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CNN Saturday Morning News
Democrats Weigh Political Options After Wellstone Death
Aired October 26, 2002 - 07:28 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As you heard Jonathan Karl say, the death of Senator Paul Wellstone could upset the shaky balance of power in the Senate unless another Democrat from Minnesota can get elected 10 days from now.
CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider sorts it all out for us.
Do you think it's possible? Do you think the Democrats can still win in Minnesota?
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Oh, yes. What often happens when there's a tragedy like this is, there's a wave of public sympathy, which shows up in the polling place. When Mel Carnahan was killed in a plane crash, as Jonathan mentioned two years ago in Minnesota (ph), the sympathy was enormous. He was still on the ballot. People voted for him posthumously, and his wife was appointed to take his place.
If Walter Mondale or some other Democrat is put on the ballot, and they're looking for a big name that people will recognize, that kind of wave of sympathy for the late Paul Wellstone -- the funeral will be certainly next week -- that kind of wave of sympathy could carry the Democrat into office. That's what Republicans are worried about.
COSTELLO: Bill, and speaking of Walter Mondale, he's retired, he's relaxing, he's 75 years old. Do you think he'll run?
SCHNEIDER: Well, he has indicated that he might be interested. It's not clear whether he's going to run or not. At age 75, does he really want to start over again? Been there, done that. You know, he was a senator, then he was the vice president with Jimmy Carter, then he ran for president. Later he became ambassador to Japan.
To go back to the Senate would seem like going backwards in his career.
But he wants to hold this seat for the Democrats. Now is the time for all good men...
COSTELLO: Yes, and he's quite...
SCHNEIDER: ... to come to the aid of their party.
COSTELLO: Yes, he's quite competitive too politically, isn't he? SCHNEIDER: Yes, he is. And they want to keep the Senate Democratic. He would not be the oldest candidate. That's Frank Lautenberg, he's 78 years old. He replaced Bob Torricelli on the ballot in New Jersey, and he's running.
COSTELLO: And he's ahead in the polls too.
SCHNEIDER: Little bit ahead, and he's expected -- well, I wouldn't say expected, but it is possible that he will hold that seat in New Jersey even though he's older than Walter Mondale is. So you could have a couple of old-timers coming up, coming back for a second act.
COSTELLO: Very interesting. Another name being thrown in there is Alan Page (ph), and he is on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
SCHNEIDER: He is, he's African-American, he was a player for the Minnesota Vikings, another well-known name in the state of Minnesota. If Mondale doesn't do it, they may turn to him. He's a Democrat.
They have to find someone who's already well known, because you can't become well known to -- and a familiar figure to Minnesota voters in the course of a few days.
Other names, Skip Humphrey -- Hubert Humphrey III -- who ran for governor, came in third, four years ago.
Ted Mondale, Walter Mondale's son, is also an active candidate in Minnesota politics. But they need someone who won't have to spend weeks getting known to the electorate, because there are only a few days.
COSTELLO: Oh, you're not kidding. Bill Schneider, thank you very much. You've made it much more clear for all of us this morning.
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 October 26, 2002 - 07:28 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As you heard Jonathan Karl say, the death of Senator Paul Wellstone could upset the shaky balance of power in the Senate unless another Democrat from Minnesota can get elected 10 days from now.
CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider sorts it all out for us.
Do you think it's possible? Do you think the Democrats can still win in Minnesota?
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Oh, yes. What often happens when there's a tragedy like this is, there's a wave of public sympathy, which shows up in the polling place. When Mel Carnahan was killed in a plane crash, as Jonathan mentioned two years ago in Minnesota (ph), the sympathy was enormous. He was still on the ballot. People voted for him posthumously, and his wife was appointed to take his place.
If Walter Mondale or some other Democrat is put on the ballot, and they're looking for a big name that people will recognize, that kind of wave of sympathy for the late Paul Wellstone -- the funeral will be certainly next week -- that kind of wave of sympathy could carry the Democrat into office. That's what Republicans are worried about.
COSTELLO: Bill, and speaking of Walter Mondale, he's retired, he's relaxing, he's 75 years old. Do you think he'll run?
SCHNEIDER: Well, he has indicated that he might be interested. It's not clear whether he's going to run or not. At age 75, does he really want to start over again? Been there, done that. You know, he was a senator, then he was the vice president with Jimmy Carter, then he ran for president. Later he became ambassador to Japan.
To go back to the Senate would seem like going backwards in his career.
But he wants to hold this seat for the Democrats. Now is the time for all good men...
COSTELLO: Yes, and he's quite...
SCHNEIDER: ... to come to the aid of their party.
COSTELLO: Yes, he's quite competitive too politically, isn't he? SCHNEIDER: Yes, he is. And they want to keep the Senate Democratic. He would not be the oldest candidate. That's Frank Lautenberg, he's 78 years old. He replaced Bob Torricelli on the ballot in New Jersey, and he's running.
COSTELLO: And he's ahead in the polls too.
SCHNEIDER: Little bit ahead, and he's expected -- well, I wouldn't say expected, but it is possible that he will hold that seat in New Jersey even though he's older than Walter Mondale is. So you could have a couple of old-timers coming up, coming back for a second act.
COSTELLO: Very interesting. Another name being thrown in there is Alan Page (ph), and he is on the Minnesota Supreme Court.
SCHNEIDER: He is, he's African-American, he was a player for the Minnesota Vikings, another well-known name in the state of Minnesota. If Mondale doesn't do it, they may turn to him. He's a Democrat.
They have to find someone who's already well known, because you can't become well known to -- and a familiar figure to Minnesota voters in the course of a few days.
Other names, Skip Humphrey -- Hubert Humphrey III -- who ran for governor, came in third, four years ago.
Ted Mondale, Walter Mondale's son, is also an active candidate in Minnesota politics. But they need someone who won't have to spend weeks getting known to the electorate, because there are only a few days.
COSTELLO: Oh, you're not kidding. Bill Schneider, thank you very much. You've made it much more clear for all of us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
