'Meet the Press' transcript for March 9, 2008

MR. RUSSERT:  Senator Daschle, a proposal from the Clinton campaign to have new primaries in Florida, in Michigan, paid for by private donors.

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Well, Tim, first of all I think it'll come as a real shock to Iowa and to Nevada and to many other states that they don't have a democratic process.  I think that it's very democratic, and we saw yesterday in Wyoming we had a lot of seniors and older people to participate.  People from all walks.  They were participating in unprecedented numbers, so I, I don't concede that point at all.  But let me just say...

GOV. RENDELL:  What about shift workers, Tom?  What about shift workers and people who can't get out of their homes?

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Shift workers, too, Ed.  Absolutely.

GOV. RENDELL:  What about people who can't get out of their homes?

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  No, I think--I think everybody--we'll accommodate. We'll accommodate them.

GOV. RENDELL:  You can't.  There's no absentee ballots in caucuses.

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Well, listen, let me--there are a lot of issues with primaries as well that you'd have to address.  But, but the bottom line is, you got to play by the rules.  We all agreed to the rules earlier in this campaign, Tim, and one campaign now has broken those rules, has decided not to abide by them; and our campaign has chosen to do that, to, to abide by the rules and to, and to work something out.  We recognize that those are two very important states.  We want to see this resolved.  We want the parties to work with the states to come up with a resolution.  We'll be competitive, whatever it is.  Whatever fair approach that we can employ, we'll forward, we'll take it, we'll do it.  But it has to be fair, and it has to be worked out in concert with the parties and, and abide as much as possible with the rules that everybody agreed to six months ago.

MR. RUSSERT:  So you would be open to primaries in Michigan and Florida?

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Oh, of course.  Absolutely.  We would be.

MR. RUSSERT:  Paid for by private donors.

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Absolutely.

MR. RUSSERT:  Scheduled in June?

GOV. RENDELL:  Tim, can I say one thing?

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Well...

MR. RUSSERT:  Just one second, Governor.

GOV. RENDELL:  The Clinton campaign, Clinton campaign did not break the rules.  And superdelegates were in the rules, and they knew the rules going in, that superdelegates could vote for anybody they wanted.

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Well, we're claiming victories now that the rules clearly implied were not going to be part of this process.  You know, we both said we weren't going to compete, and now the Clinton campaign is saying, "Well, we won." Well, how can you win if you weren't competitive?  You didn't--you said you weren't going to participate, and now we've changed the rules to say that...

GOV. RENDELL:  We can resolve this, Tom.

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  ...that we're participating, that we're going to--but anyway, it, it's squabbling that is, is harmful, I think, to both sides.

GOV. RENDELL:  Let them vote.  Let Florida and Michigan vote.

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Absolutely.  We don't have any problem with that.

MR. RUSSERT:  And, and, Governor, at the end of all those votes, if Barack Obama still had more elected delegates, would you then agree that he deserves the nomination?

GOV. RENDELL:  Not if Hillary Clinton wins Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida back to back to back to back to back.

MR. RUSSERT:  What happens, then--what do you, as governor of Philadelphia, governor of Pennsylvania...

GOV. RENDELL:  You're getting me in big trouble, Tim.

MR. RUSSERT:  Sorry, governor of Pennsylvania, say to African-Americans in your state, in Philadelphia, in Pittsburgh, throughout the state and throughout the country, and to young people and to others saying, "You won most delegates, you won most contests, but the superdelegates have decided that we're going to go in a different direction." How do you make that case?

GOV. RENDELL:  Well, number one, as Tom said, the, the Obama campaign wants to play by the rules.  Those were the rules going in.  That's number one.  If we want to change them perspectively, change them.  But those were the rules. Number two, superdelegates have always had the responsibility for fielding the strongest candidate, and I think everyone--African-Americans, young people, old people--everyone knows that we need a change in Washington, D.C.  And I don't care if it's Senator Obama or Senator Clinton, we need a change.  And we've got to get the strongest candidate.  And if she wins Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida on top of all the other big states she won, if she wins the key states that are going to decide the election, let's go with our strongest hand because the issues are too important to risk losing.

MR. RUSSERT:  Senator Daschle, that's a strong argument.

