NBC’s Russert: W.Va. will be key in ’04 vote

the WV Charleston Gazette ^ | 12-11-2003 | By Dave Gustafson

[countrydummy]

December 11, 2003 NBC’s Russert: W.Va. will be key in ’04 vote

By Dave Gustafson STAFF WRITER

Tim Russert, moderator and producer of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” told members of the Charleston Regional Chamber of Commerce that West Virginia will be critical ground for presidential candidates in 2004.

“If Al Gore had won West Virginia [in 2000], he’d be president today,” Russert said Wednesday at the Chamber’s annual dinner meeting.

“This was a state [Democrats] thought they had in the bag,” he said at a pre-dinner media conference. “For the first time since Hoover, this state went with the Republican.” (West Virginia also voted for Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan in their re-election campaigns.)

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As for 2004, “There will be 15 swing states, and we’re in one of them right now,” he said.

Russert also discussed recent news of Gore’s endorsement of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Famous for using a dry-erase board on television instead of fancy graphics during the 2000 election, Russert kicked off his speech in Charleston touting the state’s importance in next year’s campaign by holding up a mock dry-erase board with “West Virginia, West Virginia, West Virginia” written on it, instead of the Florida mantra he had in 2000.

Russert said he saw Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Gore’s running mate in 2000, before the taping of NBC’s “Today” earlier this week, after Gore’s endorsement of Dean.

“I asked him: ‘So?’ “ Russert said. “He looked at me and said, ‘Et tu, Brutus?’ “

Many people were surprised that Gore, who selected Lieberman as his “one-heartbeat” man just four years ago, would endorse Dean, Russert said.

Gore’s endorsement was critical because it might end criticism of Dean’s “electability,” might sway more campaign contributions Dean’s way and might change some voters’ minds in Iowa before that state’s caucus, he said.

Should Dean be nominated and lose, Gore has also positioned himself to run again in 2008, Russert said. He’ll be able to tell Dean supporters he backed their man.

The two top issues next year will be the economy and Iraq, Russert said. White House officials Russert said he spoke with said that if both issues look good for the Bush administration, he’ll be re-elected. If both look bad, he’ll lose. If things are unclear on either issue, the White House considers the election up in the air.

Secondary issues also will play into the election: issues such as Medicare, Social Security, tax cuts and national intelligence.

Taking care of America’s children is one issue Russert would like to see folded into the national discussion. With the amount of kids growing up in poverty, it will be difficult for them to take part in the American dream later in life unless more is done to help them, he said.

He said he shapes interviews using advice he was given by a former host of “Meet The Press”: “Learn as much as you can about your guest, then take the other side.”

Interviewing a candidate who doesn’t have the party’s nomination yet is one of the favorite parts of his job.

“This is a rare moment in a political campaign where you can sit face-to-face with a candidate for a full hour,” he said. “After the nomination, they go into a sort of cocoon: They get security, they’re less accessible.”

Russert said he wasn’t sure how much money he was getting for his appearance in Charleston, but that all the money he gets from speaking engagements goes to charities such as the Boys and Girls Club of America or a scholarship he set up at a school in his hometown of Buffalo, N.Y.

To contact staff writer Dave Gustafson, use e-mail or call 348-5113.

[countrydummy]

now ain't this a gas!

[countrydummy]

ping!

[OpusatFR]

It would have helped Gore to carry his home state.

I can't wait until Dean characterizes the inhabitants of WV. My relatives are really picky about the way the media tars them.

[chiefqc]

Well if the dumb-o-crat take W. Va. in 04, they can be sure of at least one state. Maybe the only state.

[countrydummy]

he is toast here already! lol

[Sam's Army]

“If Al Gore had won West Virginia [in 2000], he’d be president today,” Russert said Wednesday"

Oh, how many Disenfranchised voters were in the Mountaineer state in 2000? How 'bout the great state of Tennessee?

Gore couldn't even carry his own state but somehow it was all Kathryn Harris' fault.

[countrydummy]

Ah, say that again!

[finnman69]

I think Ohio will be a bigger battleground.

[countrydummy]

West Virginian's heard Gore, and that is why they went for Bush!

[Sam's Army]

Bless you all!!

[WinOne4TheGipper]

I don't think it'll be close enough for any one state to make a huge difference in the electoral college. That being said, I have a question for my fellow FReepers. Imagine it's next November and the polls are closed in your state. If there is any state that, if it goes to Bush, you could say confidently that it's over and Bush has won, which would it be? I hope you understand that.

[WackyKat]

My relatives are really picky about the way the media tars them.

Considering how Jason Blair and the other media types portrayed them during the Jessica Lynch story, I don't blame them.

[Fabozz]

"Gore’s endorsement was critical because it might end criticism of Dean’s 'electability'..."

ROTFLMAO—Gore's endorsement makes Dean electable?! "Gee, I used to think Dean was a total crackpot, but if the inventor of the Internet thinks he should be president then I guess he's okay."

[Arkinsaw]

If there is any state that, if it goes to Bush, you could say confidently that it's over and Bush has won, which would it be?

California, Hawaii, or D.C. :-)

[1Old Pro]

How can one state be a swing state if Dean only wins 4-5 states?

[the Real fifi]

California

[countrydummy]

West Virginia did not go for Gore cause he lied, and he told the truth....that he was going to cut our throats in the natural resource department! That is what we do best here!

[arasina]

Taking care of America’s children is one issue Russert would like to see folded into the national discussion. With the amount of kids growing up in poverty, it will be difficult for them to take part in the American dream later in life unless more is done to help them, he said.

You forgot to use "working families" in there somewhere, Tim. Hillary's gonna be upset with you now.

I know, Russert gives money to charities for children and he is less partisan than other anchors, but why does he assume that we, the little people he can't see from his place in front of the camera, don't do our own private charitable giving? And what about President Bush's Faith Based Initiative? Not big government enough for him, I guess.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

So you're holding out to the end? I did that in 2000 (or tried to, as it turned out). I kept watching in 1996 until Clinton was announced the winner.

[rightcoast]

To say that West Virginia is absolutely key ignores an important fact. The 2000 Census has changed the allocation of electoral votes among the 50 states.

Because of the new allocation, if Bush gets same states in 2004 that he got in 2000, he will win the 2004 election 278-260. West Virginia's 5 electoral votes going to the Democratic candidate would mean instead a result of Bush 273 and the Democrat 265, still a Bush win.

So, West Virginia might be important, but it's nowhere near the battleground state that Florida was in 2000.