MSNBC "Morning Joe" - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC "MORNING JOE" - Transcript

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Oh, hey, here with us now, the Democratic National Committee chairman, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. He says I can call him Howard. I just -- I'm not sure I should do that.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: We also have --

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Oh, the great senator!

MR. SCARBOROUGH: -- the junior and senior senator from Minnesota.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: That's true!

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: The only one in that status.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Amy --

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: I expect a lot of deference. (Laughter.)

MR. SCARBOROUGH: I was going to say, how long do you think you're going to be the junior and senior senator from Minnesota?

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: I would guess maybe about a month. That would be my guess.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: A month.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: I think the -- you know, the process has been long and arduous, but fair. And now we have some legal challenges left. I would guess it's done in a month.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Done in a month --

MR. SCARBOROUGH: That hurts the people of Minnesota, though. Are you picking up Norm Coleman's workload?

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Yes. We've been working with his office, and --

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Because they blocked him out, right?

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Actually, they're back in, working for a few weeks to transition the cases over to us and some members of Congress.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Oh, good.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: But these are cases in Minnesota, Medicare and adoptions, and so there's a lot of work that needs to be done.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Those cases do not wait for election challenges.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: That's exactly right.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Let's talk to Chairman Dean, the man who embarked on a 50-state strategy years ago, when people mocked and ridiculed him for it. It was actually the opposite.

I remember -- I won't say his name, but a D-triple-C chairman of the 1990s saying we might as well admit it; we're never going to win the rural areas. Let's just give up on it.

MR. DEAN: Yeah.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: You didn't go that way.

MR. DEAN: And how about the guy that wrote the book about skipping the South, who -- is a good guy, but, you know, you can't do that.

(Cross talk.)

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Absolutely wrong. So --

MS. BRZEZINSKI: You brought to the table a whole new way of thinking.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: So Governor, not to put you on the spot -- we wouldn't put you on the spot.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Yeah, not to make you feel uncomfortable.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Why wouldn't you have a job in the administration? You should be working in the administration.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Exactly. They need you.

MR. DEAN: Well, maybe so, but -- you know, whatever. I'm going to -- I have this new show coming up. It's on MSNBC; it's called "Howard in the Morning." (Laughter.)

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: "Morning Howard." (Laughter.)

(Cross talk.)

MR. DEAN: I think it runs 6:00 a.m. to 9 a.m., is that right, Joe? Do you know anything about it? No, eh? (Laughter.)

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Well, that is how -- actually, that's how MSNBC used to do things.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: That's exactly --

(Laughter.)

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Somebody'd be watching on the air; they'd go, I don't like this -- (inaudible).

(Cross talk, laughter.)

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Eh, wouldn't be the first time.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: But seriously, a lot of your supporters -- and you have been gracious, as usual -- but a lot of your supporters are angry. They don't feel you're being given the respect you deserve because of what you have done to build this party nationally.

MR. DEAN: I got what I wanted out of this job. What I wanted out of this job was a Democratic president.

What I got out of this job was not only a Democratic president, but the first new-generation president, who represents my daughter's generation, and the first African American president in the history of the United States.

So that is not a bad thing to get out this job.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: That's a three-fer.

MR. DEAN: And that's really what I asked for. The rest is all gravy. You know, someday maybe I'll work in the government, but maybe not.

But I went in four years ago, and my expectations have always -- already been exceeded, and I'm very happy.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Well, not to mention the changes in the House and the Senate as well, since you've been in.

(Cross talk.)

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Oh, no doubt about it.

MR. DEAN: Well, that was the -- that was what made the 50-state strategy respectable, was 2006. So -- and here we picked up seats in places we hadn't won for years.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: So obviously you get all these checks coming in. Have you paid the Republican Party for making your job easier over the past four years?

