WTTW 1992 Election Coverage Composite

<v Joseph Morris>Looking specifically at the politics of the moment, the big losers have to be Joe Biden, Ted Kennedy, Metzenbaum and Paul Simon of Illinois, because these were the guys who were charged with the mission of getting the goods on Clarence Thomas. And let's be candid. This isn't this is and ought to be, to a certain extent, an adversarial process. And these were people whose mission it was to subject the Thomas nomination to the greatest possible scrutiny. They had the facts and they sat on it. And if the women of America say they sat on it because they didn't appreciate its importance, there may be some truth. <v Carol Moseley Braun>Well you know, that's the equivalent of the old fraud at the polls line after losing an election. Now come on. The fact of the matter is that the committee, the Senate committee, there are no women on it. There was not attention paid by any of the members of the committee to this issue. The FBI didn't really investigate it. If, frankly, Anita Hill had been Andrew Hill and had related in an FBI interview that the judge had made advances, there would have been an investigation. And the fact matter is that none of these things happened. <v Interviewer>Carol Moseley Braun, what have you learned from this episode or what should we learn? <v Carol Moseley Braun>Oh, I think this episode demystified the Senate for the American people. I think it lifted shield or a cloud of of of mystery and the August body that we've all come to expect and demonstrated clearly that these are people. These are men. These are are participants in the process and who may not be representative of the American people. I think for me, at least, looking at the roll call today, I was struck by the fact that every name was Mr. Mr. Mr Mr. Mr. Query whether or not they are not women. There are not African-Americans. There are not Asian-Americans. There are not Hispanics who are qualified to serve in that council. There is no reason why the United States Senate is as narrow a political or organization as it is. <v Sen. Alan Dixon>In my vote tonight, a vote for Judge Thomas was based upon the fact that I felt the charges against him were not well-made.

<v Interviewer>Alright, now Bruce Dumont, what are the politics of this for, Senator Dixon? I mean, could this cost him his seat in United States senate? <v Bruce Dumont>Well, I don't know if it'll cost him his seat. I think there could be a primary challenge. However, Alan Dixon, I think, is one of the surprise votes that took place today. The conventional wisdom over the last week was that there would be significant pressure building on Alan Dixon, that if he were to vote against Clarence Thomas, he would have absolutely avoided a Democratic primary challenge. The fact that he has voted the way he has opens up the possibility of Alan Dixon being pinpointed and targeted in 1992. <v Bruce Dumont>And I would like to ask Carol Moseley Braun, if you support Alan Dixon for reelection. <v Carol Moseley Braun>At this point, I am outraged by his vote and I am looking forward to an opportunity. I have asked for an opportunity to talk with Senator Dixon. I am outraged. I think it demonstrated his vote for Judge Thomas in this situation, demonstrated a singular lack of sensitivity to the issue of sexual harassment and how strongly women feel about it, as well as to the concern of the African-American community that Judge Thomas's record has not been representative. <v Carol Moseley Braun>I started getting phone calls from people all over the state who had seen the show from Murphysboro and Collinsville and Springfield and Decatur, people saying we like your position on the issues. We like the way you consider government. We like your philosophy of government. We think you should be the next senator from Illinois. And so we looked at the calls, got 600 phone calls in a matter of a few days, and it considered, is this the right thing to do? I concluded it was the right thing to do. And then is it doable? And the answer came back. Yes. And so that's when I threw my hat in the ring.

<v Narrator>Issues, events and people in the news. This is Chicago Week in Review. <v Mary Johnson>In Illinois, Carol Moseley Braun is enough to get you off your butt, at least get to the voting booth. You know, you're going to vote for her and while you're there. You vote for Clinton, maybe. But what about other places where there is no Carol Moseley Braun? What's going to get them out? <v Unknown Panelist>Mary, that's a good question.

