http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0805/05/ldt.01.html
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT
Primary Showdown for Democratic Candidates; McCain Seeks Hispanic Vote; Human Smuggling Ring Busted
Aired May 5, 2008 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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DOBBS: As the presidential campaign intensifies, the war in Iraq goes on. Insurgents have killed five more of our troops, four Marines and one soldier. Six of our troops have been killed so far this month in Iraq; 4,071 of our troops killed since the war began; 29,911 of our troops wounded; 13,344 of them seriously.
Senator McCain, a strong supporter of the war in Iraq, today focused on domestic issues. The senator intensified his populist push with new Spanish-language television ads. The senator trying to win the support of Hispanic voters. He declared that most Hispanic voters share his view that our borders must be secured first before any changes to immigration laws. Dana Bash has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John McCain's Spanish TV ad can now be found here on his new Spanish- language campaign Web site, launched for Cinco de Mayo.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everything about our Hispanic voters is tailor-made to the Republican message. I'm confident that I will do very well.
BASH: Republican strategists say he has to do very well with Latinos to win in November.
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: If John McCain can earn closer to 40 percent of the Hispanic vote then he's on his way to residing in the White House. The Hispanic vote is that critical for Republicans.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
BASH: That's what helped George W. Bush win re-election. A whopping 44 percent of the Hispanic vote, but that was before a divisive political debate erupted over illegal immigration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are becoming a bi-lingual nation, and that is not good.
BASH: McCain admits that could drive Hispanics to vote Democrat.
MCCAIN: I think the tenor of the debate has harmed our image amongst Hispanics.
BASH: McCain supported a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants but backed off after conservative outrage almost killed his GOP primary bid.
MCCAIN: I know what the message is. The message is we must secure our borders.
BASH: Now that he's effectively clinched the nomination, a softer tone is back. Suddenly using buzz words again like comprehensive immigration reform and warning against a quote "piecemeal" approach.
MCCAIN: We get in this kind of a circular firing squad on immigration reform in the Congress of the United States, and the lesson I learned from it is we've got to have comprehensive immigration reform.
BASH: But Democrats say he caved to political pressure in the primaries and will push Hispanics to punish him. Some Republicans admit fighting that will be a huge challenge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's part of the reality of being a Republican. Many Latinos falsely believe that this is not an inclusive party, and I think John McCain has to battle that like every other candidate before him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: McCain advisers insist nothing's changed, that he would still secure the border before doing anything else, but McCain's tone on illegal immigration sounded different, like a classic back to the center approach for the general election. This is especially notable, as you know, Lou, because this issue is not only emotional for John McCain, but it was potentially a fatal issue for him during the Republican primary. Lou?
DOBBS: So he's back now to calling for comprehensive immigration reform?
BASH: That's the term that you heard him use there. It was something that certainly sparked my attention and others in our organization, our producers here. So the first thing I asked a couple of his advisers is, is he changing not just his tune, but his position? And they insist he is not.
They insist that he has learned a lesson from the debate and from what happened during the primaries, and they insist he would still secure the borders first, but the term "comprehensive immigration reform" isn't a term that I've heard him say much lately at all, which is really what struck me, and again, some others, when we heard him say it here in North Carolina just a short while ago.
DOBBS: Yeah. It's sort of a hard expression to come up with extemporaneously without intent -- comprehensive immigration reform. Well, it will be interesting to see what the next day brings with Senator McCain. Thank you very much. Dana Bash.