'Meet the Press' transcript for August 17, 2008

MR. GREGORY: And we are back. Welcome, Governor Kaine of Virginia and Governor Jindal of Louisiana.

GOV. TIM KAINE (D-VA): Great to be with you, David.

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R-LA): Good morning.

MR. GREGORY: Let's get right to it. We both heard Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talking about the situation in Georgia, Governor Kaine. Senator Obama was criticized by the McCain campaign this week, particularly for his comments that there should be restraint on both sides after the invasion. Was he too weak in his initial response?

GOV. KAINE: I think the senator gave a very measured response, which is the tone that we should take. As the secretary made plain, the goal is to use diplomatic means to get Russia to live by the cease-fire. And if diplomacy is the strategy at this point, measured tones is the way to go. And I think that kind of balance is what the situation needs. It is very heartening to hear that there's going to be the--this withdrawal in a day, but we have to check and make sure that Russia lives up to its word.

MR. GREGORY: You don't hear really measured tones out of Secretary Rice. She's pretty tough this morning.

GOV. KAINE: Well, she is, you know, and I think this, this is an issue where there is, there is tough talk. The question is, has there been the kind of action on behalf of the United States over the last years that has been necessary to check Russia's ambitions? My, my significant concern is that we have, through an intensity of focus on Iraq, taken our eye off the ball in other parts of the world like Russia and its bordering states, like Afghanistan. And that is one of Senator Obama's main points, that we need to focus on the significant challenges of the world. And that's why the drawdown in Iraq is so important, so that we can focus and not be stretched so thin.

MR. GREGORY: Governor Jindal, just as Senator Obama's criticized, Senator McCain, too, was criticized by an adviser to Senator Obama, who said that some of his initial tough talk was shot from the hip and was actually belligerent, in the words of one of Obama's advisers.

GOV. JINDAL: Well, I think Senator Cain--McCain has again shown that he has the judgment, the experience we need during these uncertain times. Just as he was right to call for the surge in Iraq before it was popular, he had called--even last year he had said we should look at excluding Russia from the G8. He said when he looked in Putin's eyes, he saw KGB very early on. He very forcefully understood that this was an attack on a democratic ally, this has regional implications. It has implications beyond Georgia's borders. One of the reasons I think you see folks at Brookings, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, Georgetown, several experts praising his response, including a former Clinton adviser. So I think again, what we've seen is Senator McCain's got the experience, the perspective. He was right on, on Iraq, on the surge; he was right again, calling attention to the dangers when Russia invaded a democratic ally.

GOV. KAINE: I don't know how anybody could say Senator McCain was right on Iraq. I think he's been the sole cheerleader for Iraq and he's probably the last remaining cheerleader for Iraq. But the decision to go into Iraq, which Senator McCain supported, is now acknowledged by folks--including a lot of Bush administration officials who left the administration--as a significant mistake. And my, my thought about the--Senator McCain's tough talk is this: Teddy Roosevelt said talk softly and carry a big stick. In much of the world now we're talking loudly and have no stick because what we've done is we've so focused on Iraq that we've let victory escape from our grasp in Afghanistan, and in regions of the world like Russia we've let the dangers grow more intense.

MR. GREGORY: Let's turn to domestic matters in this campaign, and The New York Times reporting some criticism of Senator Obama now. And the headline reads like this: "Allies Ask Obama to Make Hope More Specific. [Democratic] party leaders in battleground states say the fight ahead against Senator John McCain looks tougher than they imagined, with Mr. Obama vulnerable on multiple fronts. ...

"These Democrats - 15 governors, members of Congress and state party leaders - say Obama has yet to convert his popularity among many Americans into solutions to crucial electoral challenges: showing ownership of an issue, like economic stewardship of national security; winning over supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton; and minimizing his race and experience level as concerns for voters. ...

"`I particularly hope he strengthens his economic message - even Senator Obama can speak more clearly and specifically about the kitchen-table, bread-and-butter issues like high energy costs,' said Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio," who endorsed Hillary Clinton, by the way. "`It's fine to tell people about hope and change, but you have to have plenty of concrete, pragmatic ideas that bring hope and change to life.'"

Sounds reminiscent of what we heard on the campaign trail from Senator Clinton. Listen.

(Videotape, February 14, 2008)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY): My opponent makes speeches, I offer solutions.

And I think there's a big difference between speeches and solutions, between talk and action. And I have been very specific in this campaign.

(End videotape)

MR. GREGORY: Governor Kaine, has Senator Obama wasted time here?

GOV. KAINE: David, let me start off by saying, Senator Obama's ahead in the national polls. He's running a historic and a very difficult race, and he's ahead. So I'm not going to try to feel bad about him being ahead. But we know it's going to be a tough race. He has the underdog mentality and will have that through Election Day.

There are plenty of specifics. Look, on the economy, clear differentiation between these two candidates. Senator Obama measures the success of the economy by how the middle class is doing, and that's why it's middle class tax cuts, tuition tax credits for college and finding ways to give tax relief to small businesses. Senator McCain's strategy is to measure the economy by how the well-off and the big businesses are doing. That's why it's tax cuts to the wealthy and tax cuts to the, the most profitable and productive businesses, like oil companies. There are significant specifics and very different orientations of these two candidates. I'm a governor. What governors do is we managed economies. Virginia's been named the best state for business in America the last three years by forbes.com. I want a president...

MR. GREGORY: Right.

GOV. KAINE: ...who understands the economy and who has--and who has...

MR. GREGORY: But understands the economy, but has Senator Obama owned this issue?

GOV. KAINE: I think he does. Look, Senator McCain has said, "I don't know much about the economy." It is too risky at this point in our nation with the economy so hurt to put a guy in the White House who says, "I don't know much about the economy." You've got to put somebody in who is working with steel workers who lost their jobs and knows the pain and frustration that is caused in states and countries during down economic times and who has solid plans, like middle-class tax relief, tuition tax credits, helping small businesses to get this nation moving again.

MR. GREGORY: But here's the political question.

GOV. KAINE: Mm-hmm.

MR. GREGORY: Are some of these criticisms of Obama coming out of the Clinton camp in your judgment?

GOV. KAINE: You know, I don't really know. Look, people are...

MR. GREGORY: Ted Strickland, on the record...

GOV. KAINE: Sure.

MR. GREGORY: ...saying...

GOV. KAINE: Ted Strickland says what he says, right? Says what he says.

MR. GREGORY: He endorsed--he endorsed Hillary Clinton.

GOV. KAINE: But look, Senator Obama's ahead. He's still ahead in the polls. It's going to be narrow...

MR. GREGORY: But is unity a problem right now in the party?

GOV. KAINE: I don't think it is. I think what you're going to see in Denver is you're going to see a great coming together of the Democratic Party. We've already seen registration activity in state after state shows the Democrats are extremely energized about this race.

MR. GREGORY: Right.

GOV. KAINE: Because we cannot afford to continue economic policies that have taken us from surplus to massive deficit, losing jobs, inflation, deficit reductions, things that John McCain has supported every step of the way.

MR. GREGORY: There may be agreement there, but that doesn't sound like there's unity within the party, to hear some of the criticism about Obama.

GOV. KAINE: Well, I think you'll see it.

MR. GREGORY: But it's not there yet.

GOV. KAINE: I think, I think you'll see it in Denver. No, I think you'll see it in Denver, that this party is coming together, registration activity and enthusiasm will be seen very clearly between now and Election Day.

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