<v Mary Johnson>In the black community. <v Joel Weisman>Not only get them out. What about getting them registered? Because registration has fallen off a lot. <v Mary Johnson>Well yeah, registered and all that. <v Paul Hogan>Carol Moseley Braun knew that when her mother was on Medicaid and had been for three years that any windfall, any income that came to her had to first be reported to Medicaid. And then that income had to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service. Those two things from our conversations with her, her mother. And looking into the facts of it, we're not done. <v Mary Johnson>Well, it seems to me that when I when I when I saw this story, the only thing I can think of is that, boy, people are really going through a strain to find something on Carol Moseley Braun. If you have to go and look to her mother, her mother's finances, how she handled it properly or improperly. I just think that that's another. <v Paul Hogan>Well, it's not handling her mother's finances. It's hey, it's at the allegation. The bottom line allegation is here. Was it Medicaid fraud? That's rather serious. <v Mary Johnson>But she's not on Medicaid. <v Paul Hogan>It's the kind of thing that Carol Moseley Braun would have prosecuted back when she was a U.S attorney. <v Mary Johnson>Okay but she is not on. Carol Moseley Braun is not the person on Medicaid, is that correct?

<v Paul Hogan>But she's an attorney and a Senate candidate handling her mother's. <v Mary Johnson>But beyond that. Beyond that. That's her mother. <v Joel Weisman>Well, well. I'm just wondering if we try to break this down, how this cuts. If you're a white voter who is going to vote for Braun. Are you still going to do it? <v Thomas Hardy>I don't know yet. I think that it is going to cause people who were maybe sitting on the fence, who were not firm supporters of Carol Braun to take this into account. <v Unknown Panelist>So maybe lose some of those. <v Joel Weisman>If you're a black voter, you're still going to do it. <v Paul Hogan>I think that Carol Braun's base constituency, black voters and a lot of women voters are probably not going to change their mind. <v Joel Weisman>Could perhaps even more of those than were anticipated now come to the polls because they think she's under unfair attack? <v Paul Hogan>Well, it depends on how her campaign plays this out. And I got to tell you that neither of these campaigns has been very well run from an organizational standpoint. So it remains to be seen how well she can exploit this to her own benefit. And I think she's trying. <v Narrator>We met the number one guy at getting out the vote. You know him, you love him. You can't live without him. Ladies and gentlemen, Wayne Derengowski. Just ask his boss, Alderman Richard Mell.

<v Richard Mell>Now, what is this all about? Are you going out to see Wayne in the precinct? <v Interviewer>Well, first, we want to see you. How are ya? <v Richard Mell>Good seeing you. Real well. I'm fine. <v Interviewer>So what's the deal? I'm precinct workers. Why is it necessary for people to keep walking out in the precinct? <v Richard Mell>Because they want the common touch. They want to meet the people in their community. Wayne is one of our very, very best captains. <v Interviewer>The classic image in my mind is I get garbage cans when the precinct worker comes around. <v Richard Mell>Well, I used to, but now we don't do we don't do it that way. The city furnishes plastic cans. In the old days. The precinct captain first cans. <v Interviewer>For what? <v Richard Mell>Getting garbage off the street. Kept our neighborhood clean. That's not what you want to hear, obviously, but that's what. <v Interviewer>What do I want to hear. <v Richard Mell>I don't know what you want to hear. I have no idea. I haven't seen your program. But they say it's wild. Is that right? <v Interviewer>I heard you did some kind of wild stand on a death kind of wild statement. <v Richard Mell>Maybe it's time to set this desk thing straight.

<v Interviewer>Maybe it is. <v Richard Mell>Okay. <v Interviewer>This could be your opportunity. <v Richard Mell>First of all, we did not get on the desk to stand on the desk to scream. The guy who was sitting in the chair, ?David Orr?, would not recognize the majority. So for me to get their attention, I stood on the desk that day. See he couldn't recognize. He couldn't see it. So I stood on the desk and I said, Mr. President, could you see me now? <v Narrator>Live from Bradley University in Peoria, WTTW, Chicago and the League of Women Voters of Illinois present the 1992 U.S. Senate debate with Democratic candidate Carol Moseley Braun and Republican candidate, Rich Williamson. <v Speaker>[Above also spoken in another language.] <v Debate Moderator>Do you have a view of what those specific violations are, or are they still up in the air? <v Rich Williamson>John, it's not between Carol Braun and Rich Williamson. It's between Carol Braun and Public Aid and Carol Braun and public trust. And that goes to an important point. She said one story on Monday. She said a different story on Wednesday, changing facts. And on Friday, the document she drafted showed that on Wednesday and Monday, she let down the people and wasn't honest and truthful. That's the sunshine. We should get everything out in the open. Let's stop the malarkey and get to the truth. <v Debate Moderator>Ms. Braun, do you acknowledge that you changed your story on this issue?

