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American Morning
Interview With Terry Holt
Aired February 19, 2004 - 09:09 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: With Kerry and Edwards now the prime contenders a new poll shows either one of them would beat the president if that election was held today. What's next for the Bush reelection campaign? Good question for Terry Holt, the campaign's national spokesperson live in D.C.
Welcome back, Terry. Nice to see you here on AMERICAN MORNING.
TERRY HOLT, BUSH CAMPAIGN NATIONAL SPOKESMAN: Thanks, Bill.
HEMMER: Going to show you our poll numbers here. First for John Kerry. Leads the president by 12 points at this mark. John Edwards leads the president by ten points if the election were held today. How much concern when you look at the numbers? How much concern is there at the White House?
HOLT: Not a lot. We're 256 days away from decision day, election day in 2004. This race hasn't really shaped up yet between the president and whoever the Democratic nominee will be.
And there's some serious issues that haven't really been flushed out. The president's been attacked with millions of dollars of heavy TV advertising. In Kerry's case, 75 percent of his money has been spent directly attacking the president.
So as the race takes shape and we get into the general election campaign, I think you'll see that we have a compelling case to make for steady leadership and a dramatic time of change. I think that's going to bear well with the American people when it comes down to it.
HEMMER: Terry, if those numbers don't concern you at this point, the approval rating now a tick above 50 percent at 51 percent. But even more telling to many on the Democratic side is the issue of trustworthiness. They show he trails John Kerry. The nose for President Bush on trustworthiness at 42 percent.
Does that worry the White House when it comes to the issue of credibility and the issue of Iraq and WMD?
HOLT: Well, the president has been very forthright and very open and continues to dialogue with the American people about what's at stake in national security.
And it's going come down to a choice. The president has moved forward on offense to strengthen national security, to strengthen our defense. And on the other side, we've seen a record of cuts in defense, a record of cuts in intelligence, one of the key ingredients of fighting the war on terror.
You know John Kerry voted to cut $1.6 billion out of the intelligence budget. That's wrong for America. And we think that comparison, that that's going to be an important comparison as we move toward the general election.
HEMMER: Terry, help us sort out through this jobs picture. The president said recently 2.6 million would be created by the end of 2004, which is a heck of a statement to make. Now,drawing back a bit from that, taking a step back. What is the forecast for the White House and the U.S. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
HOLT: I think it's fascinating that we're having a debate about how many jobs we're going to create this year rather than how many jobs that have been lost.
I mean we have fundamentally changed what's going on in this country. Most economists say that the president's economic policies have helped bring us out of recession.
And on the other side, the Democrats, John Kerry and John Edwards, have advocated higher taxes. And that could derail our economy and stop short any job increases we'll have this year. I think the president's focused on results. We want to create jobs and get jobs out there for people who need them.
But fundamentally, housing values are up. Incomes are up. The president has cut taxes for people. The tax burden on the average American family is 19 percent lower than before President Bush took office. And I think that, again, that will be a good comparison for people to make as we move toward the general election.
HEMMER: Quickly, was it a mistake, was it misstep to throw out that number from the president?
HOLT: Well I don't know. I mean economists put together these predictions and they last only as long as they get the next set of economic data. I think we just move forward and try to get as much as we can out of this economy and get people back to work.
HEMMER: Terry Holt, thanks from D.C. We'll talk again.
HOLT: Thank 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 19, 2004 - 09:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: With Kerry and Edwards now the prime contenders a new poll shows either one of them would beat the president if that election was held today. What's next for the Bush reelection campaign? Good question for Terry Holt, the campaign's national spokesperson live in D.C.
Welcome back, Terry. Nice to see you here on AMERICAN MORNING.
TERRY HOLT, BUSH CAMPAIGN NATIONAL SPOKESMAN: Thanks, Bill.
HEMMER: Going to show you our poll numbers here. First for John Kerry. Leads the president by 12 points at this mark. John Edwards leads the president by ten points if the election were held today. How much concern when you look at the numbers? How much concern is there at the White House?
HOLT: Not a lot. We're 256 days away from decision day, election day in 2004. This race hasn't really shaped up yet between the president and whoever the Democratic nominee will be.
And there's some serious issues that haven't really been flushed out. The president's been attacked with millions of dollars of heavy TV advertising. In Kerry's case, 75 percent of his money has been spent directly attacking the president.
So as the race takes shape and we get into the general election campaign, I think you'll see that we have a compelling case to make for steady leadership and a dramatic time of change. I think that's going to bear well with the American people when it comes down to it.
HEMMER: Terry, if those numbers don't concern you at this point, the approval rating now a tick above 50 percent at 51 percent. But even more telling to many on the Democratic side is the issue of trustworthiness. They show he trails John Kerry. The nose for President Bush on trustworthiness at 42 percent.
Does that worry the White House when it comes to the issue of credibility and the issue of Iraq and WMD?
HOLT: Well, the president has been very forthright and very open and continues to dialogue with the American people about what's at stake in national security.
And it's going come down to a choice. The president has moved forward on offense to strengthen national security, to strengthen our defense. And on the other side, we've seen a record of cuts in defense, a record of cuts in intelligence, one of the key ingredients of fighting the war on terror.
You know John Kerry voted to cut $1.6 billion out of the intelligence budget. That's wrong for America. And we think that comparison, that that's going to be an important comparison as we move toward the general election.
HEMMER: Terry, help us sort out through this jobs picture. The president said recently 2.6 million would be created by the end of 2004, which is a heck of a statement to make. Now,drawing back a bit from that, taking a step back. What is the forecast for the White House and the U.S. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
HOLT: I think it's fascinating that we're having a debate about how many jobs we're going to create this year rather than how many jobs that have been lost.
I mean we have fundamentally changed what's going on in this country. Most economists say that the president's economic policies have helped bring us out of recession.
And on the other side, the Democrats, John Kerry and John Edwards, have advocated higher taxes. And that could derail our economy and stop short any job increases we'll have this year. I think the president's focused on results. We want to create jobs and get jobs out there for people who need them.
But fundamentally, housing values are up. Incomes are up. The president has cut taxes for people. The tax burden on the average American family is 19 percent lower than before President Bush took office. And I think that, again, that will be a good comparison for people to make as we move toward the general election.
HEMMER: Quickly, was it a mistake, was it misstep to throw out that number from the president?
HOLT: Well I don't know. I mean economists put together these predictions and they last only as long as they get the next set of economic data. I think we just move forward and try to get as much as we can out of this economy and get people back to work.
HEMMER: Terry Holt, thanks from D.C. We'll talk again.
HOLT: Thank 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
