'Meet the Press' transcript for Feb. 24, 2008

MR. RUSSERT:  And the superdelegates are frozen or moving towards Obama in terms of Clinton.

But their strategy is--the Clinton strategy--if they win Texas, if they win Ohio they have momentum to stay in the race, to try to go on to Philadelphia--Pennsylvania and some other states.  It was Bill Clinton who said this Wednesday in Beaumont, Texas, let's watch:

(Videotape)

FMR. PRES. BILL CLINTON:  If she wins in Texas and Ohio, I think she'll be the nominee.  If you don't deliver for her, I don't think she can be.  It's all on you.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT:  It's all on you, Michele Norris.  Bill Clinton saying if she wins there, she can continue, even though she'd still be behind in elected delegates.

MS. MICHELE NORRIS:  Yeah, and some of her other advisers are now saying similar things.  I mean, it's, it's--you know, to add something to what Chuck said, the delegate math is very difficult not just because of the sort of Texas two-step in the primary, but also in the way that the delegates are apportioned.  In the areas where the Clinton camp expects to run strong in Texas--in Travis County, in Harris County, in places where the delegates are allotted based on previous voting records--she's running hard after Hispanics because of the previous voting record there.  She may do well in those areas, but it's not necessarily a net gain.  So there's, there's great difficulties for her in, in Texas.  And I think when, when you look at the numbers that you flashed up on the screen, it's not just those numbers, it's where those numbers were last week and where those numbers were two weeks ago.  She had a, a strong advantage.  It--she was well ahead of Barack Obama two weeks ago in Ohio; and you look at how those numbers are narrowing now, he's really closing in on her in both of those key states.

MR. RUSSERT:  In both Ohio and Texas.

MS. NORRIS:  Yes.

MR. RUSSERT:  Let's show Hillary Clinton from the debate on Thursday, and then on the campaign trail yesterday.  What a difference 48 hours makes. Let's watch.

(Videotape)

SEN. CLINTON:  And you know, no, no matter what happens in this contest--and I am honored, I am honored to be here with Barack Obama.  I am absolutely honored.

(End videotape)

(Videotape)

SEN. CLINTON:  So shame on you, Barack Obama.  It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public.  That's what I expect from you.  Meet me in Ohio.  Let's have a debate about your tactics and your behavior in this campaign.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT:  What happened, Doris?

MS. DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN:  Well, it seemed like at the debate she was taking the high road, given the realism of what Chuck and Michele just talked about and knowing that she didn't want to destroy the party by going into a fight for those superdelegates or for arguing about Florida and Michigan, where a lot of her own advisers are saying you cannot do that.  You do that and you wind up like 1912, Teddy Roosevelt had the popular vote by far in every state where there were primaries, Taft had the party support behind him.  They worried about credentials.  In every credential fight, Taft won.  Teddy was so angry he called "Theft!  Thievery!" and he bolted the race.  It destroyed the Republican Party for a generation, and the Democrat won.  And you had the feeling on the debate night she was thinking about that, protecting the party.

And then the next morning they woke up, maybe they thought, "We still have a chance on this." And somehow going after Obama on this mailer in Ohio--which, as Chuck was pointing out earlier, it's really not so much even about the health care debate, but it was about NAFTA, and that was--be killing her in Ohio.  But it seemed like a quick turnaround when, when she had been so honorable the day before.

MR. RUSSERT:  At that same Cincinnati event, David Brooks, Hillary Clinton decided to compare Barack Obama to George W. Bush, suggesting both of them represented change that you didn't know much about.  Here's her comparison of Bush-Obama.  Let's watch.

(Videotape)

SEN. CLINTON:  You know, people have talked a lot about change in this election.  Well, we have lived through some of the worst change that anybody can imagine the last seven years.  You know, when he ran for office, he promised change, didn't he?  He promised change as a compassionate conservative, and the American people got shafted, and we're going to have to make up for all that we have lived through the last seven years.  So, fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT:  Fool me twice.  George Bush and Barack Obama, simpatico.

MR. DAVID BROOKS:  In the debate she was Emily Post, now she's Howard Beale. She's, she's furious, and she's not going to take it anymore.  But this has been the problem with the campaign--no consistent message.  And, and, and she's switched messages time and time again.  And she can fight, and I sort of admire her for fighting.  We're putting her in the rearview mirror maybe a little too quickly, but, but the problem with the campaign now is not delegates, it's morale.  General Bradley said you don't win battles without morale.  They don't have any high morale.  Why should her staffers fight to the death for her, because they just feel it slipping away.  He's got the audacity; he has a reason.  His people, if they were in this position, they have a reason to think, "Hey, this--we must win.  We must win." Her campaign has never had that.  They, they would like her to win; they think she'd be a good president, but that "must win," they've never had that, and it--I think it shows inside the campaign.

MS. GOODWIN:  That may be why she had to show anger, to show her emotion in fighting for it in these next couple weeks ahead.

MR. TODD:  It's like an NBA ref when they take a technical for their--or an NBA coach when they take a technical for the team, to fire up the team.

MORE FROM MEET THE PRESS

Meet the Press Section Front

Sunday's Meet the Press guest list Nov. 22: Senate roundtable, Brinker, Snyderman Nov. 15: Clinton, Duncan, Gingrich, Sharpton Nov. 8: Casey, Barbour, Rendell, roundtable, Brokaw Nov. 1: Tim Geithner, David Plouffe, roundtable Oct. 25: Cornyn, Schumer, Burnett, Sorkin, roundtable Oct. 18: Jarrett, Dodd, Kyl, Shriver, Podesta Oct. 11: Levin, Graham, McCaffrey, Myers, roundtable Oct. 4: Ambassador Susan Rice, roundtable Sept. 27: Bill Clinton, Paterson, Kyl, Webb Meet the Press Section Front   Add Meet the Press headlines to your news reader: