CNN News from CNN Transcript

CNN

SHOW: NEWS FROM CNN 12:00

HEADLINE: Kerry Claims Support From Leaders Abroad; Iraq has Interim Constitution; Aristide Says U.S. Forced him Into Exile; Martha Stewart's Future; Interview With Congressman Steve Pearce, Congressman Kendrick Meek

GUESTS: Paul Callan, Steve Pearce, Kendrick Meek

BYLINE: Wolf Blitzer, Dana Bash, William Schneider, Ben Wedeman, Jeff Koinange, Lucia Newman, Mary Snow

HIGHLIGHT:
John Kerry is claiming that unnamed foreign leaders are supporting his bid for the White House.; Iraq now has an interim constitution.; Jean-Bertrand Aristide says he's still Haiti's rightful leader and claims he and his wife were abducted by the United States.; Martha Stewart met today with a probation officer to learn what restrictions, if any, she faces while she awaits her formal sentencing.; Interview with Congressman Steve Pearce, Congressman Kendrick Meek.;

BODY:
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, John Kerry drops a political bombshell, claiming some overseas leaders, foreign leaders in this particular case, have told him they want to see President Bush out of the White House. We're standing by for details.

And shaping the future of Iraq. Leaders hope the historic signing of an interim constitution marks a New beginning. There's already criticism, though, that's building.

Gunfire and death in Haiti. U.S. Marines fire their first shots, getting a taste of what it's like to be caught in the Middle of a political upheaval.

And Martha Stewart begins her first week as a convicted felon, getting guidance from a parole officer.

We're live on what's next.

-BREAK OF TRANSCRIPT-

BLITZER: Top stories we're following this hour, Iraq's top Shiite cleric is already criticizing the new interim constitution. It was signed just hours ago by the Iraqi Governing Council, after Shiite lawmakers dropped their opposition to some provisions. The Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani says the new document won't have legitimacy until approved by an elected body.

In Zimbabwe, authorities seize a U.S.-registered cargo plane and detained 64 people. The officials say they're suspected mercenaries. A police spokesman in the African nation says the plane had military equipment on board. The Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, has repeatedly accused the U.S. and Britain of trying to undermine his government.

Here at home, the Justice Department is clearing John Ashcroft's schedule for the rest of the week. The attorney general remains hospitalized in intensive care here in Washington for what's being called a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis. He's being given pain medication and antibiotics.

Between a rock and a hard place on Mars, that is. NASA had to change plans for the rover Opportunity. It was supposed to use a sophisticated drilling device to grind through a rock called flatrock.

That didn't work. So NASA has decided to use the tool to scrape the rock's surface. NASA is trying to learn more about the composition of the Martian surface.

The Bush campaign wasted no time responding to comments today from Senator John Kerry. Kerry is quoted as saying he has the support of some foreign leaders. A Bush-Cheney campaign spokesman reminded Kerry the American people will decide the November election, and not foreign leaders.

As the campaign heats up, let's talk about this with Kerry supporter and Florida Democrat Congressman Kendrick Meek. He'll join us shortly. Also here in Washington, Bush supporter, New Mexico Republican Congressman Steve Pearce.

Congressman Pierce, thanks very much for joining us. John Kerry said earlier today-and I'll read it to you-he said, "I've met foreign leaders who can't go out and say this publicly, but boy, they look at you and they say, 'You got to win this, you got to beat this guy. We need a new policy, things like that.' So there's normal out energy out there."

What do you make of that statement?

REP. STEVE PEARCE ®, NEW MEXICO: Well, I think there are nations, Syria, for instance, who absolutely do not want President Bush to win. In all seriousness, the Bush campaign responded the correct way, that the American people are going to do this. I think that if you consider the backdrop of the Supreme Court comments from just last week, that they're going to start using European law to interpret what we should be doing in this country, I think there's going to be a tremendous discussion about which laws, which country, which endorsements really do matter.

BLITZER: The whole campaign is shaping up to be a very close race. All the polls show it is a very close race.

Kerry is today spending some time in the South. Mississippi, you think that he has any chance in Mississippi at all? Because most Democrats think that the South, except for Florida, maybe Louisiana, not looking very good right now.

PEARCE: I think that his military record and afterwards, the activities he had with Jane Fonda, I think those will weigh very heavily against him in the South. His continued ability or willingness to vote against funding for military, especially in Iraq, voting against the $87 billion, when our people are already there, young men and women are there, I think those things weigh very heavily in the South.

BLITZER: In New Mexico, where you're from, you have a Democratic governor, a popular governor, Bill Richardson, who will do everything he can to help John Kerry. How is New Mexico looking?

PEARCE: I think that the president will be in very good shape in Mexico. In the last election, he lost by 366 votes. But on Election Day, there was a nine-inch snowstorm in the very conservative eastern part of the state. I suspect he lost 6,000 to 8,000 votes-the president lost 6,000 to 8,000 votes. I think he's going to be in good shape.

