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Rand Paul Launches Campaign; Paul Kicks Off Bid To Take Country Back; Airstrike Hits School In Yemen; Three Children Killed In Airstrike; Power Outages in D.C.; Iran Nuclear Deal; Interview with Israeli Spokesman Mark Regev. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired April 7, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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


JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: So, we are seeing a fascinating sort of dynamic here shaping up in this early part of the race between the two. I mean, he didn't sound like a traditional Republican. Sort of a hybrid from his father. But what a big needle to thread here with the libertarians as well as the Republican base. I think it's a tough one for him. And, you know, but he is not only running into these others, he's running against himself. All those things that he has said since he has arrived in the Senate, that is going to be a challenge early on. Rand Paul versus Rand Paul.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And, you know, it's interesting, and you know this, David, he obviously welcomed his dad, former Congressman Ron Paul, there who ran for the presidency on several occasions. He was pretty popular with that libertarian base of the Republican Party but didn't obviously do well in getting that Republican nomination.

It's a delicate line he has to walk. And if we take a look at the polls right now, and this is a CNN-ORC poll, Republicans' choice for nominee, the most recent poll we did, Jeb Bush, 16 percent; Governor Walker of Wisconsin, 13 percent; Senator Paul, 12 percent. It's pretty even right now.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, he's definitely in that upper tier. That's where he's pulling right now. But he's a bit down from where he was a year ago, Wolf. I think this is really interesting. About a year ago, he was at 16 percent in our poll, maybe even -- I think -- well, I think maybe that's where he topped out. And he's never achieved that sort of status as leading the field again.

What's happened since then? Well, we've seen beheadings from ISIS. The landscape has changed around him a little bit. And it gets back to this foreign policy issue and that delicate balance. He wants a foot in both camps. He wants to have a foot firmly planted with his father's supporters, as his base that he wants to grow beyond what his father was able to do. And the way he's doing that is having his foot planted in this other camp which is trying to be more mainstream, trying to acceptable to the more hawkish wing of the traditional Republican Party. That is a tricky proposition right there.

BLITZER: And that hawkish wing, Josh Rogen, they don't like him because they regard him as an isolationist. I've interviewed him on several occasions. I'll be interviewing him tomorrow on CNN as well. But he considers himself as a noninterventionist but not an isolationist. And you've studied his foreign policy record.

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Exactly. Rand Paul self- identifies as a realist. He said he wants to create a middle ground between isolationism and neo-conservatism in the Republican Party. The problem for that is that there are not a lot of Republican primary voters who are going to sign onto that middle ground. It roughly puts him in the same position in foreign policy as the Obama administration.

And, in the end, any Republican primary candidate has to run against President Obama's foreign policy. You saw Rand try to do that today. The biggest news in his speech on foreign policy was that he made the most extensive remarks to date on the Iran nuclear deal. He said he had huge concerns with it. He said he would oppose any bill that didn't end Iran's nuclear ambitions. That's new. That puts him farther to the right and farther in the opposition.

But there's no way for him to appease the hawks. GOP hawk groups have started a million-dollar ad campaign to try to paint Rand Paul as weak on the Iran issue. That's only the beginning. By trying to appease neither the isolationists nor the neo-conservatives, he risks alienating both.

BLITZER: Let's go back to legal (ph). Dana Bash, you were there. He did speak out forcefully on the Iran nuclear tentative deal, the framework, whatever you want to call it, making it clear. He's got a lot of questions about it. He didn't flatly come out and say he would oppose it. But, as Josh just mentioned, he said he wants to make sure that there is no nuclear capability that Iran will have to build a bomb. And if it -- if he isn't convinced, he'll vote against any such deal.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. And, you know, he is kind of trying to tie his views on this to Senator Bob Corker, who is the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who is trying to push, as we speak, legislation through Congress to try to do exactly that, to try to make sure that Congress has a stamp on this deal.

But Josh is exactly right. I was really struck by how far into the whole Iran issue he went in his announcement speech. I mean, usually, in these announcement speeches, you kind of have general lofty ideas and ideals. I mean, he got into the weeds on Iran. And there's a good reason for it. It's because of what Josh reported, that the hawks in the party are out for him on this to the tune so far of a million dollars from the guy who swiftboated John Kerry. And he knows he's got to get out there and kind of explain his stance.

