South, where do you think you can win?

EDWARDS: Well, I think there are a number of southern states we can win. I mean, I can just start listing them. My own state in North Carolina. I think South Carolina, where they've lost so many jobs and are very angry about what George Bush has done. Georgia, Arkansas, Louisiana...

O'BRIEN: But outside of the South...

EDWARDS: In fact...

O'BRIEN: Name the states where you think you can take it.

EDWARDS: Oh, I'm sorry.

O'BRIEN: That's all right. It wasn't clear. Outside of the South, what states do you think you can carry?

EDWARDS: Against George Bush or you mean in the primaries?

O'BRIEN: In the primaries.

EDWARDS: In the primaries? Well, the next set of states we go to are Tennessee, Virginia. Wisconsin comes a couple weeks later. I think I can do very well in Wisconsin. I think I'll be very competitive there.

I think it's also true that a couple weeks later than that, if I have the schedule straight in my head, we go to California, New York, a whole group of states around the country, all of which I expect to be very competitive in. And I think we're down to this is quickly narrowing to a two-person race, even at the most arguably three at this point, which is exactly what we needed to have happen. We need that kind of focus, because what people are responding to in South Carolina, Oklahoma, Iowa, other places across the country, are my new ideas, my fresh positive ideas about how we give hope back had to the American people, which they are hungry for.

O'BRIEN: You say it looks like it's coming down to a two, maybe a three-man race. Any aspirations -- in the past you said no -- to being vice president?

EDWARDS: Oh, absolutely none. This is about being president, because I think if we're going to do the things that need to be done for this country, if we're going to have a president who comes from the same background that most Americans come from, from a working- class family, if we're going to have a president who is not a Washington insider, who knows the changes that need to take place in Washington to change America, I need to be president of the United States. And that's what this race is about for me. O'BRIEN: Senator Kerry clearly now the front-runner. He's won seven of the nine contests so far, 50 percent of the delegates he won last night. Do think you're going to start to focus on him and his record, attacking him a little bit more now? Is that part of the strategy?

EDWARDS: There's no attack in my strategy. I can tell you that. What got me to this place, Soledad, was a positive message with new, fresh ideas about how we make this country work for everybody. And for me that's what this election is about. When people ask me directly about differences between Senator Kerry and myself, I'll answer those questions, as I'm sure he will.

But my focus is not on either Senator Kerry or any of the other candidates. My focus is on making sure the American people know why I'm running as president and what I will do as their president.

O'BRIEN: Senator John Edwards joining us this morning. Congratulations to you. Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us.

EDWARDS: Great to see you. Thank you.

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