MSNBC "Decision '08" Interview - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC "Decision '08" Interview - Transcript

MR. OLBERMANN: We mentioned that Congressman James Clyburn, the House whip from South Carolina, would be joining us again. We did not anticipate that it would be quite so soon, but he's still there and we can get his reaction to this.

Congressman, your thoughts after what has --

REP. CLYBURN: Yes, sir.

MR. OLBERMANN: This term is "substantial margin." What do you make of it?

REP. CLYBURN: Well, I'm not surprised at that at all, because I really believe that in the last 48 hours the voters kind of recoiled. They kind of decided to reject the racial animus that seemed to be developing. And I'm so pleased. I've checked on some of the all- white precincts, and they are voting in very favorable numbers for Mr. Obama. I've checked some rural precincts, and I think Mrs. Clinton is doing relatively well there.

So I really believe that these two candidates -- and, of course, Edwards is surging in the state; I have no idea how much of a surge he got -- but it seemed as if, after the debate, things kind of got depressed for a couple of days, but then people started about Friday morning to express themselves, and I think very favorably.

MR. OLBERMANN: Congressman, I'll tell you something out of school. We in the media sometimes sit here and think, "You know what? The voters are so far ahead of us, it's not even funny anymore." Do you feel that way sometimes within politics, that the voters can run laps around you, that no matter what sort of stuff gets thrown out there, that sometimes they will just come through and say, "We're way down here down the road. We don't care about this guff. We want to know about the qualities and the issues that are at stake here"?

REP. CLYBURN: Absolutely. I was so surprised when I went to my precinct this morning and a lot of what I heard being said. I walked the lines and talked to people. I went to five precincts within a period of about 90 minutes. And they were so in tune with issues, it was unbelievable.

These people knew that the economy needed some kind of help. They knew that these candidates represent to them some kind of hope for the future. And they were voting their hopes, their dreams, their aspirations, and they didn't care about all of the stuff that we were talking about for the last two or three days.

MR. GREGORY: Congressman Clyburn, David Gregory here. What happens now on the Democratic side? Does the tenor of the debate change as a result of what voters are saying tonight?

REP. CLYBURN: I think so. I really believe. You've got to know that last time we did have a primary. But, you know, I heard President Clinton earlier talk about Jesse Jackson winning in South Carolina. Those were caucuses when he won. A primary is totally different. And what we saw here today were people, not the party leaders meeting in convention, but the people, rank-and-file people, coming into these polling places, and they were expressing themselves in such a way that every candidate would be able to take a look at South Carolina -- look at the PD, look at the Piedmont, look at the low country, look at the midlands, and see how you performed.

That will give you a good idea about what black voters, women voters, rural voters, what we might call urban voters -- urban for South Carolina, anyway -- how they feel about you as a candidate. And I am hopeful that that will be the barometer that they will use to conduct themselves as we go into Super Tuesday.

MR. GREGORY: Congressman, real quick, your canvassing of some of these whiter precincts, with a higher percentage of white voters, you're suggesting that, based on what you're hearing, that Barack Obama has broader appeal as he moves into February 5th beyond African- Americans. Is that your take in your message tonight?

REP. CLYBURN: Absolutely. All the people -- I was just amazed, when I went down to the place where Joe Scarborough hung out this morning, every person I talked to in there, they were just engaged in this campaign. And 90 percent of them were not African-Americans.

And so I do believe that we have gotten beyond this race thing in this campaign. And I think that we are going to have a very good campaign going forward, and we're going to have us a nominee that will have broad appeal to the American people and bring our party back to the White House, come November.

MR. OLBERMANN: And I'm sure, Congressman, that Democrats across the nation are saying amen to all of what you've just said. Congressman Clyburn, thanks once again.

REP. CLYBURN: Thank you.

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