ad info

 
CNN.comTranscripts
 
Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback  

 

  Search
 
 

 

TOP STORIES

Bush signs order opening 'faith-based' charity office for business

Rescues continue 4 days after devastating India earthquake

DaimlerChrysler employees join rapidly swelling ranks of laid-off U.S. workers

Disney's GO.com is a goner

(MORE)

MARKETS
4:30pm ET, 4/16
144.70
8257.60
3.71
1394.72
10.90
879.91
 


WORLD

U.S.

POLITICS

LAW

TECHNOLOGY

ENTERTAINMENT

 
TRAVEL

ARTS & STYLE



(MORE HEADLINES)
 
CNN Websites
Networks image


Morning News

Election 2000: Democrats Put Best Face Forward for Final Run at Florida Supreme Court

Aired December 5, 2000 - 11:01 a.m. ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Vice President Al Gore and his team is not ready to throw in the towel, despite yesterday's legal setbacks. Gore campaign attorney David Boies sums it up this way, saying: "They won; we lost; and we're appealing."

CNN's Jonathan Karl keeping tabs on the Gore campaign in Washington, joining us now.

Jonathan, good morning once again.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Yes, the official word from the Gore team is, we are down, but we're not out. And Joe Lieberman, the vice presidential candidate, Vice President Gore's running mate, was up on Capitol Hill today making that point to Democrats because the vice president's team knows that they've got a big, big legal challenge down in Florida, but they've got even a potentially bigger political challenge up here in Washington -- and that is keeping Democrats united behind the vice president as he pursues his final appeal.

The vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman met with congressional Democrats on the House side, gave them this message, told them to stick in there, this the almost over, the final step is the Florida state Supreme Court. The vice president (ph) and minority leader Dick Gephardt came to the microphones after that meeting: This is what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D), MINORITY LEADER: He had a very good caucus meeting with Senator Lieberman, and I would say to all of you that Al Gore and Joe Lieberman enjoy strong support within our caucus for what they're doing, to try to get every vote counted in Florida. They have strong support for their effort to go to the Supreme Court of Florida and to get a full review of the decision that was rendered yesterday in the circuit court.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This was a most encouraging meeting for me and I will certainly convey the substance and the spirit of it to Vice President Gore. I think the members of the House democratic caucus feel, as Al Gore and I did, proud of the race we ran, proud of the principles we ran on, grateful for the support we received throughout America, winning in the popular vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: Now, a couple of important things about that meeting with Lieberman and the House Democrats: the first is that Joe Lieberman said a couple of things in terms of this case being almost over. He said they don't need to be patient much longer -- Joe Lieberman, he came out and he said this before the cameras as well -- said that the final arbiter of this whole situation will be the Florida Supreme Court. In other words, the Gore campaign has no plans to appeal further beyond the Florida Supreme Court or to pursue other possible legal remedies.

Joe Lieberman assuring Democrats that the Florida Supreme Court will be the final word on this; and if they rule against the Gore campaign, Lieberman saying that the Gore campaign, the vice president, will abide by that decision and not attempt to go further -- which means you could see an end to this thing by the end of the week.

Another thing is that in attendance at that meeting were primarily those who you would expect to support the vice president and his case: loyal Democrats. A lot of the moderate and conservative Democrats that are more skeptical about this were not in attendance. Those are the people that the Gore team are especially worried about.

And their message to them is, look, support us; but if you don't support us, please keep quiet about it, at least until the end of the week. Give us time; we have one more crack at this: the Florida state Supreme court. We believe it's a friendlier venue than we've seen before. We think there's a chance we may prevail; we need at least to have that chance.

The Gore team very much worried about the stampede effect. If one or two conservative, moderate Democrats come out and raise questions about the vice president's approach to this more could follow. So they really want to keep everybody in line on this, and that's why Joe Lieberman is up on Capitol Hill today.

KAGAN: Jonathan Karl in Washington, D.C. Jonathan, thank you very much; that's from the Gore camp.

Now let's check in on the Bush camp; and doing that for us today: Tony Clark in Austin, Texas.

Tony, good morning once again.

TONY CLARK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

The mood here in Austin, upbeat. As Jonathan said, people in the Bush camp feel like they won; and the Gore camp said they can see an end to this coming, although they see a much different end, a favorable end to this. They feel that Governor Bush will end up being elected the president of the United States.

