ABC This Week With George Stephanopoulos - Transcript
ABC News Transcripts
SHOW: THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (10:30 AM ET) - ABC
October 31, 2004 Sunday
HEADLINE: HEADLINERS SENATOR BILL FRIST, REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI
BODY:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS
(Off Camera) But now, for some instant reaction, our headliners, the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, and the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi. Good morning to both of you. And, Senator Frist, let me begin with you. You just heard Senator Kerry. He said he can fight a more effective war on terror, and one of the points he's made is that he wouldn't have let Osama bin Laden slip the noose at Tora Bora. Are you concerned at all that the Osama bin Laden tape will remind voters that Osama bin Laden wasn't, in fact, captured?
SENATOR BILL FRIST, REPUBLICAN, TENNESSEE
Well, first of all, the tape itself should be handled in a way that is nonpartisan, and that's everybody's reaction today. In terms of Tora Bora, it's interesting that John Kerry blames the troops. He denigrates the troops. In Tora Bora, and again, he keeps coming back again and again, saying that we outsourced to the Afghan warlords. I had the opportunity to talk to some of our special operations forces two weeks ago who were at Tora Bora, and they don't agree with John Kerry. These are the very best, the very best trained, our elite there, and they did work with their Afghan allies to go after the search for Osama bin Laden. To have John Kerry blame our troops, it's like 20 years ago when he, or 30 years ago, 40 years ago when he came back from Vietnam and he threw away his medals, blaming our troops, or the munitions discussion last week, grabbing the headlines, trying to twist the headlines and blaming our troops on the ground. Who is John Kerry going to blame next in this war on terror?
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Well, Congresswoman Pelosi, let me bring you in here, because one of the other points the Bush campaign has made is that this is another John Kerry flip-flop. They point to an appearance he made in December, 2001, on "Larry King Live," where he was asked by a viewer if US troops should go in more directly with napalm and flame- throwers, and here's what he had to say.
SENATOR JOHN F. KERRY,
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE
For the moment what we're doing, I think, is having its impact, and it's the best way to protect our troops and sort of minimize the proximity, if you will. I think we've been doing this pretty effectively, and we should continue to do it that way.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) He seems there to be endorsing the US tactics at Tora Bora.
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI,
DEMOCRAT, CALIFORNIA
The fact of the matter is is that Osama bin Laden is still at large, able to taunt and instill fear. He's a terrorist, and part of what a terrorist does is instill fear. That is a failure of the Bush administration. John Kerry has never criticized the troops. He has criticized the policy. He has criticized the leadership from the White House that would say if I were president, I would move heaven and earth to get Osama bin Laden. President Bush said we will bring him to justice, or we will bring justice to him. We all subscribed to that, and then without doing that, the president distracted our whole effort and went into Iraq, which was on the basis of false information, without the proper equipment for our troops. We've lost over 1100 of our young men and women, thousands more wounded at the cost of now a trillion, a quarter of a trillion dollars and great cost to our reputation, so the president has failed in how he has tried to protect America.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Senator Frist?
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI
We are less safe. We are less safe because he is president, and they can't blame that on John Kerry.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Senator Frist, Congresswoman Pelosi brings up the cost of Iraq, and there was a story in "The Washington Post" this week that said at the turn of the year, the Bush administration is preparing to ask for another $70 billion for Iraq. Can Congress swallow this request, and are you prepared to pay for it?
SENATOR BILL FRIST
Absolutely. This war on terror is going to be addressed aggressively with bold leadership. That's why the president is showing such momentum going into this election. He is a stronger leader. He is believable, and he will keep his word. To say that we are less safe is absurd. And if there's anything that that tape with Osama bin Laden suggested is that we do need strong leadership. We're not going to be intimidated, and President Bush has killed or eliminated 2-3rds of the al Qaeda leadership.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Let me ...
SENATOR BILL FRIST
3-thousand al Qaeda are in jail or eliminated in some way, 50 million people in the world are freed, where they weren't three years ago.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Senator, excuse me. Let me stop you there.