MR. DEAN: (Laughs.) They've got a big problem. But on a day like today, I don't feel like discussing the Republican Party very much.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: But, you know what, though? Now would be a good time to talk to Democrats, as you leave, to say hey, this is what they were saying about the Democratic Party four years ago, that we were done.

MR. DEAN: Well, that's true.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: We'd better be careful, because it could happen to us.

MR. DEAN: No, it's true. And what I said -- I've been going around to these balls and stuff like that. Last night I went to, among other things, the Net Roots Ball out in Alexandria, Virginia.

And the message is very clear: This is the beginning; this is not the end. We did this, and America did this, because they wanted a real change. And now we've had some change, but the real change is to come.

Health care reform: We really need it. We've been talking about it for 60 years, since Harry Truman was president of the United States. If you want to fix the schools, you've got to do something about early childhood and families. I don't mean three to five; I mean zero to three.

We're sending broken children from broken families to broken schools. You don't start with the schools; you start with the families, and then you get the kids ready to go.

And there's people who are doing this, people like Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem Children's Zone, as a model for what we ought to be doing all over the country. So there's lots to do, and now we've got to get to work.

So today is the last day of fun. Tomorrow the work starts, right, Senator?

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Exactly.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Senator, we look at these shots across Washington, D.C., just majestic shots. Tell us what they mean to you.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Well, for me to be able to sit up there on those steps today, behind this new, young president who -- (cross talk) -- literally is going to be holding the hopes of the country in his hands, and the world will be watching.

And I just -- looking out at those millions of people, thinking of how he started this campaign. No one ever thought a guy named Barack Obama would win the presidency of the United States.

And he did it. He did it with his intellect; he did it with his power; he did it with the grassroots support he got all over this country. And you're going to see it, out in the cold --

I just drove in. People are just -- throngs of people, 5:00 in the morning, trying to get across. It's unbelievable.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Well, people were empowered to engage in this election --

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Yes.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: -- and this campaign was downright brilliant in the way they were able to engage young people on the Internet, all sectors of society.

And what we're seeing before our eyes now on Capitol Hill are millions of people streaming into the city before 7:00 in the morning.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: It really has an -- you know, Jonathan, I would certainly say this if a Republican were being inaugurated. Because everybody's saying oh, you all are all in the tank for Barack Obama.

I'm in the tank for America. I'm this excited when a Republican is inaugurated. This is a great day for all of America.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Let's not ignore what's happening in history.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: Look at these shots, though. These pictures of this amazing city. This amazing country. Look at that! It's beautiful!

MR. CAPEHART: Well, you know, Joe, we're looking at these shots right now which are live, but this has been going on since Saturday. People have been streaming into Washington. They just want to be here. They want to be a part of it.

My own mother, who initially said she didn't want to come, she called me on Saturday and said, wow, I'm just 20 minutes away. I need to be there. And so she came in yesterday, and we walked down to the Lincoln Memorial, because she just wanted to be in the place where people were gathered to -- help celebrate the inauguration of this man.

MR. DEAN: And Jonathan, she said, where's my ticket, right? (Laughter.)

MR. CAPEHART: Exactly! That was exactly what she said. She was really upset.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: You know what we should do? We should ask Senator Amy -- we're going to start calling her Senator Amy --

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Senator Amy.

MR. SCARBOROUGH: -- to take a picture during the Inauguration and e-mail it to us.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: Would you do that? Okay, from your vantage point.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: I will do that. That would be wonderful. And I would --

MR. SCARBOROUGH: The best shot in the house. How excited are you about that?

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: You know, when we were talking about getting change, too -- what Governor Dean was talking about -- this is the beginning, today.

But all of those people that Barack Obama has ignited across the country, they're going to have to push these members of Congress to act and get things done. Because that's what's been lacking, and that's what he brings here, as we go ahead.

MS. BRZEZINSKI: It's going to need both sides, too.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, thank you very much. Jonathan Capehart, thank you. Howard, will you stick around? (Laughs.)

MR. DEAN: Sure.

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