CNBC Capital Report - Transcript

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SHOW: Capital Report (7:00 PM ET) - CNBC

HEADLINE: Senator John Edwards tells why he supports John Kerry for president

ANCHORS: GLORIA BORGER

BODY:
Senator JOHN KERRY (Democrat, Massachusetts; Presidential Candidate): Let me be clear, and let me lay out the truth that deserves to be known by all Americans. Under my plan, 99 percent of American businesses and 98 percent of Americans will get a tax cut. And I believe that will advance the economy of our country.

GLORIA BORGER, co-host:

That is Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who laid out his economic plan in Washington today and criticized President Bush for making what he calls false promises about the economy. Joining me now here in Washington is Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. As you all know, he is also a former Democratic presidential candidate, and he now supports John Kerry.

Thanks so much for being here...

Senator JOHN EDWARDS (Democrat, North Carolina; Former Presidential Candidate): Great to be with you, Gloria.

BORGER: ...on CAPITAL REPORT. Senator Kerry said today that his plan is a deficit reduction plan, it's a pay-as-you-go plan. Is this Clintonomics all over again?

Sen. EDWARDS: It has certainly some-it looks like the Clinton plans of the '90s, there's no question about that. And actually, that's probably the most direct comparison. Remember, we had extraordinary economic growth in the '90s. And what John Kerry is talking about doing is ending corporate welfare, pay-as-you-go rules for entitlement programs, making sure that we have real hard caps on discretionary spending, getting rid of Bush's tax cuts for people who make over $200,000 a year.

BORGER: Well, isn't that a tax increase? Aren't people going to take a look at that, saying, 'Even if you're getting rid of it for wealthy people, it's still a tax increase?'

Sen. EDWARDS: Here's the truth about it. What John Kerry is for, and I'm also for, I might add, is getting rid of tax cuts for rich people, people who make over $200,000 a year, keeping the tax cuts in place for those who earn under $200,000 a year. And then, as you just heard him say, $200 billion of additional tax cuts for middle-class working families. So if you are a middle-class family in America today, the odds are overwhelming that your taxes will go down in a Kerry administration.

BORGER: Now he also says that he's going to cut spending. And he said today, 'When I say a cap on spending, I mean it.' Now with all due respect, I've covered Congress a long time.

Sen. EDWARDS: Yeah.

BORGER: And I never met a president who really was able to stick to that.

Sen. EDWARDS: He'll do it. He'll do it, because he believes in it. Look at his history. Supported Graham-Rudman when almost no Democrats were supporting it at the very beginning. He supported the Clinton plan in 1993. This is a man who understands what kind of fiscal responsibility this country desperately needs. It gets to really be, at the end of the day, Gloria, a very simple thing: If you believe that George Bush, who turned a $5 trillion surplus into a $5 trillion deficit in a little over three years, if you think that he's doing a good job on jobs, where we've lost almost two million private-sector jobs, on the health care crisis in this country and on the image of America around the world, you should vote for him. If you don't, and you believe we need real change, John Kerry is the man. I happen to believe, and I think most Americans believe, that where we're headed right now is not the right direction.

BORGER: Well, now during the campaign, though, I can't help but recall that you were differentiating yourself from John Kerry on a very important economic issue, and that was trade.

Sen. EDWARDS: Yes.

BORGER: And you said in a New York Times/CBS debate in February that, 'John Kerry has said he and I are in the same position; we have basically the same position on trade. That's not true. We have a very different record on trade. I mean, we know what's wrong with these trade agreements. They need to be changed. The president of the United States needs to be willing to change them.' Have you gotten any assurances from Kerry that he will change the trade agreements that you...

Sen. EDWARDS: Yes. What John Kerry has said to me, and I've also heard him say it publicly, is that he believes the trade policy in this country has to be one that works not just for the rest of the world but also for American workers. And that's part of the reason, Gloria, that we've lost almost two million private-sector jobs. A lot of those jobs are manufacturing jobs. He understands that we need real environmental and labor protections in the text of these agreements.

BORGER: So now that you know that he understands your position on trade and may potentially even come around to do what you wanted to do...

Sen. EDWARDS: I know where this is heading.

BORGER: You do know where this is heading. I have to ask the question. Well, would you be a good vice presidential candidate and a good vice president?

Sen. EDWARDS: I'll tell you what I'd be good at, making John Kerry the next president of the United States, which I think is important for the country and my kids and my grandkids. As to his decision about who his running mate should be, that's an important and personal decision for him, and I intend to give him the room to make that decision.

BORGER: Do you take John McCain at his word that he is not interested in being considered as a vice presidential candidate?

Sen. EDWARDS: Absolutely. John McCain's one of the most honest people I know. I believe what he says.

BORGER: OK. And have you talked to John Kerry about the vice presidency?

Sen. EDWARDS: Private between us.

BORGER: OK. I think that was a yes, but I'm not sure. Thanks so much, Senator John Edwards, a former Democratic presidential candidate.

Sen. EDWARDS: Glad to see you.

BORGER: Thanks for being with us.