Bob Dole Talks About His Wife's Senate Bid; Tipper Gore May Run for Senate
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Candy Crowley in Washington. I'll ask Former Senator Bob Dole about his wife's Senate bid. And he might have reason to offer Al Gore some advice.</s>BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Bruce Morton in Washington, where people are buzzing about the possibility that Tipper Gore may make the transition from political wife to candidate.</s>JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jonathan Karl on the Capitol subway. Twenty-four hours after the demise of the Pickering nomination, the battle over the court shows signs of intensifying. I'll talk about that with top Republican.</s>WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm Bill Schneider in suburban Washington. Find out why the play of the week gives my heavy metal friends here something to celebrate.</s>ANNOUNCER: Live from Washington, this is</s>INSIDE POLITICS WITH JUDY WOODRUFF. CROWLEY: Thanks for joining us. Judy is off today. We begin with an update on a breaking story. In Texas, a jury has sentenced Andrea Yates to life in prison for drowning her children. Yates will be eligible for parole in 40 years. The same jurors who found the Houston woman guilty of capital murder earlier this week took only 40 minutes to decide her fate. Defense lawyers had argued against the death penalty citing Yates' mental illness, and saying there was no evidence she would pose any future danger. Here is what Yates husband, Russell, had to say a short while ago.</s>RUSSELL YATES, HUSBAND: All of us, in our family, we all stand behind Andrea. None of us wanted her to be found guilty. All of us, in fact, most of us are offended that she was even prosecuted. Obviously, we're -- you know, it could be worse if she had been given the death penalty. But it wouldn't have been that much worse.</s>CROWLEY: After Andrea Yates' sentencing, prosecutors said they took no pleasure in the case and they believe justice was done today. I want to bring in our legal adviser, Cynthia Alksne. Cynthia, tell me if there is any hope here for any kind of appeal or is this it?</s>CYNTHIA ALKSNE, FMR. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, there will be an appeal. There is no question about that. That's always what happens in a case like this. Until someone actually goes over the transcript, you can't tell whether or not it will be successful. The one issue that came up today had do with whether or not a prosecution expert had properly said there was a, you know, show "Law and Order" that came into the case. And a lot of people have been talking about that. My guess is that there is not grounds for appeal, and that will not be any reason for overturning this verdict.</s>CROWLEY: Let me ask you one more thing about something we heard from the husband, Russell. He said he was startled that they even brought this case against her. He didn't think there should be a case in the first place. Is there any question whether this should have been a case?</s>ALKSNE: Well, certainly, someone should have looked into this case. I was very disappointed they could never come up with a plea agreement in this case. It screamed for a plea. The other thing that he talked about was that there would be lawsuits against the medical community and perhaps insurance companies. And I'm sure that's the next legal step in this disaster.</s>CROWLEY: CNN legal analyst, Cynthia Alksne, thanks very much. Now to our lead political story. A source close to Tipper Gore says the former second lady cutting short a trip to California, heading back to Tennessee this weekend to talk with family and friends about a possible Senate bid. It is further confirmation that Mrs. Gore is considering running for the seat now held by Republican Fred Thompson, who is retiring. But is she a serious Senate prospect? We begin our coverage with CNN national correspondent, Bruce Morton.</s>MORTON (voice-over): She has a reputation for disliking politics, but she always seems to have a good time with the crowds and they like her. This was last month in Nashville.</s>TIPPER GORE, FMR. SECOND LADY: And it's a good night for the Tennessee Democratic Party.</s>MORTON: So will she run? Might she run? One Democratic Party source says no way. But others say she's giving it serious thought. There is precedent, for sure. A former first lady.</s>HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, FMR. FIRST LADY: I am honored today to announce my candidacy for the United States Senate from New York.</s>MORTON: The wife of the defeated presidential candidate.</s>ELIZABETH DOLE, SENATE CANDIDATE: I have decided to run for the United States Senate from the great state of North Carolina.</s>MORTON: How would she do? There's one potential Democratic rival. Congressman Bop Clement, a moderate, plans a Nashville news conference Monday to announce his plans. Democrat Congressman Harold Ford's name has been mentioned, but he hasn't said what he'll do. On the Republican side, former governor and twice-failed presidential candidate, Lamar Alexander and Congressman Ed Bryant, a strong conservative, are running. How would Tipper Gore do?