NBC Nightly News - 1992-08-17 (partial; with ABC and CBS snippets)
Channel: malgent
Transcript
Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)
[0:00] underway and ready to revive the
[0:02] faltering campaign of George Bush, who's
[0:04] talking tough tonight in Houston. While
[0:06] in the Persian Gulf, the allies are
[0:08] preparing for possible military action.
[0:13] >> This is NBC Nightly News with Tom
[0:16] Brokall reporting tonight from the
[0:19] Republican National Convention in
[0:21] Houston, Texas.
[0:24] Good evening from the Astrodome. And
[0:26] President Bush now has arrived in
[0:28] Houston, the city that he claims as his
[0:30] hometown, determined to fight his way
[0:32] back into the hearts of the people who
[0:34] elected him four years ago. And he has
[0:36] arrived just in time to make appearances
[0:38] on the evening news programs, which are
[0:40] being broadcast live from the site of
[0:42] the Republican National Convention here
[0:44] in Houston. The president's friends and
[0:46] adviserss privately acknowledge that he
[0:49] has to tell the voters what he believes
[0:51] in. the vision thing that Bush has
[0:53] dismissed in the past. So when I
[0:56] interviewed the president today, I began
[0:57] by asking him if he still defined
[1:00] himself as a Reagan Republican.
[1:03] >> Sure. And I'm very proud to have worked
[1:05] with President Reagan, very proud of
[1:07] what he accomplished. Some now trying to
[1:09] diminish his record and very proud of
[1:11] what I've accomplished as president.
[1:13] >> President, let me ask you about your
[1:14] constituency. All the polls indicate
[1:16] that you are losing the white male
[1:18] conservative Democrats that were so
[1:20] important to your election four years
[1:21] ago and important of course to Ronald
[1:23] Reagan as well. And the Clinton people
[1:25] figure that about 10% of their approval
[1:27] rating now is coming from moderate
[1:29] Republicans. Can you win without those
[1:31] two groups?
[1:32] >> I'm going to get them back, Tom. I'm
[1:34] going to go out and get them back and
[1:35] fight. Maybe part of the reason is that
[1:37] they've been hearing one side of the
[1:39] question for the last nine months
[1:41] because I have not been in the arena
[1:42] with my sleeves rolled up. In fact, so
[1:44] much so that some people uh start
[1:47] reporting, well, the president doesn't
[1:48] feel well. I am in good health and I'm
[1:51] going to take the fight to the
[1:52] opposition. And so, we're going to we're
[1:55] going to have a real slugfest this fall
[1:57] and it's going to be on the issues and
[1:59] I'm looking forward to joining the fray
[2:01] after being kicked around for a long
[2:02] long time. If you weren't an agent of
[2:05] change in your for first four years of
[2:06] presidency, if you come here as an agent
[2:08] of change now, won't the American people
[2:09] >> skept I don't accept the fact that I'm
[2:12] not an agent of change in the first four
[2:14] years. If you would look around the
[2:15] world, I think you'd see there have been
[2:17] the most dramatic changes for peace in
[2:20] modern history. And I think one dramatic
[2:23] change is that the young people in this
[2:24] country go to sleep at night without the
[2:27] fear of nuclear war that their
[2:30] predecessors had.
[2:31] >> When you come here, Mr. President, will
[2:32] part of that message of change be a call
[2:34] for an acrosstheboard tax cut as some
[2:36] people in Congress are advocating?
[2:38] >> I can't I'm not going to I'm not going
[2:40] to preview the coming attractions that
[2:42] way, but as you know, I've been talking
[2:44] about tax cuts. I proposed six
[2:46] incentives uh in the tax structure what
[2:49] in January of this year in the State of
[2:51] the Union and then have been fighting
[2:52] for them only to be blocked by the
[2:55] Congress.
[2:55] >> Will you fight for a constitutional
[2:57] amendment to ban all abortions in
[2:59] America whatever the conditions? My
[3:01] position is well known. I'm not going to
[3:03] change it one way or another. It's not
[3:05] going to change to the right. It's not
[3:06] going to change to the left. So, if it's
[3:08] not compatible with the platform, never
[3:10] mind. I'll be compatible with the
[3:12] platform on many other things.