BLITZER: Is this election, from your perspective, from New Mexico, from where you come from, is this going to be about domestic economic issues, social issues, or foreign policy national security issues? Probably all of the above to a certain degree, but what will be the big issue?

PEARCE: I think that jobs, first of all, are the big issue.

BLITZER: But that will help John Kerry, though.

PEARCE: Well, I'm not so sure, because we have not yet even begun to talk about the way that the environmental regulations are forcing our companies overseas. I just talked with a chemical manufacturer just last week. And they were telling me how they were disadvantaged in this country, while if you brought chemicals in from a different country, you got better rates on our railroads.

I think those issues really need to be discussed. We met also earlier last year with the timber cutters, the labor union of timber cutters and lumber producers. And they said that three million jobs have been sent overseas because of extreme environmental regulations.

BLITZER: But if you take a look at the number of jobs lost since President Bush took office, 2.5 million jobs lost, very sort of modest job creation over the past few months, relatively speaking. Kerry's going to be able to point to that 20 million-plus jobs that were created during the eight years of the Clinton administration and say, are you better off today than you were four years ago? And that's going to be a pretty effective slogan, paraphrasing what Ronald Reagan used against Jimmy Carter in 1980.

PEARCE: I think that the people of America really do understand that the dot-com bust of the last year of President Clinton really did have a tremendous impact, that a lot of the jobs created during the Clinton time were technology jobs that then collapsed out of the economy. I think that the American people realize that the war on terror, that 9/11 itself cost us $2 trillion out of our economy in one day, 2,000 lives. I think that they're going to understand that we are going to have losses when those kind of shocks to the economy occur.

BLITZER: All right. Kendrick Meek, who is a Democratic congressman from Florida, is joining us on the phone now from West Palm Beach.

Congressman, thanks very much for joining us. We're talking about jobs. Talk a little bit, first of all, about Florida right now. It couldn't have gotten much closer in 2000, 537-vote difference. What's it shaping up like this year?

REP. KENDRICK MEEK (D), FLORIDA: People are very excited about Senator Kerry's campaign down here. A lot has happened to Florida versus for Florida since President Bush has been in office.

I think it is also important, Wolf, for us to remember that Floridians are very, very concerned, and still disappointed by the 2,000 vote count, and willing to come out early and making sure that their vote counts this time. And the outsourcing of jobs hurt us here in the South as it pertains to north Florida. A lot of the manufacturing jobs we used to have we no longer have.

And we have a president that's an advocate for sending jobs overseas. I think that's something that won't be that digestible for Florida voters. And the excitement that I see here at the rallies that Senator Kerry has done thus far today has just been unprecedented.

BLITZER: The whole notion of this statement that John Kerry made, we've been reporting about it. I'm not sure, Congressman Meek, if you're familiar with it, when he suggested that some foreign leaders have told him that they prefer him, that they prefer Kerry in the White House over Bush. It may be true, but is it smart politics to say that?

MEEK: Well, I mean, Senator Kerry has a way of being able to reach out to a number of leaders. He knows a lot of leaders through his 20 years of service in the U.S. Senate. And I will tell you what's important here is making sure that we remember that U.S.-that foreign leaders who were our friends during the time of the Clinton administration are very concerned about the arrogance of this White House. And they're looking forward.

And as we look at, Wolf, the war on terrorism, we need more and more foreign leaders to be with us to help fight this war against terrorism. And that list is not getting larger, it is getting smaller.

BLITZER: Congressman Pearce, you could make the case that several of the longstanding U.S. allies out there, that there's been a serious tension in the relationship with France, with Germany, with other longstanding U.S. allies in the aftermath of the war in Iraq, which is now approaching the first anniversary.

PEARCE: I think that if you look deeper at their actions, to an extent, they were worried about their internal politics. And especially Germany. What they did when they didn't feel like they could go into Iraq was they moved into Afghanistan, and they begin to pick up slack there.

I think that the president drove his bargain very hard on the international stage. I think it is no different than tensions between a married couple or whoever, tensions inside the state government. I think those tensions are normal. And especially in times of heightened stress, where there are differences of opinion. But I believe our relationship is in fine shape.

I stopped in Germany on the way back from Iraq. I met with business leaders in Landstuhl and then Stuttgart. And they were all supportive of what we're doing and quietly saying, yes, we understand that, but please don't forget us as friends.

BLITZER: Congressman Meek, the relationship with some of these traditional allies may have been strained during the war in Iraq. But they seem to be making a comeback. The German chancellor was just in Washington. There seems to be an improvement, at least right now. Is that your sense as well?

MEEK: Well, I mean, as it relates to relations, a lot of it is based on the American people's shock of the decisions that this White House has made. Hopefully they're pushing back on a lot of the aggressive stance on who can actually share in contracting, who can actually-who will actually be a part of the rebuilding of Iraq.