But it really does differ from most, if not all, of the other Republicans in the field. And he kind of, you know, unabashedly said that he's OK with negotiations, referring as many of these Republicans do to Ronald Reagan, saying he negotiated but you have to trust but verify. And at the end, that powerful last bit of that part of the speech saying, it's better to make peace than war. That is exactly the kind of rhetoric that does appeal to the young people that is going to bring the nontraditional Rand Paul slash Ron Paul voter into the fold for him. The question is, how much does he risk alienating other Republicans who might be much more hawkish in the way that they vote?

[13:05:04] BLITZER: All Right. Listen to what Senator Paul just said about the U.S. war against ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: Until we name the enemy, we can't win the war. The enemy is radical Islam. You can't get around it. And not only will I name the enemy, I will do whatever it takes to defend America from these haters of mankind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All Right, Gloria, he calls them radical Islam. The president of the United States, as we know, the Obama administration, doesn't like to use that phrase. Haters of mankind.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I will do whatever I need to do to defend America. And, you know, for folks who are saying, he's an isolationist, he wouldn't use force, this was a very strong signal saying, well, maybe I would and modeling himself after, you know, Ronald Reagan, trust but verify.

I think it's a little bit -- while we're -- what we're watching here is the evolution of a newbie in the Senate, relative newbie, one termer, evolving from somebody who ran as a Tea Party conservative against what he called, again today, the Washington machine on a balanced budget constitutional amendment.

All these things that are very easy to put in one big pile when you run for the Senate. Somebody turning into a presidential candidate who suddenly finds himself having to balance all of these competing interests and all of these competing constituencies and not turn off the libertarians but keeping the big money folks in the establishment happy. And it's not an easy turn to make.

CHALIAN: But as the ad that Josh wrote about, that the hawks are going after him with, they're using his own words before he even got to the Senate.

BORGER: Exactly.

CHALIAN: He was a spokesperson and a surrogate for his father's presidential campaign. Those words are from 2007 when he was on the trail. So, not only does he have to balance all of that, but then there are all these words from a purely libertarian appeal that his father put out there for his presidential campaigns that is not really the direction Rand Paul wants to go.

BLITZER: And they're saying he has to walk away from some of his dad's --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: -- just like Jeb Bush has to walk away from some of his father's views.

BORGER: But what about -- and what about cutting the foreign aid budget? Cutting aid to Israel is one huge thing.

ROGIN: He was -- he was against foreign aid to Israel.

BORGER: Right.

ROGIN: Then he was for it. He was against the border fence, then he was for it. He was against striking ISIS, then he was for it.

ZELENY: Which is why his first primary opponent is himself.

BORGER: And, by the way, who do we also say that about? Hillary Clinton.

BLITZER: Take a look at this, speaking of Hillary Clinton. We got a poll that shows how Rand Paul would stack up against Hillary Clinton, at least right now. In this CNN-ORC poll, 54 percent for Hillary Clinton, 43 percent for Senator Rand Paul. Jeff Zeleny, these polls right now, I don't know how significant they are, but we like to show them in any case. They give us a little indication of what the thinking is right now. But it's still a long way to go.

ZELENY: It's a long ways to go here. But that's not that bad for Rand Paul, someone who does not know nearly as much as Hillary Clinton. I mean, I think it's better for him than for her.

But one thing I'm struck by is what you said about the ads. Already a super PACS lining up against him. A million dollar investment. We're going to see different in this campaign, I believe. In 2012, super PACS extended the life of candidacies. They kept people alive, like Newt Gingrich (INAUDIBLE.) Now, they're trying to kill someone's candidacy before they even start. And that is Rand Paul's biggest challenge here. Someone believes he -- Republicans believe he is dangerous for his party, trying to stop him before he can even sort of get off --

BLITZER: All right. So, last week -- so, last week, David, we had Ted Cruz formally announce. Now another Republican senator, Rand Paul. Marco Rubio, another Republican senator. He's going to announce, what, next week. Is that right?

CHALIAN: Monday in Miami.