<v Carol Moseley Braun>No, sir. And not only do I not acknowledge that, but the whole issue was before the department. The lawyers have already determined there is no income tax liability question. The only question is whether my mother had any responsibility to the Department of Public Aid that was not fulfilled. And there's a good chance that even that will be squared. But I've already said that I will step up to the plate. I will fix it. I will make it right on behalf of my mother and the rest of my family. <v Narrator>WTTW believes that over the years, television has not adequately served the electoral process. In an era of political commercials and brief soundbites. The presentation of candidates has, with some exceptions, been distorted. In a moment. And on to other Monday evenings in October, WTTW Channel Eleven will present a format model for the future by offering each of the two major Illinois candidates for the U.S. Senate three unedited minutes of airtime. <v Rich Williamson>This election is important. And I believe it should be a referendum on the economy. The economy in the United States has been flat for too long, this recession has lasted too long and too many people are hurting. I think all of us know someone who's either been unemployed or is unemployed today because of the poor economy. I have two brother in laws right now who are unemployed. That's unacceptable. <v Carol Moseley Braun>I have a question for you. Are you better off now than you were 12 years ago, four years ago? If yes, then trickle down worked for you. If no, then the economic policies of the last 12 years have failed you as much as the rest of us. Everywhere I go in Illinois, the concerns are the same jobs, economic security, the future. People are concerned about where we're going.

<v Interviewer>How many constituents are there in this precinct? <v Wayne Derengowski>Close to 600. <v Interviewer>And you plan to see every one of them? <v Wayne Derengowski>Absolutely. Personal contact with each and every one of them, just like we're talking right now. <v Wayne Derengowski>Mr. Capone, how are you? Is your wife home? <v Ed Capone>She sleeping. <v Wayne Derengowski>Sleeping. So I just wanted to drop by with some literature for you and your family. I prepared again for you a sample of voting machine pages showing you all the candidates and the offices that they're running for. And I've gone through it. I've circled the candidates and we're asking for your help with throughout the booklet. On the second page in his booklet, I'm obviously supporting the entire Democratic ticket. So I'm asking you and your family to punch number 32, which casts a vote for all Democrats. Throughout this booklet. <v Ed Capone>You've got it.

<v Wayne Derengowski>Your other option is if you want to vote Republican. You could punch that number. Vote for all the Republicans throughout the booklet. <v Ed Capone>No, I don't want to do that. <v Interviewer>Did I understand, your name is Capone? <v Ed Capone>Right. Ed Capone. <v Interviewer>Did you floss today, Mr. Capone? <v Ed Capone>Did I what? <v Interviewer>Floss. <v Speaker>Floss? <v Narrator>The 4th Congressional District was created to give Chicago's five hundred seventy thousand Hispanics a good chance to elect a Spanish speaking candidate. The map, as it is drawn, is rather ugly looking. But for whomever is elected, it is a beautiful opportunity to represent not just the district, but all Hispanics in the Midwest. <v Interviewer>I want to just look back historically in the early and mid 1980s. If you had to choose between Richard M. Daley and Harold Washington as the political activist or citizen, who, in your opinion, did more to advance the cause of aldermanic redistricting and permit you two gentlemen to become alderman in the city of Chicago, would you would you choose Washington or Daley? <v Luis Guittierez>Absolutely. I chose Washington and my former colleague in the city council, alderman Soliz chose Vrdolyak at that point.

