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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Ryan Thornburg

Aired February 15, 2004 - 09:42   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.


JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN ANCHOR: On the campaign trail, it's now 14 of 16 for Senator John Kerry. And now the political focus shifts to Wisconsin. So let's focus on Ryan Thornburg, political editor at the washingtonpost.com. Ryan's in our Washington bureau.
And Wisconsin, it looks like the Kerry juggernaut still has the lead. Howard Dean first said he would drop out, then he said he wouldn't, then he said stay tuned. Should we expect that the field will be narrowed after Wisconsin?

RYAN THORNBURG, POLITICAL EDITOR, WASHINGTONPOST.COM: It's always hard to tell what candidates are going to do after each of these races, and I think it's going to depend on how they do in Wisconsin. Certainly the polls are looking like they're in Kerry's favor. And Howard Dean has said he's going to return to Vermont the day after the primary. We're going to have to see what's going to happen the day after that. All of these candidates trying to figure out what sort of their rationale for continuing the race is.

MCINTYRE: Well, clearly, it looks like the Bush administration and the Bush campaign thinks Kerry is going to be their opponent, because they've already got an anti-Kerry ad out. What do you make of that?

THORNBURG: Yes, the Bush campaign came out with this Internet ad a couple of days ago. It's a video describing Kerry's money that he's taken from lobbyists and different interests. Kerry's responded. There's a back and forth, I think. This Internet ad is really interesting. The message portion of it, and the strategy portion of it. The Internet ads are not bound by the same rules that the television ads are, yet they're getting lots of coverage on television stations that are replaying this ad. So the Bush campaign wants to get their message out there.

MCINTYRE: So does the Bush-Kerry contest start now, even before the democrats have officially selected the nominee?

THORNBURG: Well, the Bush-Kerry campaign has been going on, I think, as long as the primaries have been going on. Kerry's been attacking bush, as well as the other Democratic candidates have. Which is a good thing for Kerry. As long as the candidates stay focused on Bush and are not criticizing Kerry, who is a front-runner.

This is a good thing for the democratic party. And so, I think they're going to try to figure out how long he can keep that thing going. Because every Tuesday night he's showing up with his name next to the word winner in headlines, and this is always a good thing for him. Bush, I think, is trying to break through and get his message out there as well this week.

MCINTYRE: OK. Of course, on Friday of this week, our White House reporters are all kept up late when the White House dropped 400 pages of documents about Bush's service in the Guard. There's been a big issue in Washington. But is this likely to play much really in the election campaign? Because, after all, voters do have Bush's record as president to judge him on.

THORNBURG: Right. You saw that both Bush and Kerry's records during the Vietnam era became an issue this week. And according to a "Washington Post" poll that we had up also this week, you know, most Americans, about two-thirds of them, don't really think this is a legitimate issue. That cut across age gaps. So it's not a generational thing.

I'm not sure where it's going to go. Certainly the Democratic Party has been making an issue of it. Max Cleland, who's been campaigning with Kerry, has brought it up. Michael Moore, who has been campaigning with Wesley Clark when he was still in the campaign, brought it up. And of course, Terry McAuliffe brought it up. Now, the White House, with the way they released documents this week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday sort of kept that story in the news for the last couple of days. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here and who picks up on it.

MCINTYRE: Another story in the news that we've been reporting about is the issue of same-sex marriages. And it looks like Senator Kerry is trying to really have a very sort of nuanced position on this issue, to sort of keep him out of the crossfire. What is his position, and how is it the same or different from the republicans?

THORNBURG: Well, you know, all the candidates on all sides of the issue, I think, are trying to take a very nuanced stand on this. President Bush -- aides to President Bush came out and told the "Washington Post" this week that it was looking like he was going to be endorsing a constitutional amendment that defined marriage at the federal level. Kerry, when I've seen him on the trail in answering questions, at lunches, he's been very careful to place his position as not supporting gay marriage, but standing against -- or standing for civil unions, but not for gay marriages. And I think this is going to be a tough issue for all parties in the campaign.

And this is going to echo in the state legislatures. This week, that's where you're seeing all the action, not on the federal level, you're seeing it in state houses in Idaho and Iowa and around the country. And with probably about two thirds, according to the same poll that I was talking about a minute ago, saying that they think this is more of a states issue than a federal issue. I think that's probably where it's going to play out this year.

MCINTYRE: Howard Dean is hinting that he may still stay in, even if he doesn't win Wisconsin. Realistically, can he stay in?

THORNBURG: Well, you know, there are a lot of candidates that are going to stay in. Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton will probably also stay in, and John Edwards as well. These candidates have to weigh the pros and cons of how much is it costing to run this campaign day to day, and how much money do they have left. And what will they get by staying in, one more week or one more day. And I think that's a tough thing for Howard Dean to answer.

MCINTYRE: It's interesting, I was watching Edwards on the "Tonight Show" this week, and he was joking about that he would take Kerry as his running mate in that came up. I wonder if that was a backhanded way of hinting that maybe he would accept the number two spot.

THORNBURG: That's been John Edwards' pat response to that question about whether or not he would take the number two spot. He's been saying that for a long time. There's been a lot of discussion around Edwards, certainly the importance of taking the south. I think there's some question about what Edwards' strengths are in the south after losing both in Virginia and Tennessee to John Kerry this week. And so I think his name will be in the mix. But there will be a lot of names that are going to be in the vice presidential sweepstakes that we'll be all playing for the next couple of months and weeks.

MCINTYRE: All right. Ryan Thornburg, political editor for washingtonpost.com. Thank you for being with us, sharing your insights. It will be an interesting political season.