BLITZER: Yes, so they're --

CHALIAN: The same class as Rand Paul.

BLITZER: -- all lining up. And, at some point, Jeff Zeleny, you've been doing some reporting, Hillary Clinton is going to formally announce. It could be this week, next week as well.

ZELENY: That's right. She -- it's in the coming days. Her campaign is not paying a lot of attention to this. They're focusing on how she's going to be running because that is a handful in and of itself.

BLITZER: All Right, we'll see. We'll be covering all of this obviously here on CNN. Guys, thanks very much.

Still ahead, there's other important news we're following, including horrendous news going on in Yemen right now. The death toll mounting. This time, the casualties came when airstrikes hit a school. We'll go live to the region. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:12:58] BLITZER: As the chaos of deadly fighting continues in Yemen today, Saudi airstrikes hit a school. An education official says three children were killed. The Saudis have been attacking positions held by the Houthi rebels who are backed by Iran. The Yemeni officials say the Saudis were targeting a military base which is about 500 yards from the school. The United Nations says Monday -- said Monday that at least 74 children have been killed since the fighting escalated in recent weeks.

CNN's Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson is standing by. He's along the Saudi-Yemeni border for us right now. Nic, are the mounting civilian casualties that we're hearing about creating a backlash against the Saudis who are leading these airstrikes against the Houthi rebels?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In Saudi Arabia, it isn't. Obviously there's a -- there is concern being expressed when civilians are killed. The med (INAUDIBLE) Doctors Without Borders who run the hospital in the town of Aden say that most of the casualties they get are young men. There are some civilians being caught up in the -- in the crossfire of the fighting. So, in all of this, those Saudi airstrikes and the fighting on the ground, civilians are being caught up. Saudi officials say that they consider and choose their locations of their airstrikes carefully, trying to avoid civilian casualties.

What happened on this occasion? They were targeting a military base that they say was being used by the Houthis to collect and disperse weapons and equipment. It had been targeted before. The school was 400 to 500 meters away. It was lunch time. The children were just coming outside. One of the six missile strikes impacted the school.

And this, perhaps, is the tale of long airstrike campaigns, that you hit a building on the ground. You look at the bomb damage assessment. You go back if you think the job isn't completed. But what we understand were there were no casualties in that military building which tends to indicate that its use -- its military use was finished. And, of course, the air campaign, the sort of bomb targeting assessments, perhaps didn't have that information. It wasn't a worthwhile target in that way. [13:15:05] But that said, the air strikes have, over the past 24 hours, seemed to make a difference on the ground. A lot of fighting in Aden yesterday. Saudi-led coalition air strikes on Houthi positions around Aden last night. Today, Aden is quieter. Also, Saudi-led coalition air strikes around the important air strip Al Anad Air Base that was used by U.S. special forces just north of Aden and we understand that that also, because of its location, geography, has also helped alleviate the pressure of the people of Aden and put more pressure on the Houthis, Wolf.

BLITZER: Saudi Arabia has asked for Pakistan's help to provide support against these Houthi rebels. Do we know what the response is from Pakistan?

ROBERTSON: It's kind of - we're looking at it, we're dealing with it, not yet, sort of response. But, look, you know, what Pakistan does say, and this is their obligation, one that's a fundamental agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - if the territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia comes under attack, Pakistan will come and stand by them. And they are certainly saying that at this moment.

On the request for soldiers, for aircraft, for naval assets to assist in this campaign in Yemen, they seem to be slightly more hesitant. But Saudi Arabia loaned Pakistan $1.5 billion fairly recently. So there's a - you know, there is a strong relationship and certainly the opportunity for Saudi Arabia to lean more heavily on Pakistan. So that's where that seems to stand at the moment, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Nic Robertson, he's on the border - he's on the Saudi side of the border with Yemen, watching what's going on. We'll stay in close touch with you. Nic Robertson reporting. Thank you very much.

And I just want to alert our viewers, especially here in the U.S. capital, there are some significant power outages going on here in the Washington, D.C. area. It's affecting power, including right here in our CNN Washington bureau. So I just want to alert you to that. We're going to find out what's going on, bring you some more information on that.