[3:14] >> Well, share with us then what are the
[3:15] conditions in which you think abortion
[3:17] might be acceptable.
[3:18] >> Well, I I've always favored uh
[3:20] exceptions for rape, incest, and the
[3:22] life of the mother. And that's my
[3:23] position.
[3:24] >> Mr. President, I know that this is not
[3:25] the kind of issue that you like to
[3:26] discuss personal lives, but now there's
[3:29] a quote from the US Treasurer Kathy
[3:31] Bipondo to the New Jersey delegation
[3:33] that Bill Clinton is a skirchaser and
[3:35] Bob Mosbacher, who is an old friend of
[3:37] yours and general chairman of your
[3:38] campaign, says that marital infidelity
[3:41] is one yard stick by which Bill Clinton
[3:42] should be measured. You approve of that?
[3:45] >> Well, I I can't comment on it because I
[3:47] haven't seen either of those comments.
[3:49] I've trying to keep this business out of
[3:51] the sleas business. Uh I think Bill
[3:53] Clinton to his credit has said the same
[3:55] thing. And uh I control what everybody I
[3:59] cannot control what everybody says nor
[4:02] uh do I approve when people on the other
[4:04] side make these suggestions about me and
[4:07] my family. And so I've made my position
[4:09] clear and all I do by getting into
[4:11] discussions like this is contribute
[4:15] without wanting to to this this kind of
[4:17] sleazy stuff that both he and I have
[4:19] said we don't want.
[4:20] >> Mr. President, if you feel so strongly
[4:21] about this, then why don't you reprimand
[4:23] Bob Mospacker?
[4:24] >> Because I haven't seen what they've said
[4:26] and because I think uh let me take a
[4:28] look at it. Maybe I will.
[4:31] Was the president in an interview that
[4:33] we reported earlier. This is the
[4:34] president now live as he arrives in
[4:37] Houston in a very carefully staged and
[4:39] orchestrated appearance just outside of
[4:42] the Astrodome and the Astro Hall. He has
[4:45] been introduced here by South Carolina
[4:47] Governor Campbell. And also on the
[4:50] stage, Bob Mossbacker, who now has
[4:52] issued an apology for his remarks
[4:54] earlier, saying that he did not intend
[4:56] to have a meaning that was ultimately
[4:58] interpreted by many others. And the US
[5:01] treasurer has apologized for her marks
[5:03] as remarks as well. The president today
[5:05] in effect issued still another warning
[5:07] to Saddam Hussein that he is risking
[5:09] military action if he continues to defy
[5:11] UN resolutions passed following
[5:14] Operation Desert Storm. We get more on
[5:16] that tonight from NBC's Fred Francis,
[5:18] who's at his post once again at the
[5:19] Pentagon. Fred.
[5:20] >> Tom, Saddam Hussein is going to be a
[5:22] factor in this presidential race whether
[5:24] he likes it or not. If he ignores UN
[5:26] dictates, Bush punishes him. If he rolls
[5:29] over and cooperates, Bush triumphs in
[5:31] foreign policy.
[5:34] Today, the administration revealed its
[5:36] diplomacy to use air power to force Iraq
[5:38] to stop flying combat sorties against
[5:40] Shiite rebels in the south of that
[5:42] country. The president told Tom Brokhall
[5:45] that the allies are working on a plan
[5:46] now to enforce UN resolution 688 which
[5:50] is supposed to curb internal violence.
[5:52] >> We are in close contact with our desert
[5:55] storm allies and uh a lot of diplomacy
[5:58] is going on and has been going on and I
[6:01] am satisfied that if tough action has to
[6:04] be taken we would be able to hold
[6:06] together the primary elements of that
[6:08] coalition. The coalition already forbids
[6:11] Iraq to fly over the Kurds north of the
[6:13] 36th parallel. Now a new line in the
[6:15] sand. No Iraqi fixed wing or helicopter
[6:18] flights south of the 32nd parallel with
[6:21] the warning, "You fly, you die." The
[6:24] Shiites, 55% of Iraq's population, have
[6:27] been attacked repeatedly in recent
[6:28] months. Saddam can avoid a fight by not
[6:31] flying in that area, just as he
[6:33] cooperated with a UN inspection team
[6:35] this week. But contrary to publish
[6:37] reports, this UN team did not test Iraq
[6:41] by demanding access to sensitive
[6:43] buildings. And there never was a plan to
[6:45] push that issue.