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 15, 2004 - 09:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN ANCHOR: On the campaign trail, it's now 14 of 16 for Senator John Kerry. And now the political focus shifts to Wisconsin. So let's focus on Ryan Thornburg, political editor at the washingtonpost.com. Ryan's in our Washington bureau.
And Wisconsin, it looks like the Kerry juggernaut still has the lead. Howard Dean first said he would drop out, then he said he wouldn't, then he said stay tuned. Should we expect that the field will be narrowed after Wisconsin?

RYAN THORNBURG, POLITICAL EDITOR, WASHINGTONPOST.COM: It's always hard to tell what candidates are going to do after each of these races, and I think it's going to depend on how they do in Wisconsin. Certainly the polls are looking like they're in Kerry's favor. And Howard Dean has said he's going to return to Vermont the day after the primary. We're going to have to see what's going to happen the day after that. All of these candidates trying to figure out what sort of their rationale for continuing the race is.

MCINTYRE: Well, clearly, it looks like the Bush administration and the Bush campaign thinks Kerry is going to be their opponent, because they've already got an anti-Kerry ad out. What do you make of that?

THORNBURG: Yes, the Bush campaign came out with this Internet ad a couple of days ago. It's a video describing Kerry's money that he's taken from lobbyists and different interests. Kerry's responded. There's a back and forth, I think. This Internet ad is really interesting. The message portion of it, and the strategy portion of it. The Internet ads are not bound by the same rules that the television ads are, yet they're getting lots of coverage on television stations that are replaying this ad. So the Bush campaign wants to get their message out there.

MCINTYRE: So does the Bush-Kerry contest start now, even before the democrats have officially selected the nominee?

THORNBURG: Well, the Bush-Kerry campaign has been going on, I think, as long as the primaries have been going on. Kerry's been attacking bush, as well as the other Democratic candidates have. Which is a good thing for Kerry. As long as the candidates stay focused on Bush and are not criticizing Kerry, who is a front-runner.

This is a good thing for the democratic party. And so, I think they're going to try to figure out how long he can keep that thing going. Because every Tuesday night he's showing up with his name next to the word winner in headlines, and this is always a good thing for him. Bush, I think, is trying to break through and get his message out there as well this week.

MCINTYRE: OK. Of course, on Friday of this week, our White House reporters are all kept up late when the White House dropped 400 pages of documents about Bush's service in the Guard. There's been a big issue in Washington. But is this likely to play much really in the election campaign? Because, after all, voters do have Bush's record as president to judge him on.

THORNBURG: Right. You saw that both Bush and Kerry's records during the Vietnam era became an issue this week. And according to a "Washington Post" poll that we had up also this week, you know, most Americans, about two-thirds of them, don't really think this is a legitimate issue. That cut across age gaps. So it's not a generational thing.

I'm not sure where it's going to go. Certainly the Democratic Party has been making an issue of it. Max Cleland, who's been campaigning with Kerry, has brought it up. Michael Moore, who has been campaigning with Wesley Clark when he was still in the campaign, brought it up. And of course, Terry McAuliffe brought it up. Now, the White House, with the way they released documents this week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday sort of kept that story in the news for the last couple of days. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here and who picks up on it.

MCINTYRE: Another story in the news that we've been reporting about is the issue of same-sex marriages. And it looks like Senator Kerry is trying to really have a very sort of nuanced position on this issue, to sort of keep him out of the crossfire. What is his position, and how is it the same or different from the republicans?

THORNBURG: Well, you know, all the candidates on all sides of the issue, I think, are trying to take a very nuanced stand on this. President Bush -- aides to President Bush came out and told the "Washington Post" this week that it was looking like he was going to be endorsing a constitutional amendment that defined marriage at the federal level. Kerry, when I've seen him on the trail in answering questions, at lunches, he's been very careful to place his position as not supporting gay marriage, but standing against -- or standing for civil unions, but not for gay marriages. And I think this is going to be a tough issue for all parties in the campaign.

And this is going to echo in the state legislatures. This week, that's where you're seeing all the action, not on the federal level, you're seeing it in state houses in Idaho and Iowa and around the country. And with probably about two thirds, according to the same poll that I was talking about a minute ago, saying that they think this is more of a states issue than a federal issue. I think that's probably where it's going to play out this year.

MCINTYRE: Howard Dean is hinting that he may still stay in, even if he doesn't win Wisconsin. Realistically, can he stay in?

THORNBURG: Well, you know, there are a lot of candidates that are going to stay in. Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton will probably also stay in, and John Edwards as well. These candidates have to weigh the pros and cons of how much is it costing to run this campaign day to day, and how much money do they have left. And what will they get by staying in, one more week or one more day. And I think that's a tough thing for Howard Dean to answer.

MCINTYRE: It's interesting, I was watching Edwards on the "Tonight Show" this week, and he was joking about that he would take Kerry as his running mate in that came up. I wonder if that was a backhanded way of hinting that maybe he would accept the number two spot.

THORNBURG: That's been John Edwards' pat response to that question about whether or not he would take the number two spot. He's been saying that for a long time. There's been a lot of discussion around Edwards, certainly the importance of taking the south. I think there's some question about what Edwards' strengths are in the south after losing both in Virginia and Tennessee to John Kerry this week. And so I think his name will be in the mix. But there will be a lot of names that are going to be in the vice presidential sweepstakes that we'll be all playing for the next couple of months and weeks.

MCINTYRE: All right. Ryan Thornburg, political editor for washingtonpost.com. Thank you for being with us, sharing your insights. It will be an interesting political season.

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