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  It, it's, it's an argument.  I wouldn't concede it's very strong, Tim.  First of all, to say to the rest of the country they don't matter is not a strong argument.  To say to the rest of the country that we're going to have an election, but if we differ with the ultimate result, we're going to--that that doesn't matter, you know, I don't see how anybody could make that case in a compelling way.  You know, Barack Obama has shown he can win in every part of the country.  We're turning out vote unlike anything we've ever seen before.  We're winning big states, small states; we're winning across ethnic boundaries and lines.  We have shown in a very compelling way--there's a recent poll that I said just came out that showed that Barack is winning far more states than Hillary Clinton is, so there's no question in my mind that the strongest candidate is the candidate who wins the most elections.  Barack Obama has won 29 contests.  Hillary Clinton has won 13 contests.  That's the bottom line.  There is no, no if, ands or buts about it. So you can say, "Well, you can win Texas and Ohio"--and, by the way, there's a very narrow margin, we may actually win more delegates in Texas than Hillary did at the end of the day.  The, the bottom line, she's a good candidate; Barack's a good candidate.  Barack's a candidate who can draw independents, Republicans and Democrats, and he will do it all over the country.

MR. RUSSERT:  Governor Rendell, I want to talk to you about some comments made by Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton about the vice presidency.  Yesterday in Mississippi, Bill Clinton said that if Hillary Clinton was the nominee, she would certainly consider Barack Obama.  In fact, they would be "almost unstoppable" together.  Hillary Clinton herself on Friday was talking about this also in Mississippi.  Let's listen.

(Videotape)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY):  I've had people say, "I wish I could vote for both of you." Well, that might be possible some day.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT:  Would--do you think that Barack Obama would be acceptable as vice president?

GOV. RENDELL:  Acceptable?  I think it would be a dream to Democrats all over this country.  Personally, for me, it would be a great ticket.  I mean, I'm going to fight hard for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, whoever the candidate is.  But put them together and I think it would give America a rare opportunity to experience something just incredibly wonderful.

MR. RUSSERT:  So, if you believe he's acceptable as vice president, one heartbeat away from the presidency, you believe that Barack Obama is qualified to be commander in chief.

GOV. RENDELL:  I think he's qualified.  I don't think he's as good a potential commander in chief right now as Hillary Clinton is.  But I certainly think he's qualified.  And I will work my heart out for him if he's our nominee, just as I know Tom will work his heart out for Senator Clinton if she's our nominee.

MR. RUSSERT:  It--that seems to be in conflict with some things that you have said and what Hillary Clinton has said.  On Wednesday you sent out a statement from the Clinton campaign that says, "We want a president who's ready, not one we hope will one day be ready," suggesting Barack Obama is not ready.  Hillary Clinton said this on Monday.  Let's listen.

(Videotape)

SEN. CLINTON:  I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House.  I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House.  And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT:  And she went on to offer these observations about a threshold for commander in chief.  Let's listen.

(Videotape, Thursday)

SEN. CLINTON:  I think it's imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander in chief threshold, and I believe that I've done that.  Certainly Senator McCain has done that.  And, and you'll have to ask Senator Obama with respect to his candidacy.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT:  So, Governor Rendell, if Barack Obama's qualified to be vice president, he has crossed the commander in chief threshold.  Correct?

GOV. RENDELL:  Well, I, I think he's ready.  He's not nearly as ready as Hillary Clinton is, there's no question about that.  But, look, make no mistake about it, he's a talented, dynamic politician and, and a, and a good senator, and I think he would make a fine president.  Again, is he as experienced and as ready as Hillary Clinton?  Nobody is.  Tim, I've been talking to Democratic candidates since 1980, and Hillary Clinton is the best-prepared candidate I've ever talked to.  Far better prepared than Bill Clinton was in 1992.

MR. RUSSERT:  But if, in fact, there's a possibility Obama may be the Democratic nominee, would it be better, in the interest of the Democratic Party, that the Clintons not suggest that he hasn't passed the threshold to be commander in chief?

