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Morning NewsElection 2000: GOP Presidential Candidates on Post-Debate Campaign Trail in South CarolinaAired February 16, 2000 - 9:03 a.m. ETTHIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And the candidates are back on the campaign trail this morning. Governor Bush is in Hilton Head, South Carolina while Senator McCain is in Newberry, South Carolina. Our John King joins us from Newberry with the latest on this neck-and-neck Republican race. John, good morning. JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning do you, Daryn. Inside today, Senator -- go ahead. KAGAN: You go ahead. KING: OK. If you watch last night's debate, each candidate trying to make a case to the voters they think are critical to their chances here in South Carolina. Governor Bush, in that exchange we saw in Jon Karl's package, looking to appeal to South Carolina's core cultural conservative base. He believes that is the margin of victory for him here. Senator McCain, on the other hand, looking to appeal to the veterans, to tap into South Carolina's deep military tradition. Both campaigns claiming victory, although in the McCain campaign, advisers do privately tell us they think Senator McCain has done much better in previous debates. Obviously, with three days left, the candidates campaigning hard for a contest that will determine whether Senator McCain keeps the momentum of New Hampshire going or whether Governor Bush can reestablish his claim to be the clear GOP front-runner -- Daryn. KAGAN: So different constituencies, yet almost everybody likes to hear the idea of a tax cut. These candidates are proposing different types of tax cuts. What did they have to say in their differences last night, John? KING: Well, the age-old rule in Republican politics used to be the candidate with the biggest tax cut wins. Senator McCain is challenging that. Governor Bush wants to cut taxes by nearly $500 billion over 10 years. He says the American people deserve the federal budget surplus back in their pockets. However, Senator McCain takes a very different approach, wants to cut taxes by only about half that much and dedicate 62 percent of the surplus to shoring up the Social Security program and paying down the national debt. So this policy difference between the two a test of where the Republican Party now stands on the issue of tax cuts -- Daryn. KAGAN: A test that will be decided in the primary just days from now. John King travelling with John McCain in Newberry, South Carolina. Thanks, John. 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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