CE NewsMagazine; No. 4; Campaign '88

<v Voiceover Artist 1>A production of the South Carolina Educational Television Network. <v Jonathan Zachary>This program is made possible by this station and other public television stations and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Tonight, Children's Express is going to spend its whole program looking at the presidential campaign. Our main mission was to get an interview with George Bush. We quickly discovered we were on a Mission Impossible. Mr. Vice president, can we have a sit down interview with you? <v George H. W. Bush>I'm leaving right now. <v Jonathan Zachary>But we were determined to talk about the issues. We spotted Craig Fuller in the crowd. Fuller is the vice president's all powerful chief of staff. What about these commercials, you know, that are anti Dukakis that are like Dukakis gave weekend passes to murderers, killed again, you know? [imitates gun sound] That-- that's negative. <v Craig Fuller>Well, we have-- we have some very creative people working on all our advertising and our commercials. <v Laurel Barclay>I was one of the almost 200 reporters who'd be following the Dukakis campaign around Ohio. I was going to learn a lot about the dos and don'ts of photo opportunities before the day was up.

<v Michael Dukakis>You're from Children's Express? <v Laurel Barclay>Yeah, I'm a reporter--. <v Michael Dukakis>You should get to know these folks because someday you may be doing what they're doing. <v Laurel Barclay>Look at all these lights and cameras. Isn't getting ready to be president sort of like being an actor? <v Michael Dukakis>It's more to it than just acting. <v Suki Chong>We wanted to do a sit down interview with the Republican vice presidential candidate. So did the rest of the press corps. But Dan Quayle did agree to talk with Children's Express. Let's suppose that I-- I'm 12 and I was sexually molested by my father. And I became--. <v Dan Quayle>What? <v Suki Chong>I was sexually molested by my father, and I became pregnant. Would you want me to carry that baby to term and have that baby? <v Dan Quayle>It's a difficult question and one that does not have an easy answer, but my answer would be yes. <v Speaker>[intro music] <v Jonathan Zachary>Tonight, Children's Express is going to spend its whole program looking at the presidential campaign. Our reporters have spent the day with each of the candidates, presidential and vice presidential. We wanted to see for ourselves what the campaign is really like, why the American people are so turned off by this election, by the elusive candidates, the negative commercials, the superficial news coverage. Children's Express reporter Suki Chong and myself, Jonathan Zachary followed George Bush and Dan Quayle. Laurel Barclay was with Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen. We begin with George Bush and we began very early, five a.m. baggage call for all the press at a Los Angeles hotel, the start of a 17 hour trip to central California. We ran into veterans of past campaign wars, among them Herb Kaplow of ABC, we wanted to know whether the press was at least partially to blame for America's disinterest in the election. You take responsibility for this turn off?

<v Herb Kaplow>The issue is that we get lost just in the logistics. On the other hand, I think we could do a better job.

<v Jonathan Zachary>Yeah. <v Herb Kaplow>When you cover a campaign, most of it is just survival, getting up early enough, getting back, make sure your luggage gets where it's supposed to go to, finding the right bus, getting on the bus, not getting left behind. And if you get all that done, you feel about half the job's done. Three quarters of-- the rest of it might have to do with what you're supposed to report. <v Jonathan Zachary>6:45 a.m. time to board the bus for the first of seven different stops we would be making. First, the L.A. airport destination, Stockton, California, where we'd get our first glimpse of George Bush. <v Flight Attendant>Are you Suki? S u k i? <v Jonathan Zachary>But first, some of those logistics Herb Kaplow ass talking about. <v Flight Attendant>Here you go. You're all set. <v Jonathan Zachary>Our main mission was to get an interview with George Bush. We wanted to ask him about Dan Quayle, Iran-Contra, the furlough program for prisoners, abortion and the death penalty, particularly for juveniles. We wanted to know why he won't sit down with reporters to answer questions in depth. We quickly discovered we were on a Mission Impossible. Mr. Vice president, can we have a sit down interview with you? <v George H. W. Bush>I'm leaving right now.

