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'Meet the Press' transcript for March 16, 2008
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 Netcast March 16: As the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination moves to Pennsylvania, and the debate continues over Michigan and Florida, both sides square off: Obama supporter Fmr. Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ) vs. Clinton supporter Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY). Plus, insights & analysis from our Decision 2008 roundtable: The Washington Post's David Broder, NBC's David Gregory, and PBS's Michele Norris. |
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MR. RUSSERT: Let me ask you about Florida and Michigan, two states that had contests early on contrary to Democratic Party rules, and therefore the results were not honored by the Democratic National Committee. The delegates were disqualified. What should happen in Michigan and Florida?
SEN. BRADLEY: Well, I think the rules are the rules. I mean, Michigan and Florida both knew that they wouldn't be seated if they moved their primaries up. They, they decided to do that anyway. I mean, if we want to make sure that Michigan and Florida are seated, well, then don't let that determine the outcome. Make it a 50/50 division and go into the convention and everybody'll be there.
MR. RUSSERT: Are you disenfranchising the voters of Michigan and Florida with that position?
SEN. BRADLEY: Well, you know, I think that this is the--not the voters, per se, but the party of those states made a decision, and there are consequences from decisions.
MR. RUSSERT: Congressman Lowey, I'm a bit confused by the Clinton position on Florida and Michigan, particularly Michigan. This was Senator Clinton on Wednesday. Let's watch.
(Videotape)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY): If you're a voter from Florida or Michigan, you know that we should count your votes. The results of those primaries were fair, and they should be honored.
(End videotape)
MR. RUSSERT: But back in October, Senator Clinton said this about Michigan: "You know, it's clear, this election they're having in Michigan is not going to count for anything."
So there seems to be a dramatic change in her view as to, certainly to Michigan.
REP. LOWEY: I just think, for me, it's very clear. The voters--never mind the party, the voters in Florida and Michigan shouldn't be disenfranchised. And frankly, McCain is very strong in Florida. And not to make the voters, millions of people participate in the process, by counting their vote--and I do think that we're all adults here, and the people in Michigan and the--well, Michigan seems to be closer to having a revote, and I think Florida may go that way after Michigan makes the definite decision. But it's the voters that count, and I do believe the voters should be given the opportunity to express their preference.
MR. RUSSERT: But you wouldn't count the Michigan vote that already occurred when Obama's name wasn't on the ballot, or in Florida, where there was no campaign?
REP. LOWEY: I think the adults that are sitting at a table figuring this out in both states are going to come to a decision to have a revote. The mail vote, according to most of the people I speak to in Florida, the write-in vote will not work. And I think they will have a revote, and there are already people who've agreed to pay for it.
SEN. BRADLEY: I mean, Tim, where this is headed, potentially--and I hope it doesn't get there--is a Credentials Committee battle. Last time that happened was 1972, and the Credentials Committee made a decision not to seat the Illinois delegation of Mayor Daly and to say that the California primary was a winner-take-all, not a proportional. And if either one of those decisions had gone the other way, Hubert Humphrey would have been the nominee. So I think this is very important time, and the basic message there is let's honor what the pledged delegates say.
REP. LOWEY: I, I just want to say one other thing, that Florida is critical for any Democrat who will aspire to go to the White House, and that has to be our key goal. We've got to win this election for the country. And then we get caught up in this morass of he said this one and the Republican legislature in Florida said that one. We have got to count the votes of the Democrats and the Republicans, who's ever voting in Florida. But in our primary, we have got to count the votes of the Democrats so that we're competitive in the campaign between--the real campaign between McCain and Hillary--well, I hope it's Hillary Clinton. I expect that it will be.
MR. RUSSERT: Let me talk about a couple other issues, one is transparency. Senator Bradley, you were on Jim Lehrer's "NewsHour" on PBS last week and talked--made some points I want to replay and come back and talk about it. Let's watch.
(Videotape, March 5, 2008)
SEN. BRADLEY: I think Barack Obama has a much stronger chance of beating John McCain in the general election. I think Hillary is flawed in many ways and particularly if you look at her husband's unwillingness to release the names of the people who contributed to his presidential library. And the reason that is important, are there favors attached to $500,000 or million dollar contributions? And what do I mean by favors? I mean pardons that are granted, investigations that are squelched, contracts that are awarded, regulations that are delayed. These are important questions. The people deserve to know. And we deserve, as Democrats, to know before a nominee is selected because we don't want things to explode in a general election against John McCain.
