News from CNN: Holy Day Attacks in Iraq; Ten States Holding Votes Today; Interview with Al Sharpton, Dennis Kucinich

SHOW: NEWS FROM CNN 12:00

March 2, 2004 Tuesday

HEADLINE: Holy Day Attacks in Iraq; Ten States Holding Votes Today; Interview With Al Sharpton, Dennis Kucinich

GUESTS: Terry Holt, Ed Turlington, Gregory Meeks, Al Sharpton, Dennis Kucinich

BYLINE: Donna Brazile, Carlos Watson, Judy Woodruff, Jane Arraf, Bob Franken, Lucia Newman, Chris Huntington

HIGHLIGHT:
Deadliest day in Iraq since end of major combat.; The biggest day of the primary season is finally here.; Guy Phillipe says he's in charge in Haiti.; Former WorldCom chief financial officer Scott Sullivan has now pleaded guilty to charges related to the collapse of WorldCom.; Interview with Al Sharpton, Dennis Kucinich.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
ED TURLINGTON, EDWARDS CAMPAIGN: Well, Judy, we expect Senator Edwards is going to win hundreds of delegates across the country today, and has the chance to win in a number of states such as Georgia, Minnesota and Ohio. I was in Maryland and Ohio in the last few days working for the senator and was very encouraged by the response in those states.

WOODRUFF: Congressman Meeks, what are you expecting?

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D), NEW YORK: Well, Senator Kerry has been working hard. He's crossed the country, covering all 10. You know, he's running a national campaign, and he's covering all 10 states.

And so I expect the people to come out, to support and vote for the man that they believe can unseat George W. Bush, and that's John Kerry. Because of John's message of bringing back jobs to Americans and making insurance affordable again. And also because he has the experience and the know-how.

He doesn't need on-the-job training. He'll come in Washington, D.C. in January, helping restore America to its prominence, bringing jobs back to Americans. And that's what I think counts, and I think that's what we will look for tonight.

I think when you look at states like New York, California, Ohio and Georgia, as the senator has shown, he can win no matter whether it is in the North, East, South or West. And we look forward to a big night tonight.

WOODRUFF: Ed Turlington, will John Edwards stay in this race no matter what happens tonight?

TURLINGTON: Well, Judy, you heard his statements yesterday. And we think we're going to have a good day today that will propel him forward to tonight.

You know, a few minutes ago, I heard Donna Brazile say on your program that John Edwards is a good closer. He's proved it in Iowa, where he far exceeded expectations, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Wisconsin. We think that's going to happen again today.

And I'd also point out, you know, yesterday, when I was in Canton, Ohio; I talked to a number of voters who have been hit hard by this Bush economy. John Edwards has a message to address those concerns. And that's one reason we think he's going to do so well today.

WOODRUFF: But Congressman Meeks, if John Edwards stays in, and you've got this onslaught of ads coming down the line from the Bush- Cheney campaign, how helpful is it to John Kerry to have John Edwards still competing when the odds are, most people would agree, it's going to be difficult for him to win the nomination?

MEEKS: Senator Kerry has never taken anything for granted. He has worked hard and fought for every vote. In fact, if you're talking about closing, you know, just before we got the time to vote, Senator Kerry was way behind. But he understood that the time to close was the time when the election started. And he's moved up very quickly.

And he will work hard for every vote. We can't tell anyone to stop running or whatever they want to do. That's their decision. John Kerry is focused on the American people and focused on exposing the record of George W. Bush.

Bush can't hide from that record. We know he's going to come out with $150 million, trying to cover out what his record his. We're going to expose that record. We're going to expose the fact that under George W. Bush we've lost 2.8 million jobs.

Under George W. Bush we've lost -- 3.8 million have lost their health insurance. That's what we're focused on. And we'll continue to do that so that the American people will see the record of George W. Bush will be exposed.

WOODRUFF: I hear you. I want to ask Ed Turlington, though, Senator Edwards often says he has not taken money from Washington lobbyists. The Associated Press, though, is reporting today that the senator has accepted thousands of dollars from people in Washington who are registered as lobbyists. Everyone from John Podesta, who is the former Clinton White House chief of staff, the head of the National Education Association, and so forth.

TURLINGTON: Well, Judy, if we're talking about the same story, I saw that story. And the way I read it, the facts were just as John Edwards has stated.

He has not taken money from people who were registered at the time that they were lobbying him. It is my understanding that some people in the past might have been registered lobbyists. But, you know, the big issue here is John Edwards has a plan to change Washington, to ban those contributions.

He doesn't take money from federal PACs, he disagrees with these no-bid contracts for companies like Halliburton, and he would stop these revolving doors where people who are in the government go out and become lobbyists, and then lobby the very agency they come from. That's the key point.

WOODRUFF: All right. Gentlemen, we are going to have to leave it there. Ed Turlington, who is running the John Edwards campaign, and Representative Greg Meeks, who is a supporter of John Kerry. Congressman Meeks, of course, being a Democrat from the state of New York.

Gentlemen, thank you both.

TURLINGTON: Thank you very much.

WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.

MEEKS: Thank you.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT