Senator Kerry, President Bush Spar on Campaign Trail
KERRY: You're going to have to stand up and prove that we can talk the truth, that we can fight back against vicious smears and lies.</s>JOHNSON: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in New Mexico earlier this week telling crowds to overlook what he says are distortions about his past and his plans for future. Welcome back. We're</s>ON THE STORY. HAYS: Sasha, I just asked Suzanne Malveaux about behind the scenes at the White House and how they must be feeling pretty good about what the polls are showing. You're hanging out with the Kerry campaign. You're talking to people when you go to the speeches, you're talking to some of the operatives. I would think they're a little bit depressed to see a man not -- not only is he not making headway, he seems to be losing ground against George Bush in some of these polls.</s>JOHNSON: Well, they would completely and totally disagree with you on that point. Yesterday, they presented us with I think four or five polls which they say shows the race at least within the margin of error. They looked at the Gallup poll that came out yesterday that showed Kerry down by double digits and said, "You know what? That's just not true. Our internals show the race much closer." But, you know, you do talk to people at rallies. I talked to one prominent Democrat at a New Mexico rally the other day. And he said, "Well, you know, his message finally seems to be catching on. We feel a little bit better about the way things are. He seems to be a little more aggressive on the stump. So we're with feeling better about things." I mean, they acknowledge that they're down, but they say that this is when John Kerry performs his best, when he's the underdog, when his back's against the wall. So, you know, they say, "Look, we've got 45 days. This is definitely not over yet."</s>MALVEAUX: Sasha, I was in Las Vegas this past week at the National Guard Association, their big conference, and it was really incredible to see because there were thousands of National Guardsmen who were there. And when President Bush walked in, I mean, they just erupted with applause. There were several standing ovations. To watch the kind of perception that the president got from this group -- and I know that Kerry went a little bit later, I guess two days later, and addressed the same organization. How was he received?</s>JOHNSON: Well, before we even landed in Las Vegas, the Kerry campaign came back and they said, "Look, do not expect John Kerry to receive the same type of warm welcome that the president -- that President Bush got when he went and spoke to this group. President Bush is the commander in chief. These people have a certain allegiance to him, and we understand that and respect that." But -- and they also acknowledged John Kerry was going in with what some said was a very unpopular speech. He basically accused the president of not being straight with the audience, not being straight with the National guard about what was happening in Iraq. He criticized President Bush for, you know, not supplying the National Guard with appropriate types of health care benefits that they deserve. And when I spoke with some National Guards people, as you did, after the speech, it was a pretty mixed response. There were some people that were definitely pro Kerry, there were others that just said, "Look, this guy shouldn't have come here. We were very respectful. They gave him two standing ovations, but we did it because he's a sitting senator and not because we agreed with anything that he said." But there were people there that did -- that did like what he said.</s>ARENA: Sasha, that speech just seemed to be part of -- of an overall trend for Senator Kerry to be a little sharper, a little more personal in his -- in his talks that he's giving publicly. A lot of Democrats that I've heard from that have come on CNN in the past are saying, "OK, finally, now he's taking the gloves off and he's getting down to business." Is that what you're sensing?</s>JOHNSON: Yes. I mean Democrats outside the campaign are very happy that Kerry's finally in there throwing elbows. And, you know, we traveled to many different states this week, and in each state and each day was a separate issue. Monday was the assault weapons ban. Tuesday was Medicare. And what the Kerry campaign is trying to do is take all of these policy issues and turn them into character critiques of President Bush. You know, on Medicare, President Bush says that he's for seniors, but look, senior citizens, he has done x, y and z to raise your health care costs to do these things. So really he's someone that can't be trusted. So it turns into a character issue. I mean, even last night in Aurora, Colorado, his refrain for President Bush was, can you really trust him?" Look what he's done on Iraq, health care, the economy. He's lost jobs. Can you really trust him? So they see this as a way of defining why people should vote against President Bush. And it also helps them to sort of counter the wrap on Kerry, which is that he's been a flip-flopper, which the Kerry campaign has acknowledged is a criticism that has stuck somewhat.</s>SLOBOGIN: Sasha, we heard this week that there was a kind of infusion of new blood at the high levels of the Kerry campaign this week. A lot of the Clintonistas coming on board. Is that -- can you see, is that making a difference?</s>JOHNSON: Well, I mean, I think it depends. Mike McCurry was out on the plane. He, you know, came back and chatted with reporters, was reminiscing about his time in the Clinton White House. So there are some people that say yes. The -- you know, Joe Lockhart and Mike McCurry coming on has definitely given the campaign a certain new structure, a certain control over the message, if you will. But others say no, these people had always -- we had always planned on bringing in the big guns 60 days out. And really, what is making John Kerry sharpen his message is the fact that we are 45 days away, the fact that he is down in the polls a little bit, and he has -- he has an uphill fight. So that's really why he's on the attack and I guess fighting a little harder and is being a little more clear in his message.</s>HAYS: Sasha, it's so hard for us to tell in this day where television seems to dominate and define everything if John Edwards is still out there stumping away as much, if Teresa Heinz Kerry is out there as much. Because we don't see them, particularly not John Edwards, it seems. Is he there and just not getting the coverage, or is he taking kind of a lower profile right now?</s>JOHNSON: He's definitely not taking a lower profile, I think. The campaign says that we're just not covering John Edwards. That he is out six days a week campaigning. He wrapped up a western swing and a bus tour through Appalachia. He's going down to -- he's going to be in Pennsylvania, going through some of the places that George Bush has been recently, Ohio. They say that he is out there on the attack. I mean, he is a sunny and optimistic guy. That's one of the reasons why they picked him. But that he does, you know, come back against things that George Bush and Dick Cheney say. But they just say, you know, you guys aren't actually covering him. It's the local press that's covering John Edwards. He's been on the front pages of papers in New Mexico and Ohio. And frankly, that's the coverage that the Kerry campaign wants in these battleground states. I mean, sometimes the national media, it's not irrelevant, but the local press is sometimes more beneficial.</s>ARENA: All right. Well, Sasha, thanks. We know that both you and Suzanne need to get back on the story. Thanks for joining us. Well, just ahead, an update from the war on terrorism. And a high-profile suspect is on the verge of walking free. I'm back on that story in just a moment.