Is Hillary Electable or Al Gore 2008
BLITZER: There are two people not running for president, but their names keep coming up in the presidential campaign. That would be Al Gore and Newt Gingrich. Both of them have very high visibility. But, if they did decide to run now, would it be too late?
Let's go to our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider. He's watching this story for us. Bill, is there room for even more candidates right now?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Wolf, it's the rule of the Thanksgiving dinner table: There's always room for more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Eight Democrats and eight Republicans are running for president, plus one more Republican set to get in this week. Is there room for more?
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't have plans to be a candidate again.
SCHNEIDER: Tipper Gore told "Vanity Fair" that, while her husband has not made any moves to suggest he's running, if he does decide to run, she would get on board.
Two-thirds of Democrats say they're satisfied with the candidates they now have. Sure, Democrats who like Bill Clinton may also like Clinton's vice president, but they have already got Clinton's wife. So, why Gore?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: There's so many questions out there right now about the current crop of candidates seeking the White House. Even though we do have front-runners on each side of the aisle, they could be knocked off at any time.
SCHNEIDER: The question about the Democratic front-runner is whether she's electable. Voters say yes, by better than two to one. Some Democrats see Gore as an insurance policy. They feel he's already proved he can win, even if the Supreme Court didn't go along.
Republicans are not so happy with their field. Nearly half of them want more choices.
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: If there's a vacuum, and if we need somebody who is able to debate Senator Clinton, then I will consider running in October. If the vacuum has been filled, I'm happy to not run.
SCHNEIDER: Republicans looking for a reliable conservative who can win are hoping that vacuum will be filled this week.
FRED THOMPSON, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I don't have any big announcements to make here tonight, but I will just say this. I will just say this. I plan on seeing a whole lot more of you. How about that?
SCHNEIDER: Most voters don't know much about Fred Thompson. They do know something about Newt Gingrich, but it's not very favorable. So, the search goes on.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SCHNEIDER: Al Gore and Newt Gingrich have one big advantage. They don't have to introduce themselves to the voters. Them, we know -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Bill Schneider, thanks very much. We will watch this campaign trail every step of the way.
John McCain with some blunt, but lighthearted words on the campaign trail. Is McCain returning to the form that helped him win the 2000 New Hampshire primary?
And a new book just out about President Bush revealing his softer side, I will talk about it with Paul Begala and J.C. Watts. They're standing by live for our "Strategy Session" -- right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: At a forum in New Hampshire today, 71-year-old Republican presidential candidate John McCain was asked by a student if he's too old to be running for the White House. McCain responded with some self-deprecation, followed by some of his trademark straight talk.
Let's go our "Strategy Session."
Joining us, Democratic strategist Paul Begala, former Republican Congressman J.C. Watts.
We will play a little clip of -- of how the president -- the presidential candidate responded to this 16-year-old.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ever worried that, like, you might die in office (INAUDIBLE)
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Alzheimer's or some other disease that might affect your judgment?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People will judge -- will judge by the vigor and the enthusiasm associated with our campaign. Every campaign I have ever been in my life, I have out- campaigned all of my opponents. And -- and I'm confident that I will.
And thanks for the question, you little jerk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: He was being funny, I -- I think. I -- I have known Senator McCain for a long time.
But it was cute.
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It was great. That is what McCain needs to do more of. Let McCain be McCain. Nobody thinks he was really insulting that kid.
And, by the way, nobody, I think, who has been around him at all -- and I dealt with him some when I worked in the White House for President Clinton -- would ever doubt his intellectual rigor or his physical vigor. Those are not the problems.
In fact, nobody articulates the wrong policies with more intellectual coherence than Senator McCain. He's way ahead of the Bush White House on how he defends this god-awful war. So, chalk one up for McCain. It's a good day for him on the trail.
BLITZER: What do you think, J.C.?
J.C. WATTS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I -- it -- it probably -- I probably -- I probably would have handled it a little differently than that. But that's John McCain.
I -- I think one of his strengths is, what you see is what you get. And that is not -- that's not abnormal for John.
(LAUGHTER)
WATTS: So, it's -- that's John being John.
BLITZER: I think a few more of those moments could help him on the campaign trail.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: There's no doubt about that.
Here's a quote from this new book. We are going to be speaking in the next hour Robert Draper, the author of "Dead Certain," a new book about the Bush presidency that's just out today.
I'm going to read to you from the book: "Self-pity is the worst thing that can happen to a presidency. This is a job where you can have a lot of self-pity. I have got God's shoulder to cry on, and I cry a lot. I do a lot of crying in this job. I will bet I have shed more tears than you can count as president."
That's a quote from George W. Bush in an interview he granted the author, Robert Draper.
It's -- it's a part of President Bush that we don't see, the emotional side, where he's visibly crying.
I don't know. Have you -- have you ever seen him cry?
BEGALA: No. No. I don't want to. And forgive me if I don't join in his pity party. The tears he shed are nothing compared to the tears of the moms and the dads and the wives of -- of the men and women who have been killed in combat because of this god-awful war that I believe and most Americans believe that he lied us into. It's a really unseemly thing for him to be whining about how hard he's got it.
And I think this book will be very revealing. I can't wait to see your interview with -- with Draper. And I want to read it, because, finally, a journalist has gotten him to open up. I suspect Democrats won't like -- well, Americans, frankly, won't like very much what they see when they see the real President Bush.
BLITZER: What do you think?
WATTS: Wolf, I believe the presidency is probably one of the most -- loneliest jobs in the world.
I don't care if it's Bill Clinton, if it's -- if it's George Bush, if it's Ronald Reagan. It's -- it's a lonely job. And I think there are times that -- I have seen the emotional side of the president, and I think he does hurt.
BLITZER: You have seen him cry?
WATTS: I have seen him tear up. I -- I hadn't seen him just out and out cry.
But, you know, there are some difficult parts, difficult moments in being the president of the United States, when you have got to go and meet those mothers. I think he hurts. You can't hurt as much as those moms that have lost their children, but I think the president does hurt over that. Any president would agonize over that.
And to say that, you know, it's disingenuous or he lied or he got us into that, I -- I think it's just unfair to say that about any Republican or Democrat president.
BLITZER: Well, we have got to leave it there, because we're out of time. Guys, thanks very much, Paul and J.C., for coming in.
Still to come, Jack Cafferty with your e-mail.
Also, allegations China hacked into Defense Secretary Robert Gates' computer system. These are very sensitive, potentially explosive claims. We're going to tell you what is going on. That's coming up.
And controversy over a school in New York. It will teach Arabic and Middle Eastern culture. This is a public school we're talking about. We're going to tell you why some people are deeply worried.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0709/04/sitroom.01.html
Video
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2007/09/04/schneider.room.for.gingrich.gore.cnn
Let's go to our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider. He's watching this story for us. Bill, is there room for even more candidates right now?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Wolf, it's the rule of the Thanksgiving dinner table: There's always room for more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Eight Democrats and eight Republicans are running for president, plus one more Republican set to get in this week. Is there room for more?
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't have plans to be a candidate again.
SCHNEIDER: Tipper Gore told "Vanity Fair" that, while her husband has not made any moves to suggest he's running, if he does decide to run, she would get on board.
Two-thirds of Democrats say they're satisfied with the candidates they now have. Sure, Democrats who like Bill Clinton may also like Clinton's vice president, but they have already got Clinton's wife. So, why Gore?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: There's so many questions out there right now about the current crop of candidates seeking the White House. Even though we do have front-runners on each side of the aisle, they could be knocked off at any time.
SCHNEIDER: The question about the Democratic front-runner is whether she's electable. Voters say yes, by better than two to one. Some Democrats see Gore as an insurance policy. They feel he's already proved he can win, even if the Supreme Court didn't go along.
Republicans are not so happy with their field. Nearly half of them want more choices.
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: If there's a vacuum, and if we need somebody who is able to debate Senator Clinton, then I will consider running in October. If the vacuum has been filled, I'm happy to not run.
SCHNEIDER: Republicans looking for a reliable conservative who can win are hoping that vacuum will be filled this week.
FRED THOMPSON, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I don't have any big announcements to make here tonight, but I will just say this. I will just say this. I plan on seeing a whole lot more of you. How about that?
SCHNEIDER: Most voters don't know much about Fred Thompson. They do know something about Newt Gingrich, but it's not very favorable. So, the search goes on.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SCHNEIDER: Al Gore and Newt Gingrich have one big advantage. They don't have to introduce themselves to the voters. Them, we know -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Bill Schneider, thanks very much. We will watch this campaign trail every step of the way.
John McCain with some blunt, but lighthearted words on the campaign trail. Is McCain returning to the form that helped him win the 2000 New Hampshire primary?
