Bradley Hopes to Rebound and Score Debate Points Tonight
WOODRUFF: The latest Marist poll shows Al Gore leading Bill Bradley by better than two to one among New York's likely Democratic primary voters. Just 29 percent picked the former New York Knick as their choice in the March 7 contest. As Bob Franken reported earlier, Bill Bradley has faced questions about the future of his presidential campaign. Lagging poll numbers and primary losses dampened early expectations that Bradley could give Al Gore a real fight for the Democratic nomination. Our Beth Fouhy takes a closer look at Bradley's bid and his missteps along the way.</s>BETH FOUHY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last fall, when his campaign was hot, Bill Bradley had a line he used frequently to play down expectations: (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, NOVEMBER 1999) BRADLEY: Some people said I have momentum. but I say we have traction.</s>FOUHY: Today, after losing badly in Washington State, he has neither. His campaign is on the brink.</s>MARTIN PLISSNER, POLITICAL ANALYST: There are two-to-one margins for Gore nationally in almost every state you can pick, and I think, for all practical purposes, this campaign is dead.</s>FOUHY: Bradley's campaign began with great promise. He successfully positioned himself as the candidate with big ideas, vision and integrity, while Al Gore was still trying to shed his wooden image and his boss' baggage. By the end of 1999, Bradley had raised as much money as the incumbent vice president. For a while, thousands would turnout to sheer him on. He was trailed by dozens of networks cameras and everyone wanted his signature. Then came Iowa, and Gore attacked him relentlessly.</s>GORE: Let me introduce a friend of mine to you. Chris Peterson is here. Could you stand up Chris? Chris is a farmer with 400 acres. Why did you vote against the disaster relief for Chris Peterson?</s>FOUHY: Bradley's counter-attacks were late in coming and ineffective.</s>MARTIN LISSNER, FMR. CBS NEWS POLITICAL DIR.: He spent so much time trying to improve the quality of the campaign that he did very little of what he had to do to win the election and to beat Al Gore.</s>FOUHY: On caucus day, the Gore machine, powered by the unions, and pumped up by a newly energized candidate, rolled over Bradley. Unlike John McCain, who wisely skipped Iowa to concentrate on New Hampshire, Bradley took a gamble.</s>LISSNER: Iowa is helpless. I don't know who advised him to do that, but that is certainly one of the all-time blunders in presidential politics.</s>FOUHY: The magnitude of the blunder became apparent the next week. Bradley lost New Hampshire by just four points. If he had focused exclusively on New Hampshire, he might have won. Then the media's attention shifted to John McCain surprising insurgency on the Republican side, taking coverage away from Bradley.</s>BRADLEY: We would like you to have it now, Al.</s>FOUHY: Bradley has tried to revive his candidacy by being more aggressive in the debates. But so far, nothing has stopped the slide. In basketball, there is a shot call the fade away. As you fall back from your opponent, you shoot and score. It usually doesn't work in politics. Beth Fouhy, CNN, Washington.</s>WOODRUFF: Well, joining us now here in Los Angeles, Bradley campaign spokesman Eric Hauser. Eric, thank you for being with us.</s>ERIC HAUSER, BRADLEY CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: Good afternoon, Judy.</s>WOODRUFF: Your candidate sent six days in Washington State just recently, lost to Al Gore better than two to one. What happened?</s>HAUSER: Well, five days actually, but we are a little disappointed. But I also know that in the ballots that were cast yesterday, not the absentee ballots in King County, the largest by far in Washington, we nearly won. I think we did some very good things in Washington. And we do have six days now to come out of that and make a very strong case on March 7. I think we will. I think we will have a great debate tonight. We have got some new, very creative ads going up at the end of this week. We are going back east. We will be in New York tomorrow. Taking a red-eye tonight to go back and campaign very hard in New York. And I think we have got a, you know, fighting chance, and we are going to fight for every vote we can.</s>WOODRUFF: Speaking of New York, people like Senator Moynihan in New York has questioned Bill Bradley's decision to spend so much time in Washington State and to wait so long to get to New York.</s>HAUSER: Well, when we went to Washington State, we had come out of three days in New York. So we had spent a good deal of time in New York already, and obviously back. And we, you know, we wanted to build some enthusiasm coming out of Washington. You know, I think we fell a little bit short there, but we also had some enormous crowds. We had crowds of thousands in Washington. In Bellingham, Washington, 4000 people. At UCLA last night, 3,000 people. There is a lot of juice here. We have got a ways to go, we know that, but we are going to make every effort, and I think have a good day on March 7.</s>WOODRUFF: But of the four contests so far, Bill Bradley has yet to win one. What is it about the message, Eric Hauser, that is not getting across? What is it?</s>HAUSER: I don't think it is the message. I think that is has always been hard to fight against entrenched power and to fight an incumbent vice president who plays the old politics, and he has done that very well. I think, we are certainly going to focus tonight on why Bill Bradley is a better candidate. He is better on health care, he is better on guns, he is better on choice. He is better on education. Both his record in the Senate and his agenda for the future. Moreover, the country clearly is crying out for cleaning up Washington. John McCain's candidacy proves that. Bill Bradley is not only equal to John McCain in reform, he is actually better because he has proposed public financing, which John McCain has not.</s>WOODRUFF: But it's John McCain who has gotten all the attention in that regard.</s>HAUSER: Well, but I think Bill Bradley offers for Democratic voters really reform plus. Campaign finance and new start, plus health care, which McCain does not; choice, which McCain does not; environment record and so forth, that I think if we, over the last week, when people are really paying attention to their final choice, we make that case, I think it will be a case that can bring us into March 7 pretty strong.</s>WOODRUFF: Bill Bradley said today zero people have talked to him about getting out of this campaign? Has there been -- can you tell us, there has been no discussion of that inside the campaign?</s>HAUSER: Yes, I can. There is bad reporting going around. Everyone should be careful of bad reporting. But, no, there is no discussion. We are unified in going forward. We got into this for very good reasons. We are going to fight for those reasons every step of the way, through March 7 and beyond.</s>WOODRUFF: In just a few second, Eric Hauser, what is it that we are going to hear different from Bill Bradley, compelling reason for people to vote for him that we haven't heard?</s>HAUSER: Well, I think what you will hear is a very clear enunciation of what he stands for, and potential we have as Democrats to take the country to a place we have never gotten to, and I think there will be contrasts with that position to Al Gore's much more sort of timid, incremental approach. And I think that, you know, that is what we have heard, and we will keep hearing it. But I think as people really make their final choices going into March 7, that contrast will be something that will help us out.</s>WOODRUFF: Eric Hauser with the Bill Bradley campaign, thanks very much.</s>HAUSER: You welcome.</s>WOODRUFF: And up next, the presidential hopefuls: Could the primary battles leave one party divided for the general election? We'll ask Margaret Carlson and Tucker Carlson.