[6:46] >> The inspection team visited all the
[6:49] sites that it was instructed to do so
[6:51] before it departed for Baghdad.
[6:53] It conducted successful inspections at
[6:56] all those sites and was not denied
[6:58] access at any of them.
[7:00] A new round of inspections is scheduled
[7:02] in two weeks and say officials sometime
[7:05] between then and the November election.
[7:07] You can count on Saddam to do something
[7:09] stupid. Tom, thank you Fred. Of course,
[7:12] inescapably, any action the president
[7:14] takes in the Persian Gulf will have
[7:16] political overtones and an impact on
[7:18] this campaign. NBC's John Cochran is on
[7:20] the convention floor now with a report
[7:22] on the prospects and the perils for the
[7:25] president. John
[7:26] >> tonight with enthusiasm to listen to
[7:28] President Reagan and Pat Buchanan. We'll
[7:30] be back in just a moment.
[7:30] >> Doesn't get enough credit for
[7:32] >> and Saddam Hussein miscalculated.
[7:36] He thought we'd grown soft over the
[7:38] years, but our men and women showed him.
[7:41] To put it real simple, we kicked a
[7:44] little Bagghd dad bully.
[7:47] >> In Houston, the opening night of the
[7:49] convention will focus heavily on Bush's
[7:51] handling of foreign affairs.
[7:52] >> Take your seats, please.
[7:56] But before the convention turned to
[7:58] foreign policy, conservatives easily
[8:00] passed a platform calling for a ban on
[8:02] abortion with no exceptions for rape,
[8:05] incest, or the mother's help. Can
[8:06] >> signify by saying I
[8:09] hold the polls. No.
[8:10] >> Abortion rights advocates just didn't
[8:12] have the votes to force a floor fight.
[8:14] That was good news for President Bush
[8:16] today, but the anti-abortion plank could
[8:19] hurt him and other Republican candidates
[8:21] this fall. This is truly a very solemn
[8:23] day for me personally and for Republican
[8:26] women in general.
[8:28] >> Bush campaign officials tried to avoid
[8:30] controversy by changing the subject to
[8:32] anything but abortion. The exception was
[8:35] Vice President Quail, who was eager to
[8:37] give his anti-abortion views to
[8:39] religious conservatives.
[8:41] >> Our opponents believe that when a
[8:43] teenager decides to have an abortion,
[8:45] her parents don't even have the right to
[8:47] know.
[8:51] We believe in the sanctity of life.
[8:56] >> With the fight over abortion now out of
[8:58] the way, the next big question is about
[9:00] the president's acceptance speech
[9:02] Thursday. White House aids tell NBC News
[9:04] that Bush will not answer the prayers of
[9:07] conservatives like Jack Kemp, who want
[9:09] him to propose across the board tax cuts
[9:11] now.
[9:13] But the president will promise to work
[9:15] hard for lower taxes and lower
[9:17] government spending if he gets a second
[9:19] term and a second chance. Tom,
[9:23] >> thank you. John Cochran, who will be
[9:24] here with us all this week, of course,
[9:26] Pete Wilson, the Republican governor of
[9:27] California, is not here this week. He
[9:29] has stayed home to deal with his state's
[9:32] budget crisis. And when Nightly News
[9:33] continues in a moment, a report on how
[9:35] that now is a life and death issue.
[9:39] Listen, athletes foot fungus grows
[9:41] beneath the surface of your skin. To
[9:43] cure it, you've got to get down to the
[9:44] root of the problem. You need Mike
[9:46] >> call themselves conservative. That's
[9:48] considerably more than the 44% of
[9:51] Republicans nationwide who say they are
[9:54] conservative and more than double the
[9:56] 32% of all Americans who give themselves
[10:00] a conservative label.
[10:01] >> This is a strong platform. It's a
[10:04] platform designed to shore up President
[10:06] Bush's conservative base, and it
[10:08] includes controversial planks opposing
[10:11] gay rights, condemning the use of public
[10:13] funds to subsidize obscinity and
[10:16] blasphemy masquerading as art, and
[10:18] defending the constitutional right to
[10:20] bear arms. The problem for the president
[10:23] as he comes to his party
[10:25] >> today began debating the latest
[10:26] proposals aimed at ending the 8-week old
[10:28] budget mess in that state. Of all those
[10:30] hurt by this stalemate, none have
[10:33] suffered as much as the poor. The state
[10:34] now has stopped paying for their medical
[10:37] care. More from NBC's Diana Cari.