We'll take a quick break. Much more on what's going on here in Washington, indeed around the country and around the world right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:40] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: As a mystery of sorts going on here in the Washington, D.C. area. Some major power outages underway in several major office buildings, some government buildings. But, look, it's a beautiful day here in Washington, clear skies, no rain, but it's a - it's a problem. We're trying to figure out what's going on. Rene Marsh is checking with local officials. You can see what's going on at the White House. Beautiful, nice, sunny day here in the nation's capital, in the U.S. capital, but there are significant power outages. And I've got to tell you, personally here in our Washington, D.C. bureau of CNN, we've had some major power outages. We're on the air and it's fine right now but we've lost power intermittently over the past half hour or so. We'll keep you updated on what's going on. It's a significant problem.

Rene Marsh, I think he's joining us live. Rene, what are you learning?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION & GOVT. REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, I can tell you that we are just getting word from Pepco. They are confirming there has been a widespread power outage here in the Washington, D.C., area. We're still working to get more specifics on what caused this outage. But Pepco, the power company, did confirm that the Department of Justice, as well as the State Department both lost power. At the White House, we're also told in the press area they momentarily lost power as well before it was restored. Also getting reports from the Capitol building, our crews there saying that there was a brief power outage. It lasted for about a second. But, again, the power is back on. So we are talking about multiple government buildings here experiencing this power outage.

The root of this is unclear at this hour. Of course, we're working the phones to try and figure that out. But the headline here is that widespread power outage here in Washington, D.C. Also the D.C. metro trains, we are also learning, Wolf, they are operating normal. However, we are now learning that some stations are reporting local power outages as well.

So, lots of folks dealing with this here. Some of the power back on. But in some cases, like at the State Department, we're hearing reports of people having to use flashlights in order to get their way around. So as we get more information about what caused this, Wolf, of course we'll get that to you.

BLITZER: Yes, I'm also hearing, Rene, not only the State Department, the Department of Justice, parts of Capitol Hill, but the Department of Energy has lost some - lost some power, too, as far as this widespread power outage here in the D.C. area, the Washington, D.C. area.

Once again, the weather seems just fine. We have no idea what's going on. But you're checking with your sources, Pepco, the energy company, that provides power in the greater Washington, D.C. area is checking as well. We'll get some more information.

Let's take another quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:27:12] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

We're following the breaking news here in Washington, mysterious power outages going on right here in the nation's capital. The weather is fine. Doesn't seem to be any problems from weather. But all of a sudden, major power outages affecting government buildings, including over at the Department of State, the Department of Justice, the Department of Energy, up on Capitol Hill, even some brief power outages at the White House. You're looking at live pictures coming in from the White House right now. Unclear the source of these power outages, but we're following this story and we'll update you as we get more information. A little mystery going on here in the Washington, D.C., area.

But there's other news we're following as well. In what may add to the strain of an already tense U.S./Israeli relationship, President Obama has rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request for Iran to recognize Israel as part of a nuclear deal. He made the comment during an interview on National Public Radio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The notion that we would condition Iran not getting nuclear weapons in a verifiable deal on Iran recognizing Israel is really akin to saying that we won't sign a deal unless the nature of the Iranian regime completely transforms. And that is, I think, a fundamental misjudgment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's bring in Prime Minister Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev, whose joining us live from Jerusalem.

You want to react to what we just heard from the president saying it's unrealistic to think Iran is going to stop calling for Israel's destruction as part of this proposed nuclear framework agreement?

MARK REGEV, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: The bottom line is this, Wolf, a normal country doesn't call for the destruction of one of its neighbors. It just doesn't happen in the world that we live in. And if Iran wants to be considered a normal country and treated in a normal way, they have to start acting like a normal country. And that means that they have to stop exporting terrorism around the world, it means they have to stop supporting aggression in the Middle East. As you know, they're in Iraq, they're in Syria, they're in Lebanon and now they're in Yemen. And of course they have to recognize my country's right to exist, which is a very basic thing to ask. The prime minister raised this issue already in his speech in Washington in the Congress, you'll recall, and he said the restrictions on Iran should only be lifted - only be lifted when there's a fundamental change in Iranian behavior.