Q&A: TOM DASCHLE
Transcript: Tom Daschle On Iowa, Obama And Clinton

© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Jan. 4, 2008

National Journal On Air with Linda Douglass
Tom Daschle

National Journal's Linda Douglass sat down with Tom Daschle for "National Journal On Air." This is a transcript of their conversation. Audio of the full show is also available.


Q: I want to welcome Senator Tom Daschle, the former majority leader of the United States Senate and also a supporter of Barack Obama. Welcome, Senator Daschle.
Daschle: Thank you very much, Linda.
Q: So first of all, congratulations -- your candidate did very well last night.
Daschle: Well, he did extremely well. In fact, he did better than any of us expected we would. We thought it was going to be much, much closer than that. By winning by that margin, I think he's propelled himself into a terrific position as he goes now into New Hampshire.
Q: Well, let's talk about what lies ahead now going into New Hampshire in this very tiny window of days between Iowa and New Hampshire. You've certainly seen already that the Clinton team is saying that it's time to draw very sharp contrasts between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. You know what that means -- that means going negative. One knows for certain, looking at the past, that they will go after his experience. How is he going to counter that argument in New Hampshire where the voters there may be less likely to be swept off their feet?
Daschle: Well, I don't think experience is working. Obviously a lot of people equate experience with the kind of experiences we've had over these last seven years, Linda. And I have to tell you, people are concerned about the direction our country is going. Hillary has tried to use experience and change, and you can't do both. You have to take one or the other.

Barack has very clearly set out as his mission to change the direction of this country, and his mantra, his strong message to the people of Iowa and New Hampshire, is we've got to have change. You saw that big banner behind him as he was speaking last night. It said "change," and that is what people in this country want.

Q: You know, the other attacks against him are going to come from the Republicans because now John McCain is doing well in New Hampshire. He and Barack Obama are competing for the same independent voters. I just talked to Senator Lindsey Graham, who is working for John McCain, who says, "Look, Barack Obama is a liberal, and we are in the center," or "We are the people who can be the better commander in chief representatives." How do you counter the attacks that are going to come from the right when trying to get those independent votes?
Daschle: Well, I think there's going to be inevitable attacks and smear campaigns of all kinds. Politics has gotten very tough in the last couple of decades but most recently in the last several years. I think that Barack is more than prepared for that. I think he, in many respects, is the antithesis of all that negative muck that you get when you watch most of these campaigns. One of the reasons why he is so popular and has drawn so many people to politics for the first time is that it's not only a change in direction for the country but a change in the kind of politics that the American people are getting very, very tired of. So it's a dangerous thing for these other opponents now to be thinking about going negative. It has a very negative impact on the American voter today, and they could pay a price.
Q: Do you think, Senator, that Hillary Clinton has been wounded by what happened in Iowa?
Daschle: Well, you can't come in third when you want to come in first and not be affected politically. This has been a tremendous setback for her. She's got to recalibrate her campaign and make some decisions about her message as well as her organization. Over the next couple of weeks that's going to be difficult to do given the short time frame, but there's no question that she was probably the one that had the most to lose as a result of what happened last night.
Q: And then finally, talking again about the independent voters because it was fascinating to see how many of them turned out in Iowa. Is it the case, in your view, that Barack Obama is going to have to wage a two-front war in New Hampshire -- that is, running against Hillary Clinton on the one hand and running against John McCain on the other?
Daschle: Well, I think there is a certain truth to that, Linda. This is a different kind of a situation than we had, to a certain extent, in Iowa. In Iowa, John really wasn't a player. The independent voters were there and were accessible, and Barack did extremely well with the independent vote last night and even some Republican votes. That same situation occurs in New Hampshire, but John McCain is also someone who is going to tap into that same voting bloc, so it will be real interesting to see how the two candidates do. My feeling is that Barack is more youthful, Barack is more energetic, Barack is the future. John may represent a little bit more of the past.
Q: Very good, Senator. Thank you so much. Always great to talk with you, and I hope you'll come on the program again.
Daschle: My pleasure, Linda. Thank you.