<v Jonathan Zachary>Then, we felt the strong arm of the Secret Service. Then we spotted Lee Atwater, George Bush's campaign manager, a mastermind of the Bush strategy. Why hasn't Bush given us any interview yet? I mean, why is he so-- <v Lee Atwater>Gosh, I didn't realize that y'all couldn't get an interview. <v Jonathan Zachary>Yeah, we've already asked him. We just asked him <v Lee Atwater>I'll look into that personally. Give me your name. My name is Jonathan Zachary. <v Suki Chong>And I'm Suki Chong. <v Man>[inaudible] <v Lee Atwater>Oh, OK. Good to see y'all. I'm Lee Atwater, by the way. I never did introduce myself to you. <v Reporter>May I ask you a quick question? <v Jonathan Zachary>If it was 11 a.m., we must be in Ripon, California, the almond capital of the world, and we were. <v Announcer>The almond capital of the world. <v Jonathan Zachary>At noon. Modesto, California. <v Crowd>Bush Quayle, victory 88. <v Jonathan Zachary>By 3:00 p.m., we weren't sure whether it was Merced or Madera. It was Merced. What we were sure of is that it was one photo opportunity after another and no interview. The day fast became an unenlightening blur of balloons and busses, flags and foghorns, signs and slogans. Chuck Norris and the Beach Boys. <v Speaker>[The Beach Boys singing "California Girls"]

<v Jonathan Zachary>Like most of the press corps, we never got anywhere near George Bush again. One reporter estimated that in his 14 hour day he actually saw George Bush for no more than one of those hours. We heard virtually the same things we'd already seen on television and read in the newspapers. <v George H. W. Bush>Read my lips. No new taxes. Well, I am not a big L word candidate. <v Jonathan Zachary>But we were determined to talk about the issues. We spotted craig Fuller in the crowd. Fuller is the vice president's all powerful chief of staff. <v Jonathan Zachary>Yeah, what about these commercials, you know, that are anti Dukakis that are like, you know, black and white, very dramatic. You know, you see these guys walking through the revolving doors, you know, and-- and it says Dekakis gave weekend passes to murderers who killed again, you know, [imitates gun sound] That-- that's negative. <v Craig Fuller>We-- we have some very creative people working on our advertising in our commercials. Sometimes you have to be a little bit more dramatic and have a little bit greater flair.

<v Suki Chong>When Ronald Reagan was the governor he also had a single furlough program in California. <v Craig Fuller>Well, he had a furlough program. That's true. But his program did not allowed first degree murderers who were serving time without the opportunity to be paroled get out for the weekend. <v Suki Chong>But at least two people got out and they killed people again. <v Craig Fuller>Well, and that's that was a tragedy, I grant you that. I agree with that. <v Suki Chong>It didn't disqualify Reagan for running. <v Craig Fuller>No, that's true. That's a good point. You're right. <v Suki Chong>It didn't make him a liberal, did it? <v Suki Chong>No, you're right. You're right. <v Jonathan Zachary>Just one last favor, if you could try to get us an interview. <v Craig Fuller>We'll try. OK. <v Jonathan Zachary>Four hours later, Craig Fuller still had no answer for us about the Bush interview, but we had one more question for him, Iran-Contra. <v Suki Chong>Does George Bush know anything about Iran-Contra? I mean, why-- why was he left out? <v Craig Fuller>You know, people say-- would you like to meet another reporter? These guys are coming to rescue me. They think you're being too tough on me.

<v Suki Chong>Can you answer the question first? <v Craig Fuller>Sure. A lot of the details of what was done on the Iran-Contra issue, a lot of those details were kept from the president and the vice president. That was wrong. That shouldn't happen. <v Suki Chong>How can he run on his record as Vice President if he was left out of such important things? <v Craig Fuller>It was-- it was a very unusual episode in this administration. I've been part of this administration since 1981. And I can think of no other episode in the administration that was handled the way this was. So I don't think you should use this as an example of the kind of role he played there. <v Jonathan Zachary>?Steve Taylor? is a radio reporter. Another one of the boys or persons on the bus. Is this-- is this an indication of what Bush in the White House is going to be like? No media interviews, I mean, you know, it's like we're kept away from them so well. <v Steve Taylor>I think it is an indication of what it'll be like in the White House, and the reason they do it is that for them it works. They want to go over the heads of reporters like the three of us and talk directly to people, they don't have to deal with these troublesome questions. When the emperor is walking around without any clothes on, there's nobody who can say the emperor has no clothes.

<v Laurel Barclay>That's me, Laurel Barclay covering the Dukakis and Bentsen campaign. It's 6:00 a.m. in Boston as the Secret Service checks my credentials. They even had a dog trained to sniff explosives and go through everyone's baggage. I was one of the almost 200 reporters who'd be following the Dukakis campaign around Ohio. Three cities in one day. First stop, Cleveland, an appearance at a brass and copper factory. The press had its first opportunity for a good picture of the candidate. <v Michael Dukakis>[plays trumpet]. <v Laurel Barclay>I was going to learn a lot about the dos and don'ts, a photo opportunities before the day was out, but for now, my hope is to get an interview with Governor Dukakis himself. I found myself with veteran reporters like ABC's Sam Donaldson.

