CNN Early Edition Transcript

SHOW: CNN EARLY EDITION 07:00
October 4, 2000; Wednesday
HEADLINE: Election 2000: Vice President Al Gore Discusses Boston Presidential Debate
GUESTS: Vice President Al Gore
BYLINE: Kyra Phillips, Jonathan Karl

BODY:
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

With the morning after, we're joined by the vice president.

Thank you very much for joining us this morning.

VICE PRES. AL GORE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's my pleasure, Jonathan.

KARL: Going into this debate, your aides had been saying that this would potentially be the definitive moment of this campaign, definitive moment to determine the election. Now that it's over, what's the game plan from here?

GORE: Continue to communicate directly with the American people about this tremendous moment in our history and the question we have to answer as a country: Will we use our prosperity to enrich all our families and not just the few?

KARL: This campaign basically went to a standstill for three days before the debate...

GORE: Yes.

KARL: ... as you prepared, Gov. Bush prepared. You had your 12 citizen advisers along. Will you need that kind of preparation for the next round of debates?

GORE: We'll do—I will continue to be advised by them. We'll be doing conference calls. They are extremely helpful, no kidding. Their advice was invaluable last night, and I was so glad they could be there in person to see the debate.

KARL: Now, on the very first question of the debate last night, Jim Lehrer asked you about something you had said about Gov. Bush's experience. You said last night that you have never—I want to quote—you said you have actually "not questioned Gov. Bush's experience." But on an April 13 "New York Times" story, which is what he was referring to, you said regarding the tax cut proposal, quote, "It raises the question, does he have the experience to be president?" Those were your words.

GORE: Yes.

KARL: "Does he have the experience to be president?" So how could you say you've never questioned his experience?

GORE: Well, maybe it's not as different as I believe it is. The point I was trying to make in that speech covered by the "Times" was that the tax cut proposal raises that question, and maybe that's a distinction without a difference. But to me it is different. If I was—I didn't say, I don't think he has the experience to be president. I've said, look, if he has this huge $2 trillion tax cut proposal that puts us right back into deficits again, if you look at the nature of that proposal, it raises that question.

And so Jim Lehrer's question was certainly fair. And I think the distinction I made is valid, but—and I tried to turn it to the issues rather than personalities.

KARL: Now, in many of the instant polls that we've seen, what people thought of the debate, you fared quite well. But even some of those who thought you showed a real command of the issue felt that, with some of the audible sighs off camera...

GORE: Yes.

KARL: ... some of the chuckles, that you seemed maybe even a little condescending towards Gov. Bush.

GORE: I certainly didn't feel that way. And under the debate rules, we were told there were going to be no coverage of our reactions when the other guy was talking. And sometimes those rules are made to be broken, I guess. And, anyway, I learned my lesson on that, I'll be much more careful not to give an audible reaction when he's talking .

KARL: So that is some sense of a regret or something that you'll change. What you thought...

GORE: I don't think that's a big deal, incidentally.

KARL: Right. What do you think was your best moment in the debate last night?

GORE: I thought I had a real good chance to give my views to the American people. I said going in that I thought it was much less of a contest or a competition than a chance to speak directly with the American people. And I thought I had a great opportunity to tell them about my plans. I'll balance the budget every year, I'll pay down the debt, I'll put Medicare and Social Security in a lockbox, and I'll give a cut in taxes to middle class families. I'll also help parents and strengthen families by making sure all schools are safe and making sure parents have the tools to protect their kids against cultural pollution, entertainment that they think is not appropriate for young children. Those are the kinds of agenda items that I think are very important.

KARL: Now, Gov. Bush, on the prescription drug issue, which was a big one last night...

GORE: Yes.

KARL: ... pointed out that you ran on that in 1992, you ran on that in 1996, you're running on it again this year. And it poses the question, you know, why should we trust you to get it done now if you haven't been able to get it done for eight years?

GORE: Oh, I'll get it done. It's at the top of the country's agenda now. I've campaign across it all over America. And if you'll notice, it's the No. 1 issue in most of the campaigns for House and Senate out there. So it's a very different time now and people are ready to see us act on that. We had opposition in the Congress last time that came up, but I guarantee you I will not quit. If I'm entrusted with the presidency, I will make this happen. I won't quit until it does.

KARL: So it's a higher priority now than it was in previous years?

GORE: I think, you know, I've emphasized the step-by-step approach to health care reform, and this is one of the first essential steps. When it was part of an overall package that tried to do all things at the same time, it fell with the overall approach. And many have said, you know, maybe we tried to do too much in eight years ago. But I've learned some lessons from that experience. And I'll tell you, we can get this passed and we will.

KARL: We only have a few seconds left. Just curious: Winifred Skinner (ph), now known as the "Tin Can Lady," on hand last night. Are you going to bring her and her Winnebago to the next debate?

GORE: I don't know. Maybe. But I think that it would probably be an easier trip for her to St. Louis because it's a long way across the country with her poodle, Bridget (ph). I think both Winifred and Bridget enjoyed the debate last night.
KARL: Thank you for joining us, Mr. Vice President.

GORE: Thank you.

KARL: And, Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jonathan, thanks a lot.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

Content and programming copyright 2000 Cable News Network Transcribed under license by eMediaMillWorks, Inc. (f/k/a Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.) Formatting copyright 2000 eMediaMillWorks, Inc. (f/k/a Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.) All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to Cable News Network. This transcript may not be copied or resold in any media. CNN. Transcript # 00100403V08.