[Natalie Allen, Cnn Anchor:] It's been brewing for weeks, and today it has happened. In a speech in Virginia, Republican John McCain lowered the boom on his party's Christian right. And in doing so, McCain painted George W. Bush as beholden to the likes of the Reverend Jerry Falwell and Reverend Pat Robertson, who McCain accused of corruption, intolerance and political failure. McCain spoke in Virginia Beach ahead of tomorrow's Virginia primary.
[Sen. John Mccain , Presidential Candidate:] I am a pro- life, pro-family, fiscal conservative and advocate of a strong defense, and yet Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and a few Washington leaders of the pro-life movement call me an unacceptable presidential candidate. They distort my pro-life positions and smear the reputations of my supporters. Why? Because I don't pander to them, because I don't ascribe to their failed philosophy that money is our message. Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right.
[Allen:] McCain called himself a proud Reagan Republican who would beat Al Gore in a general election. He said Bush is a Robertson Republican who would lose in November. Well, speaking to an audience in Washington State, Governor Bush declined to answer McCain directly. But a short time ago, he was asked by reporters about McCain's charges. Here's Bush's response.
[Gov. George W. Bush , Presidential Candidate:] Sounds like Senator McCain has taken to name-calling needless name-calling. I'm a problem solver; sounds like he's a finger-pointer. I'm a person who's got a record of reform, a person that can proudly talk about educational excellence in my state. Senator McCain is someone who likes to castigate. I'm someone who wants to lead.
[Allen:] Bush also accused McCain of practicing what he called divisive politics and said what the Republican Party needs is a person, as you heard, who can bring people together. Well, joining us from Los Angeles is our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider. Bill, let's first talk about George W. Bush. We had him live here this past hour. He's not wanting, it seems, to talk any further about what happened at Bob Jones or the fact that McCain is really going on the attack now as a result of that.
[William Schneider, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Well, this appears to be a surprise to Governor Bush. He has written a letter to the Catholic cardinal in New York explaining that he never intended to express any form of anti-Catholic bigotry. He clearly felt on has been thrown on the defensive by the experience in South Carolina at Bob Jones University and by the campaigning for him that's been done by Pat Robertston. But I think he was surprised by McCain's charge, which is clearly aimed at Virginia's primary voters tomorrow.
[Allen:] And how does George Bush move on from the Bob Jones University appearance and what happened afterwards, now? Can he do that even with McCain going so hard at him?
[Schneider:] He has to make it clear that his appearance at that university was not meant to endorse any policy. Ronald Reagan appeared there, Bob Dole appeared there, no one's had to endorse their policy, but it's suddenly become controversial in George W. Bush's case. He's got to distance himself from their views on and their intolerance of racial minorities, of Catholics, of other groups, and make it clear that he's not that kind of Republican, which is exactly, of course, what John McCain just said he was. He called him a Pat Robertson Republican.
[Allen:] And McCain is trying to, it seems, define what kind of Republican he is and who he represents, and whom he says George Bush represents. Is this going to be something that can help John McCain get Republican votes that he needs?
[Schneider:] Well, Natalie this is a high-wire act. It's a high- risk strategy on the part of John McCain, and what he's trying to do here is depict the leadership of the religious right as a special interest. One of the most interesting lines in his speech this morning was when he said Pat Robertson and his other leaders have turned good causes into businesses, and he accused George W. Bush of pandering to the religious right leadership. Now, he was very careful not to condemn social conservatives, their ideas, their causes. He himself is staunchly anti-abortion and has, for instance, supported almost all the religious right views on the issues, but he claims that their interests, their leadership, their organizations, like the Christian Coalition, are in league with George W. Bush because they're making a lot of money on this, and he's depicting them as just another case of special interest politics.
[Allen:] All right, it's been an interesting day so far and this is just the first day of the week. Bill Schneider, thank you so much. Well, for the Democrats, a non-binding vote in Washington State tomorrow could either boost Bill Bradley or serve as a nail in Bradley's coffin. In his head-to-head bouts with Al Gore, Bradley has yet to win. And for his part, Gore, this afternoon, is campaigning in Colorado. And CNN's Gary Tuchman is traveling today with the Gore campaign in Denver Gary.
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Natalie, one day before the important Washington primary, Al Gore finds himself in the Rocky Mountain State with no plans to go back to Washington State before the primary. So why is the vice president here in Colorado right now? Well there is a primary in Colorado 11 days from now. But Gore also finds himself comfortably ahead in the polls in Washington State and doesn't feel the practical need to go back there before the primary. Today in about 15 minutes here in Denver at the Performing Arts Complex in the middle of the city, Gore will hold rally. There are a few hundred people here right now to hear Gore speak. He'll hold another rally in Colorado later today. He'll then fly to Arizona for a rally in Phoenix, and then finish the day in Los Angeles, California, a very busy day for the vice president of the United States. It was also a busy weekend. He did campaign in Washington State over the weekend. He walked a picket line with striking Boeing engineers and technical workers. He also held a rally at a Seattle high school where he talked about so-called Democratic values.
[Vice President Al Gore , Presidential Candidate:] We have an opportunity to keep our prosperity going by expressing our values in the budget, doing the right thing instead of hemorrhaging the budget with a risky tax scheme aimed at the wealthy. Our values are fiscal responsibility, economic management that makes sense.
[Tuchman:] The people in the Gore camp have a quiet confidence about them. They feel they will be doing extremely well after tomorrow's Washington State primary, and even better a week from Tuesday after the primaries and caucuses in 13 states. This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, live in Denver.