The governor got his intelligence briefing today. That's the first time he's received one of those as -- it's one of the courtesies given to people who, in usual cases, the president-elect -- in this case, intelligence briefings to both the governor and Vice President Al Gore. Then he went over to the capitol where he is right now. He's working both on state business and transition business. Before he went in he stopped; he talked longer than he usually does as he goes into the capitol. One thing he said: He was encouraged by yesterday's court decisions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought the judge gave a very thorough opinion yesterday. It was a definitive opinion, and we'll just have to see -- to see the -- how quickly the relevant courts act in the state of Florida.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLARK: Governor Bush said he's not ready to call on Vice President Gore to concede. He said he understands that that is a difficult decision for the vice president, as it would be a difficult decision for him. In the meantime, the work on the transition is continuing. Running mate Dick Cheney on Capitol Hill today, talking to Republican leadership not only about transition, but about a possible legislative package if there is a Bush administration. The movement here in Austin is just towards that goal: a Bush administration -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Tony Clark in Austin, Texas; Tony, thank you very much.

For more analysis and insight on this, let's bring in our Washington bureau chief Frank Sesno, standing by in the nation's capitol.

Frank, good morning.

FRANK SESNO, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning to you.

KAGAN: We heard Jonathan Karl talk about the support and the unity that was right behind Joseph Lieberman today on Capitol Hill. How real and how solid is that support, as of today, behind Al Gore?

SESNO: Oh, it's in the endgame stage, or so it feels. I mean, nobody should be pronouncing this thing over yet, but more and more we're starting to hear from a number of Democrats -- that what they're doing is standing firm right now with the full expectation that, as Jonathan Karl reported, this thing finishes up with the Florida Supreme Court.

It is almost -- well, certainly very difficult, if not impossible, to find a Democrat at this stage who will privately or publicly say that he or she thinks that, in the end, it's going to be president-elect Al Gore. As one Democrat who asked not to be identified said: "This is going to wrap up very soon."

So it's a sense of some inevitability, though the fight goes on.

KAGAN: Frank, does it surprise you that no Democrat out there sees this as a political opportunity to break away and stand out and be the first to say, I told you so and, maybe, see an opportunity for a national platform there?

SESNO: There will be time for that, if the time comes. Right now, I think -- what I'm hearing, anyway, from Democrats and what our reporters all over town are hearing from Democrats is, you know, they have their own set of expectations. They don't think the clock is very long on this. They're reading the polls along with everyone else; but it's a time to be good Democrats.

And one of them put it this way, Daryn; he said, you know, for history and for the supporters of both sides, this should play through the Florida Supreme Court. You know, to talk of concession -- just sort of flat-out outright concession -- is premature; this is in the courts. All Democrats, even those who come from heavily -- from districts that went heavily for George W. Bush say, ultimately, this is a nation of laws and this is in the courts right now and those courts must decide.

KAGAN: And, Frank, what about the man that we saw on Capitol Hill today: Senator Joe Lieberman. What's his political standing if this does not work out for Al Gore. Has this hurt him by being part of this ticket?

SESNO: Very interesting -- either way, Daryn, I'm picking up a great deal of resentment among Democrats for Joe Lieberman.

KAGAN: Really? What was he supposed to do -- I mean, this is his running partner?

SESNO: Well, no, it's not about what they're doing now and how they're handling it. It really hearkens back to the fact that Joe Lieberman, in the view of many Democrats, was selfish -- that was the words of one Democrat I talked to just yesterday -- was selfish in not resigning from -- you know, not quitting the run and letting that Connecticut seat...

KAGAN: Letting someone else run for it.

SESNO: And win; a Democrat would have won. If Gore were to have won, Lieberman would have left that Senate seat, Governor Rowland, a Republican, would have replaced him with a Republican and would have put that seat Republican for a long time to come. So what I'm told by several senators, at least half a dozen -- when Joe Lieberman goes back to the Senate -- if he does, either as vice president or as Senate, there will be an appropriate, a proper, but not a terribly warm reception because resentment lingers.

KAGAN: Interesting. Can't win for losing or lose for losing, apparently.

SESNO: This is a tough town. You know, there have been more mood swings here in the last two weeks that we can count. You'd almost say Washington has personality disorder.

KAGAN: Got that; OK, Frank Sesno, our Washington bureau chief, thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

 Search   


Back to the top  © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.