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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Ken Rudin

Aired August 24, 2003 - 09:06   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.


JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: The field of candidates running in the California recall election, it's not small, but it is getting a little smaller. Republican Bill Simon has pulled out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL SIMON (R), FMR. CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: Fellow Californians, I come before you today to announce that I am withdrawing as a candidate for governor. This historic recall election has been about bringing profound and substantial change to our great state. And I strongly believe that the desire of Californians must come before the aspirations of any single candidate. There are too many Republicans in this race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ken Rudin is the political editor of National Public Radio. He joins us now to talk about the potential impact of Simon's decision. And Ken, just want to start by asking, did he pull out basically because he felt he didn't have a chance of winning?

KEN RUDIN, NPR POLITICAL EDITOR: Oh, he had no chance. Clearly, he had no chance. This race has turned into a two-candidate race between the Democrat, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has apparently become the Republican choice. And there's a lot of pressure on a lot of other Republicans on the ballot to withdraw as well. But Bill Simon, even though he was the 2002 Republican candidate against Gray Davis, so he had name-wide and statewide recognition, he was going nowhere, he was in single digits in the polls, he was not going to be elected.

VAUSE: How much of a role did Karl Rove, the White House strategist, play in Mr. Simon's decision?

RUDIN: Well, you know, Karl Rove is like the wizard of Oz. I mean, he apparently -- everybody thinks that whatever happens in politics, Karl Rove is behind it. But I think the fact is that there's a certain pragmatism that seems to be taking hold in California among the Republicans that, given the fact that this is still a Democratic state, once upon a time it was a Republican state during the Reagan years. You had 16 years in a row of Republican governors.

But this has become a democratic state. And with four top Republican candidates on the ballot, along with Democrat Bustamante, Republicans knew they had no chance. So they had to coalesce behind one candidate. Apparently that's going to be Schwarzenegger.

VAUSE: Yes. An interesting poll came out in the "L.A. Times" which shows that Bustamante is 35 percent, ahead of Arnold Schwarzenegger on 22 percent. What happens now that Simon is out of the race? Do you expect Arnold Schwarzenegger to get much of a boost from this decision?

RUDIN: Well, of course it's early to say. This poll was taken before Schwarzenegger went on statewide with his ads. His ads just came on Wednesday.

There's been a lot of criticism in the media and among other Republicans about Schwarzenegger ideology, for one. Is he a Reagan Republican or is he a Maria Shriver Republican? Those questions are still out there.

Plus the fact that there's been a lot of criticism about what he stands for. Does he back the Warren Buffett approach to tax cuts, which is against tax cuts? Or is he more of a Reagan Republican?

VAUSE: Ken, I'm just wondering, though. This is California. Do you think people are going to care about that or are they just going to vote for him for the fact that he's an actor, he's Arnold Schwarzenegger?

RUDIN: Well, look, it's not that simple. But of course the fact is he's got to portray himself as somebody that candidates, that voters could rally around. The fact that he's pro-gay rights, that he's pro-choice on abortion, that seems to be the majority opinion in California. It may not be the Republican opinion in California, but if he is to win, he's got to rally -- get the Republicans to rally around him, as well as attracting Democrats and Independents.

VAUSE: And very quickly, Ken, while we have you, I want to show you the new commercials which Arianna Huffington has just put on the air. Let's have a look at those and I'll ask you what you make of this campaign that she's running.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON (I), CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: What if you could change the future? What if the 13 million of us (UNINTELLIGIBLE) last time came back? Imagine a California where teachers are paid more than prison guards, where the power stays on while the power of political money is turned off.

It's not a question of right or left. It's a question of right or wrong. Now is the time to think outside the box before we put our votes inside it.

ANNOUNCER: Arianna Huffington for governor, California's Independent voice for change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Makes you want a cup of tea and a (UNINTELLIGIBLE), doesn't it? What do you make of it?

RUDIN: Well, look, Arianna Huffington, I know the networks love her, but she was a Gingrich Republican, now she's a Green Party Democrat or an Independent. She's for the little guy, but hasn't paid her taxes. She's against special interests, but her recent campaign manager was a lobbyist for the tobacco companies in Minnesota.

Arianna Huffington has redefined herself so many times that I'm kind of a little dizzy here. But the ad was very nicely done and everything, but to me she's not a serious candidate.

VAUSE: It was sweet, yes. OK. Ken Rudin, political editor for NPR, thank you for joining us.

And of course we didn't get to the big news of the day, which is that Angelyne has crashed her pink Corvette. But we will cover that at another time.

RUDIN: Oh, no.

