And joining us now, Congressman Harold Ford Jr., Democrat of Tennessee. You lost, what about 1.7 million votes cast. You lost by about 50,000. Is there anything you look back on what you did, you should have done differently and maybe you would have won?
REP. HAROLD FORD (D), TENNESSEE: No, I mean I don't -- I try not to look back. Naturally, it weighs on you a bit as you think about the race.
BLITZER: Do you wake up every day and say to yourself, I wish I would have done this? Maybe that -- what your opponent called the Memphis meltdown, maybe you shouldn't have done that.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Do you second-guess any of that thing?
FORD: Not at all. I'd do it all over again. I think I'd do all the campaigning over again. I think there were a few things that happened at the end of the race with some of the public polling showing a wide margin for my opponent which just never was the case and I think that may have depressed some vote.
BLITZER: Because some of those polls showed 10 points and in the end it was 51, 48 percent, which is very...
FORD: About 50.6 to 48.3, but who's counting...
BLITZER: But who's counting that specifically?
FORD: You know I don't look back in life. And I mean, you got to look forward. The Democrats have a majority now. It's time for them to govern and lead. There is so many things we talked about from character education classes for kids to increasing the nation's savings rate to obviously the huge issue on people's mind, what to do in Iraq. These are the things we ought to be focused on and long term how we find new energy sources. I'm going to continue to be involved and work with my governor and work with others at home to try to be a part of allowing Tennessee crops and farmers...
BLITZER: The fact is that a black Democrat in a blue -- in a red state like Tennessee got very, very close. And what does that say about Tennessee?
FORD: Well I think the fact that a lot of people who had not ordinarily been involved in politics, and I've been involved in the political process, weighed in, worked hard and we got close. Politics is not out of my blood or public service is not. The governor of California, who is a friend, said at one point in his career that he'd be back. And I hope to have the opportunity to come back and continue giving. But in the meantime, I plan to spend a lot of time in Tennessee. I've not made a decision on what I'm going to do... BLITZER: Because you know Lamar Alexander is up for re-election in two years.
FORD: I read that somewhere. The next two years will be interesting. I'm rooting for the country...
BLITZER: If you want to run for that, you got to start thinking about that right away.
FORD: Well that's one of the problems in this business, is that the presidential race starts -- I guess now started a few months ago. I want to see this Congress and Senate do good work. I want to see the president listen to the Iraqi study group and put forward a set of ideas and put forward an agenda that not only works for the Americans, but it works for the Iraqis and helps create more stability in that region of the world...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Let me press you -- I want to press you on Lamar Alexander. Are you thinking seriously of challenging Lamar Alexander...
FORD: The last thing on my mind right now is another race.
BLITZER: But you're certainly not ruling that out?
FORD: No, I mean in the future no, not at all. I love the idea of service. And I've done it for 10 years. Voters in Memphis gave me a unique chance when I was 25 years old to go to the Congress and I think the most notable expenditure of time is public service.
BLITZER: Harold Ford, Jr., thanks for coming in.
FORD: Thank you. Tell Michael Steele I said hello too.
BLITZER: Yes, Michael Steele was here in THE SITUATION ROOM yesterday. He lost in Maryland, but he's got a huge future ahead of him.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: You lost in Tennessee...
FORD: I support Ben Cardin, but Michael Steele is a good man and he ran a hard race and I hope he doesn't let up either because good ideas even when you don't agree with them all the time are ideas, even if they're not the best all the time are not -- you don't agree with all the time, you need them in the marketplace and Mike is a good man.
BLITZER: OK. Thanks very much.
FORD: Yes, sir.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0611/16/sitroom.03.html