[10:41] >> Without medical,
[10:42] >> they liked it better when he was in
[10:43] charge. And the other important billing
[10:46] tonight goes to Pat Buchanan, who had
[10:48] nothing but disdain for George Bush
[10:50] during the early primaries. These two
[10:52] conservatives will be supportive
[10:54] tonight, but as ABC's Jim Mutton
[10:56] reports, the true believers are not
[10:58] happy.
[11:00] Pat Buchanan come to Houston for the
[11:02] convention's first big speech, which
[11:04] seems a bit odd since he's been a Bush
[11:06] basher, not a Bush backer. Listen,
[11:09] >> Mr. Bush, we are not going to let you
[11:13] take our beloved country, and lead her
[11:16] hand in foot, bound and gagged into your
[11:19] new world order. We're going to take
[11:21] America back.
[11:22] >> But none of that stuff tonight. Buchanan
[11:24] has promised the president his
[11:26] endorsement and an honest effort to
[11:28] bring fellow conservatives on board.
[11:30] That's critically important to Bush
[11:32] because conservatives are the activists
[11:34] who make or break any Republican
[11:36] campaign. But most of them, like Richard
[11:39] Vigory, have never liked George Bush.
[11:42] >> George Bush has had literally a 30year
[11:46] war, if you will, with conservatives.
[11:49] >> They've always seen him as too moderate.
[11:52] And no matter how hard he's tried to be
[11:54] one of them,
[11:55] >> conservatives believe in Yankee
[11:57] ingenuity.
[11:58] >> They still see him as a phony
[12:00] conservative, and they haven't forgiven
[12:02] him for breaking his promise not to
[12:04] raise taxes.
[12:05] >> George Bush raised Americans t Americans
[12:07] taxes in 1990
[12:09] uh with the promise that this would
[12:11] solve the budget deficit. What do we
[12:13] have? We have a budget deficit $200
[12:15] billion more higher than it was then. No
[12:18] wonder Bush is giving prime podium time
[12:20] to conservative heroes like Buchanan and
[12:23] Texas Senator Phil Graham and housing
[12:25] secretary Jack Kemp and of course Ronald
[12:28] Reagan. He needs them all and their
[12:31] faithful disciples.
[12:32] >> George Bush won in 1988 because he ran
[12:35] as Ronald Reagan. Uh he will lose in
[12:38] 1992 if he doesn't return to that Reagan
[12:41] tradition.
[12:42] >> In fact, there are some Republicans who
[12:44] wouldn't mind at all if Bush does lose
[12:46] in November. That would give them time,
[12:48] they believe, to recapture the party by
[12:50] 1996. Time enough to separate it from
[12:53] the ideological impurities of a
[12:55] president who's just not one of them.
[12:58] Peter,
[12:59] >> thanks very much. Jim Wooten in a
[13:00] moment. Jeff Greenfield.
[13:08] >> Press and have a life tomorrow on CBS
[13:10] This Morning
[13:14] here at the Republican National
[13:15] Convention. every night as a theme. This
[13:17] is what they hope that you'll be reading
[13:19] in the next day's newspapers as a
[13:21] headline. Tonight, it's foreign policy.
[13:23] The speakers, Ronald Reagan among them,
[13:25] will have the same message. The message
[13:27] being, "Trust President Bush, not
[13:29] Governor Bill Clinton, with America's
[13:31] national security." For more about that,
[13:33] let's turn now to correspondent Eric
[13:35] Ingberg, who's down on the convention
[13:37] floor. Eric, good evening.
[13:38] >> Good evening, Dan. As long as there was
[13:40] a Cold War, voters judged presidential
[13:42] candidates chiefly on how they would
[13:44] perform if that red telephone ever rang.
[13:47] Even now, out on the stump, George Bush
[13:49] knows the political benefits of reaching
[13:51] for that proverbial phone.
[13:55] >> Many times in the White House, late at
[13:57] night, the phone rings.