I'm glad to see that the constitution is starting to move in the right direction there. But there's still a very, very long way to go. And when we moved on a preemptive strike, and going over to Iraq, and moving without the world leaders, or moving without the U.N.-I was just recently at the U.N., met with the secretary-general. He's still very concerned about our forward progress even in Haiti.

We're putting troops in harm's way instead of diplomatically through our State Department being able to avoid many of these issues. The president did not weigh all of his options as it relates to going to Iraq. There's a lot of cleanup that needs to go on out there, and there's still a lot of work to do. And I think that there's work that hopefully a new president will be able to move forth and put a fresh face on a diplomatic policy that will move not only this world forward, to be able to stand with democracy.

BLITZER: All right. Both of the candidates out campaigning today. The president in Dallas, Texas. The senator in Hollywood, Florida, right now. Let's take a quick break. More of our discussion when we come back.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. We're talking presidential politics with my guests, two members of the United States House of Representatives. Kerry supporter, Congressman Kendrick Meek of Florida, he's on the phone. Also, Bush supporter, Congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico, he's in the studio.

We have a few e-mails. Let's go through some of these.

This one for you, Congressman Meek. This is from Stanley in Texas. "Isn't it ironic that after saying President Bush went to war without a clear exit strategy that Senator Kerry admits he doesn't have a clear policy in Iraq and might have to send a fact-finding team to Iraq to help him come up with one. Is this another flip-flop?"

This flip-flop issue could be a serious element, a serious matter for Senator Kerry, Congressman?

MEEK: It is not a flip-flop position. As you know, Senator Kerry has been involved in the Iraq issue from the very beginning. But he believes that the American people, the way I see it, he believes that the American people needs more than a campaign slogan or a quick one-two punch on Iraq.

What's going to be very, very important-it doesn't mean-very, very important that we move forth at this point, have as much advice as possible that he can receive outside of what he's receiving as U.S. senator to be able to come clean with the American people about the future of our troops being in harm's way, also as relates to the future of the Iraqi people.

I'm glad that he's taking a deep breath and being able to step back and make sure that it is not just a message for the campaign. But it's a message not only through the campaign season, but also hopefully through his presidency.

BLITZER: Here's an e-mail for you, Congressman Pearce, from Texas. "Republicans want to paint Bush as the president of security and war. Let them. Without these, Bush would have nothing to talk about. He and his team have failed abysmally in everything else they've touched upon in the past three years, from jobs to health care, education and the environment."

Go ahead.

PEARCE: Absolutely untrue. I think that the Medicare prescription drug bill does more for senior citizens than anything that's been done in the 30 years since the bill was passed.

I believe that in the economy, the 8.2 percent rate of growth that we got in the third quarter, dropping down to a sustainable 4 percent, that's just tremendous growth that we've got. The tax cuts are what created that. I think the president has done a good job.

BLITZER: You think all these tax cuts should be made permanent?

PEARCE: Yes, yes, absolutely. Because what they do is they soak the vitality. If we put the taxes back on the people, they soak the vitality out of the recovery.

BLITZER: And you don't care about the huge deficits, the record deficits, $500 billion this year alone?

PEARCE: The deficits are an extremely important thing. But keep in mind, we are at war. No one was going through World War II asking, what are the deficits. They were almost the full size of the economy at the time. I think that if we keep that in mind, people do understand we've got some serious challenges that face us.

BLITZER: Congressman Meek, you want to respond to that?

MEEK: Yes, please. And thank you very much for allowing me to.

I mean, 54 percent of Americans and the top 1 percent celebrate the biggest tax breaks that they could ever dream about. And to be able to have our cake and ice cream, too, we can no longer just blame it on Iraq.

It is the Bush tax cuts. And if we make those tax cuts permanent, Americans can forget about a meaningful health care programs, they can forget about Social Security. They can forget about a true prescription drug program in this country.

So for us to say, well, we know that's important, too-but the deficit is killing us. I mean, $121 billion? I mean, heading in that direction. It is just unconscionable for us to say cake and ice cream, and don't worry about our children, don't worry about our future, and don't wore be affordable health care in this country, which we can't leave behind.

BLITZER: Go ahead, Congressman Pearce.

PEARCE: Well, sure. You just have to realize that there's a point at which the economy can't move. When we get government spending up beyond 20 percent to 24 percent, then the economy cannot rebound. It will stay stagnant, exactly like the German economy is right now.

When you get government spending and government taxation too high, that's when you have problems. That's what this president understands. And he's doing something about it.

BLITZER: All right. We're going to have to unfortunately leave it right there. Congressman Meek, Congressman Pearce, thanks to both of you for joining us.

PEARCE: Thank you.

MEEK: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And stay with us. Your e-mail-more of your e-mail coming up straight ahead.