<v Juan Soliz>That's not true. <v Luis Guittierez>Yes, it is true. You were with Ed Vrdolyak. You voted with him for two years before. <v Juan Soliz>I was in Washington before you ever were. <v Luis Guittierez>Here's the Chicago Sun-Times. Vrdolyak twenty five. There you are, Juan. You voted with Vrdolyak for two years. Now, let me answer your question. I think at that specific. I think at that specific point, I supported Harold Washington, supported him for mayor after Harold Washington died. I had to make a decision about who I was going to. I came on this program, John. I came on this program two days after my endorsement of Richard Daley. And we talked about it and people said this and people said that about me and what my positions were. But, you know, when I sat down to endorse Richard Daley in 1989, I endorsed him because he said he was going to fight crime, gangs and drugs. He said he was going to make his administration different and appoint Hispanics to different positions. [inaudible] <v Interviewer>How could you turn your back on the people, on the movement to created the opportunity for you to even get into politics? <v Luis Guittierez>Because what we need to understand is that no one turned their back. We just moved forward. And when I moved forward, seventy five percent of the voters in the twenty sixth ward and seventy five percent of the Hispanic community supported the candidacy of Richard Daley in 1989. Now, either I am the Wizard of Oz that brings all the Hispanic community with me or I was in touch with my community. <v Interviewer>Can you can you speak to what kind of a congressman you'd be?

<v Juan Soliz>I'm going to be a people's congressman. Alderman Gutierrez has alluded to the endorsement that he has, the endorsement in the primary and only endorsement that controls the rest of them is the fifth floor of city hall. So when he goes to Congress, he's not going to be representing the people. He's not going to be representing you and me. He's going to be representing the interests of city of the fifth floor, the floor. <v Interviewer>Are you saying that the fifth floor somehow is separated, that Mayor Daley doesn't represent the people at all? <v Juan Soliz>I'm saying that Mayor Daley has an intergovernmental affairs office in Washington, D.C. that's well-funded with thousands and thousands of taxpayer dollars. He doesn't need another mouthpiece in Washington. The people need representation and I'm I'm I'm. <v Interviewer>But wasn't your people distributing literature last year that suggested that you would Daley had an alliance. <v Juan Soliz>Well, I supported Mayor Daley. I've supported him when he's right. And I supported, opposed him when he was wrong. <v Interviewer>But you're making him out to be this bad guy tonight, this evil guy that's got Guttierrez in his pocket. <v Juan Soliz>I'm not even saying he's evil. I'm just saying he's going to be going to Washington with strings attached.

<v Interviewer>How did you happen to pull this assignment? <v Correspondent>Well, I think when the first Puerto Rican to get elected to Congress in this part of the world got elected, they figured they'd send the first Puerto Rican to work at Channel five to go watch it. <v Interviewer>Great. Let me ask you something. Why do they call you switchblade? <v Correspondent>Well, there's a terrible stereotypic notion about Puerto Rican men that they all they won't walk into a place unless they're armed. <v Interviewer>You Packing? <v Correspondent>Just my beeper. <v Luis Guittierez>If a working class Puerto Rican kid from Humboldt Park, a kid whose father was a cab driver whose mother worked in a factory that could make it to the U.S. Congress. Then the American dream truly was possible. <v Interviewer>Congressman, I understand you prepare a mean fish.

<v Luis Guittierez>A mean fish. <v Interviewer>You contribute to the housework at home? <v Luis Guittierez>Oh, yeah, I do that. I do. Oh, I cook fish well at home? <v Interviewer>Yeah. <v Luis Guittierez>And contribute to the housework. I scrub all of the carpeting at my home today. All of it. Every spot is out. <v Interviewer>Could you share your fish recipe with us? <v Luis Guittierez>The fish. It's real simple. You get some nice you put some salt and some pepper and a little bit of butter and you just kind of cook it on each side and it comes out and tastes real delicious. <v Interviewer>What kind of fish is it? <v Luis Guittierez>I know it's, I know I'm not supposed to say Salmon, but since it's got an L in it, I always do it. Salmon. But it's salmon to me. <v Narrator>From the nation's capital, the McGlocklin Group, an unrehearsed program presenting inside opinions and forecasts on major issues of the day. <v John McLaughlin>Issue one. He's got the whole world in his faith. President Bush get it to Rio de Janeiro this week for the U.N. summit. En route during a brief stopover in Panama, the president encountered protests. He and the first lady had to be hustled from the speaking platform in Panama City. Their eyes stinging from tear gas used to dispersing protesters. <v Fred Barnes>The problem with Bush on this trip was it was poorly advance. But the fact is, anytime the president does something that reminds you of Jimmy Carter, the first thing when I saw him going off the stage reminded me of that time in 1980 when Jimmy Carter collapsed after running a marathon. That's not good. [inaudible]

