[Bobbie Battista:] The passion...
[William J. Clinton, President Of The United States:] I love you.
[Battista:] ... the memories...
[Clinton:] Harry Truman's old saying has never been more true: If you want to live like a Republican, you better vote for the Democrats.
[Battista:] ... the promise.
[Clinton:] For the first time in decades, wages are rising at all income levels. The average family's income has gone up more than $5,000. And for African-American families, even more. Now, my fellow Americans, that's the record. Or as that very famous Los Angeles detective, Sgt. Joe Friday, used to say: "Just the facts, ma'am."
[Battista:] The man who rode into the White House on the economy rides out on the same horse.
[Clinton:] My fellow Americans, are we better off today than we were eight years ago? Yes, we are.
[Battista:] But is it still "the economy, stupid" or is Bill Clinton Al Gore's biggest issue? Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to TALKBACK LIVE. Well, President Clinton lit up the Democratic National Convention last night with a speech that had some people wishing they could vote for him again. But will the passions he stirred motivate people to get behind Al Gore? Here to talk about it today, Cynthia Tucker, a CNN convention analyst, an editorial-page editor for the "Atlanta Constitution"; and Blanquita Cullum, a conservative radio talk show host for Radio America. Welcome to both of you. Let's listen to a little bit of the president's speech first.
[Clinton:] Eight years ago, when our party met in New York, it was in a far different time for America. Today, after seven and a half years of hard effort, we're in the midst of the longest economic expansion in history. Today, we have gone from the largest deficits in history to the largest surpluses in history, and...
[Battista:] All right, Blanquita, no matter what you think of the guy, you have to admit he is a master speaker.
[Blanquita Cullum, Radio America Talk Show:] He gives a great speech, he gives great speeches.
[Battista:] That may be his best legacy.
[Cullum:] Yes, well, you know, and the thing of it is, I sat there in the speech too and I was watching the party faithful there saluting their guy. And, frankly, you know, you get mesmerized because he has a lot of charisma, a lot of charm, and it's ironically, after it was over, they had a presentation of this Broadway play, "The Music Man," which was, ironically, I thought an interesting choice about a guy who's a con man and how everybody gets mesmerized by the guy. And I thought, he is the original Music Man. I was watching him and I thought, you know what? I think I can play the trombone. But it's only afterwards that you realize that a lot was missing from the speech. But while you're watching it, I mean, the guy has got a lot of style.
[Battista:] Cynthia, what did you think?
[Cynthia Tucker, Cnn Convention Analyst:] I thought it was a very good speech. I didn't think it was a brilliantly written speech. It didn't have a lot of memorable turns of phrase that we'll remember for years to come, but it was very well-delivered. And Blanquita is right, at least about this much: Bill Clinton has a remarkable charisma. You looked at the faces of some of those delegates and you knew that they wished he was the nominee this time around.
[Battista:] Did he set out to do what he accomplished to do, Blanquita? I mean, is it about the economy?
[Cullum:] No, it's more than the economy. And, frankly, there was a lot about the economy that was missing. I thought that was an interesting shot because I couldn't decide whether he was a guest on the "Howard Stern Show" sitting in the Green Room. But it was very clever how they had all of the different captions underneath it. I think that he came out and he did accomplish the fact that he did a glory speech for himself, but I'm not sure that it wasn't such a great speech that Al Gore is going to have a hard time being able to, you know, dump the basketball through the hoop after this one. He just clearly does not have the charisma that Bill Clinton has for all his flaws. I think people are weary of his flaws, but at least they're charmed by him.
[Battista:] Cynthia, what do you think? Is it about the economy? I mean, it's obviously what he had to put out there and try to give Al Gore the credit for it.
[Tucker:] Well, to a large extent, it absolutely is about the economy. The problem is that many American voters do not give Al Gore any credit for the economy. They give Bill Clinton a lot of credit for the economy, but they don't give Al Gore any credit. So one of the things that Bill Clinton set out to do last night was to remind voters that Al Gore played a very big role in helping create the economic prosperity we have today. For example, there was a very important vote early in Clinton's presidency where he had to have a tax increase in order to start getting rid of those terrible deficits. Not a single Republican voted for it so it came down to a tie in the Senate. Al Gore had to go in and cast a vote to break the tie to pass that tax increase that led to the prosperity we have today. So Bill Clinton was very good and very forthright about reminding voters of that.