[13:58] >> It's a powerful image. The tough-minded
[14:01] chief executive on one end, foreign
[14:03] trouble on the other,
[14:05] >> carrying news of a coup in a powerful
[14:08] country
[14:09] >> are asking we how we should stand up to
[14:12] a bully halfway around the world.
[14:15] >> Michael Dakus has opposed virtually
[14:17] every defense system we developed.
[14:19] >> It worked last time for Mr. Bush as
[14:21] searing attacks portrayed Michael Dauus
[14:24] as a weakling on national security
[14:26] matters.
[14:27] >> America can't afford that risk. But the
[14:30] end of the Cold War has given the
[14:31] Democrats hope that the charge they are
[14:33] weak on defense has lost its bite as
[14:36] voters focus on the sick economy and
[14:38] unfinished business at home. When the
[14:41] phone rings uh in the White House, it's
[14:44] more likely to be Los Angeles burning.
[14:47] The world has changed in such a
[14:50] incredible way and people know that
[14:53] President Bush hasn't seized the day
[14:56] >> and Republican image makers concede the
[14:59] death of communism makes their job
[15:01] harder.
[15:02] >> Now that the Soviet Union has collapsed,
[15:04] it's like the
[15:05] >> little fat face and and I like people
[15:07] and it's easy.
[15:08] >> But behind those trademark fake pearls
[15:10] is one savvy politician. Premier
[15:13] presence can make White House staffers
[15:16] tremble.
[15:17] >> I know that's true and I'm sorry about
[15:18] that, but but George says, "Look, that's
[15:21] great. Means they'll do the right
[15:23] thing."
[15:24] >> She's got her own keen political
[15:25] instinct. Last week, she tried to soften
[15:28] her husband's stand against abortion
[15:30] rights by suddenly declaring it doesn't
[15:32] belong on the party platform. And she
[15:34] appears to relish a good political
[15:36] street fight. After stories that Bush
[15:38] may have had an affair, she scolded the
[15:40] press. It's an outrage.
[15:44] >> But privately, she blames the Clinton
[15:45] camp for the stories, then quickly
[15:48] points out that Clinton never denied
[15:50] he'd had an affair. And when Democrats
[15:52] said they'd attack her children's
[15:54] business ties, she lashed back and
[15:56] questioned Clinton's political verility.
[15:58] >> I mean, that's outrageous. They should
[16:01] be talking about their man.
[16:04] Maybe they don't have a man to talk
[16:05] about. I don't know.
[16:06] >> The truth is, Barbara has a bite. She
[16:09] showed her teeth in 1984 when she called
[16:12] Geraldine Ferraro something that rhymes
[16:14] with rich. She can stop reporters in
[16:17] their tracks. Like the one who raised
[16:19] criticism of the president's healthcare
[16:21] plan.
[16:21] >> He hadn't even announced it yet. Come
[16:23] on.
[16:28] Tough is a negative word that doesn't
[16:30] really apply in my mind. Um she has a
[16:34] wicked sense of humor. Sometimes it's
[16:38] mischievous.
[16:39] >> I do have to be careful of my sense of
[16:41] humor, but I hope it's never hurtful.
[16:43] And it is a little mischievous. There's
[16:46] no question about that.
[16:48] >> I'm sorry.
[16:50] >> But she rarely says or does anything by
[16:53] accident. So the Bush campaign says when
[16:55] Barbara stresses family values, it's
[16:57] also a direct challenge to the Clinton's
[17:00] lifestyle and marriage. But the Clinton
[17:02] campaign claims that as a working
[17:04] mother, it's Hillary, not Barbara, who's
[17:06] more in touch with today's modern
[17:08] family.
[17:09] >> I think that's the biggest thing. It's
[17:11] old versus new. And part of old versus
[17:13] new is reality. The old isn't real
[17:15] anymore.
[17:17] >> Don't even try to tell that to Barbara
[17:19] Bush. In her speech to the convention
[17:21] Wednesday night, she'll set out to prove
[17:23] she's real, she's relevant, and do all
[17:25] she can to see her husband gets
[17:27] reelected.
[17:29] Jim Mccclashesky, NBC News, Houston.
[17:33] >> I'll be back with more news, and John
[17:34] Chancellor will have his commentary when
[17:36] Nightly News returns from Houston in a
[17:38] moment.