GOV. RENDELL:  Well, sure.  Look, there, there's rhetoric in a campaign on all, on all sides, and I, I think the, the issue should be framed as ready compared to Hillary Clinton.  And, and that's the way I would frame the issue going forward.  To me, there's no contest.  I don't think--it's not Barack Obama's fault.  I think almost any of the other candidates would have fallen into the same category, ready but not as ready as Hillary Clinton.

MR. RUSSERT:  Senator Daschle, would Senator Obama be willing to be vice president?

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Well, Tim, it's really a rare occurrence, maybe the first time in history, that the person who's running number two would offer the person who's running number one the number two position.  What Barack has said is that's way premature.  He doesn't have any interest in being vice president.  He's going to be our presidential nominee.

Look, Hillary Clinton was a great first lady.  I worked with her.  I know what a good first lady she was.  But it would be hard for me to draw some degree of, of, of connection between being a first lady and having experience to be the commander in chief.  She's served in the Senate, she's been on the Armed Services Committee, and I give her credit for that.  But in terms of numbers of years of elected office, the number of years served, Barack Obama has more years served than Hillary Clinton.  So it's a, it's a specious argument.  The fact is, both of them are qualified.  They're good candidates.  They both would make great leaders.  I do believe that Barack offers a lot more in the capacity of leadership.  But I don't think anyone can look at her experience as first lady and say for some reason that qualifies her to run for president of the United States.

MR. RUSSERT:  Do you believe discussions that Obama has not crossed the threshold to be commander in chief by the Clintons is potentially hurtful to Obama in a general election?

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  I do.  I think it's very, very troubling that, that they would, would make assertions that, in my view, are, are going to come back in, in some way.  And I think when you look at what Barack has been able to show with regard to his judgment, with regard to his, his, his extraordinary ability to, to, to bring more people into, into government and to, and to, and to talk with the kind of compelling message that he has, that, to me, is, is, is what's going to make him the kind of candidate that he'll be in November. I think...

MR. RUSSERT:  Would, would Barack Obama consider Hillary Clinton for vice president?

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  I'm sure she would.  I--he's said on more than one occasion that, that Barack Obama has, has a lot of ideas about who ought to be vice president, and she's--she'd certainly fit as well.

MR. RUSSERT:  But if he said it's time to turn the page and not send the same people back to Washington, how could he possibly do that?

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Well, I think that there are a lot of ways to turn the page, and certainly his candidacy is going to turn the page in many respects. There's no question about that.  The bottom line is, he wants the strongest person, the person who can serve in the capacity of president should he not be around.  She's certainly in that category, but probably a lot of others as well.

MR. RUSSERT:  You have a new book out critical of what we can do about the health care crisis and, reading it, there on page 166 you say there should be mandates for health care, that people should be forced to buy health care insurance.  That's Hillary Clinton's position, not Barack Obama's.

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  Well, Tim, there are a lot of ways to get to coverage for all.  Obviously you can use mandates, you can use incentives.  You've got to--I think both Barack and Hillary are right.  You've got to make sure that we have adequate support for those who can't afford the health insurance that they're going to need, but you also have to find ways to insure that those who can afford it take the responsibility themselves to buy it.

MR. RUSSERT:  We will have a candidate by when, the convention?

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  We'll have a candidate by the convention.  Hopefully it's going to be a lot sooner than that.  I believe that Barack's going to be our candidate, and I wouldn't be surprised if it happens maybe even by Memorial Day.

MR. RUSSERT:  But it may go to the convention.

FMR. SEN. DASCHLE:  It could go to the convention.

MR. RUSSERT:  Governor Rendell, could this go to an actual convention?

GOV. RENDELL:  Yeah, I think so, Tim.  I don't think either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton can win enough pledge delegates to get over the necessary threshold.

MR. RUSSERT:  We will see you both in Denver in August.

GOV. RENDELL:  Thank you.

MR. RUSSERT:  What a race.  Tom Daschle, Ed Rendell, thanks very much.

Coming next, it looks like Clinton vs.  Obama could go on and on and on.  What happens to those disputed delegates from Michigan and Florida?  Will there be new primaries?  And some of the controversial statements made in the campaign. Dan Balz, Ron Brownstein, John Harwood, Gwen Ifill--our political roundtable puts it all into perspective coming up only on MEET THE PRESS.

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