On Wednesday’s Good Morning America, reporter David Wright attempted to manipulate the potential voters of the 2008 presidential election by casting a gloomy shadow over the Republican candidates. Meanwhile, according to Wright, the array of candidates for the Democratic nomination could not be any more impressive. First, Wright exalted the Democrats for having a clear front-runner, Hillary Clinton. However, he was skeptical of the same status of Rudolph Giuliani in the Republican field saying, "just how solid is that lead?" Then he went about exposing the inconsistency of Republican candidates, never once mentioning any similar problem for Hillary Clinton or any other Democratic candidate.
John McCain is not competitive, because he is "out of money and out of steam;" Romney used to be a "liberal;" and Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich are nowhere to be seen. Lastly, instead of putting poll and fundraising results in a partisan context (Democratic primary voters in comparison to Republican primary voters), Wright spoke as if the general election was imminent, saying, "Whether you measure support in dollars or poll numbers, at this point none of the top Republicans matches up well against the top Democrats, especially Hillary Clinton." The transcript is below:
David Wright: "Good morning, Elizabeth. We're still barely past the starting gate here, but already some pretty stark differences between the Republicans and the Democrats. The Democratic side has a clear frontrunner and at least two strong challengers. But the Republicans are tougher to figure. Even with this new poll, it's hard -- you have to ask the question, who is the GOP frontrunner?"
Wright: "The Republican nominee for President may be one of these men, or none of them. This week, perhaps testing the waters himself, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich dismissed the GOP candidates as "pygmies." Our poll shows former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani leading the pack nationally, but just how solid is that lead?"
Kellyanne Conway, Republican strategist: "The intensity of his support according to this new ABC poll has softened and that is attributable to the fact that 51% of Evangelical Christians in the poll say that they believe Rudy Giuliani is too liberal on social issues."
Wright: "Republican voters like what they see as Giuliani's strength and experience, but many conservatives see him as too liberal on issues such as abortion. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is doing well in crucial early states. But to win the GOP nomination, he has to get past his own liberal baggage."
Ken Rudin, NPR: "The fact is that he ran for the Senate in 1994 as pro-choice, pro stem-cell research, pro gay rights. When he ran for governor in 2001, 2002, he was also liberal on these issues."
Wright: "Romney’s now running as a born-again conservative, a tough sell. Our poll showed that 24% don't know where he stands ideologically. The candidate many thought would be the Republican frontrunner is falling badly behind. Senator John McCain appears to be out of money and out of steam."
Rudin: "He spent $25 million and what does he have to show for it? Really nothing. He's fading fast."
Wright: "He is running neck and neck with someone not even in the race. Former Senator Fred Thompson has yet to declare he's in."
Giuliani: "Fred Thompson has a right to do it, Newt Gingrich has every right to do it. Some or all of them may enter the race. God bless them."
David Wright: "Whether you measure support in dollars or poll numbers, at this point none of the top Republicans matches up well against the top Democrats, especially Hillary Clinton. And the Republicans have to be hoping that, by this time next year, the voters will have something other than Iraq to think about. Chris?"
Chris Cuomo: "It’s a big wait and see, David. Thank you for that."
