Gov. Keating: Cheney Delivered 'Aggressive Positive' Speech
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, on the convention floor last night, there was a red, white and blue sign that proclaimed "Oklahoma loves W." The Sooner state cast all 38 of its votes for George W. Bush last night. And joining us this morning is the governor of that great state of Oklahoma, Frank Keating.</s>GOV. FRANK KEATING (R), OKLAHOMA: Leon, good morning.</s>HARRIS: Good to have in here in the studio with us this morning.</s>KEATING: Early, you're alive, I'm alive, but it's tough.</s>HARRIS: I'd like to say one of us .</s>KEATING: That's right.</s>HARRIS: Well, listen, let me ask you for a recap of last night. Do you think Dick Cheney hit a home run last night or what?</s>KEATING: He did, he did extremely well, he's a sober, very sincere, extremely accomplished man who laid out an agenda for change, who had some very memorable lines: It's time for them to go, help is on the way, in effect, the cavalry is on its way. I thought it was a very well-presented, very well-drafted, and it certainly energized the audience. All of us wanted, if not red meat, you know, some canned food somewhere that we could get all ginned up about. And that was a very good speech. As far as conventions go, though, it really was rather mild. Remember Harry Truman, he used to eviscerate the Republicans so...</s>HARRIS: Using harsh, using a lot of harsh language.</s>KEATING: Yes, very, very, very tough, but I think Dick Cheney's a very -- a sober person. The speech was sober, but the content was very good for us Republicans.</s>HARRIS: So when you say then to the Democrats who you just heard in Kate's notes, reporting -- were saying that they thought last night was a harsh attack, and harsh speech, and that basically that the Republicans were now going on the attack.</s>KEATING: Well, I was amazed that Dick Cheney took as long as he did to respond to that awful Democrat attack against his voting record. To suggest, for example, Dick Cheney voted against Head Start. Well, he voted against an increased funding for Head Start at a time of deficits. I get accused of the same thing frequently by the left in my state, where if you don't support something in an increased way, you're against it, which, of course, is ridiculous. You say: Wait a minute, right now we don't have the money to do X, we're going to have to put money in Y. But I think it was good for him to be able to respond. And remember what he did, was talk about the need to restore integrity and honor to the White House, to, in effect, clean out the Aegean Stables (ph). I think he handled it very well. If that's negative, that's pretty mild. Let's say it's aggressive positive.</s>HARRIS: Well, then, what do you think we're going to hear tonight from George W. Bush? will we hear more aggressiveness? will we hear more -- will we hear any policy talk? Because all this week we've heard how nice a guy he is and how good a leader he can be. But we haven't heard much about specifics, do you think we'll know more about him tonight?</s>KEATING: I think he's laid out a lot of specifics, Leon, over the course of the last several months: the whole issue of missile defense; the whole issue of Social Security, to permit you and me to take two percent of our payroll tax and invest in Social Security for ourselves and our children and grandchildren; the issue of education, to improve schools because schools, in many cases, are not up to snuff, are not providing the quality education that youngsters demand, stopping social promotion, encouraging every child to read at grade level by grade three. So these are a lot of very significant specifics. And he's a man of action. George Bush is not a doormat. He's not going to lean over and let somebody kick him around. He's going to respond in kind. But he's a very optimistic, futuristic guy.</s>HARRIS: Well, having said all that, what is it you want to hear or expect to hear from him tonight?</s>KEATING: I want him to, in effect, recap those things that he stands for; in effect, recap those things that he's outlined over the course of the campaign; energize this very enthusiastic group of Republicans who hunger after eight years of the wilderness to be able to return to the promised land. I think he'll do that. But he is the kind of individual that works in a very bipartisan environment, who's brought together Republicans and Democrats to enrich Texas. And I think you'll see a very positive, very upbeat, very enthusiastic speech, and it will be received by us, as convention delegates, in a positive, upbeat, enthusiastic way as well.</s>HARRIS: Well, you're awfully positive to be up so early.</s>KEATING: I am.</s>HARRIS: To be complaining about being tired. Governor Keating, thanks much for your time.</s>KEATING: Thanks, Leon.</s>HARRIS: And we'll check and see how things turn out tonight.</s>KEATING: Yes, sir, thank you.</s>HARRIS: Appreciate it.