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Morning News

Election 2000 Winners & Losers: Bush-Gore Tie; Buchanan Becoming Political Pariah

Aired May 8, 2000 - 9:31 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for our weekly look at politics and election 2000. Joining us from Washington with his latest version of winners and losers, Bill Schneider, CNN's senior political analyst.

Love bug get you, Bill?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Not quite.

HEMMER: Good, good for you.

Let's first talk about the winners. Interesting here, a tie between Bush and Gore. What's happening?

SCHNEIDER: Well, the presidential campaign has gone into attack mode, and each one of those guys committed a foul and got caught. Bush said he believed that Al Gore was once a member of the National Rifle Association, adding "if I am not mistaken." Well, whoops, he was mistaken. Neither Bush nor the NRA could produce any evidence that Gore was ever a member of the organization. Although, when he was a member of Congress, Gore did often vote to support the NRA's positions. Bush said he heard it from a little birdie.

Meanwhile. Gore claimed that, as governor of Texas, Bush never really produced a serious state budget. And then, a couple of days later, there was Bush with these big, thick documents, waving them in the air, and brandishing his 1997 and 1999 Texas budget proposals. Score one for Bush.

It looks like hyperbole and distortion have already set in. It is going to be a long campaign.

HEMMER: Who really cares about accuracy, huh, Bill? The down arrow, Pat Buchanan, what is happening in his front? He has been somewhat quiet.

SCHNEIDER: Well, he may have been quiet, but last week, the New York branch of the Reform Party interviewed Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rudy Giuliani to decide which one of them to endorse for the Senate. Mrs. Clinton said she would not run on the Reform Party ticker if Pat Buchanan were the party's presidential candidate. Then, a few days later, Mayor Giuliani said, he didn't think he could share a ballot with Pat Buchanan. Now, some members of the New York party are talking about disaffiliating from the national Reform Party if it nominates Pat Buchanan. Governor Jesse Ventura already left the Reform Party because he didn't want to be in a party led by Pat Buchanan. Buchanan is becoming the great pariah of American politics, and he may be taking the Reform Party down with him.

HEMMER: Seems like the squeeze is on there. Let's talk about the primary season. So much criticism this past year about how to do it, and the way to do it right, and more correct in the future. The Republicans actually have gotten together to talk about it. They are the twist. They come up with anything?

SCHNEIDER: Well, what they came up with is a plan to, guess what, reschedule it, and jiggle all the primaries over all over again. They are going to do it again. Well, the plan that the Republican task force came up with is a plan to stretch the 20004 primaries over four months, with the smallest states voting first and the largest states last. Now, that is good news for voters who thought the whole thing ended much too quickly this year.

Why are the Republicans doing it? For the same reason the Democrats used to fool around with the primary rules because they are not happy with the results. I think Republicans have a particular problem with the state of New Hampshire going first because New Hampshire always promotes troublemakers, Pat Buchannan in 1996, and now John McCain in 2000.

Will this thing ever happen? Well, first, the Republican convention has to approve it. And then the Democrats have to approve it. And look, if you ask Democrats, are they happy with the primary season? They will say: Sure. It gave us Bill Clinton. He got elected twice, and think we are going to win with Al Gore. They don't have a complaint.

Finally, it has to go to the states. Now, do you think, Californian, Florida, Texas and New York are going to be happy with a deal that makes them go last? I am not sure.

HEMMER: One hundred and eighty-three days, by my count, to the first Tuesday in November. We'll keep it interesting.

SCHNEIDER: I hope so.

HEMMER: Bill Schneider, thanks.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

HEMMER: Much appreciated, live in Washington.

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