'Meet the Press' transcript for July 13, 2008

REP. FORD: But, but, but, but to Mike's point, there's a difference between what Jackson did and, and what Gramm did. Gramm came back the following day and stood by his remarks, calling a--calling us a nation of whiners and that we were in a mental recession. To Jackson's credit, he at least apologized. Barack accepted his apology, and he went on to say that it was silly what he said.

MS. MITCHELL: But the, but the difference, Harold, is that Gramm was the architect and adviser of the economic plan for John McCain. Jesse Jackson was a surrogate, you know, an endorser, but never at all close.

REP. FORD: I'm agreeing with you. I was just making the point--Mike was making the point...

MR. BROKAW: Yeah.

REP. FORD: ...that it was probably not as bad...

MR. BROKAW: Here...

REP. FORD: ...for McCain.

MR. BROKAW: ...one of the most intriguing, kind of, dialogues of the week showed up in the Los Angeles Times when Senator Obama spoke to a Hillary Clinton supporter in California, or in New York, and the LA Times picked up on it, about Hillary being on the list, and--but there's a problem, he said.

MS. MITCHELL: Well, this supporter, Jill Iscol, has been in every primary state. She's a passionate supporter of Hillary Clinton and a big fundraiser, a bundler. She and several others who have been willing to be named in The New York Times and elsewhere as not willing to come on and support Barack Obama, so very reluctant. Obama called her and took a risk, apparently not a great risk--I mean, not a, not a smart risk, in talking to someone who's that passionate about Hillary Clinton and saying that his concern about putting her on the ticket is Bill Clinton and all the, quote, you know, "baggage" that that would bring, that that complicates the factor. She immediately went public.

MR. BROKAW: How seriously should we take his raising of Hillary Clinton when he's talking to a Hillary Clinton supporter, however?

MS. MITCHELL: I think not. I think that this is to try to bring the Hillary money on board. He really does need their money. People have been saying, you know, "Why is she demanding that he help her raise money?" He needs that kind of money, the big dollars, because he has opted out. And after the convention he is going to need general election money to the tune of $50 million a month.

MR. MURPHY: I would be stunned if he picks her because he'd pick somebody who's the symbol of the Washington he ran against, he'd pick somebody with an agenda beyond his for four years. You, you empower Bill Clinton to go out and make news again. On every level it's a crazy, wrong pick. And I would--I think this is just diplomacy. I'd be stunned if he picked her.

MR. BROKAW: How happy would the Republicans be if Hillary Clinton got a roll call vote at the Democratic convention and a big night?

MR. MURPHY: Ticker tape parades, you know, dogs--cats chasing dogs. The world would turn upside-down. And we've had a rough year, so we would be very, very happy. We're scared of Tim Kaine. Because if they can get some electoral action going in Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia, which are all Republican-tilting states that could get into play, we are in huge trouble; just like they're terrified of Tom Ridge.

MR. BROKAW: What about Senator--what about former Senator Sam Nunn?

MR. MURPHY: Possibly, for Georgia. I think Kaine's the stronger candidate just for the politics of it. But, you know, we, we're all political-like, so I don't have to talk about who could do the job. So just on winning the election, I think Kaine is very strong. You can also argue for Bayh out of Indiana and the Midwest, that key region I talked about. But if--the Kaine thing is audacious, but if they could get something going on the Atlantic coast there, it's a big problem for the Republicans.

MR. BROKAW: If we keep, keep this up long enough, we can go through the entire telephone book of the country.

Harold Ford, you want to weigh in here?

REP. FORD: No, I, I think that both, both, both Andrea and Mike have been on point. Democrats have a good roster and a good, a good match. I think the analysis of Senator Clinton is, is, is probably spot-on. She got a lot of votes, she can raise a lot of money. You got Tim Kaine, who I think is a fascinating and an intriguing pick, and a wild card pick in some ways because the country doesn't know a whole lot about him when you pick someone this late in the game. But I like him. I think he, I think he represents a lot of what you're saying.

MR. BROKAW: But if you had two unknowns without national...

REP. FORD: But even Rendell...

MR. BROKAW: ...security...

REP. FORD: Right.

MR. BROKAW: ...that's an issue, isn't it?

MR. MURPHY: Yeah. But I don't think the vice president...

MS. MITCHELL: But you need national security...

MR. MURPHY: ...can solve that. People are either going to take or I hope not take Barack Obama on that issue. And there's--you've always got kind of the balance problem. You pick a wizard at something as vice president, you diminish the guy you got. So you pick somebody who's 10 times more qualified than Obama on foreign policy, the real message is Obama's unqualified. So I, I don't know. I'm of the old school, play a region with somebody who can, who can bring in the electoral college, the states--like poker, if you get the right card.

MS. MITCHELL: John McCain ruled out Tom Ridge on the basis of abortion on an interview, you know, right on MSNBC.

MR. MURPHY: I think this is the year of ruling stuff in and out, based on the last week. I don't think he's the front-runner, I just think he should be considered along with Romney as the top pick.

MR. BROKAW: Well, thanks for getting me through these early stages of my new MEET THE PRESS responsibilities under circumstances that none of us would have chosen, obviously. It's good of you to be here. We'll look forward to seeing you more in the weeks and months to come.

And now for our MEET THE PRESS Minute. Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow died yesterday after a brave and inspirational battle against colon cancer. He was a very popular man. He appeared here on MEET THE PRESS with our late Tim Russert in February of 2007, and he spoke about the administration and the job that he loved as press secretary.

(Videotape, February 18, 2007)

MR. RUSSERT: The other day you were asked about pre-war planning and how it had been overly optimistic, and then you said this: "I'm not sure anything went wrong."

MR. TONY SNOW: Yeah.

MR. RUSSERT: Is that your view of the war in Iraq?

MR. SNOW: Well, no. I'm putting it this way. When you say "not sure anything went wrong," what I was referring to is the notion that somehow somebody's going to have perfect foresight of what's going to happen in a time of war. The old cliche is that battle plans never survive first contact with the enemy. So what happened is people came together and put together what they thought was their best estimate of was--what was likely to happen.

MR. RUSSERT: For seven years you were host of "Fox News Sunday." Do you like being on that side of the table, or this side?

MR. SNOW: You know what, this is the best job I've ever had. I, I love doing what you did, although I'm glad I'm not getting thumped by you in the ratings anymore. But I really love this job.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW: It's been a tough season for all of us here in Washington. Tony Snow, an elegant man, loved and respected by so many, dead at the age of 53. He was a graceful spokesman with a great taste for music. He had strong political views, but he had friends across the political spectrum in this city and beyond. He went out as he lived, with great conviction and with great dignity. And his family is in our thoughts and prayers this morning.

I'll be right back.

(Announcements)

MR. BROKAW: That's all for today. We'll be back next week with an exclusive interview with former Vice President Al Gore. That's right here next Sunday because, if it's Sunday, it's MEET THE PRESS.

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