And a new book just out about President Bush revealing his softer side, I will talk about it with Paul Begala and J.C. Watts. They're standing by live for our "Strategy Session" -- right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: At a forum in New Hampshire today, 71-year-old Republican presidential candidate John McCain was asked by a student if he's too old to be running for the White House. McCain responded with some self-deprecation, followed by some of his trademark straight talk.
Let's go our "Strategy Session."
Joining us, Democratic strategist Paul Begala, former Republican Congressman J.C. Watts.
We will play a little clip of -- of how the president -- the presidential candidate responded to this 16-year-old.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ever worried that, like, you might die in office (INAUDIBLE)
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Alzheimer's or some other disease that might affect your judgment?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People will judge -- will judge by the vigor and the enthusiasm associated with our campaign. Every campaign I have ever been in my life, I have out- campaigned all of my opponents. And -- and I'm confident that I will.
And thanks for the question, you little jerk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: He was being funny, I -- I think. I -- I have known Senator McCain for a long time.
But it was cute.
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It was great. That is what McCain needs to do more of. Let McCain be McCain. Nobody thinks he was really insulting that kid.
And, by the way, nobody, I think, who has been around him at all -- and I dealt with him some when I worked in the White House for President Clinton -- would ever doubt his intellectual rigor or his physical vigor. Those are not the problems.
In fact, nobody articulates the wrong policies with more intellectual coherence than Senator McCain. He's way ahead of the Bush White House on how he defends this god-awful war. So, chalk one up for McCain. It's a good day for him on the trail.
BLITZER: What do you think, J.C.?
J.C. WATTS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I -- it -- it probably -- I probably -- I probably would have handled it a little differently than that. But that's John McCain.
I -- I think one of his strengths is, what you see is what you get. And that is not -- that's not abnormal for John.
(LAUGHTER)
WATTS: So, it's -- that's John being John.
BLITZER: I think a few more of those moments could help him on the campaign trail.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: There's no doubt about that.
Here's a quote from this new book. We are going to be speaking in the next hour Robert Draper, the author of "Dead Certain," a new book about the Bush presidency that's just out today.
I'm going to read to you from the book: "Self-pity is the worst thing that can happen to a presidency. This is a job where you can have a lot of self-pity. I have got God's shoulder to cry on, and I cry a lot. I do a lot of crying in this job. I will bet I have shed more tears than you can count as president."
That's a quote from George W. Bush in an interview he granted the author, Robert Draper.
It's -- it's a part of President Bush that we don't see, the emotional side, where he's visibly crying.
I don't know. Have you -- have you ever seen him cry?
BEGALA: No. No. I don't want to. And forgive me if I don't join in his pity party. The tears he shed are nothing compared to the tears of the moms and the dads and the wives of -- of the men and women who have been killed in combat because of this god-awful war that I believe and most Americans believe that he lied us into. It's a really unseemly thing for him to be whining about how hard he's got it.
And I think this book will be very revealing. I can't wait to see your interview with -- with Draper. And I want to read it, because, finally, a journalist has gotten him to open up. I suspect Democrats won't like -- well, Americans, frankly, won't like very much what they see when they see the real President Bush.
BLITZER: What do you think?
WATTS: Wolf, I believe the presidency is probably one of the most -- loneliest jobs in the world.
I don't care if it's Bill Clinton, if it's -- if it's George Bush, if it's Ronald Reagan. It's -- it's a lonely job. And I think there are times that -- I have seen the emotional side of the president, and I think he does hurt.
BLITZER: You have seen him cry?
WATTS: I have seen him tear up. I -- I hadn't seen him just out and out cry.
But, you know, there are some difficult parts, difficult moments in being the president of the United States, when you have got to go and meet those mothers. I think he hurts. You can't hurt as much as those moms that have lost their children, but I think the president does hurt over that. Any president would agonize over that.
And to say that, you know, it's disingenuous or he lied or he got us into that, I -- I think it's just unfair to say that about any Republican or Democrat president.
BLITZER: Well, we have got to leave it there, because we're out of time. Guys, thanks very much, Paul and J.C., for coming in.
Still to come, Jack Cafferty with your e-mail.
Also, allegations China hacked into Defense Secretary Robert Gates' computer system. These are very sensitive, potentially explosive claims. We're going to tell you what is going on. That's coming up.
And controversy over a school in New York. It will teach Arabic and Middle Eastern culture. This is a public school we're talking about. We're going to tell you why some people are deeply worried.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0709/04/sitroom.01.html
Video
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2007/09/04/schneider.room.for.gingrich.gore.cnn
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