MTP Transcript for Feb. 11, 2007

MR. RUSSERT: David Broder, interesting point from Gwen.

MR. BRODER: Very, and I, I think I would endorse what she said. What struck me about the comment—your comment is that it is another parallel to John Kennedy, because Kennedy and his supporters framed that 1960 election as a test of the country’s readiness to accept a Catholic. And you’ll remember that, in a powerful speech, John Kennedy said, “Are we going to say as Americans that I lost my right to be president of the United States because I was—adopted the faith of my fathers?” That’s the same kind of appeal that Barack Obama can make.

MR. RUSSERT: Let me turn to Hillary Clinton. She was in New Hampshire yesterday. Her first appearance there in 10 years. And it was quite striking how many times she was asked about her position on the war. Here she is being asked in Berlin, New Hampshire, by a voter, a very serious question. Let’s watch that exchange.

(Videotape)

Unidentified Man: And I want to know if right here, right now, once and for all, without nuance, you can say that that war authorization vote was a mistake. And the reason I want to ask is because a lot of other senators have already done so, including some Republicans and including one of your competitors, Senator Edwards. And the reason I ask personally is because I, and I think a lot of other Democratic primary voters, until we hear you say that, we’re not going to hear all these other great things you’re saying.

SEN: HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY): Well, I have said, and I will repeat it, that, knowing what I know now, I would never have voted for it. But I also—and, I mean, obviously you have to weigh everything as you make your decision. I have taken responsibility for my vote. The mistakes were made by this president, who misled this country and this Congress into a war that should not have been waged.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: Roger Simon, it’s interesting. Reporters have been asking Hillary Clinton, “Was the war a mistake? Was the war a mistake?” because all the other Democratic candidates, major ones, have said that. Now, a voter, several voters have stepped forward. Is this simply “Gotcha” or is this something that’s dead serious in the voters’ minds?

MR. SIMON: It’s dead serious. The questions come because she refuses to make Iraq part of her stump speech. And I think, and many disagree with me, that her current position not to apologize, not to say it was a mistake, is an untenable position for her. I think she will be pushed to say, before we get to the Iowa caucuses, “I was wrong,” for two reasons. One, I think that’s where the Democratic voters are in Iowa and New Hampshire; and two, it feeds the image that the critics have of her that she’s a divisive figure. If this keeps going on week after week, people are going to say, “Why doesn’t she just say she was wrong? Why does she keep this controversy growing—going on?” She doesn’t want that, and I don’t think she’s going to be able to stick to that.

MR. RUSSERT: David:

MR. BRODER: A reporter from The Post, Chris Cillizza, who was up there, reported that the man who asked Senator Clinton that question said afterwards, “I’m not satisfied with that answer, and I can’t vote for her until she gives me a better answer.”

MR. RUSSERT: Howie Kurtz:

MR. KURTZ: Tim, it also feeds the image that the many journalists have of Senator Clinton as being a kind of a cold and calculating and triangulating politician. So she may have one eye on the general election, where she’s able to say, “Look, I gave president the authority to go to war. I didn’t know he was going to misuse it in this fashion. I don’t regret the vote.” But, certainly, Roger and others are right, this is a problem for her with the anti-war left that, that will be a big force in the Democratic primaries.

At the same time, it kind of plays into the journalists’ conception of her as somebody who works all the angles, who they—I mean, look at the contrast and the tone of coverage between Barack Obama, “audacity of hope,” and Hillary Clinton, who’s seen as very, very cautious. And this seems like a cautious answer. It may be a real answer. It may be a sincere answer. But it is feeding that image that journalists have of her.

MR. RUSSERT: Gwen Ifill, John Edwards was the first Democratic candidate to say, “I was wrong,” but then Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, they’ve all done it. Barack Obama emphasizing he opposed the war from day one. Is there pressure on Hillary Clinton to do just that? And is it fair pressure?

MS. IFILL: Well, there’s always going to be pressure on Hillary Clinton to do one thing or another. I think it is not insignificant that she is a woman running for president and, therefore, has to find some way not to appear like a weak sister on the issues like the war. She has been working since she’s been in the Senate to toughen up her foreign—her international security credentials. So that’s part of why, I think, there’s, there’s some of the not backing down. But more than that, it, it just shows you how much Iraq is going to be the elephant in the room, to use a overused phrase, during this entire campaign. You can try to come up with a finessed position, as Senator Clinton has, but you’re always going to be questioned about it, especially in venues like New Hampshire and Iowa where there’s going to be a lot of face-to-face interaction with voters who are unusually interested in these kinds of details. So if she—this is where she ends up and lands, that might be something we have to get used to, but it’s certainly not going to go away.

MR. RUSSERT: Rudy Giuliani went to California, Republican state convention, and came pretty close to officially declaring. This is what he said in Sacramento.

(Videotape, Yesterday):

FMR. NYC Mayor RUDY GIULIANI: (Sacramento, California) You get to decide who that leader is going to be. And I wish you’d decide on me.

(End videotape)

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