[Frank Sesno, Cnn Anchor:] Returning to our top story, campaign 2000, presidential politics, specifically the GOP horse race and what George W. Bush must do to get back on a winning track. We took some focus on John McCain earlier, we talked to John King. Now, we're joined by Bush communications director Ari Fleischer. He's in Austin, Texas. We did hear from our correspondent, John King, as to what the McCain camp is saying: They are very optimistic. We heard from McCain. He says he is going to lay claim to the mantle of the Reagan uniter, the person who is bringing the Reagan coalition together, going after Reagan Democrats. Looks like it worked in Michigan, Ari Fleischer.
[Ari Fleischer, Bush Communications Director:] Well, we're not quite sure they were Reagan Democrats in Michigan, Frank. And Senator McCain did get a very good bounce out of Michigan by the fact that there was no Democrat primary to compete with. So he got 18 percent of the vote in Michigan came from Democrats. That's four times as high as New Hampshire and twice as high as South Carolina. I suspect when March 7 rolls around and primaries are closed to Democrats and the states where they are open and the Democrats can vote for Gore or Bradley, Senator McCain is traveling down a dead end road that won't be sustainable.
[Sesno:] What is George W. Bush's message to the Republican prospects and party now? He has lost in three separate regions of this country.
[Fleischer:] Well, he's also won in three separate regions of the country; he won in Alaska, he won in Iowa, he won in Delaware, he won in South Carolina. So, that's kind of three and a half regions of the country. But the governor's message is that, in this race, there's only one candidate who can you unite the party and reach across the center. Senator McCain can unite the Democrat Party and reach across the center. Governor Bush can unite the Republican Party and reach across the center. He's in California...
[Sesno:] Is Bush going to contest McCain, specifically, on his claim to the Reagan mantle?
[Fleischer:] I think that claim won't go far. I mean, the biggest difference between John McCain and Ronald Reagan is that Republicans like Ronald Reagan. So far in this contest, when you add it all up, John McCain has gotten 30 percent of the Republican vote everywhere he has gone. He had about 37 percent in New Hampshire, and he has plunged since then; he got less than 30 in South Carolina, less than 30 in Michigan. You can't call yourself Ronald Reagan if Republicans won't vote for you.
[Sesno:] It is said, Ari Fleischer, that the aura of invincibility was George W. Bush's best friend, and that has been pierced. What's your response to that?
[Fleischer:] I think his best friend, frankly, has been his success in Texas as a reformer who has gotten things done, particularly...
[Sesno:] But, there was the aura of inevitability...
[Fleischer:] Yes, as far as inevitability, Frank, we are locked in a battle for the nomination. No question about it, and that's a...
[Sesno:] Nothing inevitable not inevitable any longer, Ari Fleischer?
[Fleischer:] I submit to you, the victory is inevitable principally because you can't win a Republican primary on the backs of Democrats. And, that's Senator McCain's strategy. As the calendar turns into March 7, where you have 12 races, Democrat votes count in only five of them. And in all those five states, the Democrats are going to have a choice among Bradley, Gore and McCain. And as attractive as Senator McCain may be, he is less attractive to the Democrats than those two characters. So, it's just a question of Senator McCain's strategy is not sustainable down the road. But we are, indeed, involved in a battle for the nomination.
[Sesno:] Ari Fleischer, communications director, Bush campaign, appreciate it. It is a battle, and you'll be with it, and so will we. Thanks again.
[Fleischer:] Thank you, Frank.
[Sesno:] Appreciate it.