MSNBC "Race for the White House with David Gregory" - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC "Race for the White House with David Gregory" - Transcript

MR. GREGORY: It is time for "Too Close to Call," a look at one of the battleground states that will help decide the election just 22 days from now. Although Colorado has picked a Democrat for president just once in the last 40 years, its nine electoral votes are very much in play. The latest Mason-Dixon poll of Colorado voters shows Senators McCain and Obama in a dead heat, each at 44 percent, with 8 percent of the vote still undecided.

Joining me now, Obama supporter, Democratic Senator from Colorado Ken Salazar.

Senator, welcome.

SEN. SALAZAR: Hello, David. It's good to be with you this afternoon.

MR. GREGORY: Thank you. Are you surprised that this is still a dead-even race in Colorado, given the state of the economy?

SEN. SALAZAR: Colorado has always been a tough state, and I think it's going to be close to the end. But I feel very comfortable that Senator Obama is doing everything he can, because he's talking to the issues that really affect the middle class of America. And I think that the people of Colorado really feel that the middle class has been forgotten under the last four years of George Bush, and they really want to turn the -- they want to turn the page, start anew, and are looking for the kind of change that Senator Obama will bring as president of the United States.

MR. GREGORY: All right, but Senator, we're now 22 days away, so a lot of people are taking a more specific look at these candidates. You've got independent voters who seem to still be split among these two candidates. And I know the Obama campaign feels strongly about Colorado, that younger voters, new voters, might even be a higher number than those over 60. But it's a question of getting them out to the polls. And you still have Senator Obama, in this latest poll, at 44 percent. So what specifically is going to be decisive, in your judgment?

SEN. SALAZAR: David, I think that the people of Colorado are going to look at the issues. And I think when they look at the issues, they will choose Senator Obama. You know, he just came back from traveling to some 20 counties around rural Colorado. We have 40 offices opened up for Senator Obama all over this state. That is unprecedented, unheard of.

And in places like Chaffee County, out in rural Colorado, there was a woman who was the former chairperson of the Republican Party two years ago who came up to me and said, "I'm going to support Senator Obama, and I'm going to support him because we care about jobs here in America, and in Colorado we care about health care, and we can't have four more years of what we've had the last eight years." This was from the former chairman of the Republican Party in Chaffee County.

So I think with that kind of energy out there, David, the polls that I have seen show us surging ahead. I think we're going to deliver those nine electoral votes and we're going to take Senator Obama from 261 to the 270 votes that he needs.

MR. GREGORY: What about the general question of the comfort level with Senator Obama? We see this in other parts of the country. And while his head-to-head numbers are increasing, there are still questions about whether there's enough of a comfort level with him, either personally or as commander in chief or as somebody who can lead in a crisis, similar to the race in 1980.

Do you sense that among more conservative rural voters, even Democrats and independent voters, of which there are so many in your state?

SEN. SALAZAR: You know, I think as the people of Colorado have seen Senator Obama perform in the debates and have learned more about his policies, the independent voters and moderate Republicans are coming over to his side. I think that out in America and rural Colorado, people care a lot about issues like renewable energy. Well, Senator Obama has been a champion of renewable energy. On the other hand, Senator McCain 23 times has voted against our renewable energy package.

Senator Obama cares about the farm bill and has championed rural economies and has championed family farmers and ranchers. Senator McCain has been on the other side. Senator McCain has been part of the George Bush privatization of Social Security. Senator Obama has pushed back against that.

So I think that as people have learned more about the stance of the candidates on the issues, they have become increasingly more comfortable with Senator Obama and his leadership qualities. I know both men, and I know them well. And Senator McCain is a good friend and an honorable man. But I think that the people of my state, where I won here in 2004 by a five percentage vote victory margin -- 5 percent margin -- I think the people of my state are ready for the kind of change that Senator Obama will bring to this country. And he is resolute and determined to bring that change about.

MR. GREGORY: All right, Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado, thanks very much for joining me tonight.

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