‘Meet the Press’ transcript for July 15, 2007

SEN. GRAHAM:  That’s not the problem.  No, because...

SEN. WEBB:  Because they love their country, they do not do it for political reasons.

SEN. GRAHAM:  And they...

SEN. WEBB:  My family’s been doing this since the Revolutionary war.

SEN. GRAHAM:  Yeah, well, so, so has my family.

SEN. WEBB:  They do it for—they do it because they love their country, because they have a tradition, and it is the responsibility of our national leaders to make sure that they are used properly.

SEN. GRAHAM:  In conclusion, I think they go back because they see the face of the enemy that we’re fighting.  They don’t want their...

SEN. WEBB:  Well, you got to look at the polls, Lindsey, instead of...

SEN. GRAHAM:  ...kids to go back, they don’t want their grandkids to go back.

SEN. WEBB:  ...instead of the seven or eight people they bring in line when you make your congressional visit.

SEN. GRAHAM:  Bin Laden said this is the third world war in Iraq.  They go back because they know the consequences of losing.  God bless them, and let’s make sure they can win, because they can.

SEN. WEBB:  I’ll let them judge what you said.

MR. RUSSERT:  To be continued.

SEN. GRAHAM:  Yeah.  Thank you.

MR. RUSSERT:  Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Jim Webb, thank you very much.

SEN. WEBB:  Thank you.

SEN. GRAHAM:  Good television.

MR. RUSSERT:  Coming next, political strategist Republican Mike Murphy, Democrat Bob Shrum, political journalist Al Hunt of Bloomberg News, and Robert Novak of the Chicago Sun-Times, his first television interview since the publication of his new memoir, “The Prince of Darkness:  50 Years Reporting in Washington.” They are all coming up right here only on MEET THE PRESS.

(Announcements)

MR. RUSSERT:  Our MEET THE PRESS political roundtable—Mike Murphy, Bob Shrum, Al Hunt, Bob Novak—after this station break.

(Announcements)

MR. RUSSERT:  And we’re back.  Welcome all.  Before we get to Mr. Novak’s bible, let’s talk about the oh-thous--2008 presidential race.  The Republicans—here’s the latest national polls.  Now Rudy Giuliani still the lead at 32, down a few points from June; Fred Thompson, still unannounced, but up nine points since June; John McCain down four points; Mitt Romney down five.  Mr. Romney, however, continues to lead in Iowa and New Hampshire. Probably the big political story this week in Washington and in the campaign was John McCain.  Campaign shake-up, some of this closest advisers are now gone.  John Weaver, his chief strategist, who Senator McCain described to me as his brother, no longer with the campaign.  Charlie Cook of the National Journal wrote it this way:  “For all intents and purposes, McCain’s campaign is over.  The physicians have pulled up the sheet, the executors of the estate are taking over.  Paying bills, winding down—not strategizing, organizing and getting the message out—will be the order of the day.”

Mike Murphy, you worked for John McCain in 2000.

MR. MIKE MURPHY:  Mm-hmm.

MR. RUSSERT:  Is the campaign done?

MR. MURPHY:  I don’t believe so.  I think it’s back to the future after a very, very painful week.  John Weaver’s a good guy, and it’s always hard to make these kind of changes in a campaign.  But they had a very tough decision to make in the McCain campaign about 14 months ago.  Do they run the insurgency campaign that was lot of fun last time and almost won, but lost? Or do they try the big invincible front-runner campaign of all the expense and overhead and pressure that has, which doesn’t really fit McCain right, but it’s the campaign that normally wins the nomination?  So now, in hindsight, it’s easy to criticize that decision, but at the time, they want to win.  So they tried it, McCain’s a bad fund-raiser, it’s not his style.  He shows a lot of political courage on immigration and the war, but the politics of that have been very tough for him.  So now I think McCain’s going to get the campaign that he is most comfortable with, which is a low budget campaign where it’s going to be McCain showing a lot of courage out there.  We’ll see if he can turn it into votes.

So they’re, they’re in big money trouble.  It’s, it’s very bad.  But with an ultra-low overhead and John McCain, who’s already famous, which is an advantage, out there in the fight, I think in the next six or seven weeks, he can start to get a message that catches on a little bit.  America loves a comeback story.  I think he’s back in the race, but it’s much more of a long shot now than it used to be.

MR. RUSSERT:  Bob Novak, you’ve been covering presidential politics a long time.  Is it doable?

MR. ROBERT NOVAK:  Remotely.  They never come back.  A lot, these early front-runners, I’ve seen a lot of them, George Romney, Ed, Ed Muskie, they’re way on top and they collapse, they never come back.  There’s always a first time.  I do believe that, without getting rid of Mr. Weaver, there would have been no chance.  I think whatever slim chance he has, as, as, as Mike says, it’s a, it’s a different campaign.  I think if, if Weaver was his brother, he was his evil brother because they have—he alienated so many people, but it’s, it’s going to be John McCain’s campaign now, but I think he’s a very long shot.

MR. RUSSERT:  Al Hunt.

MR. AL HUNT:  I agree with Bob, except on John Weaver.  I, I, I think the, the twin problems of immigration and Iraq, the time—I think John McCain is an authentic hero.  I think it’s kind of sad to watch this.  Tim, I think there’s probably a 40 percent chance he gets out of this thing in the—in the fall when the Iraq debate comes up and says, “This is going to be my mission now.”

MR. RUSSERT:  Bob Shrum.

MR. BOB SHRUM:  I thing the problems go deeper.  I think he was so traumatized by Bush winning in 2000 that he decided to run as Bush in 2008. The maverick became an expensive machine.  And right now, he’s the face—he’s a surrogate for Bush—he’s the face of the surge, he stood up on immigration and he should get credit for that, because he stood up on principle, but he’s not going to get delegates.  So I think he’s got a really fundamental problem, and Mike’s right.  He can go out there and he can be himself, but what’s he going to say when he is himself?

MR. MURPHY:  Well, the question that’s interesting to me is, I used to think—I’m becoming more cynical—that political courage was something people wanted in a president.  And John McCain, to his political detriment, it now seems, has gone out and told people what they don’t to hear, which nobody else running for president of either party has dared to do.  And so far, it hasn’t worked for him at all.  But that’s who he is, it’s all he’s got, and I think the voters—we’re still in the pre-season, believe it or not.  I don’t really believe national polls till people start voting.  This is a very front-loaded contest.  You score in those two early states—Iowa and New Hampshire—you can bounce all the way.  McCain, I think, is going to have the resources to go try to run that character, “I’m the truth teller” campaign in those two states, and it’s his best bet, it’s elegant for him.  He’ll give his best performance at it.  It’s his only political shot.

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