[17:40] >> On the surface, it's a perfect
[17:41] neighborhood, but beneath the surface,
[17:43] there could be trouble brewing in the
[17:45] septic system. Ask anyone who America in
[17:47] the postcommunist era, that isn't enough
[17:49] to trust you with the American national
[17:52] security.
[17:54] >> Well, first, let's talk about
[17:55] >> the Astrodome. John Chancellor's been
[17:56] here for a while covering the Republican
[17:58] platform hearings last week. He's got
[17:59] some thoughts tonight in his commentary.
[18:00] >> That's right, Tom.
[18:02] >> And you've heard it. The Republicans
[18:03] here are saying they want their party to
[18:05] be one big tent with policies all
[18:07] Americans can support. Standard stuff
[18:10] said by both parties. The truth is
[18:12] different. Forget the big tent.
[18:14] Presidential politics is a matter of a
[18:16] lot of little tents called states. There
[18:18] is no single national vote for
[18:20] president. The winner is chosen by
[18:21] separate votes in separate states. As we
[18:23] all know, if you're trying to elect Bill
[18:26] Clinton or George Bush, you have to
[18:27] think of what wins 54 electoral votes in
[18:31] California, 33 in New York State, or 32
[18:34] electoral votes in Texas. Here's an
[18:36] example. In the big tent of national
[18:38] opinion, where women outnumber men,
[18:41] taking a hard line against abortion
[18:42] won't win the election, but being tough
[18:45] on abortion might win a few be
[18:47] decisively helpful in the heavily
[18:49] Catholic cities of the industrial
[18:51] Middle. There are 84 electoral votes in
[18:54] Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and
[18:57] Wisconsin. Add those states to the 109
[19:00] electoral votes in the Deep South, where
[19:02] a no abortion position may win support,
[19:05] and you're within shooting distance of
[19:07] victory in November. This kind of
[19:09] calculating is what the real
[19:10] presidential campaigns are all about.
[19:13] The Republicans this year are betting
[19:15] that their party's stand on abortion
[19:17] will win them enough states to offset
[19:19] the losses that stand will produce in
[19:21] other states. It's a big risky bet, but
[19:24] it's what the pros do when their side is
[19:26] behind, and it has nothing to do with
[19:28] one big tent. Tom,
[19:30] >> thank you, John. Last week, Woody Allen
[19:32] filed suit to win custody of his three
[19:34] children from longtime companion Mia
[19:36] Pharaoh. Well, today the 56-year-old
[19:38] Allen confirmed a love affair with
[19:40] Pharaoh's 21-year-old adopted daughter
[19:43] born in Korea. Allan said she's turned
[19:46] his life around.
[19:48] On Wall Street, stocks closed down
[19:50] slightly today. Trading was light.
[19:54] >> It was unreal. You woke up with morning
[19:58] breath.
[19:59] Pronounced dead on arrival. Everything
[20:01] he sent up here. President Bush has pre
[20:04] preferred to put forth programs which he
[20:08] knows he can't get a consensus on and
[20:10] then blame the Congress for the failure
[20:12] to enact them.
[20:14] >> Where the president hurt himself the
[20:15] most was in his negotiations with
[20:18] Congress to slow the growth of the
[20:19] deficit. To get a ceiling on spending,
[20:22] he broke the promise he made four years
[20:24] ago at the Republican convention.
[20:27] >> Read my lips. no new taxes.
[20:33] The delegates loved it and so did most
[20:36] Americans. But two years later, under
[20:39] extreme pressure from Democrats in
[20:40] Congress, the president agreed to raise
[20:43] taxes.
[20:44] >> When he compromised, he in effect broke
[20:46] the pledge he made.
[20:47] >> Acknowledges that he's in a hole, but
[20:49] he's confident that he can fight his way
[20:50] out. Bob Kerr, who is NBC's national
[20:53] correspondent tonight, reports from
[20:54] Tulsa County, Oklahoma, which last voted
[20:57] Democrat for president 56 years ago.
[20:59] >> City comes closer to matching the
[21:01] national averages for age, race, gender,
[21:04] and housing prices than Tulsa, and few
[21:07] are more Republican.