<v Sam Donaldson>I've been covering presidential campaigns on the bus since 1964 when I covered Barry Goldwater. And it was a lot more fun then because I'm a lot younger. <v Laurel Barclay>I wasn't alive then. <v Laurel Barclay>Many of the reporters told me that the presidential campaigns are very scripted events where the candidates only read what their advisors write for them. I put that question to Dukakis's campaign manager, Paul Brountas. It's just that everything he says to a lot of people sounds quite scripted and like, you know, it's all written by somebody and he just memorizes it and says it. He doesn't sound like he really means something. <v Paul Brountas>Well, I don't think that's true of Governor Dukakis. I think you've got your candidate's mixed up. I mean, if anybody is scripted, it's George Bush. George Bush has the people around him who-- who who-- remade Richard Nixon in 1968. They've been doing it for 20 years. <v Laurel Barclay>As for getting an interview with the candidate himself. Well, Mr. Brountas said that would be hard. In the meantime, in Dayton, Ohio, we watched as Michael Dukakis met with several handpicked families at a bowling alley which had been closed down just for this photo opportunity. Again, no questions allowed by the reporters.

<v Speaker>[Spanish music]. <v Laurel Barclay>Things weren't much different on the campaign trail with Lloyd Bentsen. This time, the appearance was at a Mexican adobe in San Jose, California. The candidate speaks before members of the Mexican-American community and the press takes the picture. Next stop, the Stanford University Linear Accelerator. While my fellow reporters, Suki and Jonathan saw George Bush with Chuck Norris and the Beach Boys, we got pictures of Lloyd Bentsen posing with Nobel Prize winner Burton Richter and the first woman astronaut, Sally Ride. I began to understand more and more that a reporter doesn't really get much time to ask questions. It seems the reporters only see and hear what the campaign managers want them to see and hear. Ann Compton covers the Bentsen campaign for ABC News. Does television sometimes get in the way of an honest campaign? Because sometimes they think more about image than they do about content? <v Ann Compton>I think candidates do tend to let the picture carry more weight than the words. But let's face it, in television, candidates have learned how to use the picture to tell a thousand words. That's how television works. We do very, very few actual interviews with candidates. We do a lot of speeches. We cover the same stump speech over and over again.

<v Lloyd Bentsen>They said things about Mike Dukakis that we wouldn't say in Texas about a rattlesnake on a lawn at a church picnic. They said things about him that in Texas we wouldn't say about a rattlesnake on a lawn at a church picnic. <v Ann Compton>I have to keep telling myself, don't get bored with this, Ann. Just remember, this is news to most of the people who are hearing it. <v Laurel Barclay>Finally, on the way to Bentsen's next campaign stop, I was informed by his press secretary that I'd be allowed seven minutes, no more than that, to interview the vice presidential candidate. I didn't think it would be enough time, but I had no choice <v Crowd>Isn't running the campaign a little like being an actor? Whoever's the better actor wins part?

<v Lloyd Bentsen>I think there's too much of that. And I suppose a good actorcan do a great job of campaigning. President Reagan was an actor and he has an ability to emote and get his points across quite well. What you do want, though, is not just operate off the script, but try to say the things that are in your heart, what you believe in. <v Laurel Barclay>With the Dukakis campaign in Cleveland, Ohio, the reporters had time to file their stories and to get a bite to eat at a place called Shorty's Diner. Suddenly, the candidate himself arrived and was ushered in saying hello to several people who were having lunch. When I sat next to one family, the reporters gathered around. I'm hidden somewhere in the crowd. Since it didn't seem like I'd ever get a chance to interview Governor Dukakis personally, I jumped right in and introduced myself. <v Laurel Barclay>I'm Laurel Barclay. I'm from Children's Express. <v Michael Dukakis>You're from Children Express?

<v Laurel Barclay>Yeah, I'm a reporter--. <v Michael Dukakis>You-- you should get to know these folks, because someday you may be doing what they're doing. <v Laurel Barclay>Look at all these lights and cameras. Isn't running for president sort of like being an actor? Whoever's the better actor gets the part? <v Michael Dukakis>I hope not. I hope not-- I mean, there's more to this than that. <v Laurel Barclay>You don't think it's like that? <v Michael Dukakis>No, no, I think people who are concerned about what we--. <v Laurel Barclay>Then why are there so many cameras and lights and everything? <v Michael Dukakis>Well, because that's the way television works. And-- but it's more to it than just acting. <v Server>Can I take your order? <v Michael Dukakis>The next thing I knew, I was pulled out of the crowd by an angry campaign worker and I didn't know why. Our cameraman doesn't know where I've gone. I was told I committed the cardinal sin of interrupting what they called a photo opportunity only. Dayton Duncan, one of the campaign managers, was furious off camera. But he did agree to talk to me. <v Laurel Barclay>Was that the right time to ask a question? <v Dayton Duncan>Well, traditionally in those things, the television cameras are trying to take a picture. My understanding is they don't like people moving into their picture.