VAUSE: Thanks, mate.

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 August 24, 2003 - 09:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: The field of candidates running in the California recall election, it's not small, but it is getting a little smaller. Republican Bill Simon has pulled out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL SIMON (R), FMR. CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: Fellow Californians, I come before you today to announce that I am withdrawing as a candidate for governor. This historic recall election has been about bringing profound and substantial change to our great state. And I strongly believe that the desire of Californians must come before the aspirations of any single candidate. There are too many Republicans in this race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ken Rudin is the political editor of National Public Radio. He joins us now to talk about the potential impact of Simon's decision. And Ken, just want to start by asking, did he pull out basically because he felt he didn't have a chance of winning?

KEN RUDIN, NPR POLITICAL EDITOR: Oh, he had no chance. Clearly, he had no chance. This race has turned into a two-candidate race between the Democrat, Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has apparently become the Republican choice. And there's a lot of pressure on a lot of other Republicans on the ballot to withdraw as well. But Bill Simon, even though he was the 2002 Republican candidate against Gray Davis, so he had name-wide and statewide recognition, he was going nowhere, he was in single digits in the polls, he was not going to be elected.

VAUSE: How much of a role did Karl Rove, the White House strategist, play in Mr. Simon's decision?

RUDIN: Well, you know, Karl Rove is like the wizard of Oz. I mean, he apparently -- everybody thinks that whatever happens in politics, Karl Rove is behind it. But I think the fact is that there's a certain pragmatism that seems to be taking hold in California among the Republicans that, given the fact that this is still a Democratic state, once upon a time it was a Republican state during the Reagan years. You had 16 years in a row of Republican governors.

But this has become a democratic state. And with four top Republican candidates on the ballot, along with Democrat Bustamante, Republicans knew they had no chance. So they had to coalesce behind one candidate. Apparently that's going to be Schwarzenegger.

VAUSE: Yes. An interesting poll came out in the "L.A. Times" which shows that Bustamante is 35 percent, ahead of Arnold Schwarzenegger on 22 percent. What happens now that Simon is out of the race? Do you expect Arnold Schwarzenegger to get much of a boost from this decision?

RUDIN: Well, of course it's early to say. This poll was taken before Schwarzenegger went on statewide with his ads. His ads just came on Wednesday.

There's been a lot of criticism in the media and among other Republicans about Schwarzenegger ideology, for one. Is he a Reagan Republican or is he a Maria Shriver Republican? Those questions are still out there.

Plus the fact that there's been a lot of criticism about what he stands for. Does he back the Warren Buffett approach to tax cuts, which is against tax cuts? Or is he more of a Reagan Republican?

VAUSE: Ken, I'm just wondering, though. This is California. Do you think people are going to care about that or are they just going to vote for him for the fact that he's an actor, he's Arnold Schwarzenegger?

RUDIN: Well, look, it's not that simple. But of course the fact is he's got to portray himself as somebody that candidates, that voters could rally around. The fact that he's pro-gay rights, that he's pro-choice on abortion, that seems to be the majority opinion in California. It may not be the Republican opinion in California, but if he is to win, he's got to rally -- get the Republicans to rally around him, as well as attracting Democrats and Independents.

VAUSE: And very quickly, Ken, while we have you, I want to show you the new commercials which Arianna Huffington has just put on the air. Let's have a look at those and I'll ask you what you make of this campaign that she's running.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON (I), CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: What if you could change the future? What if the 13 million of us (UNINTELLIGIBLE) last time came back? Imagine a California where teachers are paid more than prison guards, where the power stays on while the power of political money is turned off.

It's not a question of right or left. It's a question of right or wrong. Now is the time to think outside the box before we put our votes inside it.

ANNOUNCER: Arianna Huffington for governor, California's Independent voice for change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Makes you want a cup of tea and a (UNINTELLIGIBLE), doesn't it? What do you make of it?

RUDIN: Well, look, Arianna Huffington, I know the networks love her, but she was a Gingrich Republican, now she's a Green Party Democrat or an Independent. She's for the little guy, but hasn't paid her taxes. She's against special interests, but her recent campaign manager was a lobbyist for the tobacco companies in Minnesota.

Arianna Huffington has redefined herself so many times that I'm kind of a little dizzy here. But the ad was very nicely done and everything, but to me she's not a serious candidate.

VAUSE: It was sweet, yes. OK. Ken Rudin, political editor for NPR, thank you for joining us.

And of course we didn't get to the big news of the day, which is that Angelyne has crashed her pink Corvette. But we will cover that at another time.

RUDIN: Oh, no.

VAUSE: Thanks, mate.

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