[21:09] >> I think that George Bush has been a good
[21:11] president. if he's had any faults, it's
[21:14] been in trying too hard to reach a
[21:17] consensus with a Congress that wants to
[21:19] move the country in the wrong direction.
[21:22] >> Well, I think he did a a good job. Um,
[21:26] it's not an easy thing to run the
[21:27] country.
[21:28] >> After hard times hit the oil industry 10
[21:31] years ago, Tulsa diversified and after a
[21:34] struggle, wages here are now higher and
[21:37] unemployment lower than in most of the
[21:39] country. So, you'd think Tulsa
[21:41] Republicans would be happy with their
[21:43] president, but disappointment with
[21:45] George Bush runs deep.
[21:49] >> Well, I I just don't think that he's
[21:50] done anything. He He's not doing
[21:52] anything. He don't stand for anything.
[21:54] >> Is there any way George Bush can win you
[21:56] back?
[21:57] >> No, absolutely not. Bush is not a
[22:00] leader.
[22:01] >> But could you vote for Clinton?
[22:03] >> I don't like Bill Clinton either, but
[22:04] I'd vote for him before I would Bush.
[22:07] >> You know, this may be the year I don't
[22:08] vote. I would hate to see me not vote,
[22:10] but this could be the year I don't vote.
[22:12] >> And you voted for George Bush four years
[22:14] ago.
[22:15] >> Yes.
[22:16] >> Bush has a big selling job to do, even
[22:18] among Republicans inclined to vote for
[22:21] him. Trouble on the right.
[22:23] >> We're not really sure if he is
[22:24] conservative. He seems to be more
[22:26] pragmatic than he is conservative.
[22:28] >> I think George Bush did not follow the
[22:31] revolution that Reagan started and he
[22:34] let it slip. and trouble in the middle.
[22:37] >> But he's going to have to really change,
[22:38] I think, a lot of its policies and a lot
[22:40] of the people in his cabinet and maybe
[22:43] being straightforward with the United
[22:44] States and and not saying, "Oh, we're
[22:46] working on this, that, and the other,"
[22:48] and nothing being done.
[22:49] >> In the past couple of years, it seems
[22:51] like George Bush has just lost steam. He
[22:54] doesn't seem very he doesn't seem as
[22:56] enthusiastic and as personable as he did
[22:59] when he first took office. There's
[23:02] enough dissatisfaction and restlessness
[23:04] among Republicans here to worry local
[23:06] party officials. Their biggest concern
[23:08] is a tight race with low Republican
[23:11] turnout and the loss of Democrats who
[23:13] voted for Bush in 88.
[23:15] >> Democrat Kevin von Moses voted for
[23:18] Reagan and Bush.
[23:20] >> Is change necessary in the country?
[23:23] >> Absolutely.
[23:23] >> And is Bush the agent of change?
[23:26] >> Uh, not that I've seen quite quite
[23:28] honestly. He is uh conservative and
[23:31] conservatives don't do change.
[23:33] >> Many Tulsa Republicans told me the only
[23:36] reason they vote for Bush is that they
[23:38] don't know or don't like Bill Clinton.
[23:41] >> He has to convince me to jump ship.
[23:44] Whereas Bush just needs to really
[23:45] convince me that he can plug the leaks
[23:48] in the boat.
[23:49] >> A tricky shot for the president in a
[23:51] place where so far many Republicans are
[23:53] unexcited about their candidate or
[23:55] unwilling to reelect him. Bob Kerr, NBC
[23:59] News, Tulsa.
[24:02] >> That's nightly news for now. The
[24:03] featured speakers tonight, Patrick
[24:04] Buchanan and Ronald Reagan. And I'll be
[24:06] back with Robin McNeel and Jim Lair at 8
[24:09] Eastern, 7 Central time for our joint
[24:10] NBC News PBS coverage of this
[24:13] convention. And then tonight, NBC's
[24:14] coverage will begin at 10 9 central. So,
[24:17] I'll see you then.
[24:23] >> Tuesday, a tragic accident changes Sam's
[24:25] life. your guardian a
[24:28] >> experience CBS News.
[24:31] >> Tom Brokaw, John Chancellor, and the NBC
[24:33] News convention team for nightly
[24:34] coverage of the Republican National
[24:36] Convention. Tonight,
[24:41] >> a luxury car made for you in America.