CNN Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics Transcript

October 16, 2003 Thursday

HEADLINE: Is it Payback Time for Iraq?; Interview With John Edwards

GUESTS: John Edwards, Lee Hamilton, Tom Kean

BYLINE: Candy Crowley, John King, Jonathan Karl, William Schneider

HIGHLIGHT:
Is it payback time for Iraq? Senators face off over who should pick up the tab for reconstruction.

BODY:
CROWLEY: The House and Senate battles over the president's $87 billion aid package for Iraq are dividing the Democrats running for president. Senator John Edwards of North Carolina announced he will vote against the measure.

Senator Edwards is with me now from capitol hill.

Thanks for joining us, Senator.

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Glad to be with you.

CROWLEY: You know—look, you voted for this war. It seems to me that people are going to look at this and say, Well, wait a second. Part of winning this war is winning the aftermath and the president can't do it without money.

EDWARDS: Well, here's what I believe.

First, I thought it was very important to address the threat of Saddam Hussein. That's why I voted for authorization for that. But Candy, I said both then and have said consistently since that time that for this stage, going forward, to be successful, it was critical, number one, that we have the help of our friends and allies so that we're not carrying this burden alone. And number two, that we have a clear plan for how we were going to get where we were trying to go. And both those things are still missing.

I mean, today, we had a unanimous U.N. resolution. That's a good thing. I'm worried that because of the way it's been done and the lead-up to it, it may not lead to the kind of results that we need. But we're still completely absent a plan. And this is a chance for me and others to stand up and say to the president, Yes, we are—we support our troops. Yes, we believe that America has a responsibility in going forward in Iraq. But the way you're conducting this post- military conflict period is not correct. We have to change paths. And we need to send a clear signal to this president.

CROWLEY: Senator, if I could—you know, it's very clear that the primary voters in your party are very much against this war and it's also clear that you voted for it. If we look at this in the political sense, this looks like a way to kind of backpedal this. You know, it was a war you were for. Why not step up to the plate and say here's the money?

EDWARDS: A very simple reason—because this policy is failing. The way this president is conducting this period of the work in Iraq is not being successful. You know, we don't have a plan, we don't know how long we're going to be there. We don't know even an estimate of the longterm costs. When is the transition from our security force to the Iraqi security force supposed to take place?

There are so many unanswered questions. And before we just give this president a blank check going forward, we need answers to those questions. More importantly, the American people need answers to those questions.

I have not backed away one iota from the importance of getting rid of Saddam Hussein. But I want this mission to be successful. And in order for it to be successful, we have to change the course that we're on right now.

CROWLEY: I have two questions to ask you and we're running out of time, so yes or no on this—if they did attach an amendment that called for Iraq to pay back half of the loans for reconstruction, would you vote for it then?

EDWARDS: No, because that would not—that would not give us the plan that we need.

CROWLEY: OK.

I want to talk about your fund-raising numbers and what to make of them. You're one of those that spent more than they took in. I remember talking to some of your campaign aides earlier in the summer, saying, Talk to us again in the fall, you know, if we're where we were. You know you've had trouble in the polls. What's next for your campaign?

EDWARDS: We feel great about the campaign. We've raised almost $15 million in three quarters. We're exactly on budget, where we expected to be. We want to be at about $20 million by the time we get to the first primary and caucuses in January and February.

And second, we are moving. We're moving in all the early primary states. We're now up in the double digits and in the leadership group in Iowa. We're ticking up in a very hard state for—which is New Hampshire, because there are two—three New England candidates in that race. But we're continuing to steadily move up. And in South Carolina, which is the third primary state, I have a double-digit lead.

So we're making enormous progress. Actually, more importantly than any of those polls or fund-raising numbers, I see the response on the ground when I'm spreading this message. To me, my message—and it's been unbelievably enthusiastic.

Senator Edwards, we'll let you end that on that upbeat note. Thanks very much from Capitol Hill. We'll see you on the campaign trail.

EDWARDS: Thank you, Candy.

CROWLEY: Are some of the Democrats running for the White House in the red? We'll take a look at their campaign cash or lack of it when INSIDE POLITICS returns.

Content and programming Copyright 2003 Cable News Network Transcribed under license by FDCH e-Media, Inc.