Davis Tries to Draw Voters From Schwarenegger
DAVIS: I think every Californian would take the economy that the Clinton-Gore administration gave us and trade it in for this economy in a heartbeat. So I'm happy to listen to him and take his advice.</s>KING: Gray Davis and Bill Clinton have been huddling and talking about the recall jam. The governor stood by former president during the impeachment crisis, and Clinton seems to be returning the favor, although some of his aides tell us he's not too happy Governor Davis is out there talking about it. As our Bill Schneider tells us, the two situations, the Clinton impeachment and the Davis recall are worlds apart.</s>WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Bill Clinton survived one kind of recall. Now he's advising Gray Davis how to survive another. Is Davis' situation remotely comparable to Clinton's? Clinton got in trouble because of sex and intensely private matters. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP -- JANUARY 1998) BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.</s>SCHNEIDER: To Americans, lying about sex is not a capital crime that merits the political death penalty, but poor job performance does, and that is what a lot of Californians believe Davis is guilty of.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he knew that there was a $38 billion deficit before the election and basically kept it quiet.</s>SCHNEIDER: It looks like Davis' principle opponent will be the very popular Arnold Schwarzenegger.</s>ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIF. GOV. CANDIDATE: It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican, if you're young or old, what the racial thing is -- nothing matters to me.</s>SCHNEIDER: But Clinton benefited from having an unpopular Newt Gingrich as his principle adversary. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP -- APRIL 1998) REP. NEWT GINGRICH (R), GEORGIA: ... the most systematic, deliberate, obstruction of justice coverup in effort to avoid the truth we have ever seen in American history.</s>SCHNEIDER: Like the Clintons, Davis tried to depict the effort to overthrow him as a right-wing conspiracy.</s>DAVIS: Now, I am confident that voters of this state will not opt for a right-wing agenda over a progressive agenda.</s>SCHNEIDER: But that's gotten harder to do now that the conservative congressman who funded the recall has pulled out of the race. Bill Clinton survived by convincing voters he was doing his job. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP -- JANUARY 1998) CLINTON: I will submit to Congress for 1999 the first balanced budget in 30 years.</s>SCHNEIDER: Clinton has advised Gray Davis to do the same thing.</s>DAVIS: Many people are trying to become the governor. I am the governor.</s>SCHNEIDER: But there's a big difference. When Clinton was impeached, more than 60 percent of Americans thought he was doing a good job. Davis faces a recall at a time when fewer than 30 percent of Californians think he's doing a good job. (on camera): In politics, you need a base. Those are the people who are with you when you're wrong. Clinton had a base that stood by him when he got in trouble. But not too many Californians seem to be there for Gray Davis right now. Bill Schneider, CNN, Los Angeles.</s>KING: Up next, Bay Buchanan and Donna Brazile, their thoughts on the recall effort and the '04 race. And later, how even the entertainment media are hitching their satellite trucks to the recall bandwagon.