<v Christopher Mathhews>It's worse than that. It's worse than. You want to take going, Carter. I'll tell you, it reminds me of the time that Carter was chased by the killer rabbit. Because this is a great metaphor. He goes overseas twice in the last six months. The first time he throws up, the second time he cries from tear gas. He doesn't. He doesn't know whether to cry or barf. And I'm telling you, if his foreign policy becomes it becomes picturized by these scenes of a president getting sick abroad and crying. He cries in [inaudible]then he goes cries overseas. He's you know, he's emotional wreck. <v John McLaughlin>Don't you think you're reaching when you say that about tear teargas [in audible]. <v Christopher Mathhews>Pictures matter. <v Fred Barnes>This is going to hasten the day. And I think it's going to come in a matter of weeks when there is going to be an overhaul of the White House staff and the campaign. And I bet you're going to see Jim Baker in there as the White House chief of staff running the whole show. Baker is willing to do it, but it's just bush who's holding him back. <v Unknown Panelist>But George Bush is the one who needs the overhauling. <v unknown Commentator>Presidents just don't get reelected in the midst of recessions. There's no precedent for it historically. If Bush does it, it will be quite a quite quite a story.

<v Tom Roeser>The person I'd like to see run is Harkin, because I think Harkin. <v Unknown Panelist>Tom Harkin, a Roosivelt a Democrat. <v Tom Roeser>A true believer, I would rather see Harkin run against Bush and anybody else from the standpoint of Bush. He's the kind of a guy who is crude, rude and appears to be a kind of a guy who could walk in a room and wipe his nose on the drapes. He is, in fact, yes. <v unknown panelist 3>But you are calling, you Roeser, are calling Harkin crude and rude. <v Tom Roeser>I haven't. Have I [inaudible]. <v unknown panelist 3>Well no but you've been rude and crude. <v Tom Roeser>Well, yeah but I'm not running for president. <v unknown panelist 3>I mean, you've already called him an intellectual. <v unknown panelist 4>I'm sorry. You're not. You're not. <v Lynn Sweet>The one who actually who actually sounded most presidential to me and he carried it off was Paul Tsongas, who probably is on the bottom of almost everybody's list. <v Tom Roeser>He's the most republican of them all and I happen to sorta like [inaudible]. <v Lynn Sweet>He's Very. Not in terms if we're talking about the style and that substance in terms of policys just in terms of actually talking about substance. <v Tom Roeser>Sleepy eye of the American public and it's a very sleepy eye, opens a little bit, makes a conclusion and then shuts.

<v Jack Germond>The Gore thing doesn't make any sense to me because it's another state buddy his own. He can't win Tennessee without Gore he can't win. <v John McLaughlin>He can't win the state. But he is a great campaigner. His wife's a great campaigner. <v Jack Germond>His wife, Tipper is dynamite in California, particularly in the music industry. <v John McLaughlin>Can't you? Can you imagine Tipper and Hillary having having tea and and and cookies together? But I want to stay on this Gore thing. Don't you think Gore is support of the Persian Gulf War? He's very good on foreign policy. He's very good on national security. Very good on the environment. <v Jack Germond>Gore is a very able guy in many respects. But what is the point of having two Southern moderate candidates on the ticket? <v Eleanor Clift>Well, I think I think in a three way race. Geography is not as important. And I think Gore and Clinton would be the old generational change ticket. And I suppose if they could lose, they could do cameo appearances on stud's or something. But I think that what Clinton is looking at is competing concerns here. Either, you know, two yuppies or does he go for a little age and gravitas? I think Lee Hamilton brings the brush cut, hair cut, and it's this little sense of the 50s which maybe he could use. <v John McLaughlin>The exit question is, who's he gonna pick? We've got a one word answer. We've got to move real fast. Bret.

<v Bret>Ought to be Sam Nunn will probably be Lee Hamilton,. <v Eleanor Clift>Lee Hamilton, Hamilton or Gore. I can't make up my mind. And I hope Bill Clinton can. <v John McLaughlin>What do you think, Jack? <v Jack Germond>He ought to pick Nancy Pelosi of California but he'll pick Hamilton. <v unknown panelist 8>Al Gore. <v John McLaughlin>The answer is Al Gore. <v Narrator>Democratic presidential candidate Jerry Brown arrives in downtown Manhattan next week for the Democratic National Convention. The former governor of California and three-time candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination will be bringing with him this time over 600 of the four thousand two hundred and eighty-eight convention delegates. Fourteen percent of the total. In addition to his delegates, Governor Brown brings an agenda to reform the Democratic Party. <v Interviewer>You are writing your own platform, you're calling it. We the people people platform. It presumably is going to compete with the Democratic National Committee platform. I believe some of these points are in your platform. It's part of the humility agenda, which is flows through the platform the we the people play. <v Jerry Brown>Yeah, we think that Congress and the Democrats need a humility agenda.

