'Meet the Press' transcript for August 9, 2009

MR. GREGORY: But, but, but...

MAYOR BOOKER: Let me just add...

MR. GREGORY: Yeah, go head.

MAYOR BOOKER: ...to that again, because again, we have to do the basic

blocking attack that's going to protect our children, especially, from

this challenge. But I don't want to lose something that Mayor Bloomberg

has been a national leader on. We can't allow the challenges of today

distract us from the opportunities of tomorrow. The real health crisis

going on in our schools right now--and again, we need to give full

attention to swine flu. But the real health challenges in our schools

today is the overwhelming obesity problem amongst our kids, type 2

diabetes appearing and childhood diabetes. And these are the kind of

things that we have to have a comprehensive health initiative, education

initiative so not only parents know what to do if their kids have the

sniffles, but I also want parents to know what to do to prepare their

kids to be nutritionally fit to learn. And we as Americans have a

comeuppance, because the long-term health problems that are facing our

kids today that we could address are going to have an effect on our GDP

in the, the level of billions.

MR. GREGORY: Before you both go, I want to talk politics.

Mayor Bloomberg, you're up for re-election for a, for a third term, and

here's the headline recently about the poll. Polls suggest the mayor may

be losing some ground. You were up in June by 22 percent--22 points,

rather, over William Thompson, your, your rival. Now that's narrowed to

10 points. Why do you see the race tightening?

MAYOR BLOOMBERG: Well, number one, the polls don't matter other than the

one that's taken on November 3rd, Election Day.

MR. GREGORY: I've heard that before.

MAYOR BLOOMBERG: Right. Number two, I think of--some of these things are

how you ask the question. But number three, I can't worry about that. I

got elected twice because people wanted me to listen to them and then do

what I think is right and stand up to the--even if it's not good

politically, but just focus on not giving away the store, making sure the

government is efficient and delivers the kinds of services people want

for the least cost. And I'm going to continue to do that. That will

resonate with some people, and others say, "No, no, no. I want to have a

political environment where I can get my friend appointed, or I don't

want to change something because it's worked and I'm comfortable with

it." And I happen to think there are new things you can do all the time,

and if you don't you won't have a future. And I'm just going to do what I

think is right.

MR. GREGORY: As you know, Mayor Booker's very politically astute, and on

Twitter he recently offered some sage advice. This is what he wrote: "My

advice for Bloomberg re-election: Fenty"--talking about the mayor of

Washington D.C.--"and I both have liberated scalps. If Mike shaves his

head, young, hip vote is his, victory assured." So, Mayor, you can make

news here. Will you shave your head for re-election?

MAYOR BLOOMBERG: Let me equivocate on that and, and duck the issue. But I

think--my hair is falling out at sufficient rate that I won't have to

shave it. It's going to be gone.

MAYOR BOOKER: It's for a pre-emptive strike. It's time for a pre-emptive

strike.

MAYOR BLOOMBERG: I know you're going to say that.

MAYOR BOOKER: Let me, let me just tell you something. I've--I have

endorsed Mayor Bloomberg. He's a Republican. We cast our country too

simplistically in left-right debates. He's been a leader in bringing

America together around gun issues that are sensible for all Americans.

He's brought people together around lowering carbon footprints in cities,

the left-right coalition. This is the way we need to move forward. We

have issues in this country that unite people. I have the right-leaning

Manhattan Institute working with me ex-offender re-entry programs because

it's a huge drag on our economy to spend billions of dollars warehousing

people and miss the opportunities if we can help them to get into work

where they'll produce tax receipts and benefits for society as a whole.

I'm proud to sit here with a Republican, because that's the only way our

city's going to--our nation's going to move forward is left and right

working together.

MR. GREGORY: Your name has been mentioned, actually, with the potential

to get into the race for, for governor of New Jersey. Governor Corzine

has sort of doubled down on that financially. He's staying in the race.

He's vulnerable, as you well know. What will this race for governor of

New Jersey say about actually the president's performance?

MAYOR BOOKER: Well, I think the--this is two separate issues. Governor

Jon Corzine has been a governor that has been extraordinarily successful.

Murder in our state has gone down 24 percent. He's had to cut the state

budget $4 billion, but yet he's increasing investments in education in

over a billion dollars. The problem with Jon Corzine right now is most of

the state of New Jersey does not realize the tough cards he was dealt and

the great decisions he's made under difficult, difficult circumstances.

And as far as Obama, look, we have two races nationally right now,

Virginia and New Jersey. Many people want to use them as a litmus test

against the incumbent president. But understand this. We're in a down

economy, we're facing incredible challenges; every incumbent in America

is going to face very difficult times in their re-election. This has

nothing to do with the president. We are in a national crisis; hopefully

we'll be coming together to be dealing with this.

MR. GREGORY: All right.

MAYOR BOOKER: And it shouldn't be about, you know, watching the stock

market, the daily uptick or downtick of polls. It should be about solving

problems.

MR. GREGORY: We're going to leave it there. Mayors, Mayors Booker and

Bloomberg, we got to run. Thank you both for being here today.

Coming next, Congress faces heat this August over health care back home.

Who will win the battle over reform? Our political roundtable weighs in:

David Brooks, Erin Burnett and Jon Meacham after this brief station

break.

MR. DAVID GREGORY: And we're back. If you thought the healthcare debate

was heated in Washington, outside the Beltway it's gotten down right

hostile.

(Videotape)

Unidentified Man #1: Open up the door. Open the door.

(End videotape)

MR. GREGORY: From Tampa, Florida, to Austin, Texas...

(Videotape)

Unidentified Man #2: This man would be given no...(unintelligible).

(End videotape)

GREGORY: ...to Romulus, Michigan, town hall meetings over health care

have turned chaotic; death threats against members of Congress, taunting

and shouting, even fistfights. Democrats claim it's all political theater

organized by reform opponents.

(Videotape, Tuesday)

MR. ROBERT GIBBS: I also have no doubt that there are groups that

are--have spread out people across the country to go to these things and

to specifically generate videos that can be posted on Internet sites.

(End videotape)

(Videotape, Thursday)

SEN. KENT CONRAD (D-ND): I mean, is that what we've come to in the United

States, that we're going to have people basically functioning as thugs,

coming into meetings trying to disrupt them, shouting people down?

(End videotape)

MR. GREGORY: Republicans in office and on the airwaves insist the anger

is real, reflecting real fears about a government takeover of the

healthcare system. But the rhetoric has become extreme.

(Videotape, Thursday)

MR. RUSH LIMBAUGH: There are far more similarities between Nancy Pelosi

and Adolf Hitler than between these people showing up at town halls to

protest a Hitler-like policy.

(End videotape)

MR. GREGORY: White House advisers say the tactics will backfire against

the GOP. But can the president retake center stage of this debate?

And we're joined now by Jon Meacham of Newsweek magazine, CNBC's Erin

Burnett and David Brooks of The New York Times. Welcome to all of you.

So, David, that is the question. What's going on here and how does the

president retake center stage?

MR. DAVID BROOKS: I hadn't seen the Rush Limbaugh thing. That is insane.

What he's saying is insane. But I guess I would say the, the first thing

is it has been a conventional wisdom among the smartest people in

Washington that this is such a tough issue you got to do it on a

bipartisan basis. And the Obama administration, for better or worse,

decided not to do that. There was a thing called the Wyden-Bennett bill

that really could have launched a bipartisan, so leaders of both parties

could have gone out to these town meetings. They didn't do it, they chose

more or less a Democratic plan and now all hell is breaking loose. And we

are now--and it's not just the crazies, among whom we just saw some. But

if you take overall poll ratings for health care, they are--people

are--the American public is now as skeptical as they were when Clinton

care collapsed. So there--it's not just the crazies, there's a real

public concern about real issues, aside from the stuff that Rush Limbaugh

says.

MR. GREGORY: Well, you talk about that in terms of approval rating. Look

at this from the Quinnipiac poll this week when it had to do with the

president's handling of health care. Here are the numbers. Approval's at

39 percent, disapproval's at 52 percent, Erin. And that's the big

question. I mean, the big battle lines about whether this is manufactured

grassroots organizing opposition against health care; the truth is there

are people who are angry, there are people who are opposed, whether

they're being whipped up in some circumstances or not.

MS. ERIN BURNETT: You know, I think that's absolutely true. And you've

seen those numbers drop dramatically in terms of approval just over--if

you look at the numbers at the end of July even over the past couple of

weeks, how dramatically they've dropped. Americans don't want health care

that isn't bipartisan. And I think people are really starting to focus in

on the health care plan is focused on extending coverage to all. The

cost-cutting that might be required as part of real healthcare reform

doesn't really appear to be a significant part of this bill. And that's

getting through. Most people, when it comes down to it, sort of like the

health care that they have, and then they get afraid that that's going to

change.

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