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Saturday Morning News

Iowa Caucuses: Bush Looks to Turn Lead Into Solid Victory; Bradley Hopes to Re-Energize Campaign

Aired January 22, 2000 - 9:00 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with the Iowa caucuses, which will be held on Monday. Whether a front-runner or an underdog or somewhere in between, the caucuses have the potential to make or break a candidate.

For all of our political coverage, we turn now to CNN's Leon Harris in Des Moines. Good morning, Leon.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again, Miles. Good morning, folks, welcome to Des Moines, Iowa.

The candidates are braving the cold here, the snow and the ice as well, as they criss-cross the state, the campaign on this last weekend before the Iowa caucuses.

In the Republican presidential race, front-runner George W. Bush is trying to turn his lead into a solid victory. CNN's senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, begins our coverage this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Might as well come on down here.

GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm coming your way.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Iowa, George Bush is looking to deliver on a double-digit lead when voters go to the caucuses Monday. In South Carolina, John McCain is looking for an upset in the Dixie curtain-raiser.

In New Hampshire, they are exchanging TV ads about tax cuts, and they are arguing about it everywhere.

McCain doesn't like Bush's ads.

SEN. JOHN McCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... because it is a direct response to an ad that he's been running that alleges that I'm trying to raise taxes by some $40 billion.

CROWLEY: Bush doesn't like what McCain is saying about Bush's ads. BUSH: But this is politics, and that's -- you know, that's -- I find it to be amusing, and -- that when there's an honest disagreement about what the definition of employer benefits mean, that there's kind of a resort to, you know, kind of name calling and...

CROWLEY: Each thinks the other has gone negative, violating a handshake agreement not to.

(on camera): What you have here are two campaigns on entirely different trajectories -- Bush, here in Iowa, looking to hold firmly onto the double-digit lead so he can win Monday in Iowa, and McCain, in South Carolina, looking to shake things up so he can win big the next week in New Hampshire.

(voice-over): While pouring everything he can into New Hampshire airwaves, McCain was in South Carolina, again courting the state's substantial military population. He is looking for ground troops to carry on after the hoped-for win in New Hampshire.

BUSH: Somebody said to me the other day, they said, Why should I even show up? You've got it made. I said, I don't think you understand the difference -- definition of "You've got it made."

CROWLEY: Bush, almost certain to win Iowa, faces the front- runner's curse, expectations. Bush is leading by so much, the fear is people will think their caucus vote isn't needed, turning what's expected to be a big win into an OK win. And in the expectations game, that's a loss.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Des Moines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: In the Democratic race now, former New York -- New Jersey senator Bill Bradley is trying to re-energize his campaign heading into Monday's caucuses. Bradley's also trying to refocus attention on issues like health care and away from his own health. He says his problems with an irregular heartbeat are not a factor in the campaign.

With more on the Bradley fallout, let's go now to CNN's Bob Franken, who's been traveling with Bradley in Iowa here in the last couple of days.

Bob?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, Bradley says it's not a factor in his campaign, meaning that it does not physically impede his campaign. But it has become a factor in his campaign, in that he has not been able to escape the questions that have come up since he only disclosed under a reporter's questioning that, in fact, he has had four more episodes of the irregular heartbeat.

And, in fact, yesterday Bradley had to deal quite a bit with the question, first trying not to, then talking to reporters. At the end of the day, as he was going out and making evening campaign appearances, his aides passed out a letter from one of his cardiologists, who said, "These episodes have not in any way interfered with his busy schedule. He only notes irregularity of the pulse and has no other symptoms. And the rhythm spontaneously reverts to regular." Here comes the key part. "He has been advised to continue all normal activity without limitations."

And with that, Bradley was trying to put things to rest. But he had held a briefing a little bit earlier in the day where he said the problem, he guessed, was the change in the soft drink that he had been using and the fact that it had apparently caffeine in it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BRADLEY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I shared this with the doctor, he thought maybe this might have contributed to it. And the answer is cream soda. I changed what I drink on the road. You know, I had Gatorade, orange soda. And I went to cream soda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And the upshot of all this, Leon, is that suddenly appearing on the press bus was an awful lot of diet cream soda for the reporters. It wasn't a total loss.

HARRIS: Well, good for you, Bob, bon appetit. Bob Franken here in Des Moines, Iowa. Thanks much. We'll talk to you later on. In fact, we'll see you coming up in the 9:30 Eastern half hour this morning, with Bob Franken's Reporter's Notebook.

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