</s>GEOFF GARIN, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER: She conveys a real strong sense of family and family values, that are important to independent voters and Republican voters, as well as Democrats. I think she's the kind of person who could do well for Democrats in a state like Tennessee.</s>MORTON: Most say she'd win the Democratic nomination and she'd raise plenty of money. But the state is increasingly Republican. The governor, the Congressional delegation, both senators are Republican. And George W. Bush beat Al Gore in Gore's home state 51-47 in the presidential election. We know she takes good photographs. We know she can play the drums. We'll know fairly soon whether she wants to run for the Senate. The filing deadline, the last day you can announce your candidacy, is April 4th. Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.</s>CROWLEY: As potential role model for Tipper Gore, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton tells us she is already reaching out.</s>CLINTON: I talked to her early this morning as soon as I heard it, to just call and tell her that if she decided to do it, I'd sure be in her corner.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what did she say?</s>CLINTON: Well, she's going to give it careful consideration, which is exactly what she has do right now. I think it's a change from the role that she's been playing. And just as I had to really think hard about whether that was something I wanted to do, she will as well. But she is a very deep and committed person, who cares so much about what happens in our country, who wants to help, you know, children and families have better chances. That if she decides to do it, I'm confident she would throw her whole heart into it. And she's got a big heart. I think the people of Tennessee would be very fortunate to have someone like Tipper be their senator. She's passionate about the issues that she has fought for her whole adult life. And she's always loved Tennessee, something that I know from my many conversations with her. I think she'd be a great senator. There's a lot of excitement among Democratic senators, about the possibility that, after careful consideration, she might decide do it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this deja vu for you. A little bit of a whispering campaign and then, boom, you...</s>CLINTON: There's some similarity, because of our experiences and the fact that people would call up and say to Tipper, as they did to me, well, please consider this, I think it would be a great idea. But I think she is someone who has a tremendous amount to contribute. She really has a great empathy and understanding of the struggles and challenges that people face. She connects well with people. She would just be a terrific, attractive candidate and a first-rate senator.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What advice did you give to Mrs. Gore? And what advice would you give to her?</s>CLINTON: You know, I just told her what I believe, which is that she has to make this decision and consultation with her family and friends in Tennessee. And it's a very personal decision. It certainly was a difficult one for me to make. So I understand what she's facing, as she tries to figure out what the right thing to do is. But if at the end of that process she decides to run, I'm going to be her most enthusiastic supporter. I think she would be terrific.</s>CROWLEY: Until now, the "will Gore run" questions have been about Al, not Tipper. The former vice president already has said he is not interested in trying to reclaim the Tennessee Senate seat he once held. But if his wife were to run, political observers wonder how that might affect his musings about another race for the White House. This much, we do know. Our new CNN "TIME" poll shows Al Gore's favorable rating has fallen 7 points since last summer to 39 percent. That is slightly lower than his unfavorable rating of 42 percent. Now the political view from the Gores' home state. Tom Griscom, executive editor of the "Chattanooga Times Free Press" joins us on the phone. Tom, thank you for joining us.</s>TOM GRISCOM, "CHATTANOOGA TIMES FREE PRESS": Thank you, Candy. How are you today?</s>CROWLEY: I'm good. So it looks to me like you have a little story down there. Is it playing seriously or not so?</s>GRISCOM: Well, for right now it's a great 12-hour story. I think we have to see how it plays out. You know, we do have a candidate on the Democratic side who is expected to enter the race on Monday, a sitting congressman. I don't know what impact that has. We have Congressman Ford who today is in east Tennessee, talking to supporters and friends trying to make an assessment. And now you have Mrs. Gore. The big change here is that what looked like a sleepy Senate race clearly has changed within a week's time.</s>CROWLEY: It's given it a little juice down there, anyway, hasn't it?</s>GRISCOM: Yes it has, and working for a newspaper, if you like politics, it's great to see all of the interest in this race.