<v Laurel Barclay>I asked Senator Benson why people would get annoyed with me for asking a question and a photo opportunity session. <v Lloyd Bentsen>Well, I think the problem is that you have people who've gone to a great deal of effort to put things together and they have a program to try to bring about an event to try to display something through a photo interpretation and in trying to get that thing done, they don't want any interruptions. <v Laurel Barclay>Sam Donaldson is a reporter known for asking tough questions and similar situations. Today, I went to a diner where we had lunch and there was a photo op. They claim-- they claim that I ruined their photo op and that it was their opportunity to get pictures of Dukakis. Do you think-- <v Sam Donaldson>You know I-- it doesn't sound to me as if you ruined it. There are a lot of opportunities. To get pictures of Dukakis. Anytime you can think of a question. My problem is with Dukakis, I very seldom can think of a question that I want to ask him. <v Laurel Barclay>One of the campaign managers that saw me do it was upset because she said, you know, if Sam Donaldson had done it, you know, that's one thing. He's, you know, fifty four. But Laurel is you know, she's an 11 year old kid.

<v Sam Donaldson>You're upset by this, obviously. I guess I don't blame you for it, but surely you can fight your own battles. So you get in there. If you're an accredited member of the press and you have a press credential, I assume you have the right to do the same thing that I do. If they don't like it, you can tell them to stuff it. <v Speaker>[theme music]. <v Crowd>[chants "We want Dan!"] <v Suki Chong>We wanted Senator Dan Quayle too. We wanted to do a sit down interview with the Republican vice presidential candidate. So did the rest of the press corps. Senator Quayle had recently proclaimed his freedom from the Bush advisers, his so-called handlers. He said he would be more accessible to all reporters. In fact, what they're still fed is a huge portion of picture opportunities. But Dan Quayle did agree to talk with Children's Express. We caught up with him on his campaign bus somewhere in rural Illinois. <v Jonathan Zachary>Now that you're free from your handlers, you know, you you said that you're going to handle yourself. Now, what about-- what about being handled didn't you like? I mean, what did they make you do that you didn't want to?

<v Dan Quayle>Well, what I did, I was it ended up in a very controlled situation. And what you had is just going from one event to another, listening to the speech, no interviews and whatever was on the script or whatever came to mind. That's all that went out over the airs, that came across as a bit controlled. Not really me. <v Suki Chong>When I go to work at Wendy's, I would have to release my grades. Now you're running for the second highest office in the nation, which is obviously has much more responsibility than dishing up hamburgers at Wendy's. So why aren't you releasing your grades? <v Dan Quayle>I have said that I will seriously consider releasing my grades when everybody else does. <v Suki Chong>But I'm sure the American people want to know how you did in school, because that might be an indication of how you're going to do in this. <v Jonathan Zachary>In the Vice presidency.

<v Dan Quayle>I have told the American people how I did in school. I've told them I was unfortunately an average student in grade school, high school, college. Was much better at law school. <v Jonathan Zachary>But what kind of role model are you going to be? Are you going to stand up and give a speech to America's youth saying, you know, if you want to-- if you aspire to someday be president or vice president, you know, you can slide on your grades. It really doesn't matter. <v Dan Quayle>No, absolutely. And I tell my children to study hard and I use my experience as a good example. I tell him, I said, look, I didn't take education as seriously as I should have and I regret that. That was a mistake I made in life and I'm paying for it just because you have to come and ask these questions here today. <v Suki Chong>The day before our interview with Senator Quayle, we had read that his opposition to abortion included cases of rape or incest. We wanted to know if that was true. <v Suki Chong>Let's suppose that I I'm 12 and I was sexually molested by my father. And I became--. <v Dan Quayle>What?

