Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Sunday
Interview With Ken Rudin
Aired May 04, 2003 - 18:22 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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now is Ken Rudin, political editor for National Public Radio.
Now, Ken, you no doubt watched the debate last night. I'm not sure how many people actually watched it, but I'm sure you did. What did you think?
KEN RUDIN, NPR: Well, I was there, and I just got back from South Carolina, and boy am I arms tired.
But it was a great debate, because you really had a chance to see the nine candidates up close for the first time. I mean, Candy talking about the election as 18 months away, and actually the first voting in Iowa and New Hampshire is less than nine months away.
But this election, this nominating process, could be over before we know it, so it's really good -- it's not too early to really pay attention, even though nobody is.
COOPER: But this is the earliest debate, or formal debate, there's ever been in a presidential contest anytime anywhere.
RUDIN: That's right, and the process will be over earlier than ever before, too, because with Iowa January 19, New Hampshire January 26 and 27 and South Carolina February 3, we could know who the Democratic nominee is by the middle of February.
So even thought it's starting earlier than ever, it will end earlier than ever as well.
COOPER: You said it was a great debate, but there are nine candidates, it was only 90 minutes long. How much was anybody actually able to say or actually debate each other?
RUDIN: Well, there's a very strange way of judging debates. I mean, a lot of people don't like the media because we pick winners and losers before the voters even get a chance to do it, so we always look for gaffs or mistakes, you know, or embarrassing moments, you know, like when Al Gore would sigh or George H. Bush, the first President Bush, would look at his watch.
But there were really no mistakes. It was just interesting to see the dynamic. Candy Crowley was talking about the personal rivalry between Howard Dean and John Kerry. That was in evidence. Joe Lieberman clearly the hawk on the war in Iraq. Dennis Kucinich and Howard Dean and others the doves of the war. So there are clearly differences. Before these Democrats need to unite and take on President Bush in 2004, obviously they're going to have to get their act together and come together as a party.
COOPER: I'm not sure how significant polling is right now for the Democrats. If you listen to the pollsters, I guess, Lieberman is out in front in a lot of polls, perhaps, because of name recognition alone.
Did anybody really jump out last night as a front-runner?
RUDIN: No. I think, you know, John Kerry wanted to make the point that he is a Vietnam veteran, and he made that point clearly. Richard Gephardt probably had the most comprehensive health care plan of all the candidates, and that was out there too.
I'm concerned -- I'm not concerned. I was watching Howard Dean, though. I got the sense that, watching him, that his 15 minutes may be almost up, and it's kind of -- again, here I am saying that everybody hates when the media anoints or dismisses candidates, but, you know, he's been getting very good press the last couple of months, his strong anti-war. But he's been kind of like taking on his fellow Democrats almost too angrily and, you know, he's been a media darling for a long time.
It looked like the act was wearing a little thin this weekend. A lot of Democrats were more willing to criticize Dean than I've seen in the past.
COOPER: And, just very briefly, Al Sharpton, how did he do? As a New Yorker, I got to ask.
RUDIN: Well, you know, everybody was hoping that, you know, not hoping, but expecting some great, you know, great line from Al Sharpton. Al Sharpton really was not that much of a factor this weekend. It was really the serious candidates who got the most serious coverage.
COOPER: All right, Ken Rudin, appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.
RUDIN: Thank you.
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 May 4, 2003 - 18:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now is Ken Rudin, political editor for National Public Radio.
Now, Ken, you no doubt watched the debate last night. I'm not sure how many people actually watched it, but I'm sure you did. What did you think?
KEN RUDIN, NPR: Well, I was there, and I just got back from South Carolina, and boy am I arms tired.
But it was a great debate, because you really had a chance to see the nine candidates up close for the first time. I mean, Candy talking about the election as 18 months away, and actually the first voting in Iowa and New Hampshire is less than nine months away.
But this election, this nominating process, could be over before we know it, so it's really good -- it's not too early to really pay attention, even though nobody is.
COOPER: But this is the earliest debate, or formal debate, there's ever been in a presidential contest anytime anywhere.
RUDIN: That's right, and the process will be over earlier than ever before, too, because with Iowa January 19, New Hampshire January 26 and 27 and South Carolina February 3, we could know who the Democratic nominee is by the middle of February.
So even thought it's starting earlier than ever, it will end earlier than ever as well.
COOPER: You said it was a great debate, but there are nine candidates, it was only 90 minutes long. How much was anybody actually able to say or actually debate each other?
RUDIN: Well, there's a very strange way of judging debates. I mean, a lot of people don't like the media because we pick winners and losers before the voters even get a chance to do it, so we always look for gaffs or mistakes, you know, or embarrassing moments, you know, like when Al Gore would sigh or George H. Bush, the first President Bush, would look at his watch.
But there were really no mistakes. It was just interesting to see the dynamic. Candy Crowley was talking about the personal rivalry between Howard Dean and John Kerry. That was in evidence. Joe Lieberman clearly the hawk on the war in Iraq. Dennis Kucinich and Howard Dean and others the doves of the war. So there are clearly differences. Before these Democrats need to unite and take on President Bush in 2004, obviously they're going to have to get their act together and come together as a party.
COOPER: I'm not sure how significant polling is right now for the Democrats. If you listen to the pollsters, I guess, Lieberman is out in front in a lot of polls, perhaps, because of name recognition alone.
Did anybody really jump out last night as a front-runner?
RUDIN: No. I think, you know, John Kerry wanted to make the point that he is a Vietnam veteran, and he made that point clearly. Richard Gephardt probably had the most comprehensive health care plan of all the candidates, and that was out there too.
I'm concerned -- I'm not concerned. I was watching Howard Dean, though. I got the sense that, watching him, that his 15 minutes may be almost up, and it's kind of -- again, here I am saying that everybody hates when the media anoints or dismisses candidates, but, you know, he's been getting very good press the last couple of months, his strong anti-war. But he's been kind of like taking on his fellow Democrats almost too angrily and, you know, he's been a media darling for a long time.
It looked like the act was wearing a little thin this weekend. A lot of Democrats were more willing to criticize Dean than I've seen in the past.
COOPER: And, just very briefly, Al Sharpton, how did he do? As a New Yorker, I got to ask.
RUDIN: Well, you know, everybody was hoping that, you know, not hoping, but expecting some great, you know, great line from Al Sharpton. Al Sharpton really was not that much of a factor this weekend. It was really the serious candidates who got the most serious coverage.
COOPER: All right, Ken Rudin, appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.
RUDIN: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