<v Interviewer>A rollback of congressional pay raises, term limitations, 12 years and then you're out, a one hundred dollar limit on campaign contribution and Election Day holiday, universal registration and non-binding national referendums. <v Jerry Brown>Yeah, I think we could. And we have another one. None of the above. So that if you don't like any of the candidates, you can vote for none of the above. If none of the above wins, you run the election over again. <v Interviewer>They don't want anything controversial in their platform any more than the Republicans do either. Platforms are really an anachronism. Therefore, you're not gonna get your twenty two amendments. Therefore, are you going to endorse Bill Clinton? <v Jerry Brown>Well, you just have to wait till next week to find out. <v Narrator>Live from the Democratic National Convention in New York. This is Chicago tonight with John Callaway. <v John Callaway>Good evening from Madison Square Garden, where Bill Clinton will accept the Democratic nomination for president tonight following the bombshell political news earlier today that Ross Perot has dropped out of the presidential race. <v John Callaway>What do you say to a Ross Perot supporter tonight? Perhaps a person who's really heartbroken, who's shocked and heartbroken and who now says, well, maybe I'm not even going to work or vote this fall? What o you say to that personally on behalf of the Democrats?

<v Richard M. Daley>I think they're they are shocked because, you know, when people like you get into a campaign, all these volunteers, I think they become very disappointed. And that's to say that everybody in politics is like that, you know, in a sense that once you commit, you stay in it, you stay in the race. I think they're shocked and disappointed. But remember, I firmly believe that Bill Clinton made a decision that made a difference in this campaign. He made a decision who the vice president was. He made a decision that person could be brighter and smarter than him. He had maybe a better future. He made he made a decision Al Gore or George Bush's decision was Dan Quayle. <v Narrator>Live from the Republican National Convention in Houston. This is Chicago tonight with John Calloway. <v John Callaway>And good evening from the Astrodome, where the final night of the Republican National Convention is just getting underway. As he accepts the nomination for a second term as president of the United States this evening, this may be the most important political time at bat that President George Bush has ever faced.

<v John Callaway>Your uh your name, of course, at the front page after that famous or infamous press release which went after Clinton for the record for this program. Did you or did you not apologize for that? <v Mary Matalin>I regretted that it was perceived as crossing over the line. The president has told the campaign repeatedly, me specifically, we will not talk about Bill Clinton's personal life. And it was perceived by the press that I did. But in fact, if anybody had read the memo, which most of the press did not, I only quoted what his top aide, Betsy Wright, had already told The Washington Post and all of her delegates in New York that she had been assigned to the bimbo patrol to quell bimbo eruptions. Those were her phrases, and they were quoted twice in The Washington Post. And I guess I misjudged the frenzy that would ensue by my repeating what the Clinton campaign would already said. I did find it a tad ironic that the Clinton campaign called for me to be fired when it was their campaign that actually uttered the now controversial phrase, no, I don't apologize. Excuse me. I did never apologize for defending the president and for attacking the Democrats who have been really, really extraordinary hypocrites in calling us negative campaigners when they have from the beginning of this campaign, swarmed like locusts on the president with their negative attack. <v Clark>Hi, I'm Clark [inaudible].