<v Suki Chong>I was sexually molested by my father and I became pregnant. Would you want me to carry that baby to term and have that baby? <v Dan Quayle>It's a difficult question and one that does not have an easy answer, but my answer would be yes. <v Suki Chong>Don't you think this would ruin my whole life? I mean, my-- it's not even my fault and my whole life will be ruined. I might have to drop out of school, I'll be ridiculed for the rest of my life and probably never get a good job. <v Dan Quayle>I don't think that that would be the case at all. I think if somebody's having an unfortunate experience like that, it would be something that you would remember the rest of your life. The idea of a father abusing a daughter is a horrendous situation, one that you wish that would never occur, but unfortunately, it does occur. And what the daughter needs and the young girl is sympathy, counseling, a home. What the father needs is rather severe punishment and not being allowed to be part of that daughter again. It's a tragic situation. <v Suki Chong>So you would want me to have the baby even though my whole life could be ruined and I could be mentally affected?

<v Dan Quayle>I'm sure that the abuse would be something that would mentally affect you or anybody else, that in and of itself is a very horrendous act, something that we ought to prevent, but no, I-- I would hope that the baby would live. <v Jonathan Zachary>In a couple of years, you say there's a war, you know, I'll be eligible to be drafted and, you know, it's a fighting war were over in a foreign country, would you-- I mean, would you recommend that I go to the National Guard instead of going to help my country in the fighting? <v Dan Quayle>Maybe you don't realize this, we don't have the draft in the country. We don't have the draft in our country now, it's a volunteer army, so you'll have the right to join the National Guard, join the Coast Guard. <v Jonathan Zachary>But just hypothetically, what if we do have to go back to the draft? What if, you know, the American people don't believe in the war? There's a lack of volunteers and we do have to resort to the draft. You don't think that the country would need me to fight more than to be in the National Guard? <v Dan Quayle>Well, I don't believe that the country would be opposed to any kind of conflict, because in Congress of the United States, not presidents, Congress of the United States, are the ones that declare war. And I believe that we'll make the right policy decisions, particularly George Bush, that we're going to have peace, not conflict. So your hypothetical won't even occur.

<v Suki Chong>Go along with the premise of our question. Let's suppose that there is a war and he is drafted and he has a friend whose father can get him into the National Guard and out of the draft. <v Dan Quayle>War is not inevitable. Matter of fact, we're going to do the right things to make sure that we have peace. <v Speaker>[theme music] <v Jonathan Zachary>After our day with the candidates, we all got together to talk about our experience, what we had learned and how we all felt about it. <v Suki Chong>I don't think it's that the reporters don't care about their jobs. I think the fact is that they get access to these people. And when they do get the chance to take photographs and, you know, stuff like that, then what they pick up is what the candidate wants them to pick up, you know, of Quayle in a pumpkin patch with schoolchildren or George Bush with the Beach Boys. <v Jonathan Zachary>If I could talk to the advisers and candidates, I would tell them to ease up, ease up on-- ease up on showing themselves so much, ease up on baby kissing, ease up on balloons, you know, ease up, ease up on the hype.

<v Laurel Barclay>Have them go, you know, for a backdrop instead of an American flag. You could have, you know, a blank wall and have hungry children next to you and be talking to those hungry children and meaning what you're saying. <v Suki Chong>I mean, a photograph of the candidate with balloons behind them shows what he looks like, doesn't show where he stands on the issues. <v Jonathan Zachary>In five years, when I-- you know, when I have the vote, if things are still run the same way, I'll probably vote. I would vote because I would want to see the person who I think would be the best president in the White House. Not that I liked either of them. <v Suki Chong>Maybe if nobody voted, the candidates would get the message that people want things to be changed. I mean, let's say it was November eighth, Election Day, and at the polls, you know, at the voting booth, there's, like, nobody, then everybody and the candidates and this stuff, they're like waiting around where is everybody? And maybe they'll suddenly realize that, you know, people don't like the way the campaigns are being run. <v Laurel Barclay>You have to vote. I mean, there's no question about it. You have to vote because something has got to be done to change America.

<v Suki Chong>If they're going to keep the candidates away from the media, I think I would get rid of all the Secret Service men so you could get in there even if they don't want you there. And second of all, I think that people should be less afraid of like just like Laurel did going in there and ambushing them. <v Laurel Barclay>I think that they should totally, like, get rid of the advisers and that they're any advisers. They should be, you know, their wives and their children. <v Jonathan Zachary>Suki would get rid of the secret servicemen. Laurel would get rid of the advisers. I would get rid of the candidates. I would-- I would want different candidates. I would want candidates who wouldn't want this kind of hype, who felt strong enough about their position that, you know, and felt that they could lead the American people and-- or the American government, you know, in its decisions, you know, that they felt strong enough about their policies, that they could even run on that alone. <v Speaker>[song compilation plays]

<v Jonathan Zachary>This program was made possible by this station and other public television stations and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.