[Cullum:] But I've got to tell you, I don't think anybody should be sitting there looking and patting the guy on the back for raising our taxes. How many of you are sitting there having to work extra jobs, sitting there going through headaches when the IRS comes around the three most horrible words in the English language, the Internal Revenue Service? Remember that, also, Al Gore was the guy that was negotiating some of those terrible IMF loans going to Russia where the money just went to pay off the Russian mob. I mean, people need to be looking at this realistically. And, in fact, you know, I guess the problem with Al Gore is that because of his lack of charisma, people have looked at him through this time as nothing more than a ribbon cutter. And, ironically, I would like the American people to be more aware of some of the terrible things that Al Gore did, whether it's the Buddhist temple, whether it's sitting there and saying he couldn't remember whether he'd outreached to people illegally from his office because he drank so much tea he had to go to the bathroom. I mean, e-mails and so forth. So, you know, I think that part of the problem is that we don't know enough about Al Gore.
[Battista:] You mentioned the IRS. I should let you know we have about 100 CPAs in the audience today.
[Cullum:] Are they nodding with me? I mean, how many of them tried to call the IRS [OFF-MIKE]?
[Tucker:] Those CPAs make their living because of the complexity of IRS rules. Give me a break. The CPAs are probably sitting there applauding the
[Irs. Battista:] Let me...
[Cullum:] I think that they could do a little bit better with a little less tax burden. They're booing.
[Battista:] From a strategy standpoint, it seems to me that he mentioned Al Gore I think like once near the beginning of the speech, and then it was like a long time...
[Cullum:] Right, 30 minutes later. It was 30 minutes later.
[Battista:] ... yes, before you heard Al Gore's name again.
[Cullum:] I can't make out whether that was really better for Al Gore or worse for Al Gore. In some ways, you know, he's helping Al Gore by distancing himself from him. In fact, as you recall, the president was not supposed to go on any morning shows or the first lady so that they didn't come in looking like they were going to hog all the attention. And why is that? Why is Al Gore so afraid of Bill Clinton? Because he needs to, one, stay away from the corruption, and two, he has so much more charm that too much of his charm is going to really make Al Gore look stiff.
[Tucker:] Bobbie, I think Blanquita is right right on the second point but not on the first point. It is absolutely true that when you compare Al Gore and Bill Clinton, Al Gore cannot stand up to Bill Clinton's charisma. And so, that's one of the reasons you put Bill Clinton on Monday night, so Al Gore's speech is separated from it by a few nights and so you don't have quite the direct comparison. But Al Gore's problem is not the scandals associated with Bill Clinton, especially the Monica Lewinsky problem. Most voters do not blame Al Gore for that. Al Gore's problem is not Bill Clinton. Al Gore's problem is Al Gore.
[Cullum:] I don't know, Cynthia.
[Tucker:] The problem is that Al Gore does not inspire the Democratic faithful. The problem is that most people don't find Al Gore very charismatic or likable. That's the problem that Al Gore...
[Battista:] Hold on, Blanquita. I have to I've got to take a quick break, and we'll come back and talk more about Al Gore. And as we do, some e-mail to us. Steve in Indiana says: "The Clinton speech had more I than he." And Philip in Maryland says: "President Clinton did a great job articulating why this election is so crucial and why Al Gore must be elected in November. I am better off than I was eight years ago and I enjoy living like a Republican." We'll be back in a minute. As we do, please take part in our TALKBACK LIVE online viewer vote at CNN.comTALKBACK. Today's question: Is Bill Clinton an asset or a liability to Al Gore? We'll be back after this.
[Clinton:] The biggest choice that the American people have to make this year is in the presidential race. Now you all know how I feel.
[Battista:] We're back, and Cynthia, you were talking about how you didn't think Bill Clinton was Al Gore's problem, that Al Gore was his own problem. And that, you know, I think the thought probably is that he's going to have to focus more on the issues out there, because he does have an image problem and he doesn't have quite the charisma of other presidential candidates, shall we say. And Blanquita, I think you wanted to answer that.
[Cullum:] Absolutely. Well, you know, and the other thing is I think one of the issues that was missing from that and clearly, I think that George W. Bush has addressed and I think the American people really want they want a guy that's not going to lie to them. They want to know that they have decent Oval Office, a clean Oval Office. I think that's why they tried to bring in Lieberman; I don't think it's going to make a difference. But when people saw Dick Cheney and they saw George W. Bush together, they felt like, OK, thank god, the adults are back. We looked at Bill Clinton as kind of Peck's bad boy. And we but finally, you know, people are becoming beleaguered, and it's coming, push comes to shove, you need someone who is honest, decent, who's going to respect the constituency that put him there, who's going to serve as a commander in chief. And for crying out loud, you know, it would be nice to know that we have a White House that has an American desk and a State Department...
