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CNN Sunday Morning
New Hampshire Primary Two Days Away
Aired January 25, 2004 - 08:05 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.
JASON CARROLL, CNN ANCHOR: And now on to politics and the last leg of the long political sprint. With the New Hampshire primary just two days away, the top Democratic presidential contenders are in full campaign mode.
Our Bob Franken is keeping up with the candidates, and he joins us now live from Manchester with the latest.
Bob, it's looking like a horse race for second.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. It is. As far as the leader is concerned, he responded to the cold weather here. Not quite as cold as Mars, but plenty cold.
He responded by heading into an ice skating rink. And I'm talking about John Kerry, who probably will get the award for the photo opportunity of the weekend. That's him in a little bit of a face-off.
Of course he's involved in a face-off with the various other Democratic candidates. But right now, they're barely within sight. They are skating on thin ice a little bit, particularly Howard Dean.
Howard Dean is now trying to hold onto second place. And he, of course, is somebody who would love very much to take on John Kerry. But right now, look at that. That is his latest endorsement.
Yes, that's the same goat that endorsed Al Gore in the year 2000. And we all know what happened to al gore. But right now, I suppose it's fair to say that the goat could be used to gore the opponents. There's actually a fight going on for second place.
Wesley Clark is trailing just a little bit behind Howard Dean. He's been having to fight off his own missteps. And also, John Edwards is starting to make a move, hoping that it's reminiscent of Iowa.
And trailing badly is Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman insists that no matter how well or poorly he does in New Hampshire, he's going to go on.
But as you can see, there are nothing but serious moments as this campaign goes on -- Jason.
CARROLL: Yes. And Kerry looking rather relaxed out there. But I'm wondering what the other candidates have to do who are vying for second. What do they have to do at this point in the final days to distinguish themselves in this pack?
FRANKEN: Well, I suppose one of them could play basketball or something like that. But beyond that, beyond that they have a real dilemma.
I think the dilemma is that on the one hand, they have to somehow differentiate themselves, somehow convince the voters that they have the program. On the other, they're somewhat inhibited by what is this new warmth and fuzziness that has enveloped the campaign.
John Edwards has really sort of set the mood, saying -- making voters believe that running anything but a positive campaign is a bad idea. Well, positive campaigns don't really help you regain a lot of ground. So they do have a problem. But all they can do is hope that things turn around for them and that they cannot take John Kerry.
That pretty much is something that's not going to probably happen. But they have to somehow differentiate themselves from each other so somebody isn't embarrassed by a fourth place finish in that fight between second, third and fourth.
CARROLL: And Independent voters, they're obviously going to be playing a major role in the outcome.
Bob Franken, thanks so very much for that.
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 January 25, 2004 - 08:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JASON CARROLL, CNN ANCHOR: And now on to politics and the last leg of the long political sprint. With the New Hampshire primary just two days away, the top Democratic presidential contenders are in full campaign mode.
Our Bob Franken is keeping up with the candidates, and he joins us now live from Manchester with the latest.
Bob, it's looking like a horse race for second.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. It is. As far as the leader is concerned, he responded to the cold weather here. Not quite as cold as Mars, but plenty cold.
He responded by heading into an ice skating rink. And I'm talking about John Kerry, who probably will get the award for the photo opportunity of the weekend. That's him in a little bit of a face-off.
Of course he's involved in a face-off with the various other Democratic candidates. But right now, they're barely within sight. They are skating on thin ice a little bit, particularly Howard Dean.
Howard Dean is now trying to hold onto second place. And he, of course, is somebody who would love very much to take on John Kerry. But right now, look at that. That is his latest endorsement.
Yes, that's the same goat that endorsed Al Gore in the year 2000. And we all know what happened to al gore. But right now, I suppose it's fair to say that the goat could be used to gore the opponents. There's actually a fight going on for second place.
Wesley Clark is trailing just a little bit behind Howard Dean. He's been having to fight off his own missteps. And also, John Edwards is starting to make a move, hoping that it's reminiscent of Iowa.
And trailing badly is Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman insists that no matter how well or poorly he does in New Hampshire, he's going to go on.
But as you can see, there are nothing but serious moments as this campaign goes on -- Jason.
CARROLL: Yes. And Kerry looking rather relaxed out there. But I'm wondering what the other candidates have to do who are vying for second. What do they have to do at this point in the final days to distinguish themselves in this pack?
FRANKEN: Well, I suppose one of them could play basketball or something like that. But beyond that, beyond that they have a real dilemma.
I think the dilemma is that on the one hand, they have to somehow differentiate themselves, somehow convince the voters that they have the program. On the other, they're somewhat inhibited by what is this new warmth and fuzziness that has enveloped the campaign.
John Edwards has really sort of set the mood, saying -- making voters believe that running anything but a positive campaign is a bad idea. Well, positive campaigns don't really help you regain a lot of ground. So they do have a problem. But all they can do is hope that things turn around for them and that they cannot take John Kerry.
That pretty much is something that's not going to probably happen. But they have to somehow differentiate themselves from each other so somebody isn't embarrassed by a fourth place finish in that fight between second, third and fourth.
CARROLL: And Independent voters, they're obviously going to be playing a major role in the outcome.
Bob Franken, thanks so very much for that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