</s>CROWLEY: Let me take it from a different angle. Even if Mrs. Gore decides not to run, this kind of buzz down there is probably helpful for Al Gore's, who's trying to kind of reconnect to Tennessee after losing it in 2000.</s>GRISCOM: Yeah, I think any time -- or anybody in politics, if you can get your name mentioned. A couple of Republicans, for example, were being mentioned before Lamar Alexander decided he was going to get in the race. And when Congressman Bryant got in, it gave them a chance to be talked about around the state. And yes, I think any time that your name is out there and people are talking about it, that there is that at least visibility. And as you said, with the former vice president back in Tennessee, trying to mend fences as he's talked about, trying to keep the name out there, and keeping it out there in a political way, is plus.</s>CROWLEY: You can't see this, but right now, we just got finished looking at pictures of that famous convention kiss between Al Gore and his wife, that really kind of marked the beginning of the turnaround for the Gore campaign at the convention that summer. And I'm wondering if all this talk, and the remembrance of his wife as the one who really put some bounce in that campaign, also makes people in Tennessee look at him differently.</s>GRISCOM: I'm not sure. I think right now, Candy, everybody has -- you know, saw the story when they got up this morning, that Mrs. Gore was thinking about it. And is waiting to see if, you know, if she makes the decision to get in the race. And if so, I can tell you there's a lot of reporters in this state that would be, you know, watching that and you know -- because we know it's going to make a very interesting campaign this fall.</s>CROWLEY: Tom Griscom, executive editor of the "Chattanooga Times Free Press." Thank you very much.</s>GRISCOM: Thank you, Candy.</s>CROWLEY: On Capitol Hill, the partisan sniping continues. A day after Democrats on the Senate judiciary committee killed Charles Pickering's nomination to a federal appeals court, Senate minority leader Trent Lott is moving to block an aide of majority leader Tom Daschle from getting on the Federal Communications Commission. But Lott insists his decision is not in retaliation for the Pickering vote. Meantime, Senate Democrat Harry Reid suggested Republicans are making too much about the first defeat of one of President Bush's judicial nominees.</s>SEN. HARRY REID (D), NEVADA: Mr. President, George W. Bush is president of the United States, not king of the United States. He is President Bush. He is President George. Not King George.</s>CROWLEY: We'll have more reaction to the Pickering vote later from the ranking Republican on the judiciary committee, Senator Orrin Hatch. Another hot issue in the Senate this week has been energy. As Ron Brownstein of the "Los Angeles Times" explains, that debate has been colored by presidential politics.</s>RON BROWNSTEIN, "LOS ANGELES TIMES" (voice-over): The battle over energy unfolding this week in the Senate isn't just a confrontation between Republicans and Democrats. It's also a standoff between red states and blue states. The biggest winners in the Bush administration's plan to increase domestic production of oil, coal and natural gas tend to be the red states the president already won in 2000. Twelve of the 15 states that mine the most coal are Bush states. So are 12 of the 15 states that produce the most oil. And almost all of the states that generate the most natural gas. On the other hand, it's the blue states that voted for Al Gore, mostly along the coasts, where environmentalists are strongest and opposition to new drilling and mining is most powerful. That means the energy debate, like most of Bush's domestic agenda, could work to reinforce rather than reshape the stark lines of division evident in the 2000 election. For Bush, the fight over energy is mostly an opportunity to strengthen his position in places where he's already strong: traditional Republican strongholds like mountain west and energy- producing swing states like Louisiana. West Virginia and Kentucky, that he pried back from the Democrats in 2000. The risk is deepening doubts about his domestic priorities in the Northeast and on the West Coast, where candidates who are on green are usually blue on election day. But that looks like an energy trade-off the White House is perfectly happy to risk, at a time when the broad support for Bush's performance as commander-in-chief is giving him popularity to burn. This is Ron Brownstein for INSIDE POLITICS.</s>CROWLEY: I'll talk politics with former Senator Bob Dole when we return. Now that he's a political spouse, does Dole have any advice for Al Gore about how to act when your wife runs for the Senate? And, amid all talk about Rosie O'Donnell's coming out, we'll find out who is taking issue with her support of gay adoptions. And later...</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The back of a pickup is the think tank of rural America.</s>CROWLEY: The forces driving the political play of the week.