Here is more of Clinton's strategy...given in a Bloomberg interview before today's planned "blow-up"
quote.bloomberg.com
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Clinton Says Republicans `Rediscover' bin Laden Before Election
By Kristin Jensen and Michael Forsythe
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Former President Bill Clinton accused the Republicans of using scare tactics on terrorism and national security issues to try to neutralize the Democrats' advantage in this year's elections.
``They rediscover bin Laden every two years right before the election,'' Clinton, 60, said of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks who is still at large. The former president acknowledged the Republican strategy, which he said is directed by White House aide Karl Rove, has had some success.
``If you had a business strategy that worked all the time that was premised on scaring the living daylights out of people, you just keep doing it,'' Clinton said in an interview with Bloomberg TV's ``Political Capital With Al Hunt,'' scheduled to air this weekend. ``It's our responsibility to figure out how to puncture it.''
Republicans held a 17-point lead over Democrats on handling the war on terror and national security, according to a Sept. 16-19 Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll.
Even so, Clinton said he expects Democrats ultimately will counter the issue and capture control of the House in the Nov. 7 elections. He also gave his party a 30 percent chance of picking up the six seats needed to gain a majority in the Senate. Democrats need a net pickup of 15 seats to win the House.
To prevail, Democrats have to emphasize that they have a different strategy for battling terrorism, Clinton said. That includes ``beefing up our efforts'' in Afghanistan, carrying out the recommendations of a committee that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks and seeking alternatives to foreign oil, he said.
`Just Fine'
``All we have to do is say terrorism is a threat; here is what we're going to do about it, say what we're going to do about it, and we'll do just fine,'' said Clinton, who's been traveling the country to support Democratic candidates. ``Otherwise, their argument really is, no matter how bad you think we are, you've got to be so scared of them you've got to leave us in there.''
Clinton said he's not surprised that Rove, one of President George W. Bush's closest advisers, uses the tactic because it succeeds. ``It's working because we haven't given an effective answer,'' Clinton said. ``It's scandalous.'' Clinton added that he doesn't blame Rove for using a tactic that works.
Tracey Schmitt, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said in an e-mailed response that Democrats' ``policies would concede the central front in the war on terror, while stripping our nation of the tools we need to protect America, making our nation less safe.''
Congress
Voters at the moment favor Democrats across the country, according to the recent Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll. When asked which party should control Congress, 48 percent of respondents chose Democrats and 39 percent picked Republicans.
Asked about possible surprises in the election, Clinton said Representative Harold Ford has a shot of winning his race for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee and James Webb, who served as Navy Secretary under former Republican President Ronald Reagan, may unseat Republican Senator George Allen in Virginia.
The former president also spoke about potential contenders for the White House in 2008. Clinton, whose wife, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, is mentioned as a Democratic contender, said Senator John McCain of Arizona and Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts had the best chance of winning the Republican nomination.
Both McCain and Romney have supported policies that go against their party. McCain has opposed some tax cuts and this week fought a Bush administration plan on interrogating detainees, and Romney signed a universal health-care law for his state, the first in the nation.
`Ironic'
``It would be ironic if, in order to be competitive, the Republicans had to nominate someone more moderate and repudiate the strategy that had gotten them the Congress in '94 and gotten them the White House twice,'' Clinton said.
Clinton also spoke about remarks he made in a New Yorker magazine article published earlier this month, in which he questioned whether it's too early for first-term Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, 45, to run for president.
``He's an immensely appealing man,'' Clinton said of Obama. ``You have to ask yourself, if I win this thing, will I be ready? You've got to be able to at least look yourself in the eye and say, `I will not be letting my country down if I get this job.''
Clinton spoke from his three-day Global Initiative summit in New York of business and government leaders. The summit, designed to address issues from poverty to climate change, has won $7 billion in commitments for programs from Clinton, business executives and companies.
To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Forsythe in Washington at mforsythe@bloomberg.net ; Kristin Jensen in Washington kjensen@bloomberg.net ; |