SENATOR BILL FRIST
And we had Afghan elections, free elections the other day for 25 million Afghans.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) But let's stay on Iraq, but let's stay on Iraq for a second. You said absolutely you would support the request. Two follow-up questions to that. Number one, how will you pay for it? And two, does that pledge hold even if Senator Kerry is elected?
SENATOR BILL FRIST
Yes, absolutely, and I, I'll tell you, Senator Kerry is not going to be elected. President Bush is going to be the commander in chief, but whoever the commander in chief is, we're going to support our military. If it's $87 billion, we're not going to say, well, the war is a nuisance, the war on terror is a nuisance, and, therefore, we may or may not support $87 billion for our troops. We're going to be there for our troops. We're not going to criticize our elite special forces operations in Tora Bora for doing the very best, the very best trained people. We support our troops. We'll give them the money for the body armor, for the ammunitions they need, 100 percent. No, no wavering, no waffling around, no flip-flopping under the leadership of President George W. Bush.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Congresswoman Pelosi, let me turn it then to you. You voted against the $87 billion, just as Senator Kerry did. Are you going to maintain that opposition to this new request for $70 billion, regardless of who's president?
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI
Well, let's see what's in the request. I want to remind the distinguished leader that in that first, that $87 billion that came down from the White House, there was no funding for the body armor, for the armor for the Humvees, for jammers, money to protect our troops. The Department of Defense has said one-quarter of those who died or lost their limbs or were injured would have been saved if they had the proper equipment. It was Congressman John Murtha, a Democrat of Pennsylvania, who put the money in so that at the end of the day that money was there, and our troops still don't have everything that they need. But I want to return to my initial point. Without any equivocation, as a mother of five children, as a grandmother of five children, as a mom, a woman who worries about the security of our country, with ten years of experience on the Intelligence Committee and now as House Democratic leader, our country is less safe because of the actions taken by George W. Bush. He has not made us safer. He has turned Iraq into a Pandora's box and has neglected to finish the job.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Okay, Senator.
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI
His lack of leadership has not diminished, however, the valor, the courage, the patriotism of our men and women in uniform. They have always been praised by Senator Kerry and by all of us. We honor their sacrifice.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Senator Frist, Senator Frist, let me, excuse me for a second. Let me turn now to domestic issues, because I think we've debated this one out. And the signature issue of health care. You're a doctor. Senator Kerry said this is going to be his number one priority, and he said in his interview with Peter Jennings that he knows how to get it through Congress even with Republican opposition. Let me show you what he said.
SENATOR JOHN F. KERRY
I know how to legislate. I've been there, done that, and I know how to find that common ground, and when the moment of compromise comes, I'll also know when that is. It's not now here with you, Peter. It's down the road when I'm president and when the right moment arrives.
PETER JENNINGS, ABC NEWS
(Off Camera) Well, but Sir, you do know what the Republicans think of your health care plan. You must have some notion of where ...
SENATOR JOHN F. KERRY
No ...
PETER JENNINGS
(Off Camera) ... you're going to have to compromise, if bipartisanship means as much to you as you say it means.
SENATOR JOHN F. KERRY
In point of fact, the Republicans have been political with my health care plan during the campaign season, but privately I've heard many of them say they think it's a very good idea. I've had many business people across the country, Republicans, who are supportive of my health care plan. There are leading CEOs of major corporations in America who think my health care plan is just what the country needs, and I think you're going to be surprised after the election by the coalition of people who are going to come together to reduce the cost of health care in America. And let me tell you something, if somebody has a better idea than me, more power to them. I want to do what Franklin Roosevelt did, which is not care if it's a Republican idea or a Democrat idea. I want ideas that are good for Americans and for America.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Now, Senator Frist, you've also come forward with legislation that would significantly expand coverage and do something about those catastrophic costs and a group called, a nonpartisan group called centrist.org had this to say about yours and Senator Kerry's plan. It said, "Between their two plans, Senators Kerry and Frist are attempting to rise above the far-right, far-left partisanship and political rigidity that have historically stymied progress on health coverage and costs." If Senator Kerry wins, can your two plans provide the building blocks for a bipartisan solution?
