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'Meet the Press' transcript for March 2, 2008
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 Netcast March 2: Two days before the crucial primaries in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas & Vermont, four veteran campaign strategists sit down with Tim Russert: Democrats James Carville & Bob Shrum and Republicans Mary Matalin & Mike Murphy. |
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MR. SHRUM: Let me make an off-the-wall prediction about John McCain, that if he becomes president, he's going to look at the situation, he's going to say, "Given my age, I'm going to be a one-term president." And to the discomfort of Republican conservatives, he's going to go off and make some kind of deal on the tax cuts so that he'll get some of them extended, let some of them expire. And to the discomfort of Democrats, he may go off and bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. I mean, this is a guy who, if he decided to be a one-term president, could be himself and just do what he wanted. And I agree with Murphy, he actually doesn't really fit these categories in one sense. He's uncomfortable with some of the conventional Republican stuff, even when he mouths it.
MR. RUSSERT: Well, then what that means is his vice president selection's all important.
MR. MURPHY: It's very important. It's...
MR. RUSSERT: Who's he take, Mike Murphy?
MR. MURPHY: You know, I have--maybe Shrum, after that sales pitch. But I don't know.
MR. SHRUM: That's not a sales pitch. I don't want to bomb Iran.
MR. MURPHY: There's no, there's no, you know, there, it's the beginning of the beginning. If I had--look, there are a lot of good governors out there. Pawlenty, Charlie Crist, Tom Ridge, I think in some ways is attractive because McCain really likes him, he's a totally vetted adult, there're good Pennsylvania politics there.
MR. RUSSERT: But he's pro, he's pro-abortion rights.
MR. MURPHY: Yeah, but McCain is pro-life, and it's a bounce party.
MS. MATALIN: (Unintelligible).
MR. MURPHY: I mean, I don't know. I think it's too early to tell. I guarantee you this, though. McCain--knowing McCain, though, McCain will come down from his cabin out there in Arizona and he'll have his list, which will be Warren Beatty, Jay Leno. It'll be highly entertaining, but there will be some great patriots on there. One of them will be picked, will be a terrific ticket, and it'll win if they run the right center campaign.
MR. RUSSERT: James Carville.
MR. CARVILLE: I, hey, it's not going to be Tom Ridge. If the Republican Party is not going to have a pro-choice vice presidential nominee. That's not going to happen.
MS. MATALIN: We'll see.
MR. CARVILLE: He might, he might have a conversion, as George H.W. Bush had in 1980, but short of a conversion, that's not going to happen.
MS. MATALIN: It--what affects abortion are the courts, and John has a good record on abortion. Ridge would be a good pick. But the most important thing for John McCain is, given his personality and the nature of governance, is it has to be somebody he trusts, can work with, not looking over his shoulder, not setting up his agenda...
MR. MURPHY: Right.
MS. MATALIN: ...to run in four years. That relationship is the most important.
MR. MURPHY: Yeah, with McCain it's all about good guy who can be president and not a jerk...(unintelligible).
MR. RUSSERT: James Carville, there's a conventional wisdom that either Obama or Clinton emerges the nominee, they have to ask the other to be the running mate. Do you buy into that?
MR. CARVILLE: No. It's, but it's not unprecedented. I mean, Kennedy and Johnson and Reagan and Bush and Kerry and John Edwards. But I think both, I think Democrats are very happy with--they're, both of these candidates have very high favorables within the Democratic Party. I hope and expect that once we settle on a nominee that we're all going to get behind that nominee. I know that's clearly my intention, and every other Democrat I know.
MR. SHRUM: That's what, that's what's going to happen, but, no, I think Hillary might be under more pressure to pick him than he would necessarily be to pick her. But it could happen.
MR. CARVILLE: I don't think, I don't--yeah.
MR. RUSSERT: Well, if Obama's campaign has turned the page, and you can't send the same people back, the same old problems...
MR. MURPHY: They can't pick her, I don't think. I think it just ruins his theme totally. Plus...
MR. SHRUM: I was trying to say that mildly.
MR. MURPHY: ...she'd never--yeah, yeah. No, you got to live in Democratic politics.
MR. RUSSERT: So who should Obama pick?
MR. MURPHY: I, I'm always the--an adult who can win a state, or the anti-war general thing is kind of interesting on, in theory. It's very hard to find a general who's a good politician. So, I...
MS. MATALIN: Sam Nunn is the, kind of has that.
MR. MURPHY: Yeah, you know, Zinni is the, it just--that, that, that's a little too clever by half, the anti-war general, because most--well, anybody over three star kind of is a politician. But to be a real electoral politician is something. So you're, you're, you know, Bayh is, Chris Dodd, maybe, a Senate guy again. You'd get into that change/not change thing, but an adult.
MR. CARVILLE: What about--yeah, I mean, Evan Bayh?
MR. MURPHY: Yeah, Evan Bayh.
MR. CARVILLE: You know. I mean, he might go and there would--yeah.
MR. MURPHY: That would be strong.
MR. SHRUM: I think, I think, I think he would look outside of conventional politics to Anthony Zinni, the general. He might look to Wes Clark, by the way, who I think came out of '04 as a much better politician than he went into it.
MR. CARVILLE: Could be.
MR. RUSSERT: We got to go. And we're going to--a lot more of this discussion on Take Two on the Internet, with some "Saturday Night Live" highlights and your reaction to them.
Coming next, our MEET THE PRESS minute. Forty-three years ago, William F. Buckley was on this program, running for mayor of New York. He died this week at age 82. We'll be right back with Bill Buckley.
(Announcements)
MR. RUSSERT: And we are back.
William F. Buckley Jr. died this week at the age of 82. The author of more than 50 books, 5,000 newspaper columns and founder of the National Review. He appeared as a guest on MEET THE PRESS three times, right here in 1965 when he was a candidate for mayor of New York City.
(Videotape, October 17, 1965)
MR. GABE PRESSMAN (NBC News): Mr. Buckley, you once called Harry Truman the nation's most conspicuous vulgarian. You said of General Eisenhower that when he touches a subject, every ray of light, every breath of air is choked out. Of the Kennedy administration, I quote you: "There are not enough psychiatrists in the country to cure this crazy administration." And you called President Johnson "Uncle Corn Pone." In view of your opinions of the last four presidents of the United States...
MR. BUCKLEY: Well, actually, I didn't say that about Kennedy. I don't know who did. I said the other three, though.
MR. PRESSMAN: Right.
MR. BUCKLEY: I'd be glad to elaborate on them.
MR. PRESSMAN: Well, in view of your opinions of three of the last four presidents, then, what do you think of the American voter?
MR. BUCKLEY: Well, I think the American voter is often, often has intuitions which are better than those of their own presidents. That is to say, I think that presidents tend to, during the recent period, tend to have drawn more strength from the voters than the voters from their presidents. As Franklin Adams once said, "I think the average American is a little bit above average." And under the circumstances, I rejoice over the influence of the people over their elected leaders, since, by and large, I think that they show more wisdom than their leaders or than their intellectuals. I've often been quoted as saying I would rather be governed by the first 2,000 people in the Boston telephone directory than by the 2,000 people on the faculty of Harvard University.
(End videotape)
MR. RUSSERT: William F. Buckley Jr., a true intellectual and a unique American character. He is in our thoughts and prayers. And we'll be right back.
(Announcements)
MR. RUSSERT: Two Web extra this afternoon. Stay with MSNBC, NBC for Tuesday's coverage of the primaries. We'll be back next week. If it's Tuesday, it's MEET THE PRESS.
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