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CNN Saturday Morning News
Americans Abroad Takiing Keen Interest in Democratic Candidates
Aired February 07, 2004 - 08:08 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: And the political currents spread far beyond America's shores. U.S. citizens living overseas are taking a keen interest in the Democratic candidates, and it's not merely academic. American delegates from abroad will eventually be chosen to attend the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
And CNN's Jim Bittermann explains from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Retired photo editor, journalist and author John Morris has lived under 16 American presidents, the last four of them at his home in Paris. And while the 87-year-old has always preferred Democrats, he's never worked so hard to defeat a Republican as he is this year. For Morris, Americans who live overseas were the first to feel the consequences of Washington's muscular foreign policy.
JOHN MORRIS, DEMOCRAT: After 9/11, people would stop us in the streets -- "you're American, sorry about that." We really had the sympathy of the world. And in two years we converted it into hostility.
BITTERMANN: So this weekend, Morris joined hundreds of his fellow Democrats and a handful of Republicans who gathered at the American Church of Paris for a caucus to pick a favorite candidate to run against President Bush.
(on camera): What makes him particularly attractive to overseas voters, do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, like to all voters, the fact that he can win against Bush.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): Many here angry that in the last presidential election, some overseas votes were not even counted, are this year determined that it not happen again.
JOE SMALLHOOVER, DEMOCRATS ABROAD: We are not champagne swilling, caviar munching Americans, as a lot of people would like to think. We are average folks.
BITTERMANN: Organizers thought only 400 would turn out for the caucus, but when more than twice that number did, the pastor told everyone to move from the annex to the main sanctuary. It was a pretty civil crowd. The man who spoke out for Kerry started off by saying something nice about each one of the other candidates, maybe because the real target is clear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a mission to accomplish together and that mission is to beat George Bush in November.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I ask each of you to take account...
BITTERMANN: Then, with positions clear, the caucus divided. The Kerry people here, the Edwards people there, some Clark people went to try to steal some Dean people. And everyone began counting noses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three.
BITTERMANN: The Clark people not only counted, but numbered themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-three.
BITTERMANN: None of it was especially pretty, but it was democracy in action, a scene played out around the world.
(on camera): The voting will go on in meetings from here to Tokyo throughout the weekend and by Monday the international organization hopes to have some kind of idea of how the candidates are ranked overseas. Then, next month, representatives will travel to Scotland, where they'll vote for the seven delegates and two super delegates who will go to the convention in Boston.
(voice-over): In the end, Kerry won in Paris, 58 percent; and Dean and Clark each got 21 percent. The passionate debate continued long after the vote was announced. But the Democrats seemed focused not on differences, but on what they aim to do to President Bush in November.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Candidates>
Aired February 7, 2004 - 08:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: And the political currents spread far beyond America's shores. U.S. citizens living overseas are taking a keen interest in the Democratic candidates, and it's not merely academic. American delegates from abroad will eventually be chosen to attend the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
And CNN's Jim Bittermann explains from Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Retired photo editor, journalist and author John Morris has lived under 16 American presidents, the last four of them at his home in Paris. And while the 87-year-old has always preferred Democrats, he's never worked so hard to defeat a Republican as he is this year. For Morris, Americans who live overseas were the first to feel the consequences of Washington's muscular foreign policy.
JOHN MORRIS, DEMOCRAT: After 9/11, people would stop us in the streets -- "you're American, sorry about that." We really had the sympathy of the world. And in two years we converted it into hostility.
BITTERMANN: So this weekend, Morris joined hundreds of his fellow Democrats and a handful of Republicans who gathered at the American Church of Paris for a caucus to pick a favorite candidate to run against President Bush.
(on camera): What makes him particularly attractive to overseas voters, do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, like to all voters, the fact that he can win against Bush.
BITTERMANN (voice-over): Many here angry that in the last presidential election, some overseas votes were not even counted, are this year determined that it not happen again.
JOE SMALLHOOVER, DEMOCRATS ABROAD: We are not champagne swilling, caviar munching Americans, as a lot of people would like to think. We are average folks.
BITTERMANN: Organizers thought only 400 would turn out for the caucus, but when more than twice that number did, the pastor told everyone to move from the annex to the main sanctuary. It was a pretty civil crowd. The man who spoke out for Kerry started off by saying something nice about each one of the other candidates, maybe because the real target is clear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a mission to accomplish together and that mission is to beat George Bush in November.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I ask each of you to take account...
BITTERMANN: Then, with positions clear, the caucus divided. The Kerry people here, the Edwards people there, some Clark people went to try to steal some Dean people. And everyone began counting noses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three.
BITTERMANN: The Clark people not only counted, but numbered themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-three.
BITTERMANN: None of it was especially pretty, but it was democracy in action, a scene played out around the world.
(on camera): The voting will go on in meetings from here to Tokyo throughout the weekend and by Monday the international organization hopes to have some kind of idea of how the candidates are ranked overseas. Then, next month, representatives will travel to Scotland, where they'll vote for the seven delegates and two super delegates who will go to the convention in Boston.
(voice-over): In the end, Kerry won in Paris, 58 percent; and Dean and Clark each got 21 percent. The passionate debate continued long after the vote was announced. But the Democrats seemed focused not on differences, but on what they aim to do to President Bush in November.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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