Democratic National Convention: Introducing Al Gore to the American Public
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: We turn our attention back to the Democratic National Convention. Our focus now is on labor issues and the Democratic Party and jobs. I'm joined by Alexis Herman, the U.S. secretary of labor. Thanks a lot for coming in.</s>ALEXIS HERMAN, U.S. SECRETARY OF LABOR: Thank you for inviting me.</s>MESERVE: I know we are going to hear the numbers from you in just a second about how many new jobs have been created. But there seems to be a problem here. Despite this incredible economy, Al Gore doesn't seem to be getting much credit for that. How do you change that?</s>HERMAN: That is going to change after the convention. A lot of people know who Al Gore is, but they don't know all of the wonderful things he has done, and especially the hard choices that he had to bring about this good economy.</s>MESERVE: Why the heck don't they know?</s>HERMAN: Oh, I don't think that's atypical for someone who has been in the role of vice president. But coming out of this convention, I think the next president, Al Gore, will emerge for the strong leader he has been for this country and for our economy.</s>FRANK SESNO, CNN ANCHOR: We're hearing that Al Gore is going to make this point that he's fighting for the people, not the powerful. And yet, you're trying to say there are 22 million jobs that have been created for everybody. Isn't this populous rhetoric a little out of place?</s>HERMAN: Well, I think what we're trying to say when we talk about the people verses the powerful: Everyone wants health care. Everyone wants to make sure that their pensions are going to safe and secure when they retire. When we talk about Social Security, the people verses the powerful, it's about really putting the public's interests, Frank, over the special interests. And that's the distinction when we talk about the people versus the power.</s>SESNO: Talking to a powerful Democrat yesterday, he was a little bit nervous about this, because he said: Many of these jobs have been created because of a partnership -- or more of partnership -- between government and business. This sounds like an anti-business kind of thing.</s>HERMAN: This is not an anti-business rhetoric, if you will. We believe very strongly that the business community, in partnership with this administration, has helped to create many of the jobs. But there is a difference here. Al Gore really has fought for the issues that support working families in this country, whether it's been supporting the minimum wage increase, protecting Social Security, what we have to do now to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid. All of these are the issues that he has championed and will champion and -- I might add -- with a lot of business support along the way.</s>MESERVE: No surprise we heard contrary point of view at the Republican Convention, where George W. Bush said the administration had been coasting, that it had squandered opportunities. How hard does this convention hit back at what George W. Bush had to say about the economy?</s>HERMAN: We are going to make very clear at this convention that this economy did not happen by accident. We got here with hard choices the president and that the vice president made. And at the end of the day, this is the people's prosperity. It is their progress that we are going to be celebrating.</s>SESNO: Why are we hearing that it's so necessary to introduce Al Gore to the American people? He said so himself. He's been vice president for eight years, senator for eight years, congressman for eights year before that, and somehow people don't know him?</s>HERMAN: But you know, they don't know that he served in Vietnam, that he went to serve in an unpopular war, that he was a journalist who really developed his own passion for public service. He went to Congress because of real issues that motivated him to fight for the public good. There's a side to Al Gore, the strong family man that he is -- he didn't just wake up in public office. We need to get those values out. You know, the Republicans put a lot of values on the stage. We are going to talk about how we put our values into action to support working families.</s>MESERVE: Alexis Herman, U.S. secretary of labor, thanks for joining us. We'll see you on the stage tonight.</s>HERMAN: Thank you.