(End videotape)
MR. RUSSERT: Talking about the $500 million that former President Clinton has raised for his foundation and for his library. What are you concerned about? What evidence do you have that something might explode?
SEN. BRADLEY: Well, I don't have any evidence. I mean, I've seen a few stories in the newspapers. But this is a matter of full disclosure, and I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be full disclosure. Barack Obama has revealed his income tax returns for the last eight years. He's revealed all of his earmark--all the earmarks that he sponsored. He is someone who's not taken money from lobbyists. He's someone who has sponsored something called a transparent budget, which gives every American an opportunity to access how their tax dollars are spent. And I think it's reasonable in a new kind of politics to have this kind of transparency. And since President Clinton has played such a role in the campaign and obviously will play a role in a, in a, in a Clinton administration, I think the public needs to know who the contributors were to his, to his library.
MR. RUSSERT: Congresswoman Lowey, should Bill and Hillary Clinton release the list of $500 million in donors to the library, the tax returns over the--since they left the White House, and her schedules and records from the National Archives relating to her activities as first lady, so people can make a true judgment about her experience as she's portraying it?
REP. LOWEY: Several points. First of all, it's my understanding that there are 20 years of tax returns in the public view from both Bill and Hillary Clinton. Secondly, in terms of earmarks and transparency, the Democrats have cut earmarks in half, and now there has to be a certification next to each earmark that the person who's submitting them will not have any financial interest in that earmark.
In terms of the Clinton and the work he's done and the fundraising, I've been to several countries in Africa, I've seen the work of the Clinton Foundation and the positive work he's done for HIV/AIDS. I do believe that the Clintons have a long record of releasing their tax returns and, as I understand, that on April 15th they will release their other records. And with regard to the National Archives, that is going--it's being gone over line by line and it will be released. Was there anything else? I don't remember.
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MR. RUSSERT: Well, to the specific then--if the tax returns were income, but the $500 million he's raised for his foundation library, should those donors be made public?
REP. LOWEY: I do believe that, at the right time, they will be made public. Let me just say one other thing that I think is very important.
MR. RUSSERT: But at the right, should it be before the primary season is over?
REP. LOWEY: I do believe that we have to have a really constructive debate, a constructive discussion. You know, the kind of information that we're releasing, it reminds me, with all due respect, Senator Bradley, of--with the Bradley-Gore primary. And, and if we don't keep this positive, all we're doing is providing fodder for the McCain-Democrat race that will take place later on. This should be a real discussion of what we're going to be doing for the economy, what we're going to be doing for food prices, gas prices, what we're going to do about the housing/energy crisis. And I do think there is more information, and Clintons have been vetted certainly more than Senator Obama.
SEN. BRADLEY: You see, Tim, I think it's a matter of putting the names out there, letting the public see the names, letting the press do its work. And that's what you have to do if you respect the people. I mean, I think this is--clearly, this race boils down to the old politics vs. the new politics. The old politics is slash and burn, go after some demographic segment, throw anything against the wall in order to win the news cycle that night. If it's plagiarism, it's plagiarism. If it's drugs, it's drugs. If it's race, it's race. If you say, as far as you know, he might be a Muslim. That is what you do to win the news cycle. On the other hand, I think Barack Obama is the new kind of politics. And the new kind of politics says that you trust the people, you tell them the truth, you put country ahead of party, you speak to everybody, you convey the strong message that, you know, we can have a better world, that America can do great things again. That it's all right to believe in your neighbor, in the people, in humankind. And his message and his way of doing it, with all the transparency and openness that I've talked about, is what is drawing so many people to his candidacy and why last night you had 10 more delegates shift in Iowa.
REP. LOWEY: With great--with great respect, Senator Bradley, we're talking about openness, we're talking about transparency. I do believe that's important. I also believe that having a qualified person, someone who has the experience--and I've worked with Hillary Clinton for more than 16 years. We've worked on education, we've worked on health care. And you talk about transparency. I'm not discussing today why Senator Barack Obana--Barack Obama didn't associate--disassociate himself from his pastor six months ago, and those remarks, because I think we have to have a constructive debate, and Hillary Clinton has plans for dealing with the economy, plans for dealing with health care, plans for dealing with the energy crisis. People are suffering, and that's what this debate should be about.
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