SENATOR BILL FRIST
No, they cannot, because Senator Kerry's plan is a $1.5 trillion plan. That's a thousand-dollar tax on every family in the country, 225 mandates, new mandates in government and on small businesses will strangle small businesses that results in 21 million people who are not in a government program now being thrust into a government Medicaid program that takes eight million people from the private sector and dumps them into a government program that will destroy health care for the future. I agree with President Bush's vision of a patient-friendly, patient-centered, provider-friendly system that addresses the soaring cost of health care, that addressed the uninsured, that is consumer-driven, it's based on information and freedom of choice.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) But Sir, let me stop you, let me stop you right there, Sir, because your plan would also expand government programs. It would try to extend coverage through tax credits to everyone living under 200 percent of poverty.
SENATOR BILL FRIST
That's exactly right, and so does President Bush. If fact, the president, Bush, had that idea on the table long before John Kerry. Refundable tax credits for the uninsured. The uninsured's a huge problem in this country that President Bush is, is, is addressing with refundable tax credits, with expansion of our community health centers, with promotion of health savings accounts and less expensive insurance policies. That's very different than having a government- run program that just dumps people into a Medicaid program that right now is having a difficult time surviving in its current (inaudible).
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Congresswoman Pelosi, it doesn't sound like you're gonna get much bipartisan cooperation on health care.
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI
Well, what we have to do is have a great big victory. I subscribe to the big victory theory, which is, and I, and I put my credibility on the line here. John Kerry will be the next president of the United States. The outpouring of people from all over the country has been tremendous going into the battleground states. I've just come back in three weeks from 18 states, and I can tell you firsthand that these polls do not reflect the strength of Senator Kerry, but I agree, in order for him to succeed, he has to have cooperation in the Congress, and that would be a Democratic Congress, however, this, Senator Frist and the Republicans have been, have had the control of the Senate and the House and the president has had the White House. They've had these years to put forth an initiative to expand access to health care. The result, five million more people do not have access to health care. This is a failed Congress. They failed in terms of health care. They failed in terms of job creation. Many more people out of work. The worst record of job creation in seven decades. They failed in terms of the education of our children and allocating the resources. They failed in terms of an energy bill to make us less dependent on foreign oil. They failed in terms of protecting the environment, rolling back 30 years of bipartisan environmental progress, and they failed in terms of protecting the American people.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Okay.
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI
A missed opportunity. They failed despite, and I'll give credit to Senator Frist for this. He and Tom Daschle working together in a cooperative manner to pass the 9/11 commission recommendations, the House Republicans have been an obstacle to that.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Okay, that ...
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI
But Senator, Senator Kerry will insure all of our children, make it easier for small businesses to provide health benefits for their employees. Let people 55 years and older buy into Medicare, which will make that a healthier, wealthier pool.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Okay, Congresswoman Pelosi, that will be your final word. We heard your prediction. Big win for Senator Kerry. We're just about out of time, Senator Frist. What's your prediction for Tuesday?
SENATOR BILL FRIST
Well, we got huge momentum. You can feel it in all of our Senate races, we'll pick up Senate seats. President Bush, as you pointed out in the "Newsweek" poll, is up six points, among undecideds, up 11 points. In the Hispanic community and the African-American community is making huge headways, probably doubling the percentage of African- Americans who will be voting for President Bush. There is no question in my mind with this huge momentum that President Bush, because he is going to stick with his word, because he is a stronger leader, because he'll support our troops, because he won't grab headlines and try to use them for political purposes, he will be the next president of the United States, and we're likely to pick up seats as a Republican majority in the United States Senate.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) Thank you both for your final speeches. We'll have you both back to see who is right.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS
(Off Camera) And I'll be back with the party chairs, Ed Gillespie and Terry McAuliffe.