[Battista:] Well, you know, George W. Bush had a Peck's bad boy problem, too.
[Tucker:] Absolutely.
[Cullum:] Yes, but he outgrew it. He outgrew it, thank god. And the fact of the matter is we never saw Bill Clinton ever outgrow it. And I'm glad to know that we've got a guy right now who has who's certainly come up in front and he said, that's over, and he's put his life on the line. And believe me, I think you've got a press out here, those of us included, are going to be watching him like a hawk. So I would be willing to give some new blood a chance.
[Tucker:] For heaven's sake, Bill Clinton is not on the ticket and Al Gore is very much a grownup. That may be Al Gore's problem: He's too much the grownup. He's dull, he's boring, he's a policy wonk. But Al Gore is decent, honest, has no hint of scandals involving his personal life, his family life.
[Cullum:] The Buddhist temple.
[Tucker:] He has a good strong marriage. He's a loving father. Al Gore does not have the personal morality problems that Bill Clinton has.
[Cullum:] Well, unless...
[Tucker:] Far from it, and he didn't he didn't wait until he was 40 to grow up, either.
[Cullum:] Unless unless you consider that he can't figure out whether he created the Internet; whether or not he knows the difference in a fund-raiser at a Buddhist temple when people are walking around who are given vows of poverty and contributing $5,000; unless you consider the fact that he doesn't know whether or not calling from a man who had been a senator for eight years, that it's illegal to be calling for donors from your office I mean, making deals and welcoming Chinese dictators with 21-gun salutes. I think Al Gore did a little bit more than be a ribbon-cutter. That's why I say Al Gore may have a great marriage, and I think probably Tipper is his greatest asset. But frankly, we can have someone more than has a good marriage. I want to know someone who's honorable and decent and won't make crooked deals.
[Tucker:] OK, and Al Gore is honorable and decent. He just needs to communicate that to the American people.
[Battista:] Let me take a phone call from Dan in Massachusetts. Dan.
[Dan:] Good afternoon. How are you?
[Battista:] Good. How are you?
[Dan:] Doing wonderful, thanks. I guess the question was, is Clinton an asset to Gore? It's funny, because he really should be the biggest asset at this point. After eights years of prosperity and reasonable peace, it's ironic that Al Gore has to struggle to get away from this guy. And I just think there's he can make all the nice speeches and smile and feel our pain, but it's to get hard to believe after eight years of contrition for one issue or another. And I think Al Gore is going to have should have an easy time. It's a good time for the country, but it's amazing to me that Al Gore will still have to reinvent himself again after being vice president for eight years.
[Battista:] All right, Dan. Thanks very much. You know, one of the other things that was missing from the speech last night that Bill Clinton did not make any references, to getting out there on the campaign trail for Al Gore. Remember, we heard that, Ronald Reagan say, I would be a foot soldier in George Bush's army. We didn't hear anything like that last night at all, because that's still up in the air, too, I think, as to what kind of role...
[Cullum:] Well, you know, it's like Al Gore is saying, thank you, do me no favors. Please, don't help me.
[Battista:] But the caller the caller does make a point. I mean, just how long does contrition last?
[Tucker:] Well, I don't think Al Gore's problem has anything to do with Bill Clinton's contrition or lack thereof. The reason that Bill Clinton doesn't need to be on the campaign trail with Al Gore is because he overshadows him. Again, the speech last night Bill Clinton is charismatic, he's charming, the voters warm to him very easily, but instead you want the voters to take a good hard look at Al Gore. Al Gore is weak in voters' perceptions on the leadership issue. They believe he's right on the issues, they don't believe he's a strong leader. Al Gore doesn't need Bill Clinton on the campaign trail with him, if because if Clinton is out there, Al Gore never gets out from under his shadow and establishes himself as a strong leader.
[Cullum:] And the other part of it, I think you are right on that because, frankly, people look at Bill Clinton and Al Gore together they see that team that went out and campaigned connected at the hip and they see this guy, and they look at Bill Clinton, they still see Monica. Now, clearly there were a lot of other things that were wrong during this administration, and Al Gore has got to be smart enough to figure out that he doesn't need that tie-in. It is clearly there.
[Battista:] I have a couple more e-mails here. Mike in Texas says: "Bill Clinton could have picked Dan Quayle as his running mate and still won two terms. I am anti-Clinton, but can still be mesmerized when he speaks. When he's done, I come to my senses."
[Cullum:] Right. There you go...
[Battista:] And Jeff...
[Cullum:] Hello, he can play the trombone, I thought it was incredible that they had the music man above the con man, I said that's it, they got it themselves.
[Battista:] On the other hand, Jeff in Washington says: "Like him or hate him, it was a great speech. Why elect a person from another party? If it ain't broke, done fix it."
[Cullum:] But it's broke.
[Battista:] I have well, that's what we are debating. I've got to go to a break again here quickly. Cynthia Tucker, Blanquita Cullum, thanks very much for joining us once again.
[Tucker:] Thanks, Bobbie. Pleasure to see you.
[Battista:] And we will be back and we'll go to the audience in just a minute. Let me get the audience in here quickly. I can't see your name because your hair is on it Erika.
[Erika:] Hi. I think he's an asset for two reasons: number one, he was an asset at the convention because he gets the Democrats riled up, and just like the one lady was saying, being that he was on yesterday, and we have three days to get ready for Al Gore, I think that was a good tactical move. I think he gets the Democrats excited and the public excited about the election, and just generally about because he is such a charismatic speaker. And more generally, he is a president who has done so much for an economy and he is a Democrat, which is kind of the irony of this whole campaign, is that we're coming in with a successful economy led by a Democrat, and that's going to be great to come in with Al Gore.
[Battista:] Let me go to Scott here quickly.
[Scott:] I think Bill Clinton is an overshadowing figure, and it's going to be very difficult for Al Gore to separate himself from that shadow not only the bad things that Clinton has done, and been alleged to do, but also the good things that he's giving himself credit for doing.
[Battista:] We're looking at live pictures here in Michigan where the president is about to pass the torch, if you will, on to Al Gore officially, and we will be taking that event live as soon as it gets under way, which looks like it will be momentarily. Let me bring in Torie Clarke, former campaign press secretary for the Bush-Quayle campaign; also former New York Lieutenant Governor Betsy McCaughey Ross; and actress Sharon Lawrence, she is a member of the Creative Coalition, a grassroots political organization of artists. Welcome to all of you.
[Torie Clarke, Former Bush/quayle Campaign Secretary:] Thank you.
[Betsy Mccaughey Ross, Former N.y. Lieutenant Governor:] Thanks, Bobbie.
[Sharon Lawrence, Actress:] Thanks, Bobbie.
[Battista:] Before we get interrupted, let me get your assessments quickly of that speech last night, Torie.
[Clarke:] Boy, when in Hollywood an absolute stunning performance. But the thing I was thinking when I was watching it last night and this morning was Bill Clinton made a very compelling case for another four years of Bill Clinton, it was all about his accomplishments, his legacy. And if I were Al Gore, I would be thinking today, what am I going to say to top that. You know, that was all about Bill Clinton. And think about the last several days, second time in the last several days leading up to Al Gore accepting this nomination, who is on the front pages of the newspapers? And it's Bill Clinton.
[Battista:] Betsy.
[Ross:] Clinton anointed Al Gore as the steward of Clintonian prosperity, and assured the nation that if they want more years of prosperity, record employment, elect Al Gore. We have 22 million new jobs and a record 4.08 annual growth rate unprecedented since 1979.
[Battista:] And Sharon I was going to say, let me get Sharon in quickly, because from a professional showman's point of view, how would you rate it?
[Lawrence:] Well, I think there's no question that it was brilliantly delivered and certainly compelling, and I agree that it does pass the mantle on to the Democratic nominee. It's not just Bill Clinton's accomplishments or platform, it was the Democratic Party's accomplishments and platforms, and Al Gore had a hand in that, he made decisions that helped move this country forward not just in the economy, but in social issues as well.
[Battista:] I'm sorry, Torie, go ahead.
[Clarke:] No, I was going to say, again, I think the take-aways I mean, if you did a word count there were probably as many about Hillary Clinton as there were about Al Gore. I really was struck by the sense of, OK, we've had a great team for a couple of years, we've and we've run the Super Bowl, we're going to let the J.V. team in right now. I don't think it was as ringing an endorsement of Al Gore as Al Gore would have liked, and I think it sets up a real challenge for Al Gore going forward to make the compelling case why Al Gore and not another four years of Bill Clinton.
[Ross:] I disagree.
[Clarke:] You know, being a staffer, I think about, you know, how many people are going to be watching Thursday night versus how many people were watching last night.
[Battista:] Let me...
[Clarke:] And just think about what the pundits will do if the ratings are lower Thursday night than they were last night.
[Battista:] Let me I have to interrupt here. I'm so sorry. We'll take you to that live event now in Michigan, where the president and Al Gore are appearing.