<v Interviewer>How are ya? <v Clark>I'm Mr. Zenkich's campaign manager. Fine, thank you very much. <v Interviewer>So where's Mr. Zenkich. <v Clark>Mr. Zenkich is uh. He was just right here. He must've taken a call that just came in. <v Interviewer>Is it the president? <v Clark>Huh? Elias? <v Elias Zenkich>Good evening. <v Interviewer>And you are? <v Elias Zenkich>Elias Zenkich. <v Interviewer>Is that your whole name? <v Elias Zenkich>Non-incumbent Zenkich. <v Interviewer>Did you have a changed legally? <v Elias Zenkich>Legally at the registration by the state of Illinois. Yes. <v Interviewer>What did it what was it before you put nonincumbent in? <v Elias Zenkich>It was simply "R" like recreation. <v Interviewer>What made you put the nonincumbent in. <v Elias Zenkich>That's the opposite like in space. You have the matter, anti-matter. He is the matter. I anti matter. <v Interviewer>Where are you from. <v Elias Zenkich>I was born in Bosnia. [speaking Bosnian]. <v Interviewer>[Speaking Bosnian]. <v Elias Zenkich>[Speaking Bosnian]. <v Interviewer>What might you wear to your inauguration? <v Elias Zenkich>I am. I'm dressed for success. <v Interviewer>Tell us why people would vote for you instead of Rostenkowski. <v Elias Zenkich>People should be elected to Congress to represent the district, not the represent interest groups. <v Interviewer>[Takes deep sigh].

<v Elias Zenkich>Take a deep breath. <v Interviewer>Thank you. <v Elias Zenkich>And sigh. . <v Interviewer>I did. <v Elias Zenkich>And wish you good luck. <v Interviewer>Good luck to you. <v Elias Zenkich>We appreciate you coming here. <v John McLaughlin>On Monday the candidates will meet again in Michigan for the last presidential debate. Question. Did President Bush do what he needed to do in this week's debates? Freddy Barnes. <v John McLaughlin>"N" "O." He didn't even come close. And particularly you saw in raising that question at the end of the second debate about if there's a major crisis, which president would you want? Well, I'd prefer Bush too if there's a major crisis. But the problem is that's a Cold War question. That is one when you're running for commander in chief, he'd be a better commander in chief. But that's not what most people care about. He needed to do two things in this debate and in the two debates. One was to have a succinct rationale for a reason for him to have a second term and say why you shouldn't elect Perot or for Clinton. And secondly, he needed to touch up Bill Clinton some. And he didn't do it. In the second debate Clinton was bragging about his Arkansas record. Bush knows all about about Clinton's Arkansas record and he didn't even challenge him. <v Eleanor Clift>Well, to quibble with your intro, I think most polls show that Governor Clinton won by a fairly wide margin. And George.

<v John McLaughlin>[inaudible] used the word star s-t-a-r. <v Eleanor Clift>Well does winning by 20 points constitute stardom? I, you know, let's not quibble. But George Bush lost that debate about halfway through when he went like that, checked his watch. I mean, he looked like a diffident patriarch standing there who was sort of annoyed that he had to be put through this. After all, he's the president. <v John McLaughlin>Jack. Did Bush do what he needed to do? <v Jack Germond>Bush couldn't get arrested. He was terrible. He didn't do anything these need to do. He didn't need to do things for his the either. I thought the real mistake that Bush made was agreeing with that format, which was terrible for him. He looked very awkward. He didn't whether to get up on the stool or not. The Clinton was going down, getting right in the face of the audience. He had all these sanctimonious people asking these these goo goo type questions. And Clinton was knocking him out of the park. And Bush did know what to do with them. The fact is, unless Bush could change the dynamics of the campaign in these two appearances or he does it in the next one, unless he does that, this thing is over. <v John McLaughlin>Question: who won the vice presidential debate? And what's the impact on the race of the Quayle/Gore/Stockdale event? Eleanor Clift.

<v Eleanor Clift>Okay. There were no big stars in this one. I think Al Gore wins by default because he didn't set the tone. I think Dan Quayle came across like a Ken doll on steroids. He must have rehearsed watch by watching Fred Barnes's performance on The McLaughlin Group. No matter how flimsy your facts are, deliver him with great force and fire. <v John McLaughlin>I want to know, Jack, what the impact was of Stockdale on the Perot candidacy. <v Jack Germond>Well, I think I think I think obviously the Stockdale undercuts the plausibility of a Perot candidacy if it still hasn't. <v John McLaughlin>It's not showing in the polls yet though. <v Jack Germond>Well, not yet. But the, I don't think the vice presidential debate is going to affect much of anything. <v Interviewer>So what are you going to do now? You're out of a job. <v Random Guy>Become a talk show host.